Why are US presidential elections so long ?
Why is the US Presidential election such a long process (15m) The process of electing a president of the United States is certainly a long one. The formal process takes nearly a year but in reality starts before it's even begun. The first point to make is that of the importance of the campaign trail. Presidential elections take place in November but before this a significant countrywide election campaign is launched. The Presidential election specifically is as much about character and personality as it is politics, and so it is seen as vital that the chosen candidate of each party effectively "tours" the country fist hand to deliver their message in person. Naturally, The US having 50 states can make this process a long one, but not only does it add a personal aspect to each of the states votes, but also can act as a good test of stamina. The job of president can be long, gruelling and both physically and mentally demanding and the campaign trail can act as a final test before people cast their votes. For example in 2008 Barack Obama showed himself to not only be more in touch with the modern electorate but also to have more of a physical resilience for such as job, especially compared to 74 year old John McCain, who many commented looked especially tired and stressed throughout the final weeks of the campaign, not a good sign for a potential president. Before the final
The introduction of some form of proportional representation would give voters more choice and better representation than first past the post does, discuss.
The introduction of some form of PR would give voters more choice and better representation than FPTP does, discuss. Aimée Bremner First past the post (FPTP) is the system we in the UK use for our general elections. It is a system that elects the candidate who in the end has the highest number of votes but not necessarily the majority. It can be argued that FPTP is not a democratic system due to the fact that it is not always representative of the majority's choice as shown in the 2005 UK general election when Tony Blair won with merely 40.7% of the vote, not even half of the total votes cast. And now the remaining 59.3% of Britain were not represented. In cases such as these there is indeed need of some kind of new system that would represent more of the county, the majority of the country. However, for some FPTP is in fact a fair system because it means that the winning candidate did get more votes than any of the others and therefore a fair result. Some say that it is easier to understand as it only entails ticking or crossing the box beside the name of your choice and some might not know the four names that you would need to remember under the STV system or the two you would need under the Additional Member System (AMS). It can also be said that FPTP has, unlike either AMS or STV, been tried and tested over many years and has led to stable government. Therefore a new
To what extent does Parliament hold the executive to account?
Roz Cresswell To what extent does the parliament hold the executive to account? Parliament does not govern, but its role is to check or constrain the government of the day. Many therefore argue that parliament's most important function is to 'call the government to account'', there by forcing the members to explain their actions and justify their policies. There are three groups within the UK parliament, the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the Monarchy. The HoC consists of 646 MP's and each MP is elected in a local constituency to gain a seat in parliament. The House of Lords consists of 721 peers, there are approximately 600 life peers where as there are only 92 hereditary peers. The Lords spiritual are the second smallest group of the Lords. They are bishops and archbishops of the Church of England, and now only 26 remain. Law lords are the final group to make up the House of Lords. There are only 12 of these, and they focus on judicial work, which is carried out through the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords. The final group that can hold the government to account is the monarchy. The monarch is often ignored as part of parliament, which is understandable as the Queen is normally entirely ceremonial and symbolic. As a non-executive head of state, the monarchy symbolizes the authority of the crown. Parliament holds the government to account by scrutinising
Do We Have a Cabinet Government or Prime Ministerial Government?
DO WE HAVE CABINET GOVERNMENT OR PRIME MINISTERIAL GOVERNMENT? In society today people think that the most powerful person in the British government system is the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. However, to what extent does he have power and authority? The Prime Minister doesn't govern the country alone; the Cabinet as a whole discuss most matters. You could then say that we have Cabinet government- they do supposedly collectively make decisions on matters! The position however of power in one government may differ from that of another, Margaret Thatcher for example rarely used Cabinet at all, John Major on the other hand used it regularly and considered there opinions vital in the decision making process. But what type of government do we have at present and why? Cabinet government can operate in a number of ways, depending on the approach of the particular Prime Minister, the complexion of government, the nature of the policy issues under consideration and the prevailing political circumstances. The traditional view is that the Cabinet is the seat of power in terms of policy initiation and decision-making. Cabinet doesn't just decide all-important issues; it also controls government policy as a whole. Walter Bagehot regarded the Cabinet "as the crucial institution of government" describing it as the "efficient secret". The assumption behind the traditional view is that Cabinet
Discuss how effectively rights are protected in the UK.
Discuss how effectively rights are protected in the UK In Britain, we have a negative approach to rights which means people can do what they like as long as there is no law in place that is able to stop them. Unlike in the USA and many other states, however the rights and liberties of British citizens are not set out in a single constitutional document with the USA being able to appeal to the Supreme Court if they feel rights are being infringed. In the UK civil rights have come under threat due to what many commentators have accused Labour of introducing creeping authoritarianism into British society, for example Labour introduced Detention without trial, (habeas corpus) which included the indefinite detention without trial of foreign national suspects for example the Belmarsh case where foreign terrorist suspects where held in Belmarsh prison without trial. Labour also introduced control orders (curfews, tagging, bans on telephone and internet use and ultimately house arrest) on suspects without trial which stops civil liberties with people being stuck in on place unable to live their life. Therefore due to detention without trial civil liberties are under threat as they stop people living their life without them ever coming under trial. Also due to Labour introducing ID cards civil liberties are not well protected, ID cards are viewed as an invasion of privacy and a
"The Main Difference Between the UK And US Constitution Is That One Is Flexible And The Other Is Not" Discuss.
