"Conventional wisdom holds that governments that deliver economic prosperity tend to secure re-election whereas those associated with economic failure tend to lose office." Discussed in respect to the 2001 general election.
"Conventional wisdom holds that governments that deliver economic prosperity tend to secure re-election whereas those associated with economic failure tend to lose office." (Sanders and Brynin). Given that the 1997 General Election was held after a prolonged period of economic recovery in Britain, how can one explain the outcome? What does it tell us about the value of perspectives that link economic prosperity or failure with election outcomes? Briefly consider your findings in the light of the 2001 general election. (You will be given credit for discussing the methodological problems that arise in this type of analysis.) "It's the economy stupid" is the famous response (ever since Bill Clinton coined it in his 1992 election campaign) to people who ask what matters in an election. It is certainly true to say that there is a lot of evidence from electoral research that voters' choices are conditioned heavily by economic conditions and by their view of the ability of competing parties to manage those conditions. However, as this essay will show it is people's perception of the economy and how the parties can manage it, rather than the actual economic prosperity of the country, that affects how people vote. It can also be argued how far other factors affect voting choice, especially in the post 1997 election period. Ever since the explanatory power of social class
"In the 5th Republic, parliament has become powerless" Discuss.
"In the 5th Republic, parliament has become powerless." Discuss. The Birth of the 5th Republic was a typically French affair with a radical complete overhaul of the political system. This change was created by General Charles de Gaulle. The French Parliament is set out in article 24 of the 5th Republic constitution of the 4th October 1958 and is made up primarily of the National Assembly which is directly elected and consist of 577 deputies who are elected for 5 year terms, although this can be shortened by the president who has the power to dissolve Parliament under Article 12 of the constitution. The senate is elected indirectly and has 9 year terms (National Assembly, 2003). The National Assembly was formed during the French revolution. In 1814 the monarchy was restored with an extension of parliamentary power they then created the 'republican Republic' 1877 (Knapp, Wright, 2001 p.134) From 1877 to 1914 the National Assembly was extremely strong and reduced the government to a role as a 'mere committee who's main task was to implement parliaments decisions' (Knapp, Wright, 2001 p.134). From 1918 the parliament went into progressive decline due to the impact of foreign and colonial wars, the military occupation, the increasingly complicated legislation and the onset of more organised pressure groups (taken from Knapp, Wright, 2001 p.134). These factors meant that the
"Labour's defeats provoked the party to modernise itself, by changing in order to embrace many of the changes that had been undertaken by the Thatcher and Major governments (R. Heffernan)." Discuss.
"Labour's defeats provoked the party to modernise itself, by changing in order to embrace many of the changes that had been undertaken by the Thatcher and Major governments (R. Heffernan)." Discuss. Following defeat in the 1979 General Election, the Labour Party was demoralised and in complete disarray under the leadership of Michael Foot. Many believed that the party may never recover and that it was a spent force. The party was nowhere near being considered a credible alternative to Thatcher's Conservative Government. Few trusted the Labour party and its programme was broadly incoherent, irrelevant and unpopular. The party was plagued by bitter in-fighting, which eventually caused the formation of the SDP in 1981, and it had been seriously wounded by its economic failings in government, which included the notorious 'Winter of Discontent.' Britain was also changing in a way that was robbing 'Old' Labour of its core support. 'Old' Labour did not appeal to a society with aspirations where individualism dominated and class consciousness was being eroded (Fielding, 2003, 86). What is more, Thatcher's Government did its best to compound these trends and became the 'natural party of government.' It became increasingly clear to many people inside the Labour Party that in order to survive, let alone ever form a government, the party would have to modernise and accommodate
The Tobacco Problem in Canadian Society
Tobacco & Drug Problems in Canadian Society Tobacco is a drug, and its addictive qualities and harmful effects have been well documented. Smoking is now widely acknowledged as the greatest single preventable cause of disease, disability and death in our society and is estimated to result in 3 5,000 premature deaths a year. Despite increased awareness of the risks of lung cancer, a substantial portion of young people ignore the hazards and begin smoking in their early teens. Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex. A recent study indicates that 34% of all Canadians smoke this translates into nearly 8 million smokers. The most import thing that could decrease the use of tobacco especially in teens is to change some of the tobacco and drug policies of the government and to increase public awareness of all the risks of smoking such as the lung cancer, heart disease, stroke, eniphyserna and other types of cancer and awareness of the dangers of smoking during pregnancy or while taking birth control pills must also be increased. And the most important is the awareness and enforcement of the federal, provincial and municipal tobacco laws because they are
"The Budget is Merely the Culmination of a Design Deliberately Adopted and Steadily Pursued" - Discuss.
