The House of Commons is the lower house of the United Kingdom Parliament and comprises of 650 members who are democratically elected. The members of parliament represent concerns and interests of the UK public. The House of Commons has three main roles. The roles are centered on legislation, finance, and scrutiny of the government (Thorne 38).
The House of Commons is very effective when it comes to controlling the government. This is explicitly highlighted in its three major roles. The first role, legislation, is defined as the process through which laws and statutes are made and enacted. This process is very comprehensive. Members debate any bill or law before its implementation where varieties of their views are taken into consideration. Proposals or bills are brought before the house by individual members of parliament and by the government. Public bills presented by the government undergo a rigorous process before becoming acts or laws (Thorne 49). The stages are First reading, Second Reading, Committee stage, Report Stage, and Third Reading. In all these phases, the government proposals are carefully analyzed, debated, and amended to incorporate concerns of the public. The government hence cannot push for dubious proposals that are not for the greater good of the United Kingdom public.
The parliament is sovereign and offers a platform for checking on the government spending and general financial management of the public finances. The minister in charge of finance each year presents the budget. The budgets present spending announcements and the minister’s economic outlook. The government must seek the approval of the house members before it can implement its tax level changes or carry out its plans on spending. The parliament exerts its control on the government finances by having debates on the budget where the minister is put to task to explain emerging concerns on the budget. The parliament notes any anomalies and approves the amendments after debate in order for the government to implement its financial plans. The parliament through popular backbench rebellions can easily defeat unfavorable government financial proposals. It is therefore rightful to assert that the House of Commons is key in making any financial reforms by the government.
The House of Commons puts the government on scrutiny. This is manifested during the prime minister’s time. The opposition questions the running of the country and mandates made by the same government. The prime minister must justify the mandates the government wants to implement through subjection to criticism and extensive examination by the parliament. This usually happens once a month. The house of commons also scrutinizes the governments work log through select committees that usually comprise of 12-14 members. The committee also involves experts in the scrutiny exercise and comes up with conclusive recommendations on the subject matter. The select committees reports can be embarrassing hence, the government heeds to the recommendations most of the time. The reports can get media attention tarnishing the government’s image to the public. To avoid this government takes keen consideration on the suggestions (Cole 67). According to Peter Hennesy, “select committees are the biggest single claws of power from the executive to the legislature in the 20th Century”. Since 2002, the Prime Minister has been answerable to the liaison committee twice annually. The great strides in the parliamentary system therefore portray the House of Commons as an effective check on the government.
The House of Commons on the flip side is not effective in controlling the government in some instances. This is evident in the legislation process in which bills are put into a forced conclusion. It is also notable that the select committees that look at the bills or proposals consist of members who lack expertise. This may result to substandard analyzing and evaluation of the proposals presented which at times can compromise the legislature’s control on the government. The big volume of legislation presented in the house also negates the effectiveness of the parliamentarians as they seek to control the government. In scenarios where there is a single party government with a majority, according to Lord Hailsham equals to an “elective dictatorship”. This portends a situation where the government dominates the House of Commons hence hindering its role of effective check on the powers that be.
As for the finance role of the House of Commons, taxation and expenditure are push through most of the time with little or no debate. This allows passing of financial schemes effortlessly, that might not be in the best interest of the public. The scrutiny responsibility of the parliament is also made ineffective due to the perception of the prime minister’s time as useless by almost 93 % of the members of parliament. The select Committees on the other hand lack resources and power to ensure their recommendations have an impact on the government operations. The select committees do not have the authority to stop the government from doing what it wants to do; they are just there to say if it is wrong or right. They are not consulted or considered in the making of government appointments. The effectiveness of the House of Commons is also deterred by its poor facilities compared to the other legislative organs. The members are forced to make do with inferior facilities that deter them in advancing their objectives (Cole 26).
In conclusion, parliament in theory is sovereign in Britain but in practice it is an elective dictatorship. This is evident through the single part majority that currently runs and dominates the House of Commons. Andrew John Bower Mitchell cited that “parliament is a noisy rubber stamp” to show how members are used to endorse government proposals which compromises parliamentary sovereignty. Norton Phillip termed it as “policy influencing” to illustrate a weak parliament whose members were reactive rather than being active when it comes to policy-making. The UK parliament is mostly made up of reactive members that do not play a dynamic role during policymaking. The members of parliament are not in totality agents of democracy as perceived by many.
Works Cited
Cole, Matthew. Democracy in Britain. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 2006.
Thorne, R. G. The House of Commons. London: Published for the History of Parliament Trust by Secker & Warburg, 2005.
