To what extent does Parliament control executive power?

To what extent does parliament control executive power? There are arguments for and against the idea that parliament’s controls executive power. Some of the main arguments for this idea are parliament has the power to veto legislation and the House of Lords can delay legislation. A couple of the main arguments against parliament controlling executive power are that government normally has a majority and mps are unlikely to go against their party. Due to the UK electoral system being first past the post the government formed normally has an overall majority. The only case where this hasn’t been the case in recent elections was for the May 2010 elections. By the government having an overall majority it means that they are likely to be able to pass any legislation they want to as they are likely to get a majority voting in favour of the legislation due to mp’s voting with their party. Mp’s are likely to be loyal to their party and vote in favour of the legislation that they want to pass as they will most likely want to be seen as loyal to the prime minister. This is because the prime minister has the power to promote mp’s to higher positions. However, even when the government has an overall majority parliament still has the power to veto any legislation they don’t agree with. Although this rarely happens there are occasions when this has taken place. An example

  • Word count: 852
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LIBERAL ELECTION VICTORY OF 1906

WHAT WAS THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE LIBERAL ELECTION VICTORY OF 1906? "A quiet, but certain, revolution, as revolutions come in a constitutional country" was how Lloyd George hailed the election victory of 1906. The significance of the Liberal election victory of 1906 is that it laid down solid foundations to provide the welfare state we have today. It also saw the rise of the Labour Party, giving the working class its own political voice. The results of the 1906 election were literally a reversal of the 1900 election. The Liberals enjoyed the landslide victory that the conservatives had six years earlier. The 1900 election gave the Conservatives 402 seats to the Liberals 183 seats continuing the Conservative dominance, in the last twenty years the Liberals had only seen three years in government. The 1906 election result gave the Conservatives only 157 seats, former Conservative Prime Minister, Balfour, lost his Manchester seat. The Liberals won 401 seats; these included 24 Lib-Lab MPs; the Liberals would also have the support of 29 Labour members and 82 Irish Nationalists. This was an excellent result which gave the new Government a majority of 356. Although the Conservatives were overwhelmingly defeated, their proportion of the votes did not go down compared to the election in 1900. The Licensing Act and the 1902 Education Act went against the strict political and social

  • Word count: 2256
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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The UK Constitution is no longer fit for purpose. Discuss

Úna Richards 27/03/2013 ‘The UK Constitution is no longer fit for purpose.’ Discuss. Constitutions organise, distribute and regulate the power of the state. They set out its structure, the major state institutions, and the principles governing their relations with each other and with the state’s citizens. Britain is unusual in that it has an ‘unwritten’ constitution: unlike the great majority of countries. Whether the British Constiution is able to fulfil each of its purposes is a matter that needs to be explored. Evidence shows us that the UK Constitution is still fit for purpose, as the state has suffered no major political unrest or violent revolutions, unlike many other countries, many of which have had to install a constitution as a result. One way in which the UK constitution is no longer fit for purpose is that it lacks restraint on the powers of government and Parliament due to parliamentary sovereignty; this may be dangerous, especially to individual and minority rights. This is a particularly good example of how the UK constitution is no longer fit for purpose, as one of a constitution’s key functions is to distribute power equally, before 2005, the Lord Chancellor of the Exchequer had influence in all areas of government: the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. This meant that the possibility of corruption within the UK government was to a

  • Word count: 939
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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'The UK constitution is no longer fit for purpose.' Discuss.

