To what extent can Ramsay MacDonald be considered a Traitor to the Labour Party?
To what extent can Ramsay MacDonald be considered a Traitor to the Labour Party? There is no doubt that MacDonald was a traitor to his party but he wasn't a traitor to the nation. He wanted to make what he considered the best decision in the long term for the good of the nation as a whole, the debate is more about why MacDonald betrayed his party than whether or not he did. There are two opposing theories on how MacDonald should be remembered, one that suggests that MacDonald was not a traitor due to his long standing devotion to the labour party. The differences he has made to it and it's profile over the years that he was leader, and that the policy that divided the labour party was 'the best solution in the circumstances', and the necessity for him to put nation over party left him little choice the view shared by Robert Pearce, Austen Morgan, Marquand and Kenneth O. Morgan. MacDonald had a bad end even though he did a lot for the labour party, he was unlucky to be involved at the time. Other historians such as AJP Taylor, dismiss his decision to follow the idea of unemployment benefit cuts as a betrayal of Socialist ideals, and believe he should have gone down fighting for Socialism, MacDonald put country over party leading to a rift within labour thus he betrayed them. This debate is about whether MacDonald should have put party over the needs
How healthy is the UK democracy
How healthy is representative democracy in the UK? Representative democracy in the UK fulfils the basic requirements of such a system but is by no means perfect. There has been an increasing level of support for both constitutional reform and a change in the election system in the UK over the last few years. Perhaps the main modern concern about democracy in the UK stems from evidence of growing political apathy. Some have seen this as nothing less than a "participation crisis." A representative democracy can not be healthy if increasing numbers of citizens are uninterested or unwilling to engage in political life. This is more evident in the declining voter turn out at general elections. Until 1992 voter turn out was usually around 75%, with a record of 84% being achieved in 1950, and even by 1997 with the election of Blair on a landslide labour victory 71% of people turned up to voice their opinion. However this started to change with the 2001 election attracting barely 59% of the public, the lowest since 1918. The same is also true of membership of political parties. Now only 1% of the populations is a member of a political party compared to 7% 50 years before. Labour party membership has fallen from 800,000 to 200,000 and conservative membership from 2.5million to 250,000! A representative democracy works on the notion of the public electing representatives to represent
The US system of checks and balances is ineffective, discuss.
The US system of checks and balances is ineffective, discuss. In the system set up by the U.S. Constitution, the national government is divided into three branches: legislative, executive, and judicial. These three branches are not independent of one another because the Constitution set up a system of checks and balances to help ensure that no one branch became too powerful. Each branch has powers that it can use to check and balance the operations and powers of the other two branches. The Legislative Branch is given the powers to make law however the legislature may also override presidential vetoes if they manage to gain a two thirds majority in both the Senate and House of Representatives. Although the Legislature can do this, it is realistically extremely unlikely that they will gain a 2/3rds majority as even if a single party does have a majority in one house, they may not in the other such as is the case currently where the Democrats have a majority in the Senate but not in the House of Representatives. They also have the power over the purse strings to actually fund any executive actions and so if they disagree with a government budget, they can interfere with this and stop it from going through. This was done to the Clinton government when he had lost both of his majorities and so had to ask the American people to support his budget. The removal of the president
How successful has constitutional reform been since 1997 ?
How successful has constitutional reform been since 1997 ? Tony Blair's ' Things can only get better' campaign got him into the hearts of the british people, a 179 seat Majority in the House of Commons , and the position of prime minister in 1997 . This essay will aim to take you through the changes Blair made to meet his aims of Democratization, Decentralization , Restoration of rights , and Modernization . It will also apart from go into these four things in detail,attempt to show you how these changes affected the United Kingdom as a whole and if it was for good and at all successful and how successful these reforms are and were. Before the Labour party came in , in 1997, the conservatives enjoyed a long honeymoon period from 1964 to 1970 . And too much of the british political system was seen as undemocratic . Primarily the unselected house of lords and the first past the post electoral system . Labour came in promising ' a stake- holder society ; Welfare to work ; Joined -up government ; Economic prudence ; a third way.' The Labour partys' policy dealt with social Political, Economic problems as well as Foreign policy. In Terms of 'social' They increased spending on public services such as health, education, and welfare They also in 2001 , increased support for single working mothers, and partial nursery funding for pre school children . However the ban on fox
Does the UK suffer from Democratic Deficit?
