...Parliament Source Questions (6/10) Specification a) Describe three functions of Parliament b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain why government needs an effective Parliament c) Analyse the main factors that limit the effectiveness of Parliament Jan 2010 a) With reference to source, what changes to the second chamber are proposed? b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the arguments for a fully or partly elected chamber c) Make out a case against an elected second chamber Jan 2011 a) With reference to the source, describe two functions of the House of Commons b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain how the House of Commons can control the power of government c) To what extent is the House of Commons effective in carrying out its various functions? May 2011 a) With reference to the source, describe three proposals that seek to strengthen parliamentary representation by increasing popular participation b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain how three of these proposals seek to make government more accountable to Parliament c) To what extent will the coalition government’s proposals bring about an effective reform of Parliament? Jan 2012 a) With reference to the source, why are legislative committees needed? b) With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the ways in which backbench MPs can call government to account c) To what extent has the...
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...changed a lot over the years however the definition has never changed. The right for people to choose and decide how a country is run. This essay will help decide whether the United Kingdom still follows that definition of being a true democracy and analysing how this has affected the people of the UK. The first thing to look at is the various types of democracy used in the UK. There are many examples of the various types of democracies with the first being direct democracy. A recent example of what a direct democracy can do is the Scottish Referendum taking place throughout Scotland. This allows the people of Scotland to take the decision of independence in to their own hands. This is a great example of how a democracy should work with millions of peoples voices being heard to make a decision that affects them all. While being one of the most direct ways to involve people it is also one of more timely efforts with the voting taking a long while before being put into effect. This can be seen with the Scottish Referendum taking two years to fully set up and then another year and a half before the final decision being implemented. The other type of democracy is the representative democracy which is what is used mainly in the United Kingdom. In this case citizens will vote for a representative of their constituency who will then represent their views in Parliament. The system used for these elections is known as the First Past The Post system and has been used for centuries...
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...Politics Unit 2 * Constitution * Codified Constitution ✓ * Advantages & Disadvantages * Features * Uncodified Constitution ✓ * Advantages & Disadvantages * Features * Is Parliament Sovereign? ✓ * Arguments For and Against * Strengths and Weaknesses of the UK’s constitution ✓ * Constitutional Reforms – Coalition and 1997-2010 ✓ * What are they? * Are they effective? * PM & Cabinet * Features & Functions of the PM ✓ * What must a politician be to becoming PM * What can a PM do? * Functions of Cabinet ✓ * Factors that affect promotion and resignation of a minister ✓ * Powers and Constraints of PM ✓ * Theories of Executive Power ✓ * PM V Cabinet ✓ * Parliament * Functions of Parliament ✓ * What are they? * How effective are they? * Powers of Parliament ✓ * What are they? * How effective are they? * Parliamentary Reform ✓ * What are they? * How effective are they? * Relationship between Parliament and Government ✓ * Factors that affect it * How the coalition affects it Constitution: 2 Types of Constitution * Codified & Uncodified Codified Constitution * Constitution where the rules are written down in a single document. Example could be the USA. Creates a series of...
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...“How can UK democracy be enhanced?” Democracy is a political system where decisions are made in the interests of the people by decision-makers who are elected, accountable and can be got rid of peacefully. There 2 types of democracy: direct and representative ones. In the UK there is a direct democracy which gives every citizen the right to participate, the opportunity to express their views, thoughts and where voters determine specific policy outcomes. There is a constant debate whether the UK is a truly democratic country or not and to what extent. It is believed that nowadays Britain has a massive issues: the electoral system is totally unfair, there are unelected political members and the lack of parties, Civil Rights are in danger, citizens no longer have a wish to participate in elections, the media is prejudged and, finally, the UK is not representative. This essay will evaluate how to make the Great Britain more democratized. The major point is that there is a low rate of political participation in the UK that might lead to an arbitrary and autocratic government. It is significant element because it makes the government more accountable. There are some ways which can prevent this undemocratic style. Firstly, the UK government can introduce the compulsory voting which is nowadays enhanced in Australia. This method would force citizens to affect the outcomes of elections and make them more politically aware of issues. The second way is to increase the use of referendums...
