Smaller groups will look at specific policy issues and legislation in detail. There are different committees with different roles e.g. offering advice, producing reports and altering legislation. Parliament has the responsibility to pass new legislation. The majority of new laws or changes to existing laws come from government but the can also come from MP’s, Lords or even a member of the public.
To What Extent Are Backbench MPs Lobby Fodder? We’re led to believe that the MPs we elect to form Parliament actively participate in the governing of our country. Yet in reality, most of the power lies with the executive and the influence of a backbencher is thus lessened. Are they a loyal party drone? Do they represent the constituents effectively?
It is through laws that policies of government are laid down for implementation. It does however have many constitutional roles to fulfil such as the power of the purse, oversight, foreign policy and legislation. It can be argues that Congress does fulfil its constitutional roles as it may deliver effective over sighting, legislation, money bills, representation and foreign policy that may provide good checks and balances. However, most would argue that Congress may not carry its roles effectively thus leading to poor scrutiny (sometimes over scrutinising) which leads to ineffective fulfilment of constitutional roles. The principle organ of the US state is to legislate, represent and scrutinise the other, safely separated, branches of the government.
In addition to his more collegiate style in office, Major did also share close ties with particular senior ministers during his term. As a result of working closely with colleagues such as Michael Heseltine and Kenneth Clarke, Major managed to lessen the chances of a rival emerging for his job. Major can be regarded as a weaker PM over recent years to others; his majority in Parliament gradually depleted during the 90s, his poll ratings gradually declined, he was criticised for failing to put across a clear vision, was
Reasons that back up source 4 are that Labour promised to sort out Britain’s economic problems. By the early 1960s there was a balance of payments deficit, high inflation and growing unemployment. The Conservative Chancellor of the Exchequer, Selwyn Lloyd, attempted to deal with the problems by setting up a National Economic Development Council and National Incomes Commission but these failed. In 1962, therefore, Lloyd was replaced by Reginald Maudling. He was just as unsuccessful and by the time of the October election of 1964 Britain was in debt to the tune of £750 million.
An essential model of the executive that has been in operation for many of our previous governments is Cabinet government, which could be said to sprout from the idea that the prime minister was originally ‘primus inter pares’, according to Walter Bagehot – or ‘first among equals’. This form of leadership is usually approached with prime ministers using cabinet frequently to seek advice and counsel on issues and even proposed legislation. As the chair of cabinet and head of government, the prime minister has power over the length and frequency of the meetings, and as part of Cabinet government, this is usually exercised in a manner such that the Prime minister does not have any significant power over the rest of cabinet, and therefore decisions should be made collectively as possible, and consensus should be achieved. The issue of collective responsibility must also be mentioned; this is an important aspect of UK government and maintains strength in the executive. This type of government was operating in full flow under the leadership of James Callaghan in 1976, where he allowed his cabinet to freely debate whether or not the UK should accept the loan from the IMF.
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.
Most Bills since 2006-07are referred to public bill committees. Previous to this there were Standing Committees. In July 2005, the Administration Select Committee was established. This replaced the five Domestic Committees which had been responsible for the consideration of services provided for the House in the Palace of Westminster from 1991 to 2005. The new committee deals with issues such as catering services, the House of Commons Library, computer provision, and visitor services.
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.
The oral questions are sometimes dominated by loyal backbench government supporters, and it is often suggested that the media provide a more effective form of scrutiny than does parliament. MPs have remarkably limited access to resources, partly because of the largely secretive nature of UK government. They can sometimes contribute to the pressure that might ultimately lead to the resignation of an incompetent