Politics paper 2 essay plans
Evaluate the effectiveness of backbench MPs - ANS Scrutiny -Effective
- Select Committees have become increasingly independent since the Wright Reforms- MPs on
committees do significant work to scrutinise govt independently- Liason Committee (chairs of
committees) questioned Johnson in Nov 2021 on COP26, political ethics, the Budget, violence against
women- Public Accounts Committee forced govt action on tax issues (BBC accounts)- Business
Committee pushed through scrutiny of Mike Ashley for bad working practice at Sports Direct
Scrutiny -Not Effective
- Shadow ministers have great advantage over backbenchers in terms of access to evidence for effective
scrutiny- Question sessions can be ineffective as govt ministers easily dodge questions- Ministerial
Question Time sessions only last 30 mins and sometimes ministers see questions prior- PMQs become
overly-theatrical and govt backbenchers ask easy questions- Govt not legally mandated to implement
advice from committee scrutiny (May ignored Foreign Affairs Committee on Syria in 2018)
Representation -Effective
- Do local work in surgeries, take up grievances of constituents and help them with issues- In 2018 8 CON
MPs rebel against three-line-whip to oppose Heathrow Expansion on behalf of their constituents- Can
publicise important issues (Lucinda Berger and antisemtism)- Raise issues of constituents in
parliamentary debates or discussions & lobby officials for help- More confidence in time of party divides
in crisis (100 CON MPs oppose Covid Pass legislation in 2021)
Representation -Not Effective
- Usually must support party leadership's wishes based on whip system (three-line-whip) as dependent
on party for election funding- Fear of sacking limits rebellions (Johnson sacked 21 rebels incl. Phillip
Hammond & Rory Stewart in 2019)- Rarely oppose govt's manifesto commitments due to the electoral
mandate convention- Usuall
Evaluate the effectiveness of the House of Lords - ANS 1. ACCURATE SOCIETY 2. ONLY BLOCK BILL 3.
LESS PUBLIC IMAGEthesis 1: needs to be reformed to be more accurate microcosm of society so that can
be more effective in reflecting and fighting for issues in society's minorities and to prevent tyranny of
the majority - undemocratic and unrepresentative. only 51 ethnic minority members in 2016 (6.4%)
compared to 13% of population. 2012 saw 181 women, slightly went up to 207 2017 (25%) still not great
though.antithesis 1: HOC does not do much better, even when democratic not necessarily
representative. 41 ethnic minority members and 191 women in 2015.thesis 2: HoL only able to delay
HoC bills, not block. Lords can amend too, but if Commons vote to overturn them they can only delay it
,passing for a year. since 1949 only 4 passed without consent of HoL. Parliament Act (1911) also gives
government 'financial privilege' meaning HoL cannot block money bills. 2012 saw HoL amendments of
Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Act government overturned on this basis.antithesis
2: a stronger HoL could lead to gridlock where bills struggle to succeed/little progress made.thesis 3: less
public image and less involvement in governmental decisions. e.g government made up from
HoCantithesis 3: more public image doesn't necessarily make a better body of policy making e.g any
time Blair messed up Iraq, bad press for Miliband.
Evaluate how far Parliament retains sole sovereignty within the UK political system - ANS - The EU can
overrule parliamentary law and regulations from the EU have a major impact on Parliament's powers,
they erode its law making freedom.- However Parliament retains the right to revoke the Act of
Parliament which permitted EU entry in the first place, allowing it to withdraw membership if it so
desires.- The EU has not essentially eroded parliament's legal sovereignty as much as orchestrated a
'pooling' of sovereignty.
POINT 2 (LEGISLATIVE POWER IN DEVOLVED BODIES)
- Legal sovereignty has also been eroded through devolution with the establishment of legislative power
in the new devolved bodies.- Although Parliament is sovereign, before enacting legislation the consent
of the region must be given.- However Parliament still has the power to legislate above other bodies.