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...European parliament- It is not part of the United Kingdom however it plays a major role on the citizens of the EU and the United Kingdom. The EU consist of 27 countries, the European parliament is responsible for providing laws such as how much pollution a business can produce a year this is called the emission trading. This is where there is a limit on how much co2 business can produce a year. Another law is the movements of workers and goods between countries a good example would be the movement of migrants from A8 countries in 2004 who started to migrate into the UK. The European parliament is also responsible for providing laws on transport and equal opportunities for individuals. Central government- Is the government straight after the European parliament; this government operates only in their own country. The central government would be located in the capital of the country in the UK it is located in London, Westminster. The main roles and responsibilities would include enforcing laws for their own people in the country such as how much minimum wage is going to be. As well as other responsibilities such as keeping the people of the country safe and protected by agreeing peace treaties with other countries and providing the human rights law to keep everyone safe and protected. Devolved parliament- In devolved parliament the power that the central government used to control is now controlled by other individuals therefore the power would get shifted to the regional assemblies...
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...account in numerous ways. Their role in Parliament in westminster ensures the democratic legitimacy of UK government and gives the government authority and a right to exercise political power. Backbench Mps also increase the overall representation of the UK through Parliament. However, with growing government powerl, often called exessive, there have been recent fears among politicians that as elective dictatorship has formed in the UK, and backbench MPs have little power in holding the government to account due to the party system, which ensures MPs are dictated by ministers and party whips, where persuasive ways reduce their effectiveness withing the political system. I will therefore outline the arguments both for and against how effective backbench MPs are in British Politics today. Firstly, backbench Mps are key in calling the govenrment of today to account, making them answerable for their actions and policies. This is achieved through questions to the Prime Minister and questions to ministers. Through Prime Ministers questions which takes place weekly for half an hour, backbench Mps from the governing party and the opposition are able to scrutinize the weekly actions of the govenrment. Backbench MPs also use this system to increase the representative function of Parliament, through raising specific issues of their constituents from each of the 650 constituencies in the UK. This ensures the geographical representation of Parliament, and calls the government to account,...
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... – 5th century AD (410): Anglo–Saxon invasion – Germanic peoples: the Anglos, the Saxons. They were powerful. → They divided the country into 2 parts: + Anglo – Saxon area in England + Celtic area in Wales, Scotland and Ireland The Anglo-Saxon invaders were the forefathers of the English, the founders of "Angle-land" or "England". – From the late 8th century on, raiders from Scandinavia, the cruel Vikings threatened Britain's shores. – The next invaders were the Normans, from northern France in 1066. – Next few hundred years: a process of joining together the various parts of the British Isles under English rule. What are some general characteristics of Scotland? – The second largest of the four nations, both in population and in geographical area. – The most confident of its own identity. – The most rugged part of the UK, with areas of sparsely populated mountains and lakes in the north (the Highlands), and in the south (the Southern Uplands). – Scotland was not conquered by the Romans or the Anglo–Saxons. – Scotland began to experience Viking raids in the 9th century, and it was the pressure from this outside threat that led Scottish kings to unify, forming an independent singular Scottish state. – In 1314, the Scottish defeated the English at the Battle of Bannockburn, leading to 300 years of full independence. How did Scotland become part of the union of Great Britain? – In 1603, Queen Elizabeth the First of England...
