Is the executive effectively scrutinised? Flashcards
Intro
Yes:
- Select committee reports
- Vote of no confidence
- Supreme court rulings
No:
- Select committee reports are often ignored
- Vote of no confidence is rarely used
- Supreme court rulings can be easily overridden
US link:
Unlike in the US, the process for scrutiny in the UK is not codified in a constitution, which in some ways blurs the lines and allows the UK executive to overstep its powers.
Para 1
Yes, select committees can produce reports which are often hard hitting and influential.
E.g. in 2018 the Health Select Committee recommended a number of measures to reduce child obesity, and within a month the government announced measures such as stopping the sale of sweets at supermarket checkouts.
(This therefore allowed the Health Select Committee to pressure the government into protecting the health of children through the use of reports)
No, government only has to respond to and not enact recommendations.
E.g. as of 2021 only 40% of legislation committee recommendations have been accepted.
(The government can therefore ignore the findings in select committee reports, and may only enact a recommendation if it is politically advantageous or benefits their agenda)
(US link)
These committees are more prominent than any equivalent found in the US, but this does not impede the scrutiny of the US executive due to the formal separation of powers found in their constitution.
E.g. the President’s power of veto is checked by Congress’ ability to override such veto, such as when Congress overrode Obama’s veto of the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act 2016.
(This allowed Congress to limit the president’s ability to control the legislature and fulfil his agenda and thus acted as a significant check on his power)
Para 2
Yes, parliament can hold a vote of no confidence to remove the Prime Minister from office.
E.g. in 1979 James Callaghan’s government narrowly lost a vote of no confidence by a single vote.
(The PM is therefore directly accountable to the legislature as he can be removed from office, making him accountable for his actions)
No, a successful vote of no confidence is very hard to achieve and is very rare.
E.g. it has only happened once since WWII, since it requires a Parliamentary majority which is difficult as the government usually has a majority.
(It is therefore hard to convince enough government MP’s to vote to remove their own party from office)
(US link)
This is a similar issue in the US executive, it is very difficult to impeach a President since a supermajority is needed from the Senate. No President has ever successfully been impeached.
Para 3
Yes, the supreme court can reject government rulings on the basis of historical precedent.
E.g. in 2017, Theresa May tried to invoke article 50 via the royal prerogative. The supreme court rejected it on the basis of historical precedent.
(This therefore allowed the court to temporarily prevent the PM from beginning the process of leaving the EU by limiting their ability to exercise her royal prerogative powers)
No, due to the doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty, the PM and parliament can override the supreme court. E.g. following this supreme court ruling, parliament passed a new law stating that the PM could use the royal prerogative to invoke article 50.
(This therefore allowed parliament and by extension the PM to bypass the supreme court with a simple Act of Parliament and successfully begin the process of leaving the EU)
(US link)
In the US, Congress has to pass a constitutional amendment if the supreme court strikes legislation down as unconstitutional, which requires a supermajority.
E.g. in 2017 President Donald Trump tried to use an executive order to ban immigration from 11 middle eastern countries, and the supreme court struck it down as unconstitutional as it violated the 1st amendment. (Whereas in the UK, the executive can simply change the wording of the constitution, in the US there is a separation of powers preventing the President from altering the constitution. Therefore, the US executive is more effectively scrutinised than that of the UK)
Conc
No:
- Select committee reports are often ignored
- Supreme court rulings can be easily overridden
- Vote of no confidence is rarely used
(US link)
Scrutiny of the executive is arguably far better in the US due to their formal separation of powers.
