uk politics nine marker

• p Explain and analyse three ways in which parliament fulfils its functions

  1) Representation

  p - MP's must protect the needs and interests of people in their constituency, speak on their behalf

  e - MP Ken Clarke voted to give Parliament a vote on any Brexit deal reached, as his constituents voted to remain, going against Conservative policy

  e - fails to represent the UK's social makeup, 8% MPs elected in 2017 were from ethnic, 14% of population

  2) Scrutiny

  p - scrutiny of the executive, holding to account, question government ministers, have the power to remove ministers

  e - select committees, Nick Hurd, Home Office Minister was questioned by the Housing, Communities and Local Government Committee on the support for people affected by the grenfell tower fire

  e - some question time lack effectiveness, punch and judy politics, planted questions

  3) Legitimation

  p - must approve all bills which become laws and has the power to support or question the government in the actions it takes

  e - 2013 HoC voted against military intervention in Syria which was proposed by the government

  e - has legitimated government action which was not in the interests of people in the uk e.g the war in iraq, people protested
• p Explain and analyse three theories of representation?


  1) Delegate theory

  p - elected representatives as the mouthpiece, carry out the wishes of constituents

  e - may be a conflict between politics at a local level and the national policy, mayor of London, Boris Johnson opposed his party's policy of supporting a third runway at Heathrow

  e - large minority of voters do not vote for the winning candidate and are not represented in parliament

  2) Trustee

  p - Burke, recognises wants of the constituents but also relies on conscience and national interest

  e - Labour backbencher Ben Bradshaw defied the Labour whip of supporting Article 50 as he would not vote for a process that would impoverish his constituents

  e - increased trust, makes MP's more accountable

  3) Mandate model

  p - the right to govern by winning an election, manifesto approved

  e - May didn't have a mandate

  e - misleading as most voters are unlikely to have read manifestos in detail
• p Explain and analyse three functions of the House of Lords?

  1) law making

  p - bills debated, contains experts

  e -Lords Krebs is zoologist and expert in the field of science

  e - not able to stop legislation passing through e.g in 2017 the HoC rejected 2 amendments which enabled the UK to start negotiations to leave the EU

  2) Representation

  p - contains peers who represent people in society that are less well represented in public life, expertise, different political views

  e - reduced number of hereditary peers, Lords Spiritual Act 2015 means that if a woman becomes a diocesan bishop, she joins the next vacancy for bishops in the House of Lords until 2025

  e - members not elected, 92 hereditary peers, over half of members are over 70

  3) scrutiny

  p - scrutiny of the government takes place in the form of written and spoken questions put to government and through debates over policy

  e - 20th March 2024 Lords inflicted fresh defeats on the government over its flagship Rwanda bill, delayed further

  e - some members only turn up to receive their expenses
• p Explain and analyse three powers of the House of Commons

  1) removing the government

  p - can remove a government through a vote of no confidence, motion put forward by MP's for a vote whether the house has confidence in the government still

  e - removed James Callaghan in 1979

  e - democratic

  2) government budget

  p - approve of government's finances and reject or amend a bill, debate and put through legislative process, has exclusive power to amend them

  e - finance bill 2023

  e - democratic that lords cannot vote on it

  3) select committees

  p - powers to examine the government, able to call on members of the government to answer questions from the committee on the work that the government is doing

  e - Women and Equalities Select Committee.

  e - democratic, scrutinises
• p Explain and analyse three powers of backbenchers?

  1) government scrutiny

  p - question government ministers during question time and in PMQs on their policies and actions, make up and chair select committees, can write questions

  e - speaker bercow allowed 159 backbench urgent questions, british sign language act 2022 2) parliamentary privilege

  p - enables them to carry out their roles, ensures can freely debate, legal immunity over what is said in parliament

  e - used during Ryan Giggs affair to name the footballer who had taken out an injunction over an affair

  3) debate

  p - allowed to choose the topic for debate on 35 days in each parliamentary session, this has led to the holding of debates on some subjects that might not otherwise have been chosen. e - 2015 led to the introduction of Harvey's law, p p - responds to proposals that command cross-party support, and so there is an incentive for MPs to work together in requesting a debate
• p Explain and analyse three functions of select committees

  1) scrutiny of spending

  p - mainly responsibility of public accounts select committee ask to see government papers

  e - Feb 2022 report criticised HMRC Tax revenue decrease of 4%

  2) scrutiny of the government

  p - The Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Select Committee examines standards of administration provided by Civil Service departments.

  e - July 2020 report scrutinised the government for its absence of a 'coherent plan' for its levelling up scheme

  e - can not force government ministers to appear before them

  3) scrutiny of public institutions

  p - question them if it is in the public interest

  e - business, innovation and skills select committee questioned Mike Ashley, owner of Sports Direct, over the working conditions
• p Explain and analyse three role of the opposition?