‘The UK constitution is no longer fit for purpose.’ Discuss. The constitution is the set of rules that established the duties, powers and functions of the institutes of government and defines the relationships between them. As well as this, it outlines the relationship between the state and the individual. The UK constitution is unique in it’s nature in that it is drawn from a number or sources, including statue law, common law, royal prerogative, EU laws and treaties, conventions and works of authority, thus making it uncodified, flexible and open to interpretation. Many people believe that this makes it no longer relevant, and there is therefore a major debate over whether the UK constitution needs to be modernised and brought up to date. One main flaw of the UK constitution is that there is no complete separation of powers. This means that the executive is in control of parliament, meaning that there is the possibility of an elective dictatorship to fall into place. If the government has a large enough majority, for example the Blair government of 1997, then they have the ability to pass any law that they wish, with help from the party whip system to ensure that MP’s vote in a certain way, they may have a large enough number to get the bill passed. However, this aspect does have its advantages, in that it leads to a strong, decisive government. This means that

  • Word count: 897
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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The UK would benefit greatly from the wider use of referendums. Discuss.

Robyn Ashton “The UK would benefit greatly from the wider use of referendums.” Discuss (25 marks). Referendums are the holding of a ballot to the general public in which a question is posed calling upon them to pass judgement with a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ answer. Currently, referendums have only been held twice nationally; in 1975 on whether the UK should stay in the EEC and whether the AV system should be adopted. Referendums present advantages and disadvantages with the possibility of endangering or improving democracy. The principal turnout for is that referendums are a form of direct democracy being more conclusive and legitimate than parliamentary votes as everyone eligible to vote is given a voice. It is argued that a wider use of referendums would reconnect people with politics. The wording of referendums can be controversial as the choice of words can also be phrased in a way that influences the decision of voters, encouraging positive responses. For example, “Do you think the UK should stay in the EEC?” Although the electoral system ‘approve’ of the question, Parliament is given the final say like in the 2011 referendum on the ‘alternative vote.’ This reinforces the argument that referendums can be used for the ‘wrong’ reasons and to their advantage as they can be held at a time that suits the ruling party. For example, when the referendum was

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  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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To what extent would the wider use of referendums improve democracy in the UK?

To what extent would the wider use of referendums improve democracy in the UK? Between 1973 and 2004, there have only been ten referendums. Referendums are used by government to get a clear opinion from the public. The public answer a question from the government with either yes or no. This ‘yes or no’ system works well because it does not overload the public with information; it’s a simple yes or no. Currently, referendums are used on issues such as whether we should stay in the EU. A wider use of referendums would improve democracy in the UK because of the bigger chance that citizens are given to cast their vote on issues that will affect them and their country. The use of referendums has been limited to issues regarding the break-up of the UK, independence of Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and regional issues. If referendums were more widely used on issues regarding education, health and transport, you would be giving voters a greater opportunity for involvement, and give the government a much better and more accurate idea on what the public think. If the public were allowed to vote on issues such as the construction of a multi-billion pound high-speed rail link, this would immediately be a form of direct democracy, where the electorate can vote on an issue that will affect them. Professor Stephen Tierney, professor of constitutional theory,

  • Word count: 949
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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To what extent is there a democratic deficit in the UK?

To what extent is there a democratic deficit in the UK? [25] A democratic deficit is, literally, a lack of democracy, and that the electorates opinions are not expressed through Parliament. Although the UK is considered to be, on the surface, a wholly democratic nation, there is some dispute to the extent to how democratic it really is. Some argue that the UK is not democratic – one of the reasons being the increase of a participation crisis over the last decade. Participation crisis is when political apathy is so high that election turnouts drop very low. There are several trends that have become worrying. Firstly, in both the 2005 and the 2010 general elections, the lowest turnouts were had since 1918. Secondly, in the Police Commissioner election, the turnout was 16%. This is incredibly low. Thirdly, in the past decade, the percentage of the UK that is a member of a political party has dropped from 7% to 1%. The decline in participation creates a democratic deficit as it shows that only a select number of people are voting, and the views of the whole of the UK is not being represented in Parliament. The people who do not vote as much are those in a disadvantaged situation – the poor, or the homeless, which is a large part of the UK’s political voice not being heard. However, in the recent Scottish Independence referendum, the turnout was 85%. This suggests that

  • Word count: 740
  • Level: AS and A Level
  • Subject: Politics
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