Does the UK suffer from Democratic Deficit? First and foremost, it can be said that the UK does suffer from 'Democratic Deficit', due to its unelected institutions, such as the House of Lords. The second chamber has the power to delay the process of passing policies. However some argue that the House of Lords is undemocratic as its members are not elected, therefore they are not representing the views of the public. What's more, the UK's voting system could be considered as 'undemocratic'. This is because people argue that FPTP results in unequal value of votes. Evidence this is the fact that it takes the average Liberal Democrat MP around 115 000 votes to be elected, whereas, the average Labour or Conservative MP is elected with only 35 000 votes. This statistic also shoes that FPTP favours large parties but seriously disadvantages small parties. This is undemocratic because in a true democracy all minorities should be given an equal voice. In addition, the effect of FPTP leads to an unproportional House of Commons. For example, in the 2010 general elections, the Liberal Democrats won 23% of votes, yet were only awarded with 9% of seats. Furthermore, another factor that suggests the UK is suffering from 'Democratic deficit' is its falling political
Health Inequalities in UK
How effective have Government Policies been at reducing Health inequalities in the UK? Health inequalities are present throughout the UK. They are influenced by many factors but Lifestyle and Social Class play a very important role. Health inequalities start early in life and continue not only to old age but pass through subsequent generations. Tackling these inequalities in Health is a priority for the UK Government and it is focused on narrowing the Health Gap between disadvantaged groups, communities and the rest of the Country, but most importantly improving health as a whole. In my essay I will examine these policies into further detail and show how effective they have been in reducing these inequalities. It is thought that in 2004 nearly 1/3 of over 16's in Scotland smoked cigarettes; this is equivalent to 1.3million people, and it was also reported that around 13,500 deaths were caused from smoke-related illnesses. One of the main areas in which its clear the Government has began to tackle Health Inequalities influenced by people's lifestyle would be the Smoking ban. The ban was first introduced to Scotland on 26th March 2006. Also referred to as "Clearing the Air Scotland" - its aim was to ban people from smoking in enclosed public areas e.g. Public Houses, Restaurants and Hotels. A year on, evidence had shown that the ban was seen to be a success. From a study of
Analyse the main strengths and weaknesses of Marx's sociological thought.
Analyse the main strengths and weaknesses of Marx's sociological thought. "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles" Marx and Engels (1967, p.67) Born in 1818, Karl Marx, using his philosophical and socialist ideas, attempted to show how conflict and struggle in social development were important in the development of a society. The works of Marx were influenced by three distinct intellectual traditions: German idealist philosophy, French socialism and British political economy. German idealist philosophy is an approach based on the thesis that only the mind and its content really exist. This philosophy maintains that it is through the advance of human reason that human beings progress. French socialism is a political doctrine that emerged during the French Revolution and emphasised social progress led by a new industrial class. British political economy was brought about by the social analysis of early capitalism by writers such as Adam Smith and David Ricardo. (Bilton, Bonnett, Jones, 2002, p.476) Using these concepts as a base to his theories, Marx further argued against the capitalist regime and was a firm believer of the revolution of the workers which would one day bring about the destruction of capitalism. Marx was also influenced by the philosophical ideas of Georg W.F. Hegel. However, unlike Hegel who was an idealist Marx was
To what extent does the Conservative party still follow Thatcherite principals?
Thatcherism comprised a mixture of ideas and policies such as free markets, privatisation of industries, low taxation and little state involvement in people's lives. Some may argue that the Conservative party toady under David Cameron has drifted into a different direction from Thatcherite policies, however others say that Thatcher still has a huge influence on the modern Conservative party. One of Thatcher's main policies was the privatisation of national industries and businesses for example British Telecom in 1981. Privatising these industries was thought to encourage competition and force them to offer cheaper and better services. It can be said that modern conservatives also agree with this idea of privatisation. In fact it seems David Cameron is looking to take further steps and take away government power from sectors such as schools and policing and give the public to freedom to control the state at local level. Also, Thatcher believed that taxes should be kept low as it would create more wealth for people and businesses. Not only would the extra wealth help people buy a property or allow businesses to expand more, it would also reduce government spending on welfare benefits. The conservatives still believe in reducing tax when possible, however due to the economic recession in 2008 and the countries huge debt, tax cuts have been put on hold. Furthermore Cameron
Assess the arguments in favour of the greater use of Direct Democracy in the UK (25) :
Assess the arguments in favour of the greater use of Direct Democracy in the UK (25) : Direct Democracy is Government by the people, for the people; and allows citizens of a municipality or state to have a direct effect on both how they are governed, and the outcomes of certain issues; for example, in cases when a referendum is required. Referendums are a good example of Direct Democracy; voters can vote either 'Yes' or 'No' to express their opinions, and the majority wins. However, they rarely take place; normally only at a time of constitutional change, or when the issue is serious and based on public opinion. There hasn't been a UK wide referendum since 1975, though Scotland has had several since, for example to do with the dissolution of their Parliament. However, there are issues with this form of Democracy; as although it is direct, it is not necessarily fair, and this is the issue at hand. Referendums allow for 'tyranny of the majority' to occur, whereby the views of minority groups are insignificant, as the majority win despite issues with accurate representation in the results. On the other hand, the current elected Parliament is also misrepresentative of the populace; 51% of the population is female, but only 22% of the seats in the House of Commons are held by women, and only 21% in that of Lords. To decide whether I think there should be an increase in the use
Why did Lloyd George fall from power in 1922?
Why did Lloyd George fall from power in 1922? On the 19 October 1922, a two-to-one majority of Conservative members of Parliament, voted that the Conservatives where to resign their support of Lloyd George and fight as an independent party, this lead to the resignation of Lloyd George. However, this last straw with other factor such as Chanak, the honours scandal, and the Ireland situation also played a big part in his downfall. Lloyd Georges fate much depended on whether the Conservative MPs would continue to support him at the next general election which he intended to hold fairly soon. A full meeting of Conservative MPs was arranged at the Carlton Club on October 19. This meeting debated a proposal that the party should fight an election on an independent basis. Most of the backbenchers were ready to continue the coalition after the election provided the party's independence had been reasserted. However, instead of accepting this, Chamberlain the Leader of the Conservative party adopted a tough line, as a result forcing most to vote against Lloyd George. After the Carlton Club vote Chamberlain went straight to Number 10 Downing Street. "We must resign Lloyd George', he said". But Lloyd George already knew and lost no time in resigning his office. He acted as Prime Minister for four more days because Bonar Law refused to take office until he had been