  1) debate

  p - raise issues for debate and debate with the government on legislation in the committee stage and second reading

  e - make up part of all committees and member of opposition chairs the Public Accounts Committee

  e - can scrutinise government policies and oppose them in parliament

  2) executive scrutiny

  p - opposition uses question time, adjournment debates and PMQs to challenge the executive and hold them to account

  e - Jeremy Corbyn had used PMQs to ask the PM questions submitted by the public

  e - often opposes government legislation, if they get support from other small parties they can stop bills from passing

  3) shadow cabinet

  p - made up of MPs who represent areas such as healthcare, jobs, the treasury and home office

  e - Angela Rayner is the shadow secretary of levelling up

  e - different policies can be researched and representatives can debate government cabinet ministers
• p + c Explain and analyse three types of presidential government

  1) presidential style

  p - when an individual is strong and dominant over the executive, strong pm's office, strong personality and focus in media

  e - Michael Foley argued PM is becoming 'presidential' and distances themselves from the government to increase their personal stature, Tony Blair

  2) prime ministers office

  p - stronger with many special advisers who have more access to the prime minister than many cabinet members

  e - Blair's 'sofa' cabinet where he formulated policy with a small number of special advisors, Alista

  3) foreign policy

  p - greater control over major foreign policy issues, take personal control, representing UK at conferences, make military decisions

  e - Blair invasion on IRAQ 2003
• Explain and analyse three circumstances under which referendums have been held in the UK

  1) pressure

  p - pressure over a particular issue for it to be resolved with the public opinion

  e - EU referendum in 2016 was promised by Cameron if the Conservatives were re-elected in 2015

  p - Cameron made this promise because of political pressure favouring a referendum, and the fear of losing votes to UKIP in the general election

  e - complex issue that some people believe the public was not informed enough to make a rational decision on when voting

  2) deal

  p - coalition governments, may be a result from a deal made between political parties

  e - 2011 AV electoral system referendum was agreed as a part of the Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition gov agreement in 2010

  e - have a clear outcome to resolve political arguments

  3) low participation and low voter turnout, not legitimate

  p - engagement in matters that affect the specific country

  e - Devolution, in Scottish parliament referendum over 74% of people voted in favour of a Scottish Parliament which addressed the issue of whether Scotland should have its own parliament

  e - challenge parliamentary sovereignty, elected politicians should be making decisions on complex political issues
• Explain and analyse three ways in which the media can have an influence upon the outcome of elections

  1) direct influence theory

  p - media does impact voting behaviour and can influence the outcome of elections, the media helps shape voters' opinions of the leaders and parties, spin doctors and advertising agencies employed

  e - Alastair Campbell under Tony Blair helped present Blair as young and charismatic

  e - may only have influence on the younger generation

  2) reinforcement theory

  p - media does little to influence voting but merely reinforces existing preferences, voters favour papers/programmes that support rather than challenge, selective perception and retention

  e - 2019 Johnston 52% readers of the Sun

  e - sections of media are biased

  3) agenda setting theory

  p - media has an influence regarding what the nation thinks about in terms of headlines and policies and also has an educational role

  e - interviews and TV debates scrutinise party leaders and cabinets, 2010 Cleggmania

  e - unpredictable, opinion polls show swing, Portillo 1997
• Explain and analyse three ways in which collective responsibility has come under pressure since 1979.

