Many people say the ‘Commons are male-dominated since in 2005 only 19% of MP’s were women. However, in the early nineties the Labour Party had a massive female MP recruitment policy introduced for their party, whereby half of all Labour representatives standing for constituencies across the UK had to be women. While this was rejected in a court ruling as being unfair, it did show Labour tackling perceived sexism within Parliament. Since (statically speaking) women look after children and homes, they are more likely to be free to vote. Therefore, if a party could attract women voters by having female candidates they would have attracted a larger percentage of voters than parties focussing on attracting professional men, who would be too busy to vote.
One argument that the Westminster electoral system should be reformed is that First Past the Post doesn't give the social representation that other system gives, for example in the Parliament elected in 2010, women, 51% of the population, are represented by 22% of Parliament therefore an under representation, however, university educated are overrepresented, 91% of the Houses of Commons represent 31% of the population but having PR doesn't guarantee that the social composition of Parliament only making the percentage of votes more proportional towards the seats. Moreover, FPTP stops extremist parties such as the BNP from gaining election and having influence over policy or gaining any credibility. One argument for reform of the electoral system is that government claim a mandate or legitimacy despite the fact that they have just over a third of the popular vote, in 2005 Labour claimed a mandate or legitimacy to rule despite the fact that only 35.2% of the electorate vote for Labour, however the referendum about changing the electoral system was defeated by a large margin meaning that the majority of the UK is happy with our electoral system and no government will dare to overturn the decision by implementing a form of AV or another electoral system. The most important reason for reform is that there is a poor vote to seat ratio or proportionality that hits the Liberal Democrats more
The AV system means that voters vote preferential order, if no candidate reaches 50% then the candidate who received the fewest votes is dropped, and then the 2nd preferences are used and so on until a candidate reaches 50%. This is a far better system because it allows smaller parties to be heard. This system favours the Liberal Democrats, which is why in 2011 May 5th 2011, a referendum was held on whether to replace the first past the post electoral
Due to the Electoral College today, it is hard to say for some whether or not the process of voting is fair and actually matters, or if your vote as a citizen of the United States does not count and is simply a waste of time. Today I am going to share my opinion on this controversial topic. The Election Process 3 Is The Election Process Fair? According to UEN.org, an election is the process by which citizens select thousands of men and women they want to run their government- at all levels. Some people believe that the current election process we use in the United States of America is not a fair one.
This could be one reason why the American President can only stay in power for two terms. If the ministers surrounding the PM cannot take collective responsibility for their decisions then it is easy for not only the public but your opposition to place blame for a particular issue on the PM’s head. Thus creating a great deal of ill will towards that PM over time. Thatcher’s ‘sofa cabinet’ has been an idea carried on by Blair and Cameron as both tend to surround themselves with advisors of their own choosing as opposed to the cabinet ministers, acting very independently. However, it was Blair that truly started the media frenzy surrounding Prime Ministerial candidates around the general election.
The president was still a very powerful figure; he could block new laws by calling a referendum and could rule without the Reichstag in times of emergency (Article 48). In the right hands, Article 48 could work to Germany’s advantage by ensuring a swift response to a crisis like a war. The president, like before, could still appoint his ministers and chancellor. The Reich cabinet and chancellor, were under Article 54 of the constitution accountable to the Reichstag and had to resign if they lost the Reichstag’s confidence. The New parliament set up was to be made up of 2 houses; The Reichsrat and the Reichstag.
We have seen the rise of the ‘Hastert rule’ among republicans, which dictates that the speaker shouldn’t allow the vote unless the majority of republicans support it. Today members of congress are much more likely to vote along party lines, particularly when it comes to key, controversial issues. For example in 2009 no republicans voted for the fiscal stimulus package, and when it came to the American Taxpayer Relief Act in January 2013 (aimed at avoiding the fiscal cliff) an overwhelming majority of Democrats voted in favour, and almost all republicans voted against. Furthermore the republicans are almost unanimously united in opposition to Obamacare and
So why are the MPs following this and acting as a sheep? All parties expect party loyalty from their members and if the MPs rebel or speak out against the party they may decide to send out the party whip to ensure they will follow what they want and if that doesn’t work they may de-select them for the election thus giving the MP zero chance of gaining election as there are only 2 independent MPs elected, both ways showing the party discipline expected from the backbenchers. The MPs can also simply think about themselves and follow all party orders and support all bills in order to further their political careers by gaining promotion and the chance to be selected as the representative in a constituency. So with this model the MPs main role will be to follow their party in supporting or opposing the government over the representation of their constituents. The second model is the delegate model which in our representative democracy the MPs should follow.
South Africa and Argentina have proportional electoral systems yet here we have a majority party that takes no heed of the smaller parties as they can get anything through parliament due to their majority standing created by the Proportional electoral system. France and Argentina have majoritarian systems
Voting will effect change within neighborhoods, cities, states, countries, and even the world. Voting is the principle means of a representative government. How can a government be representative if roughly 45-50 percent of eligible voters don't vote? This makes a government only representative to half of the