In 2010 backbenchers were threatening to rebel over tuition fees. This was enough to force concessions to be made so the rebellion wasn’t as large as expected. It could be said that they failed because the bill wasn’t defeated but in a way it was a success as changes were made. This shows that the image of being lobby fodder is being shaken off by the more outspoken MPs. It is difficult for a Backbench MP to influence government policy if a government has a large majority in Parliament.
With the rise in the professional politician many prefer to remain loyal in order to gain power and move up in the hierarchy as opposed to become a rebel who remains in the back benchers. This can be seen after the vote on tuition fees and the liberal democrats. Despite the fact that they had campaigned for this cause endlessly only 26 (including a few Conservatives) chose to vote against the bill. Whips play an important part in removing efficiency from Parliament. By having whips who ensure that MPs behave in accordance to the decisions of the executive both Parliaments ability to scrutinise and hold the executive to account is diminished, but also their role as representatives of their individual constituency is also compromised.
A voter could switch from voting for the Conservatives to vote for the Labour Party at the next election because they decide according to single issues. In general the public today is not really aligned to parties anymore. I would say that party allegiance is something which is nearly vanished in Britain’s voting behavior. There are still groups which are strongly related to one or the other party but that is not as common as was in the 50s and 60s. The important things today are which party has at the moment the right promises for the single voter and which party is better in delivering policy goals.
When the Labour government implemented these laws they protected traditional parliamentary sovereignty. Unlike Germany or the USA where judges can annul legislations that are found to be in breach of the human rights act. In the UK however judges can only issue a declaration of incompatibility which sends the legislation back to parliament so that they can make changes to suit the HRA. It is difficult to declare on this subject whether or not there have been enough reforms on the Human Rights Act as through one viewpoint it is important to sometimes evade Human Rights to catch potential terrorists on the other hand millions of people have had to sacrifice their right to private life as has been found with the major scandal of NSA spying on internet records. Some people may argue that if you have nothing to hide you should not fear however people still should be able to have
Many believe they should have devoted scarce resources on industrial recovery rather spending them on the National Health Service. Focusing on post-war times by investing into modernization would have greatly changed Britain, it would have created more efficient production methods which would have satisfied the rising consumerism of the British public. Failing to modernize meant that Britain wasnt growing industrially. Secondly, the Attlee government failed to make attempts to move towards the EU which was beginning to spread across the English Channel. The labour party even declined invitations into the European Union.
However, looking at the statistics such as Bill Clintons presidency, in the first 2 years which was a united government, Congress exercised limited oversight, and when needed to, asked softball questions, however , when Republicans took over Congress, things got much harder as they seek to hold the President to account, and after a while, impeach. Although this shows that things are more different when it is a united or divided government, Congress still has a task to do in which they must do oversight on President, so, it being united or divided government should not affect the task Congress are suppose to do, as they are an independent
Scott martin – extended essay - liberal reforms Question – how successfully did the Liberal government (1906-14). Tackle the problem of poverty? Many historians argue the liberals effectively tackled the problem of poverty once elected in 1906 in their landslide victory. Once the party was elected however it was still very much in favour of its laissez-faire policy and social reform was not high in its parties priorities, it took significant time and pressure also some very notable individuals such as Lloyd George or Winston Churchill to change the course of Britain’s welfare system and unwittingly perhaps set up the foundations of the welfare state in the future. This essay will show how the liberals aimed to tackle the problem of
The reform act on 1832 was an act passed by Parliament in order to change the way in which the electoral system in the country worked, as it had been virtually unchanged for around 200 years. The act was not new to parliament as the idea of the bill was in fact presented to the government by radical movements wanting change. The fact that the reform act had not been passed earlier even with the pressure of radical movements begs the question as to what changed for the act to be passed later in 1832? What new factors helped in gaining the reform? The problems with the way in which the electoral system worked, meant that the majority people wanted change and therefore pushed for electoral reform.
Senate reform has been a huge topic of interest over the past few decades because of the limited value and power the senate has. Although the senate does do some things well if it were to be reformed it would play a bigger and important role in how bills get passed or not. The senate is slightly changing through informal means but in order for it to be more useful it needs to formally go under a huge reform. I believe that the senate should be reformed as elected senators, shorter terms, and an equal number of representatives for provinces would greatly improve the effectiveness of the senate. Of course changing and reforming the senate would not be an easy process it is a process that needs to happen for the betterment of the senate and the government of Canada.
“there is no participation crisis in the UK” discuss? (25 marks) Over time as a society becomes more modernised and changed many seem to form theories of a controversial topic if there is or isn’t a participation crisis in the UK as less people are willing to actively participate or engage in any political activities whatsoever. This research was concluded when Tony Blair was in power and in 2006 the power report was published concluding the popular disillusionment with democratic institutions which the parties then declared needed immediate attention. Participation is crucial in politics because it will allow the government to be held responsible and legit. Key forms of participation, such as voting and party membership have declined significantly