Due to the increasing presidential style of recent prime ministers and the party loyalty of the executive one can consider Parliament’s control of executive power minimal. However, due to the development of independent bodies surrounding Select Committees and the delaying of legislation by the House of Lords it can still be argued to be effective. The government usually has an overall majority. This is due to our voting system of FPTP which gives preference to the two main parties, normally giving them majorities (and increasingly large ones) as opposed to coalitions and minority governments which are produced through other voting systems such as AV in Scotland and Wales. Although we are currently in a coalition the government still has a majority through the combination of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.
In addition, the elections are held at regular intervals, which ensures that the representatives are accountable to the electorate. Furthermore, there is a pluralistic system which means that the electorate have a choice of candidates and political parties, regarded as an essential element of a genuine democracy. For example, in the General Election of May, 2010, the UK electorate had the opportunity to vote for candidates from minority parties, such as the Greens and UKIP, as well as the major parties such as Labour, Conservative and
Assess the strengths of representative democracy as it operates in the UK. (25) Representative democracy in the UK is elected MPs, Peers, parties and pressure groups effectively mobilising the views in the best interests of the country. A representative democracy is arguably government Representative democracy in the UK is elected MPs, Peers, parties and pressure groups effectively mobilising the views in the best interests of the country. A representative democracy is arguably government for the people where citizens interests are at the focal point of representative’s minds. Representative democracy has been able to flourish in recent years as elected individuals who make decisions are arguably more knowledgeable than the electorate themselves.
Proportional Representation (PR) is the principle behind a number of electoral systems, all of which attempt to ensure that the outcome of the election reflects the proportion of support gained by each competing group. PR contrasts to the Majoritarian principle, where whichever party or candidate obtains a plurality of votes within any given constituency wins that contest outright. Majoritarianism is the principle that underpins the First-Past-The-Post system that is used for elections to the House of Commons, along with other systems including alternative vote, bloc vote and various single member constituency systems. Similarly, there are a number of different systems based on PR. A simple party-list PR system is used in the UK for the European Parliament.
Discuss the advantages of law making in Parliament There are many advantages within the law making system. One of the main advantages is that a law is made by our elected representatives, making it democratic. The House of Commons is an elected body which could potentially be changed every five years due to a general election, if the government has not performed as the public expected. However, the public vote in the MP’s within the House of Commons, therefore the HOC has the public’s support with certain decisions making it efficient. On the other hand, the House of Lords is not elected but is made up of a wide variety of people with different background and specialised expertise therefore allowing decisions that are made to be less biased and more thorough.
To Vote or Not to Vote? Americans elect their senators and representatives. This direct link between the legislature and the people is a very important part of our democracy. Should Congress, then, reflect the will of the people? Or should they pay attention to their own points of view, even if they disagree with their constituents?
How effective is Parliament? The House of Parliament is made up of both the House of Commons and The House of Lords, Parliament has six main functions that they must carry out. The main functions are; Legislative, Scrutiny, Recruitment, Legitimation and Representation .This essay will discuss what these functions entail and whether they are performed effectively. Firstly, Parliament must fulfil its legislative function. This is the means by with parliament passes the government’s legislation.
Scrutiny of the Executive: As governments tend to enjoy large parliamentary majorities, Parliamentary approval is rarely withheld. However, the House of Commons plays an important role in scrutinising the policies and actions of the government, in debates, parliamentary questions and within the influential cross-party select committees. In this particular respect, Parliament is representing interests of different groups of public, ensuring therefore that there is no unnecessary discrimination during legislative process. Both primary and secondary sources of legislation are subject to scrutiny, including international and EU legislation as well. Parliament is not expected to make substantial changes to such legislation but it is able to issue some warning or advise government about such legislation to be implemented.
Sometimes this can conflict with their party’s policy, but there are many occasions when such MPs can protect their constituents and take it up further with the party, and any other government bodies. It is a key part of the democratic system that each individual feels that there is an elected representative who will listen to their problems, and try to resolve them. Also to some extent both Houses of Parliament are expected to act as representatives of society as a whole, as the MPs/Peers express their concerns to them and they have to make final decisions. The second main feature of the UKs democratic system is direct democracy, more precisely referendums: to some extent Britain is becoming more of a consultative democracy which is a limited kind of direct democracy, but the true meaning is where the citizens themselves make critical decisions, the device used for this is a referendum: this is an occasion when citizens, either all or just in a specific region, are asked to determine a question of public importance. A referendum is
Party's can rely on their loyal MPs to vote in favour of their bills, for example; from 1997-2005 Blair's government didn't lose a single vote in the House of Commons because he had such a high majority. The efficiency of this majority also means the government is able to act quickly and decisively in an emergency, where as if there was no single party with popular support, legislation could be chaotic and it would be difficult to come to a decision. For example, the Terrorism Act of 1999 was passed in just 48