The extent to which an electoral system is PR-based depends on the number of candidates elected per constituency and the existence of any thresholds for successful election. A number of electoral systems combine elements of both, such as the single non-transferable vote and cumulative voting systems. Background PR is a relative novelty in British politics, although it has long been used in Europe and went through a spell of popularity in some circles in the late 19th century. There were several attempts to introduce PR voting for the UK parliament during the early 1900s and there were several more reviews of the topic. The University members of the UK parliament were elected by STV-PR until this special
Like presidents, modern prime ministers can generate different political resources through these different roles and the techniques required by them. At the same time and in similar fashion to presidential politics, prime ministers are increasingly monitored and assessed according to criteria that are quite different to those experienced by senior colleagues, also like Presidents a modern day prime minister is often voted in due to factors that have nothing/ little to do with their political agendas, for example in 1997 Tony Blair
If Dicey’s theory is placed in historical context, it was produced in a very different political environment to today. Political parties were not dominant then as they are today and their influence has greatly increased. The executive branch of government is much more dominant today and international influences have changed over the years. The development of the European Union has placed Britain under many constraints. Government has also grown since the decade that Dicey was writing as Laws are made
Parliament as the main legislative body has got many functions. According to classification of Prof. Norton, these functions can be divided into several categories. In legal theory Parliament refers to the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. In practice, the Crown plays a largely ceremonial role as head of state, while the legislative process unfolds within the two Houses of Parliament. The House of Commons The House of Commons, the lower House, is the most powerful of the two Houses of Parliament.
Strenghs of representative democracy. Representative democracy is a modified version of democracy that flourished between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries across Europe and America, where people elected representatives to make decisions on their belhalf rather than people assemble at regular intervals (known as direct democracy), as for example in Ancient Greece when democracy first started. Political philosophers also agreed but because they believed that people could not govern themselves. In Britain, representative democracy (or sometimes described as parliamentary democracy) more or less started to evolution the late seventeenth century when a Bill of Rights was agreed between monarchy and parliament that gave power to Parliament to sanction any law wanted. This was then followed by The Great Reform Act of 1832, where they introduced a system for the election of MP's, by the 20th century Britain had its separate parties.Then in 1945 the first truly modern election manifesto appeared with a clear program of reform and thus made representation farer.
Parliament is Britain's Legislature, where legislation, the process of passing new laws, takes place. It is mainly carried out in the House of Commons and there are many different types of it, with the two most important being; government bills and private members bills. For a bill to become law is must pass through a number of parliamentary stages, which involves a lot of close reading, amending and debating in both the parliamentary chambers, however the House of Commons has far more legislative power, as the Lords can only suggest amendments or delay bills from becoming law (which the House of Commons can actually override anyway). It can be said the Commons fulfil the function of legislation effectively for various reasons, one being; because its large majorities makes it very efficient. 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 New parliament set up was to be made up of 2 houses; The Reichsrat and the Reichstag. The Reichsrat was the upper, but less important house in the legislature. It represented the 17 Lander (states) in the law making process. It could block or undo laws passed by the Reichstag, but the latter could override a Reichsrat veto by passing a measure by two thirds majority, the Reichsrat could also be overruled by a referendum. Germany was still a federal country, but the federal government in Berlin had more power over the states than ever before.
Tony Blair was a charismatic man, a clever ‘spin doctor’ and after each election he also possessed a large mandate which allowed him to dominate his cabinet for some time. John Major, on the other hand, was the “grey man” of British politics, lacking in charisma and with an initial majority of 22, though this eventually became a minority government. Compared to Blair, Major was deficient in charisma and was unable to command the same presence, both in the media and in government. The final source of power is that of the office of Prime Minister and the conventions and powers it entails. A Prime Minister is entitled to personally chair cabinet meetings, control the appointment of ministers to cabinet and even control both the agenda and the minutes of a meeting.
Proponents of the UK and US voting methods also often cite the lack of a credible alternative as a reason for the retention of the current systems. In the UK, national elections are held when the incumbent government chooses to call an election. This differs significantly from the USA where political office is held on a fixed term basis. When a general election is called each constituency holds an election to decide their Member of Parliament (MP) using the first past the post system. If a party gains a majority it will be offered the chance to form government by the Queen.
Both houses have to pass a bill before it becomes a law. An other advantage is allows for representation on a reasonably equitable footing for both large and small states. Only the House can impeach a President or executive officer in government. Then the Senate plays judge and jury in all impeachments bought on by the House. The disadvantages are the recurrent gridlock seen in Congress, even if the a House passes a bill it still has to go to the Senate.