"The Budget is Merely the Culmination of a Design Deliberately Adopted and Steadily Pursued" This quote is referring to the constitutional conflict between the democratically elected party, the Liberals, and the House of Lords. The conflict arose due to the fact that the un elected party, the conservatives were able to block legislation from passing through the House of Lords, putting a strain on the British democratic constitution. The quote is basically implying that the people's Budget of 1909 was a plan or strategy made by the Liberals to reduce the power of the House of Lords. It was felt by some that the budget was not introduced to help the British population, but its ulterior motive was to provoke the House of Lords into rejecting. However, the Liberals insisted differently, saying that it was merely for social reform. This argument can be split into two halves. Firstly the idea that the budget was a deliberate provocation of the House of Lords, which is in agreement with the Quote. One of the Conservative's main arguments was that the Liberals had no electoral mandate to pass this Act. They had not legal or moral power given to them to propose and pass the legislation, as they had never mentioned the People's Budget during the election campaign. The supporters were voting for their proposals concerning Taff Vale and Chinese Slavery etc. The Lords had
"A Prime Minister is only as powerful as his Cabinet allows Him to be" - discussed
"A Prime Minister is only as powerful as his Cabinet allows Him to be" Members of the cabinet are the supreme decision-making authority for the government, and are the sole advisers to the Crown. Cabinet ministers are members of parliament and are made up from the same political party as the one that is in government i.e. all current ministers are members of the Labour Party. They have both executive and legislative responsibilities. Members of the cabinet answer to the Prime Minister who may remove or reshuffle any of them as he wishes. The cabinet is responsible to Parliament for its policies and actions. According to the cabinet offices own website; "The Cabinet Office's central role is to support the Prime Minister in ensuring delivery of the Government's strategy, helping to achieve positive change, particularly in the priority areas of education, health, transport and crime and asylum.1" "The Cabinet reconciles Ministers' individual responsibilities with their collective responsibility. It is the ultimate arbiter of all Government policy." The number of cabinet members varies but there are usually 20-25 members selected from 100 government members with a tendency for the number to increase in normal times with the growth of governmental functions and to decrease in national emergencies when the executive power is concentrated in fewer hands. A Cabinet is selected by
"Bolivar believed that monarchic regimes would be the most appropriate form of government for the emancipated Spanish American nations". Discuss.
"Bolivar believed that monarchic regimes would be the most appropriate form of government for the emancipated Spanish American nations". Discuss. Simon Bolivar, known as 'El Liberator' was born in 1783 and in his adult years proceeded to try to revolutionize the political allegiance that South America had to Spain. While Bolivar's' pursuit of political sovereignty from Spain seemed well thought out, the reality of it was unattainable. Spanish Americans were still viewed by the Spanish government as being simply an expansion of Spain. The irony was that while Bolivar wanted independence from Spain, he wanted to unite the Spanish American colonies as one country. Therefore Bolivar's belief in a united system collided. Bolivar's main belief, however, was that monarchic regimes were not the best solution Spanish America. He cited this in the 'Angostura Speech' and the 'Carta de Jamaica'. In the 'Carta de Jamaica' he said that he '[did] not favour the federal system. It [was] overperfect'. He also discarded the concept of a monarchy with part aristocracy and part democracy. He extolled the virtues of the monarchy in England but believed that if the same governmental system was imposed on Spanish America that the country would face the threat of falling into 'demagogic anarchy or monocratic tyranny'. Bolivar anticipated and calculated the political product of these newly
"Delegated Legislation is a necessary source of Law"
"Delegated Legislation is a necessary source of Law" a. Explain and illustrate what is meant by delegated legislation. (15) Delegated Legislation is where an Act of Parliament is passed giving someone other than parliament the power to make laws and carry out tasks. The body is then acting with the authority of parliament. In simple terms, parliament's authority to make laws is delegated to a smaller body. Primarily there are three types of delegated legislation, these being Statutory Instruments, By-laws and Orders in Council. They are all Delegated legislation but the format in which the Legislation is considered and passed is different in each case. Firstly Statutory Instruments are drafted by government departments. The power to create these laws will be given to the minister who heads the department by the parent act. The Parent Acts are created by Government and then the authority to draw up the details of the law is delegated to the minister in charge of the various departments. The Parent Act will lay down the procedures that must be followed to bring the Statutory Instruments into force, as well as the main heading of the new law. There is often a duty to consult various named organizations. And then one of two procedures will be followed. The normal procedure is the negative resolution procedure. The statutory instrument is laid before parliament for a period of
PastExam_egovernment
Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 2 E-Government Defined 4 The Benefits of E-Government 7 Implementing E-Government 9 Conclusion 21 Bibliography 23 Abstract This paper looks at e-government. E-government is defined as the delivery of government through (mostly) the Internet and how the public is clamouring for increased access to government via modern electronic means. Following the definition of e-government is a look at the benefits of e-government, including the potential ability of e-government to streamline, personalize, and improve government delivery of services and information to both businesses and the public. The paper next takes a look at how e-government can and should be implemented. The section includes a look at what commercial technology is available today for governments to take advantage of in developing their own e-government services. This also includes some suggestions of specific vendors and consultants of various software products that are currently being utilised by governments in the delivery of e-government services. The paper concludes with a brief discussion of what the limitations for e-government might be and some possible solutions to these problems. Introduction E- government is a reality. In the United States virtually all departments and agencies in the government have developed or have in the
Why did the post-1997 Labour Government institute a programme of constitutional reform?
Why did the post-1997 Labour Government institute a programme of constitutional reform? The absence of any codified constitution within the United Kingdom has led to the development of an unwritten constitution that is derived from common law, statute law, convention and tradition. Described by Burke as 'checkered and speckled....crossly indented and whimsically dovetailed....such a piece of diversified mosaic'1, it contrasts greatly to the entrenched, written constitution of the United States of America, where the relationship between the government and the citizen is closely regulated and legislated. The fusion of powers within the unitary state of the UK has led to a focus on the sovereignty of Parliament. Whereas in the USA, the government is only able to make amendments to the original constitution, British Parliament is not obligated to adhere to any law passed by a previous government. Hence, the lack of entrenchment, the unwritten, often ambiguous, nature of the UK constitution and the ease at which reform can occur are major factors contributing to the programme of reform executed by the Labour Government subsequent to their 1997 victory in the General Election. The political climate that existed in 1997 was due to a strict eighteen-year period of Tory dominance. The 1980's saw a determined attempt to weaken the power of local government in order to protect the
