...a participation crisis that can arguably cause the party that gains the position of govt. to lack legitimacy. In 2001 the general election turnout was 59 per cent. Furthermore, there has been a gradual decline in party membership numbers for the three main parties, signifying partisan dealignment, less than 1 per cent of the UK’s electorate is currently part of the Conservatives, Labour or Lib Dems. Additionally, participation in other areas of UK politics such as the election of MEP’s, is showing an obvious participation crisis, resulting in the party UKIP dominating the UK for the EU parliament, the turnout for 2014 was 34 per cent. Lastly, further emphasising the current participation crisis in the UK referendum turnouts have been traditionally low, this means decisions implemented based on these results lack legitimacy, the turnout for the AV referendum in 2011 was 42 per cent. However, contrary to previous turnout figures the Scottish devolution referendum had a historic turnout of 85 per cent, suggesting that the current participation crisis democracy in the UK is improving. Moreover, although party membership for the UK is currently at a historic low, pressure group membership has increased dramatically. Suggesting, the electorate are turning to pressure groups for more effective representation. Noticeably, the pressure group RSPB currently has over a million members, which are more than the total of all the UK political party members. Further contrary to the view that...
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...Some people claim that the rice in the quantity of passive political participation is forming democratic crisis in Britain. The main purpose of this essay is to explore the problem of low levels of participation and its connection with crisis of democracy. Firstly, it will highlight the role of parliament. Secondly, it will evaluate drawbacks and benefits of election systems and the devolution. Thirdly, it will illustrate the roles of political parties and low results of participation in elections. Possibilities for and trends of becoming participated in the political process by people is political participation. Generally, political participation contains a number of points such as awareness of current issues, supporting online forums, taking part in all kinds of elections, standing for political office, joining and becoming active in pressure group and political party and participating in physical and e-petitions (McNaughton: 2012). Vlassopoulos (2009:29) mentions that direct popular participation in making decisions is the vital aspect in definition of democracy. One of the main functions of Parliament is representation. This means that elected MPs should represent and defend the interests of their voters. However, in real life citizens have no significant impact on the activities of legislators. Another important function is that it is the origin of political authority and exercising of power is impossible without Parliament’s sanction. Furthermore, the UK government membership...
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...Is the British Prime Minister now effectively a president? Nowadays the British prime minister is effectively a president, as the role has increasingly acquired presidential powers and been carried out in presidential style in order to become more dominant of government in general. Although the distinction between the legislature and executive in the UK is blurred and the prime minister is technically different to a president, the prime minister is now effectively the Chief of the Executive, Chief of State and Commander-in-Chief in Britain – these are typically considered presidential functions. This means that prime ministers in the UK are now more powerful and very similar to presidents – they govern in a similar way, and have similar prerogatives. Many argue that the British prime minister is unique and unlike a president because of the overlap between the executive and legislating branches of government. Whereas in the UK the prime minister’s party has a majority in the upper legislative chamber, and he can therefore harness parliamentary sovereignty, in America the legislature is independent of the president and can act as a barrier to his mandate. For example in 2012 Obama’s ‘Bring Jobs Home’ Bill, which would take tax breaks from companies that ‘outsource’ jobs abroad, and give them to ‘insourcing’ companies was blocked by Senate Republicans, 42 of whom voted against it. 17 other bills with similar widespread public appeal such as this one have been blocked by republicans...
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...constituencies in the UK elects one representative to the House of Commons. There has been a long running debate on this issue, as there are other electoral systems being currently used I the UK for other things for example the Supplementary vote used the elections of the London Mayer. People argue that one of the other electoral systems could replace the First past the Post, in May 2011 a referendum was held asking the public if they would want to change to the system to AV. This was a resounding ‘no’, which makes the question of a possible reform purely hypothetical at this moment in time. Was this because people do in fact like the FPTP system or because they dislike the AV system? The first benefit of the FPTP would be that it is very easy to understand, therefore this helps people participate as people don’t want to spend a lot of time trying to vote and figure out how to do something, especially a system such as a single transferable vote or the AV system. A valid vote requires only one mark beside the name or symbol of one...