  1)

  p - due to leaks to the media by disgruntled ministers

  e - Theresa May ordered her ministers to stop leaking details of cabinet discussions over Brexit policy 2017

  e - ensures the government appears united and that ministers support all other government members

  2)

  p - due to PM's ignoring their cabinet, undermining the ability of ministers to have free and frank discussions prior to coming to a collective decision

  e - Mo Mowlam's criticisms of Blair undermining cabinet government, appoint special advisors such as Dominic Cummings with de facto ministerial powers and rely on them for advice

  e - ministers have to defend policies they do not agree with, meaning policies can be forced upon them e.g. Blair Iraq invasion 2003

  3)

  p - can be formally set aside

  e - collective ministerial responsibility suspended in October 2016 so that ministers could maintain individual positions to build a third runway at Heathrow or EU referendum giving ministers the choice to campaign for staying or leaving EU

  e - have to sometimes be independent from party opinion so pure decision is made without the threat of having to resign
• Explain and analyse three long-term factors, other than class, that can influence voting behaviour.

  1) age

  p - older voters tend to be more likely to vote conservative and the concept of 'senescent conservatism'

  e - more important, in 2010 large difference among older voters, with 44% of voters aged over 65 supporting the Conservatives compared to 31% of voters supporting labour

  e - conservatives can appeal more to older people as they are likely to be at the top of their earnings, turnout is higher among younger people recently

  2) gender

  p - importance has lessened, Labour's greater support for welfare and families which women may benefit more directly from

  e -2010 Labour and Conservatives received similar levels of support across men and women, Reform UK is more popular among male voters than the Conservatives

  e - gender has had less of an impact on voting behaviour in recent years

  3) social class

  p - historic differences in party policies, conservatives low taxes and reduced welfare support, appeal to wealthier

  e -1997 Labour won 59% of the unskilled working class vote and Conservatives won only 21%

  e -social class remains most important factor, over the years there has been a sustained and consistent pattern of class based voting
• Explain and analyse three ways in which the cabinet can limit the power of the Prime Minister

  1) high profile resignations

  p - cabinet government, primus inter pares, can't control governmental departments

  e - 8th July 2018, David Davis resigned as Brexit secretary as he didn't believe in the chequers plan for brexit, steve baker and johnson then resigned too

  e - appear weak to the public

  2) impact of divisions and opposition from within the cabinet

  p - disagreements within cabinet, factions can form and espouse different policy agendas

  e - Brown/Blair relationship like disagreement on policy over whether the UK should join the eurozone

  e - appear as divided government

  e - ministers and MP's aligned themselves to the 'Blairite' or 'Brownite' camps, Brown's team even ran rival whipping operations to Blair's during parliamentary votes

  3) Constitutional powers of patronage limited

  p - limited by need for an effective cabinet to balance factions of the party, inclusion of potential rivals, ministers who refuse to be reshuffled, coalition government

  e - May's government had both pro brexit and anti brexit members

  e - limit government as this causes tension, may have policy disagreements, hard to be united front
• Explain and analyse three features of representative democracy?

  1) MPs are able make informed decisions on behalf of their constituents

  p - as well as ensure their interests are taken into account, and can then be held accountable at election

  e - Labour backbencher Ben Bradshaw defied the Labour whip of supporting Article 50 as he would not vote for a process that would impoverish his constituents

  e - government can be held accountable

  2) Free and fair elections

  p - Barring issues concerning the franchise being extended to 16/17-year olds, prisoners/homeless people, who are disenfranchised due to the registration process, elections in the UK are largely free and fair, as everyone over the age of 18, who is not a prisoner, mentally incapable or a peer is allowed to vote

  e - Representation of the People Acts (1918)/(1969) + Equal Franchise Act (1928) Fixed term Parliament Act (2011) requires elections to be held at regular intervals in the name of fairness

  e - there is a variety of representation, pressure groups representing minority interests + social interests also factor into fairness + election turnout in recent years has been rising

  3) methods from which government can be made accountable

  p - While minority groups/causes may go overlooked by the main parties, they can be criticised by pressure groups and third parties

  e - Sunak and Gove accused of caving in to lobbying in favour of landlords

  e - they provide alternative means of political participation for those who are uninterested in the main political parties.
• Explain and analyse three criticisms of the UK's democratic arrangements?