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...With reference to the source, outline two features of the UK constitution (5 marks) One feature would be that the UK constitution is uncodified which is a unwritten document where as in the majority of countries there is a codified constitution which is a single document an example of this would be the American constitution, drafted around 200 years ago, which is written down on a piece of paper and lays down the rights of American citizens and also the powers of her government. Another feature would be that the UK constitution derives from a number of sources one of them being statute law, law passed by government. The fact that our constitution is unwritten means that there is no system of formal checks and balances on the government but in reality there a number of powerful forces which means that a government is restricted in what they wish to do Assess the strengths of the UK constitution (25 marks) The UK constitution has many advantages too it but can also weigh our government down and doesn’t always benefit our society. One strength would be that the balance of power lies mostly in the executive branch. The Prime Minister can be very decisive and is able to make essential decisions this moves power to centralization, which is the movement of power to Westminster. An example of this would be when Thatcher refused to engage with growing cause for the devolution of powers to Scotland and Northern Ireland. This benefits...
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...How democratic is the UK political system? In the UK we have a political system which is, essentially, democratic. As there are some 63 million people living in the UK, complete democracy – whereby the public decide on everything – would be impossible, as there would need to be constant referendums. Representative democracy means that elected politicians represent each constituency in the country; this aims to be a democratic system where each politician acts in the interests of their constituents. However, this system could be undemocratic as each MP belongs to a specific party, and therefore could vote on behalf of their party rather than with the opinions of the constituents. Although Britain is a democracy, some people and institutions which have power have not been elected by the people. This could be seen as undemocratic. An example of this is the House of Lords; the members are unelected, yet still hold power as bills cannot be passed without being considered by both Houses. The House of Commons could be viewed as more democratic than the Lords, as all MPs are elected, for example Ian Lucas was elected as the MP for Wrexham. The UK has a ‘first past the post’ electoral system. Many seen this as undemocratic as it allows a political party to gain seats in parliament even if another party had thousands more votes. An example is the Green party, who gained a seat in parliament with around 300,000 votes in the last election. UKIP had over three times this amount of...
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...of the last 100 years, the UK remains a relevant western power in today’s world. The reason for this are varied between their political and legal history, social environment and economic status in today’s world. Political and Legal History Prior to 1707, the nations that currently make up the UK were each separate states. On May 1, 1707, the UK was formed by the unification of the kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Wales by the Act of Unions (Duncan 2010). This act formally joined all three kingdoms located on the British Isle under the same crown and government, with England remaining the most powerful entity within the UK. Also formed under the Act of Unions was the Parliament at Westminster, the UK’s main political body and rough equivalent to the United States’ Congress (Duncan 2010). Nearly 100 years later, the kingdom of Ireland joined the UK under the Union with Ireland Act of 1800 (Office of Public Sector Information). While Ireland would remain a part of the UK for over 120 years, they would leave the UK on December 6, 1921 as part of the Anglo-Irish Treaty (Factindex.com 1). During Ireland’s exit from the UK, the subdivisions of Ireland had to each approve the move to leave the UK. Because of this, some of the territory of Northern Ireland refused to approve this measure, and returned to the UK two days later (Factindex.com 1). Today, the territories of England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland make up the UK. Prior to 1945, the UK was one of the most active...
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...Parliamentary sovereignty, once the dominant principle of the UK Constitution, is now under considerable pressure. Discuss this statement with reference to the UK’s membership of the EU, the devolution acts of 1998, the Human Rights Act 1998 and recent judicial comments on the Rule of Law. "Certainly we want to see Europe more united… but it must be in a way which preserves the different traditions, parliamentary powers, and sense of pride in one's own country." Margaret Thatcher Over the course of the years many prominent figures such as politicians and academic writers have been concerned with the diminishing of Parliamentary sovereignty. “Parliamentary sovereignty is a principle of the UK constitution. It makes Parliament the supreme legal authority in the UK, which can create or end any law. Generally, the courts cannot overrule its legislation and no Parliament can pass laws that future Parliaments cannot change. Parliamentary sovereignty is the most important part of the UK constitution.” Historically, due to the lack of a single codified constitution in the UK, the Westminster Parliament is the most powerful and influencing factor on the British political frontier. As opposed to America where the constitution dominates US politics, and legislation can be deemed unconstitutional and revoked by the US judiciary. However, since further integration into Europe incorporating The European Communities Act 1972, The Human Rights Act 1998, European Conventions on Human Rights...
