Functions of Parliament: Legislation, Representation, Scrutiny, Legitimacy

Parliament performs several essential functions in the UK's system of government. Understanding these functions — and evaluating how effectively Parliament carries them out — is central to A-Level Politics. This lesson examines Parliament's four main functions: legislation, representation, scrutiny, and legitimacy.

1. Legislation

Parliament's primary function is to make, amend, and repeal laws. All primary legislation (Acts of Parliament) must be approved by both the House of Commons and the House of Lords and receive Royal Assent.

How Effectively Does Parliament Legislate?

Strengths:

Every bill is debated at multiple stages (see Lesson 3 on the legislative process).
The Lords acts as a revising chamber, often improving the quality and clarity of legislation.
Opposition parties and backbenchers can propose amendments.
Select committees conduct pre-legislative scrutiny of draft bills.

Weaknesses:

The government controls the legislative timetable and can use programme motions to limit debate.
The whip system means most government bills pass without significant amendment.
Many bills are drafted by the Executive (government bills), not by Parliament itself. Private Members' Bills rarely become law.
Delegated legislation (statutory instruments) bypasses full parliamentary scrutiny — thousands of SIs are passed each year, often without debate.
Henry VIII clauses allow ministers to amend primary legislation through secondary legislation.

Case Study: The Retained EU Law Act 2023. This Act gave ministers broad powers to revoke or amend retained EU law through statutory instruments. Critics argued this transferred excessive legislative power to the Executive, undermining Parliament's legislative role.

2. Representation

Parliament represents the people of the UK. MPs represent their constituents (the people of their constituency), their party, and the nation as a whole. There are competing theories of representation:

Theory	Description
Trustee model (Edmund Burke)	MPs should use their own judgment to act in the best interests of their constituents and the nation, even if this means going against constituent wishes
Delegate model	MPs should act as instructed by their constituents, reflecting their views faithfully
Mandate model	MPs are elected on a party manifesto; voters give a mandate to the party's programme
Resemblance model	Parliament should reflect the demographic composition of the population (gender, ethnicity, class, etc.)

How Representative Is Parliament?

Strengths:

Every constituency has a named, local MP who can be contacted and held accountable.
MPs hold regular surgeries (meetings with constituents) and respond to correspondence.
The 2024 general election saw the most ethnically diverse House of Commons in history.
Female representation has increased (though it remains below 50%).

Weaknesses:

FPTP produces disproportional results — parties' share of seats does not match their share of votes.
Many constituencies are "safe seats" where the outcome is predetermined.
Parliament is still not fully representative in terms of gender, ethnicity, class, disability, and educational background — MPs are disproportionately white, male, university-educated, and from professional backgrounds.
The House of Lords is entirely unelected and unrepresentative.
Party discipline means MPs often vote with their party rather than reflecting constituent views.

Case Study: The 2024 General Election. Labour won a large majority with approximately 34% of the vote, while Reform UK won 14% of the vote but only 5 seats. This starkly illustrated the disproportionality of FPTP and the gap between votes cast and representation achieved.

3. Scrutiny

Parliament's role in holding the government to account is one of its most important functions. Scrutiny takes several forms:

Functions: Legislation, Representation, Scrutiny, Legitimacy