  1) representative democracy

  p - representative democracy can be said to be unrepresentative, with some critics arguing that the Uk is more elitist than it is pluralist - wealthy/well-connected groups can be said to have considerable influence over govt

  e - 2010 Cash for Influence scandal

  e - rep democracy also means that the fusion of exec/legislative branches creates 'elective dictatorship' - which governments with weaker mandates can still dominate parliament

  2) FPTP

  p - can be said to be unrepresentative of voters

  e - 3.8 million UKIP voters in 2017, one MP elected

  p - In the 2019 general election was proportional rather than first-past-the-post, the difference between the Conservative seats claimed would see their majority go from 365 to 288,

  p - encourages tactical voting, as voters often vote not for the candidate they most prefer, but against the candidate they most dislike

  3) The franchise is limited

  p - to 18-year olds, which means that 16/17-year olds, who can legally join the army and work cannot vote

  e - Scottish Independence Referendum - which had an 84.6% turnout - the highest since 1910, and almost 15% higher than the Brexit referendum

  e - Prisoners are not allowed to vote, and homeless people cannot vote due to registration restrictions, meaning that a sizeable proportion of the over-18 UK electorate is disenfranchised
• Explain and analyse three arguments against the greater use of direct democracy in the UK

  1) Low turnouts can be said to undermine referendum results

  p - even with a majority verdict in a referendum on a radical change, it will most likely not be over 50% of the country which votes in favour of the decision

  e - Brexit referendum - 17.1 million voted to leave, which is around 25% of the UK's 66.4 million population

  e - referendum results do not necessarily constitute majority support for an issue

  2) Direct democracy can be said to undermine elected representatives

  p - allowing them to pass the responsibility for difficult decisions, which they were elected to carry, to the public

  e - David Cameron, highest representative office holder, forced to resign following 2015 referendum

  e - his means that representatives are less accountable and have less responsibility for policy decisions.

  3) Tyranny of the majority

  p - Direct democracy relies on majority votes from the public in referendums, and as such minority groups and interest may have their needs and concerns overlooked

  e - Scotland/Northern Ireland voted to remain but will be forced to leave unless they can negotiate a deal with the EU

  e - this ties into populist outcomes, where people tend to vote on popular short-term measures that will benefit them rather than considering what will be in the national interest and good for the country as a whole
• Explain and analyse three forms of political participation?

  1) Online activism

  p - social media has made it easier for people to participate in the political process

  e - petition.org set up by Backbench Business Committee in 2010, any petition which gains more than 100,000 signatures will be recommended for debate to the house by BBBC

  e - but slacktivism/trolling undermines the impact of online participation as they can lead to fake news, sometimes even by political parties

  2) voting/electoral participation

  p - voting allows citizens to transfer power to representatives and then hold them to account, however, lower turnout in recent years means that elections are less representative than before

  e - low turnout since 1997 - 59% in 2001, 61% in 2005, 65% in 2010, 66% in 2015 and 67.3% in 2019

  e - Low turnout in these elections also undermines their purpose as politicians do not need to fear an electorate that does not turnout to hold them to account

  3) party membership

  p - it allows citizens to get involved with the activities and campaigns organised by these parties, party membership in the UK/Europe has rapidly declined, indication of growing apathy towards politics in the UK, and a lack of participation/enthusiasm for the political process.

  e - Reform UK gained 4,000 in a month, however, now, less than 1% of population is a member of a party

  e - party funds are reduced, parties are less representative, there is a smaller group of people influencing the direction of party policy, etc. etc.Social media has made it easier for people to participate in the political process - but slacktivism/trolling undermines the impact of online participation as they can lead to fake news, sometimes even by political parties
• Explain and analyse three electoral systems used in the UK

  1) FPTP

  p - one member for each constituency, candidate with most votes wins, often results in a two party system

  e - 2019 general election, Conservatives only got 43.6% but got 317 seats

  e - can have good relationship with constituency however it usually favours the two strongest parties which can result in wasted votes

  2) Supplementary Vote

  p - used for mayor of London, voter records their first ad second preferences, if none win majority, second preferences votes for two remaining added to first preference

  e - Sadiq Khan won 40% of the first vote and 55.2% of the second vote against Conservative Shaun Bailey

  e - winning candidate may be elected without winning a majority of votes if second preference voted aren't used effectively

  3) Single Transferable Vote

  p - each voter casts a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate preferences if their preferred candidate is eliminated or elected with surplus votes

  e - In Northern Irish elections, 239 candidates contested the 90 available seats in the Assembly in 18 constituencies

  e - multi member constituencies weaken link between individual MP's and their constituency, donkey voting

