...To what extent is the Uk’s government becoming more Presidential? Discuss A presidential system is a republican system of government where a head of government is also head of state and leads an executive branch that is separate from the legislative branch. The United States, for instance, has a presidential system. Whereas, a prime ministerial system adopts a fused system, in which the three branches of government are fused together and the monarchy is head of state. The Uk, for instance has a prime ministerial government, where Queen Elizabeth is head of state and David Cameron is the Executive. One could argue that the Uk’s government has become marginally presidential, as the need for a cabinet has become less over time. However, the UK are still a fused government in which powers are shared within parliament, unlike a presidential system. The tendency of Prime Ministers to distance themselves from their party and government has increased, developing a personal ideological stance. Prime Ministers such as Blair and Thatcher are key examples. Both Prime Ministers have developed their own stances: “Blairism” and “Thatcherism’. Blair, for example, had really bad attendance at Parliament and his Cabinet Ministers have been quoted as saying that: “Cabinet meeting sometimes lasted only fifteen minutes.” also, Blair decided a lot of his policies within the Pm’s office, rather than discussing it with his cabinet. For example, the decision to go to war with Iraq was seen as...
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...To what extent have the UK prime ministers become more ‘presidential’? ( 25 ) T he theory that prime ministers are becoming more presidential can come under the term ‘presidentialism’. This is the notion that the British prime minister has outgrown the parliamentary system. This suggests that UK prime ministers increasingly resemble presidents such as Wilson, Thatcher and Blair usually being seen as key examples. Evidence that shows the growth of presidentialism is that some prime ministers tend to distance themselves from their parties and governments by representing themselves as outsiders or even developing personal ideological stance for example ‘Thatcherism’ or ‘Blarism’. Another piece of evidence is that prime ministers have personalized election campaigns which means the mass media increasingly portrays elections as personalized battles between the prime minister and the leader of the opposition. Party leaders thus become the ‘brand image’ of their parties or government which means that personality and image have become major determinants of political success or failure. Furthermore, prime ministers have a strengthened cabinet office. The size and administrative resources available to the cabinet office have grown, turning it into a small-scale prime ministers department responsible for coordinating the rest of Whitehall. Also, prime ministers are using a wider range of special advisors as they are relying increasingly on hand-picked political advisors rather than...
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...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 formation of a coalition altered the relationship between Parliament and government? Jan 2013 a) With reference to the source, outline two criticisms of...
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...years we have seen more charismatic, ‘presidential’, dominant Prime Ministers; Thatcher and Blair for example. Although, in order to determine the extent that the Prime Minister dominates the political system, we have to look at changes in the role rather than looking at a couple of individuals. An argument that says the Prime Minister dominates the political system is the growth and use of an extensive advisory unit who work exclusively for the Prime Minister. This means the Prime Minister has access to information that his Ministers do not have, and it also means the Prime Minister can essentially overlook the advice of his/her Ministers thus allowing the Prime Minister to dominate cabinet. The Prime Minister, as the chief appointer of the Cabinet, can also effectively remove anyone who does not agree with his/her views. This results in a complete dominance of the executive, which inevitably results in dominance of the UK political system. However, this dominance is a short term consequence of the Prime Minister’s powers. There are only so many Ministers the Prime Minister can remove before his Cabinet loses complete faith in him/her; secondly, by completely dominating policy, Ministers lose any sense of ownership over policy which can cause party factions, or even a vote of no confidence. A Prime Minister’s power is said to be elastic, in that the further the Prime Minister tries to stretch their power, the harder his/her party pulls back. This is something we have seen with...
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...Is the UK Prime Minister now effectively a President? (40 marks) The arguments that used to take place among political academics about 'prime ministerial government' have now largely disappeared. Few, if any, now doubt that the office of prime minister dominates the British political system. As long as the holder of that office is not faced by too many limiting factors, such as a small parliamentary majority or a divided party, the British system has moved away from the traditional 'cabinet government' model to a 'prime ministerial' model. But a somewhat different question has emerged concerning the role and importance of the prime minister. This asks whether the system has now become 'presidential'. The prime minister has come to be, effectively though not legally, the head of State, the leader of the nation, irrespective of party allegiance. It should be stressed that this is not the same as national 'popularity'. Rather, it means that in times of difficulty, emergency or crisis such as war or terrorist threats, the country can unite behind its head of government. Nothing new in that, and certainly it has always been true to a great extent. But it can be argued that there has been a long term drift towards seeing the prime minister of the day rather than the monarch as national leader, and thus creates a more presidential 'feel' to the prime minister. The prime minister now has an extensive network of personal advisers, think tanks, policy units and working groups...