When looking into the overall position of Parliament, Westminster retains all of its powers in
comparison to the three devolved institutions.- This is evident through the fact that the institutions are
restricted from legislating against the European Convention of Human Rights (ECHR). However, if
Westminster wanted to pass an act that opposed the ECHR, they are entitled to do so.
POINT 3 (CHECKS AND SCRUTINY)
- Parliament does have ultimate power over the Executive because: the Government can be removed if
it loses a vote in Parliament on a motion of confidence, Parliament has to approve legislation before it is
passed, Parliamentary votes on many issues are seen to be binding on the Government (for example the
vote against air strikes in Syria), and Parliament can vote a reduction in a Minister's salary as a sign of
disapproval of what they have done.- However the only real means of forcing the Government to
change is through a Parliamentary vote and not even all of these are binding.- In practice a Government
with a Parliamentary majority ca
Evaluate the extent to which the House of Lords performs a meaningful role in UK democracy - ANS
check expertise (amendment) less partisanship= representative
use same as Q2
, Evaluate the extent to which Parliament is able effectively to call government to account - ANS Explain
first what calling government to account entails.This includes:· forcing government and its ministers to
explain policies and decisions· criticising government when parliamentarians feel errors or
misjudgements have been made· seeking to reverse unpopular policies and decisions· in extreme
circumstances, calling for the replacement of ministers· in very extreme circumstances, seeking to force
the government to resign.The ways in which Parliament is effective in calling government to account
include the following.THESIS: Select committees are able to undertake more detailed scrutiny than
Parliament as a whole. · Unlike the opposition in Parliament, they are able to question civil servants,
advisers and outside witnesses. Their work is increasingly publicised and major reports receive
significant media coverage. The chairs of the committees, especially the Public Accounts Committee,
have become senior figures in Parliament, more influential even than some opposition party leaders. Rt
honourable sir David Davis 1997-2001. The public accounts committee has a high profile in the media.
Many of its important hearings are broadcast as news items - Google's tax affairs 2016ANTITHESIS:
Ministers, using special advisers, have become adept at avoiding difficult questions. It should also be
noted that the effectiveness of Parliament in this regard depends, to some extent, on particular
circumstances. For example, Parliament is more effective when the government cannot rely on a
decisive majority in the Commons. Conversely, with a large majority, government is largely immune
from effective criticism. They do not carry the same threat of censure of ministers as Parliament as a
whole does. Ministers are called to account in Parliament in a very public way and may face hostile
questioning by oppositionTHESIS: The House o
Using the source, evaluate the respective claims of the two Houses of Parliament to be truly
representative institutions - ANS THESIS: The FPTP electoral system produces disproportionate
representation of parties. Parties with concentrated support gain too many seats, while those with
dispersed support gain too few. Those with could be argued illegitimate as of the huge amount of
wasted votes and unequal votes that FPTP produces. In 2019 the conservatives won 43.6% of the vote =,
the highest percentage for any party since 1979.ANTITHESIS: There is broadly equal representation of
constituencies. MPs are generally effective in representing the interests of their constituencies. They are
usually effective in representing the interests of individual constituents. Mps have surgeries to
communicate with their constituents for example MP surgeries - Sir David Amis - more security calls
threat to democracy, mps said still wanted to do themTHESIS: · It is socially even less representative
than the House of Commons, particularly in terms of gender and age. There are too few women,
compared with the general population, The same is true of members of ethnic minorities. Women make
up 34% of the house of commons.ANTITHESIS: Many MPs espouse a particular cause and represent it in
the House. (MP Jeremy Wright arguing against HS2 going through Warwickshire countryside) MPs also
often represent sections of society and defend their interests in debates and in the legislative process.
(1967 Abortion Act introduced by MP David Steel)THESIS: The lords is, of course, unelected, so it
represents no one in a strict democratic sense. · Peers have no constituencies or regions to represent.As
it is not accountable, peers' claim to represent sections of society remains weak. Lord Sugar for