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...of Government in the UK There are many different levels of government in the UK. The diagram below describes those levels. ↓ UK Parliament ← → Taxes ↓ Welsh Assembly ← → Health → Public Services ↓ → Education Refuse collection ← → Housing Recycling ← ↓ → Town Councils Council Tax Each level contains a variety of different organisations and branches of government which help to keep the country and the public services running smoothly and efficiently. The system of government we have in the United Kingdom has two main levels: central government and local government. But we also have regional government and the institutions of the European Union which affect us. Local, regional and central government are all public services because they are paid by the taxpayer. They are democratic because the public can choose the people who run central and local government when elections are held. European Parliament The European Parliament is one of the most powerful legislatures in the...
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...The council of ministers The council of ministers are the main decision-making and law-making body. So they are therefore the most powerful part of the EU structure. The amount of votes that every country can use will be based on its population. It is called weighting. To make sure that this process is fair the five big countries which are Germany, France, The UK, Spain and also Italy. The Big countries have to get the support of the countries that are smaller in order to win a vote. This then makes sure that it is fair and also that the Smaller countries get their say and also that the big countries don’t always get and win the issues that are sometimes only benefit them. Each of the Member states will usually send their foreign ministers to represent the council of ministers. The foreign minister is the one that will speak for the interests of their country within the Council of Ministers. Because the Foreign Ministers have lots of responsibilities at home. So there is a Committee of Diplomats these people act as repesntatives.This is when the Foreign ministers are not there. The role of the Committee of Diplomats is to do the day to day work. This is so that when the Minsters are home then they will only need to discuss the most important and also the Urgent matters. The committee is known as the Permanent representatives. The European commission The European Commission acts on the behalf of the European Union’s interests. Their key job is to propose legislation. Although...
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...How and why should parliament be made more effective? Parliament is the sovereign body in the United Kingdom and so it is vital, for the wellbeing of democracy, that parliament not only exists but is also effective. Parliament plays the role of the Legislative and, as a result, is required to be as effective as possible to assure that laws are well thought out, benefit the whole of society and most of all maintain democracy. However, many people feel that certain aspects within Parliament limit its effectiveness and they feel these features need to be reformed in order for Parliament to carry out its function correctly. Firstly, the most obvious way to make Parliament more effective would be to reform the electoral system. Currently, Westminster elections use the system of First-past-the-post where the candidate with the most votes in a constituency wins the seats. However, this system is highly disproportionate in both terms of the word as it exaggerates winning votes for example, the Conservatives received 36.1% of the vote and won 47.1% of the seats in the 2010 general election, whereas it penalises small parties such as the Liberal Democrats who won 23% of the vote but gained only 8.8% of the seats. Particularly as FPTP produces landslide majorities, it makes Parliament less effective as the party that wins the general election forms the government and therefore has a large majority in most cases. If MPs belonging to the party vote along party lines all the time, in...
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...BTEC PUBLIC SERVICES ASSESSMENT 2 Understanding the Democratic Election process in the UK Introduction: What is UK Election? A formal and organized choice by vote of a person for a political office or other position in UK is called Election. According to fixed term parliament act on 15th September, 2011 the next election will be held on 7th of May 2015.The act provides for general elections to be held on the first Thursday in May every five years. There are two provisions that trigger an election other than at five year intervals. A motion of no confidence is passed in Her Majesty's Government by a simple majority and 14 days elapses without the House passing a confidence motion in any new Government formed A motion for a general election is agreed by two thirds of the total number of seats in the Commons including vacant seats (currently 434 out of 650) Previous to this act, the duration of a Parliament was set at five years, although many were dissolved before that, at the request of the Prime Minister to the Queen. ●text: http://www.parliament.uk/about/how/elections-and-voting/general/ Importance of Election Education: Instructors, counsellors and others who work with young people play an important role in Educating new and future voters about the electoral process. For this reason it is important that those who work with youth do what they can to educate youth about the democratic process. In the 2005 British Columbia general election, only 35% of eligible...
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