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...Short Paper Question: What is Presidentialism? What is Parliamentarism? How are they different? MA, KING MAN CLARENCE UID: 3035145158 POLI 1003 Tutor: Chiu Tak Short Paper Question: What is Presidentialism? What is Parliamentarism? How are they different? Introduction This paper will demonstrate the most prominent features of both Presidentialism and Parliamentarism, thus distinguish between their most contrasting features. I will be tackling this paper from different perspectives, in order to ultimately to suggest a better structure of government. Features such as the efficiency of each system in implementing government policies needs to be considered. Furthermore, factors such as political stability and order needs to be considered in suggesting a better form of government. Political stability refers to the frequency at which the government changes, where as political order refers to level of civil obedience every time there is a change to the political system. Parliamentary system In a political system run by a parliamentary system, the executive power of the government resides with the Prime Minster and her/her cabinet, which is voted by a democratically voted legislature. The party which holds the majority of the support, is said to have the 'confidence' of the cabinet. In the case where there is no majority party in the cabinet, decisions and actions of the government are decided through a series of bargains and debates between the different parties in the...
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...LEVEL UNIT TWO GOVERNING THE UK “Never, never, never give up” Winston S Churchill 1874-1965 1 GOVERNING THE UK 50% of AS [25% of A2] UNIT TWO SAMPLE QUESTION Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B in 80 minutes. Spend 40 minutes on Section A and 40 minutes on Section B SECTION A QUESTION ONE PRIME MINISTERIAL POWER “For too long the big political decisions in this country have been made in the wrong place. They are not made around the Cabinet table where they should be, but they are taken on the sofa in Tony Blair’s office. No notes are kept and no one takes the blame when things go wrong. That arrogant style of government must come to an end. I will restore the proper process of government. I want to be Prime Minister of this country not a President (Source: David Cameron, The Times, 5th October 2006) “The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system. Every Thursday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments as well as other ministers meet in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting, selects its members and also recommends their appointment as ministers to the monarch. The present Cabinet has 23 members (21 MPs and two peers). The secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions”. (Source: From a modern textbook) (a) What criticism is David Cameron making...
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...Unibersidad De Manila 659-A Justice Cecilia Munoz-Palma Street, Ermita, Manila, Metro Manila Parliamentary: A Good Form of Government Aira C. Adao UC-48 Prof. Marvin Ignacio Politics and Governance January 20, 2015 I. Title: Parliamentary: A Good Form of Government II. Abstract HYPOTHESIS 1. What is Parliamentary Government? 2. What are the types of Parliamentary Government? 3. What are the advantages and disadvantages of Parliamentary System? 4. What countries are implementing Parliamentary System? 5. What is the difference between Parliamentary System and Presidential System? OBJECTIVES * To point out the good sides of the Parliamentary system. * To discuss the process of legislation of the Parliamentary Government. * To tackle the important topic about Parliamentary system. * To form a good information to the readers about the essence of Parliamentary system. SIGNIFICANCE * This term paper gives information to the reader about the system of Parliamentary Government. * This paper will benefit the ones who search information about the essence of Parliamentary system. III. Introduction Parliament, (from Old French: parlement; Latin: parliamentum) the original legislative assembly of England, Scotland, or Ireland and successively of Great Britain and the United Kingdom; legislatures in some countries that were once British colonies are also known as parliaments. The British Parliament, often referred...
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...Northern Consortium United Kingdom – Politics Past paper questions for June exam < Module 1 > Section A 1a What are the differences between Public Bills Committees and Select Committees? [5] Public Bills Committee is part of legislative process, whereas Select Committee is part of scrutiny process. In the former committee, the bill is examined by line by line to ensure that its wording and language is clear to allow any amendments on the bill. In the latter committee, there are two departments – governmental and non-governmental. They examine government departments’ expeditures , policies and policies. There are between 16 to 50 members in the PBC who are selected by Committee of Selection whose 7 out 9 members are ships. On the other hand, there are 11 members in the SCs and to eliminate “the conflict of interest, all the members are backbench members who are elected using the Alternative vote system. 2a What are the main functions of Parliament and how well does it perform them? [5] < This question is a 20-mark question > 3a What are the differences between direct and representative democracy? [5] In direct democracy, people are directly involved in decision-making processes, whereas in representative democracy, people elect MPs who will represent and form a government in Parliament. For instance, some qualified members of Athenian society were involved in decision-making and a referendum is a limited form of direct democracy. Also general elections...
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...procedures for operating a legislature.It is used in most commonwealth nations.Corruption is the abuse of entrusted power for private gain. It can be classified as grand,petty and political,depending on the on the amount of money, lost and the sector where it occurs.According to Arnold Heidenheimer corruption is "perversion or destruction of integrity in the discharge of public duties by bribery or favour".I think it is safe to say that corruption and the Westminster system go hand in hand, the Westminster system has an inbuilt lack of checks and balances,this system is also based on majority rule, which is the rule of first pass the post method of election.In Trinidad and Tobago the use of ones office as a bargaining tool is becoming more apparent each day,we have the Housing Development Cooperation (HDC),this ministry seems to be a strong hold for corruption and it has nothing to do with the ruling party because the opposition is...