  4) Additional member system

  p - voters are given a ballot paper which asks them to record two votes. The first vote is for an area or constituency MSP, the person with the most votes wins, also given the opportunity to vote for a political party. Once all the first votes are counted and constituency MSPs elected, this second vote is used to make the overall representation of each of the political parties fair

  e - In Scotland, voters elect 73 MSPs from the Westminster-style first ballot paper and 56 from the second ballot paper.

  e - smaller parties are underrepresented because in multimember constituency only few representatives
• Explain and analyse three ways in which UK political parties select their leaders

  1) conservatives

  p - Candidates were required to obtain nominations from at least 100 MPs, had three candidates reached the nomination threshold, a ballot of Conservative MPs would have been held to eliminate one that afternoon, then indicative vote by Conservative MPs between the final two, online ballot of Conservative Party members

  e - Sunak 197 2022 October leadership

  e - no involvement of party members

  2) labour

  p - qualify for ballot, nominations from 10% MPS and MEPSs, either 5% CLPs or 3 affiliated groups, to make it to final ballot candidates must receive nominations from either 5% of constituency parties or at least 3 affiliates, voting in the membership ballot

  e - Starmer 88 MP + MEP nominations, 56% party members

  e - reflects internal democracy as party members and registered supporters vote

  3) liberal democrats

  p - use STV, effectively AV, candidates must be MPs with the support of at least 10% of Liberal Democrats MPs, at least 20 local parties and 200 members

  e - Ed Davey 1870 party members

  e - gives higher and lower preferences equal weight: it treats a sixth preference as one vote just as it does a first preference
• Explain and analyse three ways in which judicial independence is upheld in the UK

  1) Constitutional Reform Act 2005

  p - established the supreme court which replaced the law lords, who ruled in the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords, as part of the separation of parliament and the judiciary

  e - Baroness Hale, Lord Reed

  e - separate body to check the power of the other branches

  2) Tenure

  p - judges are appointed for an open ended term limited only by age, judges can only be removed by a vote in both houses of parliament, must retire by 70 if appointed after 1995

  e - Lord Lloyd Jones retired at 70

  e - prevents them from making decisions based on what will please Parliament

  3) Consolidated Fund

  p - guaranteed salaries that are paid from the Consolidated Fund

  e - Consolidated Fund (CF) was first set up in 1787

  e - salaries cannot be manipulated by politicians as they are classified as standing services

  3) separation of powers

  p - Independent Judicial Appointments Commission: select candidates solely on merit; select only people of good character; and have regard to the need to encourage diversity in the range of persons available for judicial selection

  e - comprises 15 commissioners

  e - separation of powers, not political
• Explain and analyse three ways in which pressure groups seek to influence government policy


  1) direct action

  p - form of political protest that can involve civil disobedience, illegal methods or violence, aim is to raise the profile of the pressure group's cause with media coverage

  e - Fathers4Justice carried out publicity stunt in which a member of the group scaled Buckingham Palace balcony dressed as Batman

  e - media coverage can change how the public sees a pressure group, Animal Liberation front carried out attacks on homes of people with connections to pharmaceutical research laboratories using animals

  2) lobbying

  p - pressure groups can try to influence through hiring lobbyists who put pressure on the government at Westminster and Whitehall

  e - the Royal College of Nursing frequently visits the Department of Health

  e - there is no action taken to stop ministers from not listening to the pressure groups cause

  3) mass media

  p - having members write letters and articles in the print media, having representatives appear on radio and TV

  e - Just Stop Oil demonstrations e.g. van gogh's sunflowers

  e - can deter public opinion
• Explain and analyse three ways in which membership of the EU has had an impact upon UK politics


  1) Constitution

  p - challenges to parliamentary sovereignty, EU takes precedence over UK law

  e - after the European Communities Act 1972 and the Factortame 1990

  e - may challenge leadership of prime ministers like Thatcher whose resignation was due to loss of support from her cabinet following disagreements about Europe

