Powers Of and Limitations On the UK Prime Minister

Powers Of and Limitations On the UK Prime Minister Parliament is the legislative body of the UK; it is composed of bicameral parliaments; The House of Commons (HOC) is responsible for considering and proposing new laws as well as scrutinizing governmental policies and legislation, oversees governments finances and administration. The House of Lords (HOL) participates within the law-making process, investigates matters of public interest independently and examines the administration of government. The party with the largest number of members in the HOC forms the government under the office of the Prime Minister (PM). This arrangement exists by a whereby the Monarch must appoint a PM to oversee government and lead the HOC; this position has evolved overtime as a consequence of historical and political acts with origins in the early 1680s. This appointment results in a transfer of power from the sovereign to parliament under the Royal Prerogative Powers (Bradley 2011). The role of the PM is to serve as the head of the Her Majestys government having been elected as the premiership winning party in the UK elections. He / she are not elected as head of their respective party by the public but from within their respective party (Braizer, 1999). Serving as the Chief of the Executive, the PM has a number of functions which include; overseeing Parliament, overseeing the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies, serving as the link among the executive and legislative branches of the assembly, responsibility for policy and governmental decisions ensuring that they are scrutinized and implemented once Royal Ascent has been granted and serving as the figure head in the HOC (Heffernan, 2005). They are responsible for managing a number of relations which include those between; the Government and the Monarch, Government and the Opposition and between the UK and the devolved assemblies. Through the power of patronage, the PM has the power to select the Cabinet The Executive and can appoint ministers to the Cabinet and appoint ministers to lead on specific policy areas such as education, health, foreign and commonwealth; extending the ministerial responsibility for the respective areas of work to them. The PM will also appoint special advisors and other political advisors within the Cabinet, on the basis of political viewpoint, skills and expertise. The PM is required to ensure that the order of precedency is upheld in Cabinet as well as ensuring that ministers adhere to and uphold the ministerial code. Holding power over ministerial conduct (1997 revised 2007) and if required they can appoint, reshuffle or dismiss ministers. The PM can use their power of collective responsibility to silence any critics avoiding dissention and ensuring cohesion exists with the cabinet. Decisions made with Cabinet meetings chaired by the PM must have support of the ministers irrespective of agreement on such matters, they are required to publicly support the PMs decision / mandate, failure to do so can result in dismissal / resignation as was the case of the late Robin Cook, Leader of the Commons and former Foreign Secretary, 2003. In order to encourage support from the cabinet the PM can use their power of patronage as a tool for reward and recognition bringing about change in behaviour and ensuring loyalty. It could be argued that this is both a power and a limitation, to some it is perceived as an elitist method of promotion on the basis of political support and rather than on the merit of work. Whilst the PM has many powers, one of the greatest limitations is the threat and in fighting from within their own respective party; without majority support, their position is weakened significantly as was the case with Margaret Thatcher in 1990, her former cabinet colleague Geoffrey Howe initiated a revolt against her leadership style leading to her resignation as PM. Interestingly, her successor John Major was subjected to a revolt following the lack of support from his party on the issue of Britain developing greater links with Europe, when the 1997 general election was undertaken he and the Conservatives suffered the largest electoral defeat in history. Without consulting the electorate, the governing party can at any time seek to replace the PM, as was the case in 2007 when Tony Blair was replaced by Gordon Brown as PM. The style of leadership style (Norton) of a PM can work for or against them during their time in office (Norton 2013). Thatcher gained significant popularity in the early 80s but went on to lose support as she was perceived as being too over-bearing and out of touch. Her famous statement This Ladys not for turning demonstrated how aggressive her leadership style was. Blairs leadership was strong and presidential like, he, like Thatcher did not always use his Cabinet for scrutiny or consultation giving rise to accusations of utilizing a kitchen-cabinet and increased use of special advisors, ultimately this caused much mistrust and dissention within the party and executive (Buckley, 2006). Although the PM serves as head of Cabinet; Ministerial members of the cabinet have equal powers primus inter pares, yet the PM is accountable to the nation and the electorate and is not above reproach. They are responsible not just for their decisions but those of their ministers. How the PM deals with contentious political or social issues and how they seek resolution can impact greatly on their popularity and confidence in them as a leader (Quinn, 2012) as was the case with Heath (Miners Strike 1974), Thatcher (Poll Tax 1989) and Blair (Iraq 2003). Browns popularity waned over the issue of calling a general election (2007) and tax rate reductions (2008) resulting in a call for leadership contest, this was usurped on the basis of his handling of the financial crisis (2008). Media can grossly influence public perception on the PM depending on their readerships left or right wing views (McCombs, 2013). To conclude, the PM is granted numerous powers, many of which bestowed from the Monarch and others from their position of PM and leader of their respective party. All powers come with limitations; the powers will work for or against a PM. Fundamentally their position is dependent on their interpretation and execution of said powers, a majority support of ministers on their mandate or how well he or she can secure their support. The office of Prime Minister is what its holder chooses and makes of it H H Asquith (Hennessy, 2001). Their leadership style can affect how ministers react; their position on changing legislation, how accountable they are politically and socially or when subjected to scrutiny can sway the balance of power to eventually become a limitation. (Word count 1094) Bibliography BRADLEY, A., 2011. The sovereignty of Parliament-form or substance? The changing constitution, 23, pp. 54-56. BRAIZER, R., 1999. Constitutional Practice: The Foundations of British Government. Oxford University Press on Demand. BUCKLEY, S., 2006. Prime Minister and Cabinet. Edinburgh University Press. HENNESSY, P., 2001. The Prime Minister: the office and its holders since 1945. Palgrave Macmillan. MCCOMBS, M., 2013. Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. John Wiley Sons. NORTON, P. and JONES, B. 2014. Politics UK. 8th Edition. Harlow, Pearson QUINN, T., 2012. Electing and Ejecting Party Leaders in Britain. Springer.

