How Far Does the Westminster Electoral System Ensure...

Westminster is the location of the Houses of Parliament, where the majority of political decisions (other than those for devolved states) are made for the nation. The current Westminster electoral system is First Past the Post (FPTP) which is used for general elections every 5 years (due to the new fixed-term parliaments brought in by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.) The FPTP system is constituency based, each person votes for a representative for their constituency and whichever party wins the most constituencies gains governmental power. First Past the Post works on the basis of a plurality of votes, that is, that the winning party need only gain the most votes out of all parties to gain power, they do not need an overall†¦show more content†¦The First Past The Post system’s ability to create single party governments therefore means that that government will be stable and cohesive. Within parties the majority of people have shared political ideologies a nd ideas and so the party elected to government will be able to make decisions quickly and efficiently as everyone will be aiming towards shared goals or desires for policies. The governing party will be loyal to their traditional or modern ideologies and will have decided upon one set of policies in their manifesto before the election and so they will not need a large amount of discussion and debate before policies are passed. All members of the party will be subject to the same party disciplines so they will all be following the same rules and working together which again ensures that the government is stable. A stable government means that parties can pass their desired policies quickly which will be beneficial to the public as they will feel that the party is doing their role correctly and efficiently. If a governing party were to not be stable then it may affect their future election prospects as the public are unlikely to vote in a party that they have previously seen as unsta ble. First Past The Post creates aShow MoreRelatedAbolishing The Gambia, New Zealand And Singapore9707 Words   |  39 Pageschange the constitution and replace the JCPC with a new final appellate court. The proposed case studies are parallel method to assess the support my theory and H3. 5.2. Methodological Approach These states are common law systems and all adopted the Westminster model of government at independence with the JCPC as the final appellate court. All three cases abolished the JCPC at differing times having reached the second critical juncture discussed earlier. Using causal-process observations, I conductRead MoreDetermining the Elite Within Politics and the Judiciary Essay7577 Words   |  31 Pagesintend to employ a definition similar to that proposed by Stanworth (1984 p247), which simply signifies those individuals occupying high positions of authority within an institution or organisation. However, the attribution of authority does not automatically equate with a given amount of power and I will examine this association in more detail later in the paper. Determining the Elite within Politics and the Judiciary The Political Elite ------------------- Read MoreUK - Analysis Report31935 Words   |  128 Pagesprospects and future risks. Summary Key findings Strong democratic system, but the threat from terrorism continues to be high The UK adheres to a democratic, parliamentary system of governance known as the Westminster system. The structure of the administration ensures that there is an adequate separation of powers between the executive branch, led by the prime minister, the bicameral legislature and the judiciary, and that there is a system of checks and balances in place. As the governance indicatorsRead MoreFreedom of Speech, Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law19992 Words   |  80 PagesUniversity of Westminster MA in International Journalism Freedom of Expression Comparing Freedom of Expression in the Statutory Law and the Sharia Law (Human Rights Act 1998 of The British law as an exemplar) Dissertation Submitted for The MA Degree in International Journalism University of Westminster By Motasem Ahmed Dalloul Copyright (2012), University of Westminster and Motasem Ahmed Dalloul Introduction Getting in touch with media law during the first semester