  2) Political parties

  p - creating divisions with both the Conservatives and Labour parties and between the two parties themselves and increasing political tensions between the devolved regions and Westminster since 2016 referendum

  e - factions such as the ERG readily defying the party whip, formation of new parties such as UKIP, Brexit Party and Change UK

  e - may create new government departments, decisive policies

  3) Elections

  p - elections in the devolved regions

  e - 2019 general election and the breaching of Labour's 'red wall' used to describe the UK Parliament constituencies in the Midlands and Northern England that historically supported the Labour Party, increased support for SNP and 2% of the vote to the Brexit party

  e - government departments and institutions, workload, may be divisons
• Explain and analyse three sources of the constitution

  1) Statue law

  p - acts of parliament, not binding due to parliamentary sovereignty

  e - Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011, every five years, if not need 2/3 majority or no confidence vote, repealed 2022

  e - can be confusing as it is changed all the time but good because they are flexible, unlike US

  2) Conventions

  p - generally observed practices, not legally enforceable, binding to all parliaments

  e - Salisbury Addison, hol can't block anything in government manifesto

  e - clear guidelines but can lead to political criticism, can't do anything if they are not applied

  3) Works of authority

  p - outline the UK constitution, authoritative guides

  e - Walter Bagehot 'English Constitution' in 1867 outline functions, difference from UK to US

  e - provide expertise, can be seen as outdated
• Explain and analyse three characteristics of the constitution?

  1)Uncodified

  p - series of laws and principles for governing that aren't in single document

  e - human rights act 1998 can be changed or overruled

  e - more democratic, updated with time

  2) Unitary state

  p - sovereignty located at the centre, central power has supremacy over other tiers, powers in UK are devolved not divide

  e - scotland act 1998 established scottish parliament, can take power back, this has happened with Northern Ireland when, for instance, the Stormont government was suspended as the Nationalist and Unionist politicians couldn't agree on power sharing.

  e - can be removed but is highly unlikely

  3) Unentrenched

  p - no specific procedure for amendment and can be changed easily

  e - house of lords act 1999 reduced to 92

  e - more democratic but can be confusing
• Explain and analyse three principles of the constitution?

  1) Rule of law

  p - AV Dicey, three strands, no man punished without trial, no one is above the law, personal freedoms be the result of common law rather than statue

  e - Rishi Sunak fined £100 car, no seatbelt

  e - ensures rights are protected, justice accessible, judicial review put in unelected hands

  2) Parliamentary sovereignty

  p - legal sovereignty to make, amend and repeal law, can legislate on any subject, cannot be overturned by higher authority, not binding to its successors

  e - human rights act 1998

  e - can be overturned, little protection

  3) Constitutional monarchy

  p - monarchy has no real power, remains in place due to traditional, monarch merely figurehead

  e - Scottish Militia Bill during Queen Anne's reign in 1708, refused royal assent

  e - monarch is unelected
• Explain and analyse three reforms of the constitution?

  1) House of Lords Act 1999

  p - labour government, unelected, hereditary peers, reduced to 92

  e- Baroness Smith only 28 years old wants to scrap the House of Lords, member of Plaid Cymru e - some still left, undemocratic, unelected, could have expertise

  2) Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011

  p - conservative, general election every five years, repealed in 2020 , could be no confidence in gov or 2/3 majority

  e - stopped calling them whenever it was best suited

  3) Freedom of Information Act 2000

  p - labour government, able to see info about yourself and public access to government information

  e - mp's expenses scandal 2009, lose trust in the government

  e - greater transparency
• Explain and analyse three benefits of an uncodified constitution?

  1) Parliamentary sovereignty

  p - legal sovereignty to make, amend and repeal law, can legislate on any subject, cannot be overturned by higher authority, not binding to its successors

  e - human rights act 19988

  p - can be overturned, little protection

  2) Flexible in serious events

  p - can adapt to changes as necessary

  e - took far less time for black rights to be brought into it in the UK than it did in the US, more hurdles

  e - clear political procedure

  3) Not outdated

  p - allow radical changes

  e - UK - Dunblane massacre 1996

  e - gives power to judges who are unelected making them highly superior
• Explain and analyse three reasons to scrap the Human Rights Act?

