Advantages Political influences on Law Reform - Model Answer

• There are many advantages to the political influences contributing to law reform in the UK legal system.
• Government Plans to be Put into Place

  The Government has a ready-made set of proposals that it can turn into law if it is elected. These are outlined in the Manifesto. This means they can start creating new laws as soon as they win an election. For example, the Conservative Government manifesto in 2019 outline tougher Policing Powers to be introduced, arguably this can be seen in the Police, Crime, Sentencing and Courts Act (2022).
• Will of the Government Reflects the Will of the Country

  The Government has a majority so it is reflecting the views of the majority of the Electorate (voters). If a party has 326 MPs or more, they have the authority to create any law they want from their manifesto. This means that when they introduce laws that are based on their promises in their Manifesto, they are creating laws the public want as they are likely to have voted for that party for that reason. The Government will want to reform the law if it will help them get re-elected so they will listen to the opinion of the public.
• Allows for Debate to Take Place

  Any proposal for change will be debated in Parliament by all MP's. Private Members' Bills allow all members of the Commons and Lords the chance to reform the law. These bills are also a good way to pass controversial changes in the law, for example the Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act.
• Expert Input

  House of Lords members have expertise in a wide variety of areas and can therefore make non-political suggestions. Governments tend to act quickly when there has been a major incident and will pass laws to try to reduce the chances of reoccurrence in the future. Government Bills can be based on the research done by expert civil servants who work in each government department, such as under the Road Traffic Act, which requires expert input on safety, design and infrastructure.