Deborah Tannen Analysis Essay

Ap English Tannen Essay Section 1: Theory You Just Don’t Understand Women and Men in Conversation by Deborah Tannen is basically an explanation on how women and men converse. Tannens main goal is to give advice to the different genders in order for them to avoid as much conflict as possible. Tannen’s main ideas are to explain how differently women and men react to each other’s way of being. It’s like they’re in their own little world while living in the same big world. Men tend to try to dominate situations and tend to always want to be at the top.Women do not tend to want to get into conflict but tend to show understanding. These big differences bring them into conflict. A Tannen explains, â€Å"What he wanted conflicted with what she wanted†. (40) Women and men are constantly clashing in opinions. Men are usually trying to be above each other which is something Tannen calls â€Å"one-up†. It is like men are always in competition with people around them. For example, in chapter 2, Tannen explains why men don’t ask for directions. She explains, â€Å"The fact that you have the information, and the person you are speaking to doesn’t, sends a metamessage of superiority.If reasons are inherently hierarchal, then the one who has more information is framed as higher up on the ladder, by virtue of being more knowledgeable and competent. † This shows how men are always trying to be at the top of every conversation. They want to know everything, in order to be at the top of everyone. Women have a completely different view point then men. They aim to be accepted by others, they try to avoid conflict, and they tend to show that they understand what the other person is trying to say.For example, in chapter 6, Tannen begins to explain how in a comic, the two boys are fighting while a girl named Debbie is trying to be the peacemaker. She claims that she is looking for someone but the boys say that the per son isn’t there. Even though she knows the person is there, she acts like she doesn’t know anything to avoid conflict. Tannen explains, â€Å"Females play the role of being peace makers. †(162) This shows how women basically try to avoid any conflict with anyone. Section 2: Setting The setting of the conversation is at lunch in a restaurant for a reunion.There are three women: Cathy and Jeanne are sisters and Mary is their mom. The conversation is taking place at a restaurant called The Cheese Cake Factory at around 12:45. The women are having lunch because Cathy came down to visit them from Venezuela. The women haven’t seen each other in two months. They basically discuss their life styles and explain how their children act. Section 3: Analysis In this conversation, there are no men. Since there are only women, there is no conflict and they basically agree with each other in everything.They talk about their children’s behaviors and no one speaks m ore than one another. However, even though Mary does talk, she speaks less than her daughters do. The women only interrupt each other twice in the entire conversation but it is to add positive feedback to each of their issues. For example, Jeanne interrupts Cathy to say â€Å"of course†, when Cathy is talking about her conditions in Venezuela. Throughout the conversation, the topic basically stays the same. Unlike men, these women don’t try to be â€Å"one-up† from each other in anyway. No one brags about anything and they don’t try to put each other down.In fact, they agree with each other when they share different anecdotes. For example, Jeanne agrees with Mary when Mary says that it was hard to have 3 teenagers at once. Jeanne specifically says, â€Å"How the heck did you do that! † I think Tannens theory of women is proven by this conversation. Since there are just women, they each agree with each other and are very understanding of their conce rns and opinions. Section 4: Reflection In this conversation, I completely agree with what Tannen would think of this conversation. Women always tend to agree with each other and then add feedback to the conversation.Also, men like to be straight to the point while women like to be detailed and concerned. This is exactly what the ladies are doing in this conversation. They do not try to be better than each other in any way; they are simply having lunch. No one tries to take the lead role of the conversation and neither one of them tries to act like they’re better than another. This book has opened my eyes to many things I never noticed. I never noticed why men and women clash so much with each other. Men and women are very different. For example, this book made me feel the need to analyze my parent’s relationship.They do fight because they have different views on how to deal with things. My mom seems to overreact to things in my dad’s eyes. However, my mom feels that my dad doesn’t care so much about her since he feels this way. I agree with her when she compares the genders. However, at times I felt that she would exaggerate. As a woman, I notice that I do many of the things she says in her book. I’m never looking for conflict and I don’t like to brag to people that I don’t really know because it seems like they’ll judge me. However, in this book, I feel that women look weak in her eyes.She feels that they are always willing to avoid conflict but this is not always the case. Women fight as well for what they want. At times, I felt her book had been inaccurate because the ideas were more stuck in the past. For example, the newspaper example in chapter 3. When I read this example, the first think I thought about was my grandparents. They always fight due to the idea of my grandpa always reading the paper rather than talking to my grandma. A lot of couples, nowadays, don’t have this problem. This to me shows that it’s inaccurate information.