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...Each question is divided into three sections (a), (b) and (c). When choosing which questions to do, the following principles are recommended: It is almost certain that you will be better off choosing your strongest question to do first. You should choose questions on the basis of how well you can answer the section (c) part. The (c) part carries 25 of the 40 marks available for the whole answer. Do not choose a question simply because you can do part (a) especially well. The (a) question is only worth 5 marks. It would be illogical to choose your strongest (a) part if you cannot do well on section (c). If you cannot decide between several (c) parts, i.e. you can do more than one equally well, make your choice on the basis of part (b) which carries 10 marks. But remember, it is the (c) parts that will determine most what your overall mark will be. So, when you first look at the exam paper, look at the (c) sections first. Assessment Objectives Each question is divided into three sections, as follows: carries 5 marks carries 10 marks carries 25 marks The way you answer questions should be determined by the way assessment objectives are distributed. Assessment objectives provide the basis upon which examiners award marks. You need to be familiar with them to maximise your marks. They will help direct your revision and with the answers to the questions. A full explanation of...
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...Houses of Parliament, the system is called Bicameral. Composition, Role and Powers of the House of Lords: * It compromises of four types of Lords. * The vast majority is Life Peers, where they have been appointed to the House of Lords by the Prime Minister on his own recommendations and that of other party leaders. * While a smaller number of People’ Peers have been appointed by the House of Lords Appointments Commission. * There are 92 Hereditary Peers. * There is Lords Spiritual, the 26 Bishops of the Church of England. * However they are not elected and therefore does not enjoy democratic legitimacy the powers of the Lords are inferior to those of House of Commons. * This means all they can do to proposed legislation that they disapprove of its delay it for one year. * But they cannot do this to the budget. * According to the Salisbury Convention, they will not oppose proposals that were in the manifesto that the governing party was elected upon. * However they play an important role in parliament: The Lords have a wealth of experience the amendments that they suggest to bills can be taken very seriously by the government. Especially because these amendments are generally made without an obvious party political bias. Lords have...
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...NATIONS 2016 2 BACKGROUND GUIDE: SOS Letter from the Dais Greetings Delegates, It is with great pleasure that I invite you to the Summit Of States at KMUN 2016. I, Aniruddh Hari will be your Chair. Joining me on the dais are Aditya Venkatraman, your Vice Chair and Adhesh Shenoy, your Moderator. KMUN started off on a very minute scale, but has grown to become one of Bangalore’s biggest MUNs. As the dais, we hope to continue this legacy with the SoS- envisioning this futuristic crisis committee was thrilling, but putting the pieces together to make it a reality takes the excitement to a whole new level. The Summit of States is going to be a committee like no other, with crises that will hit you hard and leave you in a daze. One wrong decision, one wrong move, and the world will crumble right in front of your eyes. As members of this committee, you are responsible for the billions that reside on this planet; to excel in this committee, you will need quick thinking and effective improvisation. Delegates, do bear in mind that to come up with viable solutions, you have to be thorough with your portfolio powers as well as the extent of influence...
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...our culture and history, as well as being central to our system of Government. It will therefore be necessary to begin any discussion of the constitutional issues involved in its abolition by outlining the current functions of the head of state in Britain. As ‘a state without a monarch is a republic’, it will then be necessary to consider the constitutional issues which would be implicit in giving effect to such a republic. These issues will include decisions as to the type of president we would have, how they would be selected, and the scope and extent of powers they would possess. This discussion is not intended to be one of the relative merits of a monarchy versus a republic: indeed, the decision to abolish the monarchy has already been made. Rather, it is an attempt to answer the question of how this central feature of our constitution could be replaced. In answering this question, I will look to a possible alternative, namely an elected president, and determine whether, and on what basis they could take over the functions of the monarch. Other constitutional issues regarding the selection of such a President must then be considered, along with other constitutional issues arising in this context. As a preliminary issue, it should be noted that in this hypothetical situation, it is Prince Charles, or rather King Charles III, who is on the throne. The Queen’s reign has ended and the Crown automatically passes to the next person in line. The King is ‘not subject to death’...
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...Why did Russia interfere in the 2005 Ukrainian Presidential election? Ukraine is Russia's largest European neighbour. Regardless of their common history, Ukrainian domestic policies have a significant impact on Russia's perceived interest. Parts of Ukraine have been under Russian rule sine the 17th century. Eastern parts of Ukraine had been continually subjected to dominance from the Russian Empire and later the Soviet Union. Western Ukraine did not join the Soviet Union until 1939. The country has a history of fragmentation that continues to this day, this is exasperated Russia's continued desire to meddle in the domestic affairs of former republics of the Soviet Union. When the Soviet Union dissolved in in 1991, Ukraine received their independence but there was no great change in policy. Former members of the Communist Party managed to remain power without much difficulty. Opposition parties found it difficult to break their stranglehold on power. In the late Soviet era the Communist Party of Ukraine began to accumulate vast sums of sums of cash.[1] Much of this cash disappeared when the Communist Party disbanded after the collapse of the Soviet Union. However much of this money was reinvested to ensure the same people form the Communist Party stayed in power. Leonid Kuchma was elected President in 2004. he had previously been Prime Minister without much note. However he won the election against incumbent Leonid Kravchuk with 52% of the vote.[2] Due to his election as...
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