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...Edexcel AS Politics Edexcel AS Politics ExamBuster 2009 Introduction to Unit 1- People and Politics Understanding the Examination and Exam Technique Choosing your questions In this unit you are presented with four questions. They are of equal value and each question covers one of the four sections of the specification. These are: Democracy and political participation Party policies and ideas Elections Pressure groups There is no significance to the order in which questions appear. Each question is divided into three sections (a), (b) and (c). When choosing which questions to do, the following principles are recommended: It is almost certain that you will be better off choosing your strongest question to do first. You should choose questions on the basis of how well you can answer the section (c) part. The (c) part carries 25 of the 40 marks available for the whole answer. Do not choose a question simply because you can do part (a) especially well. The (a) question is only worth 5 marks. It would be illogical to choose your strongest (a) part if you cannot do well on section (c). If you cannot decide between several (c) parts, i.e. you can do more than one equally well, make your choice on the basis of part (b) which carries 10 marks. But remember, it is the (c) parts that will determine most what your overall mark will be. So, when you first look at the exam paper, look at the (c) sections first. Assessment Objectives Each question is divided into three sections,...
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...GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS AS LEVEL UNIT TWO GOVERNING THE UK “Never, never, never give up” Winston S Churchill 1874-1965 1 GOVERNING THE UK 50% of AS [25% of A2] UNIT TWO SAMPLE QUESTION Answer one question from Section A and one question from Section B in 80 minutes. Spend 40 minutes on Section A and 40 minutes on Section B SECTION A QUESTION ONE PRIME MINISTERIAL POWER “For too long the big political decisions in this country have been made in the wrong place. They are not made around the Cabinet table where they should be, but they are taken on the sofa in Tony Blair’s office. No notes are kept and no one takes the blame when things go wrong. That arrogant style of government must come to an end. I will restore the proper process of government. I want to be Prime Minister of this country not a President (Source: David Cameron, The Times, 5th October 2006) “The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system. Every Thursday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments as well as other ministers meet in the Cabinet Room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day. The Prime Minister chairs the meeting, selects its members and also recommends their appointment as ministers to the monarch. The present Cabinet has 23 members (21 MPs and two peers). The secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions”. (Source: From a modern textbook) (a) What...
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...The economic impact of EU membership on the UK This note examines the various channels through which membership of the EU affects the UK economy. A general sense of the EU’s economic impact can be gained by reading Section 1 alone. Subsequent sections deal with particular issues, such as the EU’s effect on UK trade relations, in more detail, and compare the UK’s situation with alternative arrangements. Contents 1 Introduction and summary 2 2 Cost-benefit analyses of EU membership 5 3 The effect of the EU on UK trade relations 6 4 Impact of immigration from the EU 16 5 The impact of EU regulation 20 6 Fiscal consequences of EU membership – the EU budget 23 7 The EU’s effect on consumer prices 28 8 Foreign direct investment (FDI) 30 Appendix table: a comparison of the EU with alternative trading arrangements 32 Boxes Would independence over trade policy lead to better results? 15 The EU budget – winners and losers 27 Trade barriers and economic efficiency 29 Related Library briefings Leaving the EU, Research Paper RP13/42 In brief: UK-EU economic relations, Standard Note SN6091 Norway’s relationship with the EU, Standard Note SN6522 Switzerland’s relationship with the EU, Standard Note SN6090 The UK and Europe: time for a new relationship?, Standard Note SN6393 1 Introduction and summary 1.1 Understanding the economic impact of EU membership EU membership...
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...Barbados Barbados is a North American sovereign island country located in the Caribbean. The capital of this state is Bridgetown. This state raised its head as an independent state in 1966 after being a Colony of the British Empire for almost 350 years. Category | Fact | Category | Fact | 1.Size | 439 Square km | 4.Religion | Christianity | 2.Population | 277,821 | 5.Currency | Barbadian Dollar | 3.Language | Barbadian | 6.GDP Rate | $16,653 | The main resources of Barbados are Petroleum, Fish, Natural gas, Sugarcane etc. The national symbols of Barbados are Neptune's trident, pelican, and Red Bird of Paradise flower (also known as Pride of Barbados). In Barbados Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the State and represented locally by Governor General which is at present Elliott Belgrave. These two heads are advised by the Prime Minister of Barbados who is also the Head of the Government on matters of Barbadian state. The current Prime Minister of Barbados is Freundel Stuart. ...
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