Representation is another important function of the House of Commons. MPs are elected to the House the represent the voters of the country. There are 659 elected members of Parliament, and in the House of Commons they represent both their party and the constituency to which they belong.
Another function of the House of Commons is debate. Matters of interest are discussed, and this takes place in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. An example of important debate that has taken place in the House of Commons recently is the debate on whether or not we should go to war against Iraq.
The final function of the House of Commons is recruitment of government. The Prime Minister picks the cabinet, and these ministers are mainly chosen from the House of Commons. For example, Tony Blair and Lord Chancellor Irvine both sit in the House of Commons.
How effectively do the House of Commons perform these functions?
As far as legislation is concerned, the House of Commons passes bills through, but the role is not entirely effective. The government more often than not passes legislation that they want, as they have an overall majority. MPs do not vote to pass or veto legislation according to what they think is right or best for their constituencies, as party whips tell them which way they should vote, and because of this, it can also be said that the function of representation is not carried out effectively.
As MPs are so strongly told to obey the instructions of the whip, it is hard if not impossible for them to act in the interests of their constituencies, and so they are not able to fully represent them. They also have very little influence over policy, especially if they are part of the opposition and in the minority.
The House of Commons is more effective at scrutiny. Select committees, such as those for transport and public spending, help to hold the government to account, and question time gives MPs a chance to question ministers. However, as select committees tend to be made up in proportion to representation in the House of Commons, the government will still have a majority in the committees designed to question and hold them to account.
While most of the functions of the House of Commons are carried out to some degree, they are not all carried out effectively. MPs are under the influence of the party whips, and because of this they represent their party more than their constituents. Legislation proposed by the government gets passed because they have such a large majority, and the government can also control scrutiny as the party with the largest representation dominates select committees. In this way, the functions of the House of Commons are carried out, but not effectively.