Terrorism Has A Huge Impact On Us Law Enforcement

Police in the United States has had to deal with terrorism for many, many years. Local organizations within the country have the concepts and the equipment to create security networks and the support to have enough resistances and transgressions. U.S. law enforcement has come a long way in guarding our country and security got even better when all the events from 9/11 took place. According to text â€Å"While the Patriot Act may be the most recognizable piece of legislation relating to Sept. 11, more than 130 pieces of 9/11-related legislation were introduced in the 107th Congress in the year after the attacks, with 48 bills and resolutions approved or signed into law† (Villemez,2011). September 11, has had the biggest impact on U.S. police since the day that forced us to change our security measures. Homeland security also has some major changes such as better training. Terrorism has a huge impact on US law enforcement. Since Obama has been in office there have been several disagreements in our system to protect our country from illegal immigrants. With a lot of terrorist groups hiring many types of individuals to work for them one way or another and we also have President Obama protecting the civil rights of illegal immigrants coming into this USA making police officers profession way more hazardous and tougher. The American society are essentially behind letting police officers have more authority to do their work and put an end to the illegal migration problem. However,Show MoreRelatedThe Fbi Agents And The Criminal Law Of The United States1615 Words   |  7 Pagesserves as the nation’s federal law enforcement and works to keep our country safe from dangers that we cannot deal with. The FBI agents have an impact on our nation because they defend us against counterfeiting, terrorist attacks and cyber-based attacks. The FBI is a treat-based and intelligence driven national security organization. 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Summary Of The Systematization Of Education By Michel De...

Montaigne On Education: Combatting The System â€Å"Wicked and pernicious system!† exclaims Michel de Montaigne in his seminal essay Of the Education of Children. In this impassioned discourse, Montaigne addresses an expectant mother on how to educate her future child. In a particularly striking passage1, which encapsulates the overall argument of his essay, he warns her by painting a vivid picture of the follies of current educational practices. Through his labyrinthine logic, striking use of imagery, and commanding appeal to great minds of the ancient world, Montaigne crafts an emotionally stirring argument: we must do away with the tyrannical systematization of learning and make education a joyful and liberating process. At the beginning†¦show more content†¦After painting this strongly worded visual and auditory scene, Montaigne continues building his argument against systematized education by citing ancient Roman rhetorician, Quintilian: â€Å"as Quintilian very rightly remarked, this imperious authority brings on dangerous consequences and especially in our manner of punishment.† The â€Å"manner of punishment† Quintilian mentions likely refers to the capital punishment ancient Roman empire which included ferocious whippings and multiple forms of execution. This parallels with directly to the horrifying image of the classroom that Montaigne painted. However the â€Å"manner of punishment† which Montaigne references is the beatings given to the student by the master â€Å"armed with rods.† Thus, Montaigne builds the credibility of his argument by referencing a respected authority on education, while giving his previous analogy further context. By synthesizing hi s ideas with those of Quintilian, Montaigne persuades his reader that an imperialistic education is harmful. With his criticism against systematized education already articulated, Montaigne begins to suggest a solution. He rhetorically exclaims, â€Å"How much more fittingly would their classes be strewn with flowers and leaves than with bloody stumps of birch rods!† He introduces his belief that education should be lively, free and enjoyable as symbolized by the â€Å"flowers and leaves† strewn