Does the executive have too much power over Parliament? Watch

(Original post by Fatima95)
Does the executive have too much power over Parliament?

I'm stuck on this essay question. I have to write a paragraphs explaining why the executive doesn't have too much power over the House of Lords.

(Original post by Scatach)
I don't know if you still need help, but here's a few things.

- The executive dominates parliament due to the PM (usually) having a majority, so they can force through legislation. You need to remember that the vast majority of bills originate from the executive (public bills) and are simply passed by the legislature. You could talk about the power of the party whips, and contemporary examples such as the recent Equal Marriage Bill which was voted against by Cameron's own party, or look at when he has invoked a three-line whip.

- However as you have already said, the executive has little power over the House of Lords, but because of the relative unimportance of the Lords you may want to note that the Lords have little ability to significantly influence legislation which means they the executive does not need to concern itself with the Lords.

This essay provides you with the opportunity to talk about key terms such as the separation (or rather fusion in the UK) of powers and party whips. You might want to consider cases where MPs rebel against their party (I believe there was a vote on Europe where this happened recently, but you'd have to check)