  1) Parliamentary sovereignty

  p - limited in its protection as it cannot overturn legislation, places role in judiciary's interpretation

  e - In June 2018, the court issued a declaration of incompatibility on the Civil Partnerships Act because gay couples are allowed to marry or become civil partners, but straight couples cannot

  e - judges are unelected and therefore are a neutral body, stops parliament overstepping, declaration of incompatibility

  2) Weak

  p - not entrenched so government can remove it, Conservatives want to replace with British Bill of Rights defines certain rights more narrowly

  e - 2005, gov introduced control orders, allowing authorities to restrict movements of suspected terrorists, declare an exemption from Article 5

  e - makes it harder for people to challenge abuse of their rights

  3) Prioritises individual rights

  p - over those as a society as a whole, been described as a 'criminal's charter'

  e - Shamima Begum deprived of British citizenship undermines value of individuals whereas, Philip Lawrence's killer not deported

  e - bill of rights would aim to protect collective rights e.g. Abu Qatada deportation to jordan blocked, info gained through torture
• Explain and analyse three ways in which parliament carries out its legislative function


  1) standing committees

  p - hold the government accountable for policies and decisions, support parliamentary scrutiny, bring expert contributions

  e - the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee examining the Draft Animal Welfare Bill 2017

  e - can criticise government policy but cannot change it

  2) House of Lords

  p - more assertive, fairer balance, confident in scrutiny

  e - 2013-2014 parliamentary session, Lords considered 62 bills, made 1686 amendments like Children and Families Act 2014 adding clause to make it an offence to smoke in car with children

  e - restricted by amendments being overturned, has financial privilege

  3) Private member bills

  p - public bills introduced my MPs and Lords who are not ministers

  e - Animals (Low Welfare Activities Abroad) Act 2023 received royal assent

  e - less time is allocated to these bills, less likely to proceed through all the stages.
• Explain and analyse three ways in which parliament carries out scrutiny of executive

  1) parliamentary questions

  p - time for ministers from each party, pmqs provide opportunity for leader of opposition to scrutinise

  e - Corbyn 2015-2016 he asked questions made by the public

  e - only provides parliamentary theatre, planted questions from parliament whips

  2) Opposition

  p - right to respond first to the pm on major statements, can ask 6 questions in pmqs, can table amendments and develop their own policies, choose topic of debate for 20 days

  e - 2009 Liberal Democrats motion on british citizenship for Gurkha veterans produced gov defeat

  e - have to rely on limited funding, short money, Labour £7.8 million

  2) select committees

  p - hold government accountable for policy and decisions, expert contributions to debate

  e - Brexit public sessions between referendum in June 2016 and Jan 2020, 474 on Brexit

  e - only make recommendations, dominated by governing party in commons
• Explain and analyse three roles of the PM

  1) appointment

  p - significant sway over government appointments and patronage, PM can appoint and remove ministers often for political reasons and cabinet shuffles

  e - Suella Braverman replaced as Home Secretary by James Cleverly

  e - the Prime Minister can nominate individuals for peerage, controversial

  2) head of the government

  p - leader of the majority part in commons, no direct election for the PM, organises government departments, primus inter pares

  e - Johnson resigned on 7th July 20222, followed by Truss and Sunak

  e - sofa government, cabinet ministers do hold authority

  3) policymaking

  p - central role in setting the agenda in both cabinet and legislature, PM's policy agenda often presented through party manifesto

  e - Sunak: halve inflation, economy growth, debt falling, waiting lists and stopping small boats

  e - holds the PM to account
• Explain and analyse three key players in policy making?


  1) Prime Minister

  p - directs and influences gov policy including all areas of policy but usually focused on main areas such as economics and foreign policy

  e - stopping small boats

  2) Cabinet

  p - approving policy and coordinating policy for example making all ministers aware of policy decisions and progress in all gov departments

  e - Home Affairs Committee

  3) Lords

  p - house of lords can exchange amendments to bills with one another, either agree or disagree to amendments or make alternative proposals

  e - Public Order Bill 2023 paves way for gov to introduce new powers to restrict demonstrations and erode protest right

  e - Addison salisbury convention
• Explain and analyse three reasons why ministers resign

  1) scandal individual responsibility

  p - ministers responsible for their actions and department's, expected to resign if there are major failings in work or conduct

  e - Matt Hancock resigned as UK health secretary breaching covid rules

  e -fails when ministers choose not to resign and blame others, sacked e.g. priti patel

