To what extent is Liberalism the dominant ideology in British politics? The term liberalism is generally associated with ideas such as liberty and equal rights. Associated with it are ideas such as constitutionalism, liberal democracy, free and fair elections and human rights. The UK government incorporates all the key aspects of liberalism in to their own organisation such as the fact that Britain comes from a constitution and the laws and rights of citizens are drawn from it. Liberalism was drawn from the age of enlightenment in which many religious restrictions were broken in order for meritocracy to strive which allowed individuals to strive on their own basis.
I would argue that this decision would suggest continuity as opposed to change within the political system as it was a way for the Government to seem more liberal. By introducing these individuals, the Tory Party saw an introduction of tolerance for new ideas and possibly even a new perspective. This alone can be argued as a reason for 1822 being a turning point; however the reforms these men progressed to introduce could initiate a wider view upon the argument. Liberal economic reforms that were put in place are the Reciprocity of Duties Act 1823, the relaxation of trade restriction and Robinson’s desire to reduce domestic duties. These all promoted free trade, hence attempting an improvement within the economy.
Pressure groups are mostly seen to be a major part of how democracy functions in the UK, however whether they undermine democracy is a question that has always been raised. They are mostly seen as to help democracy rather than hinder it however, as they help to represent the opinions and needs of minorities, as well as give an extra platform for participation. One of the ways in which pressure groups can undermine democracy is that they concentrate power,meaning some groups are able to influence the government more than others. These types of groups are ones such as the BMA and BDA, wealthy insider groups which a close and established relationship with the government and have direct access to decision makers, allowing them to influence policies
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
Thomas Hobbes author of such works as the ‘Leviathan’ and ‘De Cive’ has also often been regarded as a fundamental thinker in political philosophy and vital in the development of liberal thought. It could be argued however that his ideas in his work can no longer be associated to the liberalism that developed from it. This has led some to argue that Hobbes is not a liberal. In this essay I will consider whether or not Hobbes’ ideas are consistent with the basic ideals of what liberalism has come to encompass. Ideals such as a focus on the individual, individual rights and equality, a social contract based on government by consent, free market, and minimum government intervention and maximum freedom.
Democracy may be defined as a political system in which people exercise power over the decisions which affect their lives. In the case of the UK, there is much evidence to support the claim that it is democratic, but there are features which undermine this claim and this essay will attempt to examine the evidence. One of the strongest arguments in support of the claim that the UK is a genuine democracy is that we have universal adult suffrage, which means that all UK citizens aged 18 or above have the right to vote for representatives to make decisions on their behalf. In addition, democracy is also strengthened by the fact that the electorate can choose representatives at local, regional, national and international (EU Parliament) levels. In addition, the elections are held at regular intervals, which ensures that the representatives are accountable to the electorate.
These countries with old democracies are usually known as Western-style liberal democracies. Liberal democracy can be defined as a political system ‘[m]arked not only by free and fair elections but also by the rule of law, a separation of powers, and the protection of basic liberties of speech, assembly, religion, and property.’ (Zakaria, 2007: 17) In other words, describing a liberal democracy we can say that ‘democracy is not only about deciding who governs but also about how a country is governed.’ (Lynch, 1997:50) Illiberal democracies are usually referred to the countries which after 1990 made a transition to from authoritarian to democratic regimes by establishing multiparty system and elections. This is partly because these countries have established free and usually fair elections which let them be called democracies, however, considering the consolidation of democracy in these countries, it is evident to state that most of them failed to protect citizens of basic rights and freedoms and it mismatches with word’s liberal meaning. To sum up, it can be said that liberal democracies require not only free and fair elections, but also, strong institutions, a separation of powers, protection of human rights and freedoms. However, countries can be not only liberal democratic or illiberal.
In this respect, the main goal of liberalism is to promote a laissez-faire society and their main goal is preservation of human rights and freedoms. Secondly, liberalism aimed at ensuring that there is democracy in the society whereby the power of the monarchs and the other political class is limited. To achieve their goals, liberals enlightened members of the society about their rights and freedoms and in countries like France, Germany, and Italy liberals organized for revolutions that removed those leaders who were dictators in these countries. In addition to this, liberals championed for the rights of the minority in the society. A good example of a liberal government is the federal government of the United States of America (Jayapalan, 2009).
Secondly there is Common Law, Common law includes legal principles that have been developed and applied by UK courts. The courts interpret and clarify the law where there is no clear statute law. Common law takes legal precedent made by judges, for example, the right of homeowners to tackle intruders who enter their property. Government ministers may clarify or amend common law trough Acts of Parliament. The common law also includes customs and precedents that have become accepted practice.
Liberalism is a political current embracing several historical and present-day ideologies that claim defense of individual liberty as the purpose of government. It typically favors the right to dissent from orthodox tenets or established authorities in political or religious matters. Liberalism is also defined and understood in contradistinction to other political ideologies such as conservatism and particularly to totalitarianism, which represent the antithesis of liberal freedom. The term liberal stems from the Latin "liber" or "free", and this emphasizes the liberal ideal of being free from the rules and tenet of authority The tradition if liberalism has undergone numerous mutations and developments in political history. The origins of liberalism can be traced to the ideals of the Enlightenment in Europe.