Unit 2 – Parliament: Evaluate the view that backbenchers have no power or influence

Evaluate the view that backbenchers have no power or influence

A popular Paper 2 question is on the role played by backbench MPs. The following points would be relevant for a question on backbench MPs:

Backbench MPs can hold the government to account

Backbench MPs can have some influence by aiming to hold the government to account via questioning in the House of Commons. This is most regularly seen each week during PMQs when backbench MPs will be called upon to ask questions of the PM. This function continues each day in the House of Commons whereby different ministers will be subjected to questioning. Backbench MPs can also ask questions of the government during Urgent Questions whereby a member of the government is required to attend the House and answer questions regarding a pressing issue. For example, in April 2025, a government minister had to respond to an Urgent Question of the sovereignty of the Chagos Islands. Despite this, much of the questioning from backbench MPs tends to get overlooked by the media and the public. Government ministers can avoid answering questions directly and will plant friendly questions amongst their own MPs to avoid a too hostile environment. Given that Labour currently occupy 63% of the seats within the House of Commons they are far less likely to face more hostile scrutiny than they otherwise would if they were more opposition party MPs within the Commons. Backbench MPs carry much more importance when the government has a slim majority, or the party is divided. This was very much the case during the Premierships of Cameron, May and Sunak. In order to reduce the influence of his rebellious backbenchers, David Cameron agreed to hold a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU. Many Conservative backbenchers had refused to back government bills without Cameron agreeing to concede the need for a referendum, thus demonstrating that when the government has a small majority, backbenchers can demand concessions from the government in order to secure their support. This was also the case during the Premiership of Rishi Sunak. In 2023, Sunak wanted to create compulsory housebuilding targets for local councils. However, Conservative backbench MPs threated to rebel if this was the case and as such Sunak was forced to backtrack and withdraw the bill. Nonetheless, these scenarios are vanishingly rare. The British political system tends to create governments with large majorities and as such the power of backbenchers to threaten rebellions is usually negligible.  For example, Keir Starmer’s government has a majority of 174 and as such even on issues whereby Labour backbench MPs have serious doubts, such as over the decision to keep the two-child benefits rule, any rebellion is usually meaningless as Starmer’s considerable majority will always ensure that the government wins.

Select Committees

Another way in which backbench MPs can have an influence over the government is via their work as members of Select Committees. All backbench MPs will be members of Select Committees, whose role it is to scrutinise the working of the department they are shadowing. For example, the Foreign Affairs Select Committee, currently chaired by the Labour MP, Emily Thornberry, will investigate the work being undertaken by the Foreign Secretary, David Lammy. This will involve regularly questioning of ministers from within that department which can lead to the government being forced into changes. For example, in 2018, the then Chair of the Home Affairs Select Committee, Yvette Cooper, was able to expose the lack of control the Home Secretary Amber Rudd had over the growing Windrush Scandal that was engulfing the department. As a result, Rudd was forced to resign as Home Secretary when it appeared that she made inaccurate statements under stern questioning by the committee. Nonetheless, most of the work conducted by Select Committees is ignored by the press and public. Typically, the media only tends to report on the work of the committees when they are investigating government spending or newsworthy stories. As such, though the Public Accounts and the Home Affairs Committees receive much media attention, most other committees do not. Moreover, though committees can make recommendations to the government for legislative changes, these are rarely picked up by the government. For example, the government does tend to implement roughly 45% of all legislative recommendations made by the committees, but of these only around 2% might be considered large scale changes.

Private Members Bill

Contrary to belief, it is possible for backbench MPs to change the law and this is most commonly achieved through Private Members Legislation. Private Members Legislation is the process by which backbench MPs are given the opportunity to place their name into a lottery, with the top 20 names drawn afforded parliamentary time to debate and vote upon legislation of their choosing. Private Member’s Legislation can be of huge significance. The Abortion Act of 1967 which legalised abortions in the UK was passed via piece of Private Members Legislation put forward by the Liberal MP, David Steel. In recent years, new laws regarding the raising of the legal age of marriage has been passed and most notably, the Labour backbencher, Kim Leadbetter, has initiated a piece of Private Members Legislation, The Terminally Ill Adults Act, that seeks to allow assisted suicide into the UK for the first time. However, Private Members Legislation has an extremely low success rate. Between 2010-2024, more than 2,500 PMBs have been introduced. Of these, just 100 have received royal assent. Moreover, the vast majority are never even debated with just ¼ ever having a second reading debate. There are also a number of rules that dictate what can and cannot be introduced as Private Members Legislation. For example, Private Members Legislation has to be cost neutral. Naturally, this limits the scope of any legislation that could be introduced. Nevertheless, Private Members Legislation does present backbench MPs with the opportunity to make a real difference. Some of the most historic changes to UK law, such as the decriminalisation of homosexuality and the abolition of the death penalty have all come about as a result of Private Members Legislation. As such, regardless of the limits placed on Private Members Legislation and the limited opportunity that backbench MPs to be able to introduce it, those who are afforded the opportunity have a considerable amount of power to influence UK society.