  2) disagreement collective responsibility

  p - ministers that fail to publicly support cabinet policies must resign from government

  e - 2018 Boris Johnson resigned as foreign secretary as he disagreed with govs 'Chequers deal' for leaving EU

  e - ensures government appears united, ministers all support other members

  3) departmental individual

  p - how a department runs, how they work and their conduct

  e - Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned as minister of Agriculture 1954, mistakes made by civil servants om Crichel Down Affair
• Explain and analyse three ways judges are neutral

  1) Restrictions on political activity

  p - not supposed to campaign on behalf of a political party or pressure groups, retain right to vote, political views cannot be matter of public record

  e - since April 2006, judicial appointments made by independent JAC, not associated with political party

  e - conservative bias towards senior judges

  2) Relative anonymity of senior judges

  p - operated away from the public eye, rarely spoke out publicly on issues of law

  3) legal requirements

  p - expected to offer explanation of how their decisions are rooted in law, requirement that decisions be clearly rooted in law makes less likely they will have a personal bias

  e - available to public scrutiny e.g. Potanina v Potanin
• Explain and analyse three powers of the judiciary?

  1) Declaration of incompatibility

  p - notification to parliament that the legislation is incompatible with the human rights convention

  e - 2010 court ruled the government had not acted lawfully when insisting that convicted sex offenders should be registered with the police for life

  2) common law

  p - laws based on precedent and tradition, when deciding legality of a case, judges will use previous decisions

  e - the powers contained in the royal prerogative which are now exercised by the Prime Minister

  3) judicial review

  p - process by which judges review the actions of public officials or public bodies in order to determine whether or not they have acted in unlawful matter

  e - Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt didn't have the power to implement cuts at Lewisham Hospital when he decided the emergency and maternity units should be cut back

  e - unelected judges scrutinising the legality of the actions of an elected gov
• Explain and analyse three powers of devolved assemblies

  1) Scotland

  p - taxation

  e - Scotland Act 2016 gave Scotland the ability to set income tax rates and gave Scottish parliament 50% of the VAT revenue gained from Scotland

  e - meant UK Parliament could not make legislation or anything under Scottish Parliamen't authority without their consent

  2) Wales

  p - referendums

  e - given in Government of Wales Act 2006 e.g. 2011 Welsh devolution referendum whether National Assembly should have full law making powers

  3) Northern Ireland

  p - education

  e - Integrated Education Act 2022
• Arguments for devolution


  1) Answer West Lothian

  p - issue that England constituency MPs cannot vote on many matters affected Scotland, Wales and NI however Westminster MPs can vote on English matters

  e - 14th March 2018 8 DUP MPs voted with the Conservative Government to remove thousands of Free School Meals in England

  2) Address grievances

  p - Barnett Formula, England receives less funding from UK taxes per capita than other UK regions, could be addressed by English Parliament

  e - 2016 block grant for Scotland was £28m

  e - little appetite for English Parliament

  3) Representation

  p - can be strong regional identities, extended range of powers to city-regions based on major cities

  e - Labour's Andy Burnham was first Mayor of Greater Manchester in 2017

  e - may accelerate calls for independence
• Advantages of direct democracy

  1) purest form

  p - legitimate, the people choose the policies/laws they want, politicians who are wealthier have less influence

  e - Scottish independence Referendum turnout of 84.6%

  2) participation

  p - if people are voting directly on issues, this may motivate them to find out more about them so become politically aware

  e - Brexit

  3) resolve disputes and transparency

  p - coalition governments, not all the responsibility is in the governments hands

  e - AV referendum
• Ways the franchise has been extended

  1) 1928 Equal Franchise

  p - extended suffrage to all women, passed under Conservative government

  2) 196 representation of the people act

  p - extended suffrage to people under 21 after attitudes towards adulthood changed, under Labour

  3) Scottish Elections Bill

  p - gave the vote to those over 16 and prisoners who served less than a 12 month sentence
• Positive impacts of referendums

  1) Settle disputes

  e - UK EU referendum 2016, 33m UK citizens voted on whether to remain a member of EU or leave, 51.89% voted to leave, Cameron resignation

  2) Education

  p - matters of importance stimulate further research and is more democratic, listens to demands

  e - Alternative Vote Referendum 2011 over 19m voted against it and keeping FPTP

  3) Participation

  e - Scottish Independence Referendums turnout was 84.6%