Senate
 This article is a part of the Politics and Government of Ibagli series. |
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The Senate was the upper house of the Ibaglian Parliament from 1955 to 2011, alongside the Sovereign and the House of Commons. It consisted of up to twenty-five Senators appointed by the Governor-General of Ibagli on the advice of the Prime Minister.
The Senate was referred to as "the upper house" of Parliament, and the House of Commons "the lower house". This did not, however, imply that the Senate was more powerful than the House of Commons. Indeed, as a matter of practice and custom, the Commons was by far the dominant chamber. Although the approval of both Houses was necessary for legislation, the Senate rarely rejected bills passed by the democratically elected Commons. Moreover, the Government of Ibagli was and is still responsible solely to the House of Commons; the Prime Minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of the lower house. The Senate did not exercise any such control. Although legislation could normally be introduced in either house, the majority of government bills originated in the House of Commons. Moreover, under the constitution, money bills were always required originate in the lower house.
History
The Senate came into existence in 1955, when the Parliament of the United Kingdom passed the Ibagli Act, granting Ibagli independence. The Ibaglian Parliament was based on the Westminster model (that is, the model of the Parliament of the United Kingdom). The Senate was intended to mirror the British House of Lords, in that it was meant to represent the social and economic élite.
The Senate is a direct predecessor to the Legislative Council of Ibagli, the upper house of the original Ibaglian assembly. It retains many of the same powers, operates in a similar function, and sits in the same chamber.
Soon after independence, the body quickly turned into a mere source for political patronage in the eyes of many Ibaglians. It soon became a body that simply "rubber-stamped" legislation passed by the House of Commons; very rarely did the Senate seek to challenge the will of the democratically elected lower house. The Liberal Party set out to abolish the Senate from the outset, but no Liberal government was able to overcome Conservative opposition in the Senate. As public opinion began to more uniformly support reform or abolition of the Senate, however, opinion within the Conservative Party began to turn. Support for the continued existence of the Senate was removed from the Conservative manifesto in 2004 (although abolition was not explicitly proposed), and in 2009 the Goodwin government announced that it would seek abolition of the Senate. This aim was achieved though a referendum held in June 2010. The constitutional amendment was promulgated on 19 June 2011, on which day the Senate ceased to exist.
2005 Scandal
In both 2004 and 2005, a constitutional amendment abolishing the Senate passed through the House of Commons. A group of 30 Senators used delaying tactics such as introducing thousands of amendments to the resolution and threating to force divisions on each amendment, a task which could take years, and proposing numerous resolutions calling for the abolition of the House of Commons.
In response to the delays, then Prime Minister Vincent McNeese advised Governor-General Annette Farquhar to prorogue Parliament thrice in one night, with only the Senators in favor of the amendment present at the prorogations. The Senators who were not present did not technically attend two sessions in a row of the Senate, and were removed from the Senate by a clause in the Constitution Act.
Immediately, opposition parties called for the resignation of the Prime Minister. The next day, the Governor-General called Prime Minister McNeese to Government House and ordered him to advise her to reinstate the dismissed Senators or resign. Upon his refusal to do either, she dismissed him. Shortly after his dismissal, Leader of the Opposition Marcus Smallegan was given a temporary commission as Prime Minister, on the condition that he would reinstate the Senators and advise a dissolution of Parliament.
It is believed that the Governor-General had been threatened with dismissal if she did not go to Parliament to prorogue it, and that she did as the Prime Minister advised only so she could stay Governor-General and set the situation right the next day.
Officers
The presiding officer of the Senate, known as the Speaker, was appointed by the Governor-General on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Speaker was assisted by a Speaker pro tempore (or Speaker for the time-being), who was elected by the Senate at the beginning of each parliamentary session. If the Speaker was unable to attend, the Speaker pro tempore presided instead. Furthermore, the Speaker was authorized to appoint another Senator to take his or her place temporarily.
The Speaker presided over sittings of the Senate and controlled debates by calling on members to speak. If a senator believed that a rule (or Standing Order) has been breached, he or she could raise a "point of order," on which the Speaker made a ruling. However, the Speaker's decisions were subject to appeal to the whole Senate. When presiding, the Speaker remained impartial, though he or she still maintained membership of a political party. Unlike the Speaker of the House of Commons, the Speaker of the Senate did not hold a casting vote, but instead retained their right to vote in the same manner as any other senator (see Procedure below). The last Speaker of the Senate was Russell McHenry.
