Should more referendums be held in the UK? (25 marks) Referendums are processes in which the government puts forward a question to the public, in which they must have either a conclusion of ‘yes’ or ‘no’. There are many advantages, however also many disadvantages of using referendums, which would determine whether more should be put forward in the UK. The first, and most important advantage of using referendums is that it is a direct form of democracy. A question put forward by the government to be decided by the public with either a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ verdict cannot be tampered with or imply any confusion to the people/public deciding on the question.
Political parties are important because the relationships between them are crucial in making the political system work. The mainstream view of UK politics is that it is dominated by the two-party system. However, changes in politics have caused people to disagree about the extent of the UK being a two party system. In 1998, devolution (the statutory granting of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to government at a subnational level, such as a regional, local, or state level) took place through the creation of a Scottish Parliament, a Welsh Assembly and a Northern Ireland Assembly. Devolution has made nationalist parties more prominent.
The Lords has also become more legitimate since the reforms because it’s influence has increased, the Lords are now looked to by the Commons to see what they think of what the government is doing more and more. They scrutinise the government’s decisions and make suggestions and changes to policy. More and more often the Lords reject or request changes to legislation from the Commons which most of the time the Commons agree with or work on – this highlights how effective and influential the Lords are. c) How successfully does Parliament perform its representative functions in modern Britain?
Should the Westminster electoral system be reformed? The Westminster electoral system has been a target for reform for a long time. Despite the loss in the 2011 referendum, reform is still wanted by a number of people especially the Liberal Democrats who will benefit the most. First Past the Post is the system that Westminster uses for election to the Houses of Commons it is a simple majority or plurality system that requires a candidate to get more votes than anyone else. 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.
While some citizens would prefer that governmental leaders implement spending cuts while others would favor an increase in revenue, as a practical matter the country’s precarious financial situation cannot be addressed exclusively by just one of these options. (Bartels). The electoral process is rather difficult due to its complex organization. It requires the parties that share it to create valid political campaigns that would be quite persuasive. Usually, the election represents the competition between two major parties – the Democratic and Republican.
It succeeds in this as if a party is not representing the people in the way they said or are not fulfilling their promises then the people can choose another party who they think can represent them in a better way than the previous party. Elections also hold individual MPs to account as well based on their record, and example of this is the 2009 expenses scandal in which many MPs stepped down rather than face the verdict of the voters and so elections fulfil their purpose as they succeed at holding parties and MPs to account. However elections don’t fulfil their purpose as they are failing in the area of participation from the public as the level of turnout over recent times has gradually fallen as in the 2001 general election the turnout was 59.4%, is the lowest it has been since 1918. In the 2005 general election the turnout was 61.4% and in the 2010 general election the turnout
Given that most voters are misinformed and political uneducated, a polarized democracy helps voters better understand who they giving their support to. Voters will better relate with a party if they have solid extreme values, opposed to a party that moves towards the middle in attempt to attract new voters. The public becomes more invested in the beliefs of the party. Voters also engage in supporting the campaigns by donating or even putting a yard sign up. Action like those, help promote and increase political awareness in communities.
The government will make their own decision whether other opposition parties disagree with them; the government in power still make their own decision. Example of this is, when after Labour victory in 1997, the New Labour administration established an Independent Commission on Electoral Reform under Lord Jenkins. Lord Jenkins’ recommendation that AV should be introduced for UK general elections after a disappointed that many fellows of Liberal Democrats had. Liberal Democrats felt that STV might be more effective in addressing the flaws in the current FPTP system. Despite of this, Labour decided not to move ahead with the reforms.
Some in favour of the UK's uncodified system would argue that the fact the constitution is not entrenched creates a much more flexible and adaptable constitution, which means it can evolve due to circumstances when they crop up. A prime example of this was in May 2010 in the election where there was no majority vote. Due to the economic crisis at the time it would have been horrific had there been a 'hung' parliament so thanks to the flexibility of the UK's constitution a draft procedure was made in case of such emergencies. As the constitution was not entrenched this was done quickly and easily which was required because of the seriousness of the situation. This showed the UK constitution to be very beneficial, and furthermore the Queen and the Royal Prerogative did not have to be consulted, which would have been different in a codified system and made the process much slower than in an uncodified constitution.
Labour made the changes to the Scottish and Welsh Assembly, by implementing proportional representation. Labour also wanted to use the SV system for the European elections to Parliament, as well as the AMS system for the election of London Mayor. In 1997, Labour promised a referendum on electoral reform, however this did not occur, and the Jenkins Commission report was introduced which suggested a system called alternative vote plus. Unfortunately, this report was not looked into any further, which caused a lot of disappointment, as many people felt like this was the best proportional system. Proportional Systems mean that all parties can have an influence, and those Parties which are not successful in the general election could be more success in the European Parliament, UKIP gained 12 seats in the European parliament in 2003 but did not gain any in the general election.