Unit 2 Flashcards
-What is the role of the cabinet?
- Formalise/legitimise government policy
- Deal with disputes
- Deal with crisis/emergency situations
- Where presentation of policy is presented
- Business or parliament aligned with whips
What is collective cabinet responsibility?
- All members of government are collectively responsible for all government decisions and policies
- Ministers that break CCR expected to resign or be dismissed
How could the HOL be reformed?
- Abolition
- All appointed
- Fully elected
- Mixed elected and appointed
What are benefits of abolishing the HOL?
- Saves money
- Streamlines process
- Removes government obstructions
What are benefits/drawbacks of appointing all the HOL?
+Knowledgeable people in politics
+More independent body
-Patronage in hands of government
What are the benefits of a fully elected HOL?
- Most democratic option
- Members fully accountable
- House has more authority
- If PR, reflects party’s strengths
What can be said about the representation of the HOL?
+Lords arguably more representative than commons as many groups represented
-Unelected so arguably representative of noone
What are the functions of parliament?
- Legislation
- Scrutiny
- Accountability
- Representation
- Rights protection
- Redress of greivances
- Debate
What are some benefits/drawbacks of HOL public bill committees?
+many members have specialist knowledge and expertise
+Relatively independent. free of party control
-Amendments can be overturned
What are some benefits/drawbacks of parliamentary committees?
\+act independently \+Respected by policymakers \+Can call ministers, civil servants, outsiders as witnesses in hearings -relatively little research backup -cannot enforce their recommendations -Sometimes put under pressure by whips
What are some benefits of the HOC public accounts committee?
- Chair is opposition MP
- Highly respected by policy makers
What are some benefits/drawbacks of HOC legislative committees?
+They can examine legislation in detail
- Nearly always divided on party lines
- Lack research back up
What are some sources of the PM’s power?
- Prerogative powers
- Leader of governing party
- Has some elective authority
- Enjoys authority of parliament
What are the PM’s prerogative powers?
- Command and direct armed forces
- Conduct foreign policy negotiations
- Sign treaties
- Appoint/dismiss govt ministers
- Nominate for peerages
- Speak on behalf of nation
What are some factors in the government’s favour vs the HOC?
- Govt. normally has a majority
- Patronage an important factor
- Govt. whips can make MPs support the government
What are some factors in favour of the HOC against the government?
- Commons can vote against government
- Select committees tend to act independently to government
- Govt must be accountable to HOC
What is the rule of law?
- All are equal under law
- All are entitled to a fair trial if accused of a crime
- The government is subject to laws and cannot exceed them
What is parliamentary sovereignty?
Political principle where legal sovereignty resides in the national parliament, and isn’t shared with another body
What is political sovereignty?
Where actual, practical power lies
What are some examples of political sovereignty?
- People at times of elections
- People during referendums
- Government when it controls a majority in the UK parliament
- With devolved governments
Why should the uk constitution be codified?
- It would clarify the political system (devolution, HOL reform)
- Process of judicial review would be clear and transparent
- It would introduce clear protections for the rights of citizens
- May prevent excessive executive power
- It would be clear to all what is and isn’t constitutional
- It would bring the UK into line with other modern democracies
Why should the UK constitution NOT be codified?
- Current constitution is flexible and adaptable to circumstances
- It has stood the test of time
- Lack of constitutional restraints allows for a strong and decisive government
- Would give too much power to unelected judges
What are some sources of the UK constitution?
- Statute law
- Common law
- Works of authority
- Conventions
- EU law
What are two key supreme court cases?
- HMT vs Ahmed > Can’t freeze terror suspect assets
- 2005 Votes for prisoners > Govt. voted to ignore ECHR vote which said should be allowed
How is the independence of judges protected?
- Can’t be dismissed based on decisions
- Salaries protected
- When case is underway, politicians cannot comment on it
- Judges appointed by judicial appointments committee
- Senior judges forbidden from political participation
What shows judges aren’t independent?
- Parliament is sovereign, controls law
- No entrenched constitution, no limits on government power
- Ministers comment adversely on decisions