"The Main Difference Between the UK And US Constitution Is That One Is Flexible And The Other Is Not" Discuss A Constitution is a set of rules and principles by which a state is governed and how power is distributed. It defines the power between government and the governed, between different section of government and between central and local government. The constitution is the centre and foundation of any democratic society. Hence, it is vitally important. The US has a written codified constitution that means, is all contained in one document, to which, amendments have been and can be made. The US constitution was written to last and thus, it is very difficult to alter. It requires a two-thirds majority in the Senate and House of Representatives, Presidential approval and three quarters approval of the state legislatures. When the constitution was set up it had the idea of Federalism at its heart. This was to determine the power of the state with power of the national government. The idea was to leave the states with as much power as possible but remove enough to create a national government. This is why three quarters of the state legislatures must agree with any amendments. There have been only 27 amendments, 10 of which were the Bill of Rights, which, guarantee an individuals political and civil liberties. The US constitution is very concerned with the separation of
Impact of government policies
The policies created by the UK government can have significant effects on the public services. The government can create: * policies that affect all the services * policies that affect the armed services * policies that affect the emergency services. Policies that affect all the services Human rights - The uniformed public services have a lot of control over our lives. They have the power to take away our independence, investigate our private lives, monitor our actions and use the information they find against us. However in order for these powers to be conducted they must be carefully regulated to avoid abuses by the public services against the public. As we live in a democracy, there will always be checks and balances to guarantee that no one service has power over the public that cannot be challenged. In order to prevent this unchallenged power the public services only function with the approval and support of the public. However, even in the UK with highly qualified officers, a breach of human rights can still occur. This is why the government have issued laws to tackle this problem such as the Human Rights Act 1998. The Act makes it clear that all UK citizens have certain privileges and if these rights are broken by the public services then an individual has the right to take the service to court. Examples of human rights: * right to life * right to free
Describe the key international institutions and their impact on UK public services:
1/11/10 Assignment 1 - International Institutions and Their Impact on UK Public Services P1 Describe the key international institutions and their impact on UK public services: The United Nations (UN) is an organisation that was established after the Second World War. Article one of The Charter of the UN states that UN has four main original purposes and principals. The first, is to maintain international peace and security, the second is to develop friendly relations among nations based on equality, the third is to achieve international cooperation in solving problems in economical, social, cultural or humanitarian issues and the fourth purpose is to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in accordance with the above stated purposes and principles (1948). The United Nations is an international organization made up of international institutions. UN includes their own Central system and specialized agencies. The World War II took place in 1945 and after the war finished the UN was founded to replace the League of Nations to provide a platform for dialogue and to stop wars happening between countries. It contains multiple subsidiary organizations to carry out its missions. The United Nations supports the key role the UK public services have in the UN peacekeeping operations and military action. E.g. in Afghanistan and Iraq. The UN can utilise the armed and
to what extent have conservatives supported one nation principles?
To what extent have Conservatives supported 'one-nation' principles? The belief that governments should be committed to reforms that make people feel part of the nation is a defining feature of one nation conservatism. The various factions of the ideology consist of differing degrees of one nation principles; in one nation Conservatism, this is the defining principle, in traditional Conservatism it is a minor consideration, whilst the New Right holds views that are against this belief. You should also be aware that ONC includes striking a pragmatic balance between business and the needs of the people, the idea of the government taking noblesse oblige and the idea of making decisions to keep the 'ship' afloat as opposed to directing it. Perhaps most obviously, one nation principles are at the centre of one nation conservatism. The idea of Britain being viewed as a nation is of great importance to one-nation thinkers and this is why they are committed to reforms that make people feel part of the nation. This brings in ideas of social responsibility and the belief that social reform is essential in order to preserve a fragile society; in terms of strengthening existing bonds, reducing resentment and making people feel part of the nation. However, a pragmatism that places great importance on maintaining the balance between social reform and a lack of interference in the
Examine the first five chapters of 1984 - Discuss how Orwell explores and introduces the theme of control.
BY NATHAN CHANG EXAMINE THE FIRST FIVE CHAPTERS OF 1984 DISCUSS HOW ORWELL EXPLORES AND INTRODUCES THE THEME OF CONTROL In the first five chapters of the novel we see different methods of control the parties uses to create the perfect totalitarian society. This as in '1984' a book that was actually based on real life London 1948. At this point in history Orwell gathered peoples fear of Nazi Germany, Russia, China and all their controversial communistic views. Orwell used the setting of war torn London and a Stalinism rule. Stalin used the condition of the people together with making himself a Godlike figure to keep the Russian's both inspired, focussed and under control especially through propaganda. The barrage of constant Party propaganda just as Stalin did is gradually getting rid of the ability to reason and independent thought, in effect causes you to rely more on The Party and Big Brother. This to the extent that citizens believe anything that the Party tells them, even while possessing information that runs counter to what they are being told, this is doublethink. An example of this is when Winston knew that, 'Oceania was at war with Eurasia and allied with Eastasia,' this is whereas now he remembers that 'it was only four years since Oceania had been at war with Eastasia and allied with Eurasia.' I believe he remembers as he is strong-minded and his mind isn't
