How successful have the UK constitutional reforms been since 1997?
How successful have the constitutional reforms been? (Since 1997) Constitutional reform is a process in which the government or the relationship between the government and the state is changed. Since 1997 there have been several reforms to our constitution, but there is a constant debate to whether the reforms have brought success to our country or not. Firstly, The House Of Lords reform, whereby lords are not brought in via family, they will be elected a lord based on achievements and specialized skills, for example Lord Sugar was brought in to influence the UK’s business. The House of Lords reform act (1999) decreased the number of hereditary lords to just 92. If lords are elected into the second chamber it will cause a dead lock between the House of Commons and the House of Lords as the two houses are mirrored. This will cause our government to become less decisive and this will lead to negativity for the population of the UK. On the other hand the reform act brings success, as the elected lords will improve the democracy compared to the current arrangements this will allow smaller parties to be represented in a better fashion. Also if the lords are elected via proportional representation this will also increase the democracy of the population of the UK as they choose who they want to represent them. So we can see that the House of Lords reform act brings outstanding
Evaluate the effectiveness of the various ways in which participation and democracy could be strengthened in the UK? (25)
Evaluate the effectiveness of the various ways in which participation and democracy could be strengthened in the UK? (25) The decline in political participation in the UK over recent years, particularly the continuous decrease in forms of partisan aligned involvement in formal processes and initiations of democracy, such as general elections, has prompted a range of new proposals aimed at tackling political disengagement. The effectiveness of these various methods by which participation and democracy in the UK can be strengthened will be evaluated and examined in this essay. One method proposed in response to political disengagement is to increase the frequency of available polling stations, thereby increasing the proximity between the polling stations and people’s homes, as well as the variety of locations, including places such as shopping centres, which are frequently visited by the public on a daily basis. By doing this, it would provide more people with the opportunity to go and cast their votes, by making available a more practical and easy option, particularly for those on a tight and busy schedule. Furthermore, since people have long hours during the working week, or have long commutes that disincentivise going to a polling station, recommendations such as weekend voting could also increase the number of potential voters, by offering them more time to vote, and at
Why is Parliament so weak in relation to the executive?
Why is Parliament so weak in relation to the executive? The domination of the legislature, which includes Parliament, by the executive branch, which contains government, is a majorly important feature of the British political system. According to French philosopher Montesquieu, the lack of the separation of powers and, hence, the fusion of the executive and legislative branches (as, uniquely, in the UK) may lead to a large accumulation of power in one branch. Unlike the USA political system where these branches are kept strictly separate, there is excessive executive power which means that Parliament can be exposed as weak and powerless to the ruling party. There are many factors that make Parliament look weak in relation to the executive including; the electoral system, the scrutiny of MP’s, and the power (if any) of the House of Lords. The first past the post electoral system allows governments in the UK to seemingly dominate Parliament without representing a very large proportion of the electorate. The system ensures that one party with win an absolute majority, which tends to be very large, and, hence, means that parliament is relatively powerless in contrast as the role of dissidents is limited which allows government to dominate. The 1997 landslide victory of New Labour was only achieved with about 36% of the vote. This comparatively small percentage of the voting
Apart from referendums, explain three ways in which democracy in the UK could be improved.
Sama Al-Saltany . a) Outline the key features of a referendum. A referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal, usually a piece of legislation which has been passed into law by the local legislative body and signed by the pertinent executive official. Referendums are usually held when parliament cannot come to an agreement about legislation. b) Apart from referendums, explain three ways in which democracy in the UK could be improved. Quality: Reduce the number of select committees MPs who are part of the government, part of the opposition front bench, or who are whips, are not permitted (for obvious reasons) to sit on select committees. This means that there is roughly one select committee place per eligible MP. Consequently, serving on a select committee is a routine rather than a hard-fought honor, and attendance on committees is often low. If the number of select committees were reduced, this would reduce the number of places and increase the competition for places. The departmental link would have to be broken, but broader remits with competent and fully attended committees would more than make up the difference. Places on committees would once again be competitive and the best people would sit on them. Power: The power to call for real evidence Select committees have the power to call people
What Is A Referendum? Give Three Examples of UK Referendums. Evaluate the Main Arguments Against The Use of Referendums.
a) What is a referendum? A referendum or plebiscite is a general vote by the electorate on a single political question that has been put to them for a direct decision. Referendums usually consist of a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question, the result of the referendum decided by the majority result. The questions may be multiple however, requiring the electorate to list their preferences, or the referendum may be a ‘qualified referendum’ – in that a certain condition has been placed on it that it has to meet for it be valid, such as a bench-mark turnout requirement. It is one of the few forms of direct democracy in representative democracies like the UK. Everyone of voting age has the right to take part. b) Outline three examples of the use of referendums in the UK. In 1975 a referendum was undertaken regarding continuing membership of the E.C. The question put to the electorate was “do you think the U.K. should stay in the E.C.?” The government argued that such an important decision, with such major constitutional repercussions, should on principle be put to the general populace for a decision. However, undermining this, the government had previously joined the European Community in 1973 without a referendum. This referendum is more generally seen therefore as a device to avoid a split in a labour government on the issue of the E.C. than as being motivated by
Analyse the main distinctions between the role and importance of the House of Commons and the House of Lords.