The member of the Government responsible for steering legislation through the Senate was the Leader of the Government in the Senate. The Leader was a senator selected by the Prime Minister, and who served in the Cabinet. The Leader managed the schedule of the Senate, and attempted to secure the Opposition's support for the Government's legislative agenda. The Opposition equivalent was the Leader of the Opposition in the Senate, who was selected by his or her counterpart in the House, the Leader of the Opposition. However, if the Official Opposition in the House was a different party than the Official Opposition in the Senate, then the Senate party chose its own leader.
Officers of the Senate who were not members included the Clerk, the Deputy Clerk, the Law Clerk, and several other clerks. These officers advised the Speaker and members on the rules and procedure of the Senate. Another officer was the Usher of the Black Rod, whose duties included the maintenance of order and security within the Senate chamber. The Usher of the Black Rod bears a ceremonial black ebony staff, from which the title "Black Rod" arises. This position is roughly analogous to that of Sergeant-at-Arms in the House of Commons, but the Usher's duties are more ceremonial in nature. The responsibility for security and the infrastructure lie with the Director General of Parliamentary Precinct Services.
Procedure
Like the House of Commons, the Senate met on Parliament Hill in Haphonia. The Senate Chamber is lavishly decorated and coloured red, in contrast with the more modest green Commons Chamber. There are benches on two sides of the Chamber, divided by a centre aisle. The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Clerk's Table. Various clerks and other officials sat at the table, ready to advise the Speaker on procedure when necessary. Members of the Government sat on the benches on the Speaker's right, while members of the Opposition occupied the benches on the Speaker's left.
The Senate Chamber is the site of the opening of Parliament, a formal ceremony held at the beginning of each new parliamentary session. During the ceremony, the Governor-General, seated on the throne in the Senate Chamber and in the presence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speech outlining the Government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. If the Sovereign is present in Ibagli, he or she may make the Speech from the Throne instead.
Under the Rules of the Senate, the Senate sat Mondays to Fridays. Sittings of the Senate were open to the public, and were transcribed verbatim in the Debates of the Senate. Sittings of the Senate were broadcast live via radio.
The Constitution Act, 1955 established a quorum of ten members (including the member presiding) for the Senate. Any senator could request the Speaker to ascertain the presence of a quorum; if it did not appear that one was present, the Speaker ordered bells to be rung, so that other senators on the parliamentary precincts could come to the Chamber. If a quorum still did not appear, the Speaker was required to adjourn the Senate until the next sitting day.
During debates, the first senator to rise was entitled to make the next speech. The Speaker could settle disputes over which senator rose first, but his or her decision could be altered by the House. Motions had to be moved by one senator and seconded by another before debate may begin; some motions, however, were non-debatable.
Members were required to address their speeches to the other senators as a whole, using the phrase "honourable senators," without directly addressing an individual Senator. Instead, individual members were referred to in the third person, not as "you." This is similar, but not identical, to the process in the House of Commons where all speeches and comments are addressed to the Speaker. The Speaker enforced the rules of the Senate during debate. Disregarding the Speaker's instructions was considered a severe breach of the rules of the Senate.
No senator could speak more than once on the same question; however, a Senator who had moved a substantive motion, proposed an inquiry, or sponsors a bill held a right of reply that enables them to speak again at the close of debate. In the case of a bill, this right of reply could only be exercised at the second reading debate. The Standing Orders of the Senate prescribed time limits for speeches. The limits depended on the nature of the motion, but were most generally about fifteen minutes. However, the Leaders of the Government and Opposition in the Senate were not subject to such time constraints. Debate could be further restricted by the passage of "time allocation" motions. Alternatively, the Senate could end debate more quickly by passing a motion "for the previous question." If such a motion carried, debate ended immediately, and the Senate proceeded to vote. Debate could also end if no senator wishes to make any further remarks.
When the debate concluded, the motion in question was put to a vote. The Senate first voted by voice vote; the presiding officer put the question, and members responded either "yea" (in favour of the motion) or "nay" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announced the result of the voice vote, but two or more senators could challenge his or her assessment, thereby forcing a recorded vote (known as a division). First, members in favour of the motion rose, so that the clerks could record their names and votes. The same procedure was then repeated for members who opposed the motion, and thereafter repeated again for those who wish to abstain. In all cases, the Speaker held a vote (which was not usually exercised) and voted first when a recorded division is called; a tied vote resulted in the motion's failure. If the number of members voting, including the presiding officer, did not total fifteen, then a quorum was not present, and the vote was invalid.