Analyse the main distinctions between the role and importance of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Lords and Commons, have different roles in which they play in parliament, their roles being their obligations to society and their importance being, how valuable and effective they are as individual constituencies in parliament. In terms of power, the House of Commons can be said to be the Senior House this occurs for a number of reasons, for example the Commons has the ultimate power to remove a government from office. Generally, the House of Commons have an effective veto over everything the government does. This can be supported by the fact that all Bills go through the House of Commons, although the Government proposes the majority of amendments proposed to a bill. The House of Commons also holds the power to call ministers to account, this in turn restores a balance in parliament, it also happens to be more effective in select committees, which focus on a particular field In society such as the Defence, Education and Works of Art to name a few. Also very rarely MPS can force legislative amendments from the government, this often occurs like a miracle but it is also possible depending on the persistence proposed by the MPS and the effectiveness of their communication on the issue with the government. So the Commons is extremely powerful by law,
Assess whether or not the United Kingdom should adopt a codified constitution?
Josh Cotton HRS Assess whether or not the United Kingdom should adopt a codified constitution? A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. There are many types of constitution. Constitutions can be codified, un-codified, Unitary and Federal and they can be seen as rigid or flexible. The most common way of classifying constitutions is codified or un-codified (written and unwritten). The United Kingdom is a good example of an un-codified constitution and the United States of America is an example of a codified constitution. A codified or unwritten constitution is a constitution in which the key rules and regulations are collected within one single legal document. The terms of the constitution are said to be ‘entrenched’ meaning that the rules or provisions of the outlined within the constitution are hard to amend or abolish. This is why people often refer to codified constitutions as being rigid. On the other hand there are codified constitutions (which is what the United Kingdom currently has). Un-codified or unwritten constitutions do not have all of their rules and regulations composed in one single document. Its rules are found in a variety of sources, in absence of a legal document. Un-codified constitutions are not entrenched. The constitution can be changed through the
Political parties and Ideas - Thatcherism
Political Parties and Ideas - Questions ) Using an example, define consensus politics. Consensus politics is when there is an overlap of ideological positions between two or more political parties. This is typically shown through two parties having an agreement about their fundamental policy goals, such as all main political parties in the UK currently wanting to reduce the deficit. However, this agreement on the fundamentals of politics still permits disagreement on matters of detail or emphasis. This can be illustrated through the differing ways, or the speeds of which each political party wishes to reduce the deficit. The current co-alition formed between the conservative and Liberal Government parties in 2010 also illustrates how there can be consensus politics present along side disagreements on detail and emphasis of certain policies. Another example of consensus political is how each political party in the UK currently agrees on anti-terrorism. In this case, there is no disagreement on matters of detail or emphasis, it is an absolute consensus. Historically, there have also been examples of consensus politics, such as the post-war consensus between the Labour and Conservative parties over welfare and benefits. 2) Explain the ideas and policies that link the modern labour party to socialism? A faction is a sub section of a party who have a specific set of ideas on
Thatcherism has fundamentally altered conservative ideology in Britain. Discuss
‘Thatcherism has fundamentally altered conservative ideology in Britain.’ Discuss Firstly, I would highlight the fact that conservative ideology in modern Britain is, although marginally ‘top-right’, predominantly centrist. Thatcherism, on the other hand, was more strongly placed in the ‘top-right’. It could be argue that Thatcherism has altered conservative ideology in Britain in many ways The first of these ways would be that the Conservatives place the free-market very highly in their value system, striving for economic competition and independence. The idea that Britain should hold a free-market or strongly right-wing mixed economy was famously held by Thatcher; this moulded the conservative way of thinking to move along the same lines. However, it could also be argued that Thatcher has not had much of an effect for reasons against the one above. The Conservatives, historically, have valued competition; it could therefore be argued that, had Thatcher not come into power, Conservative economic ideology may have gone this way anyway. Some might argue against this point, saying that Thatcher did alter conservative ideology in this sense because she acted as a catalyst for Conservative economic policy. Another argument against that of Thatcherism altering conservative ideology in Britain is to point out that Thatcher developed an absolute faith in the market,
Reforming the Lords - Elected Second Chamber
There have been a number of areas highlighted to be affected by the proposed reform of the House of Lords. First, the reform would make the House of Lords more accountable, while strengthening its roles of checking government and revising legislation. The reforms would create an elected second chamber, which would be smaller than the House of Commons. Hereditary peers would not be able to sit and vote in this second chamber. This would make the House of Lords more legitimate as they have the full backing of those who elected them. There are no proposed changes to the powers of the elected second chamber so as not to increase further rivalry and hostility between the two chambers. Finally, it is possible that 20% of the chamber will consist of appointed members which would ensure independence in the second chamber to separate itself from the primary chamber. There are many reasons for an elected second chamber in the UK parliamentary system. The first point to be made is that the second chamber must be based on popular consent through elections. This is especially important for a democracy as it is the only way to have legitimate rule. In addition to this, two elected chambers would increase representation, which would strengthen the democratic process. An elected second chamber will be more successful in checking the Commons because full bicameralism requires two equal
