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The power of opposition

politicsrus — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 07:18:41 +0000

Ed Milliband’s decision to force a Commons vote over the issue of the bonus for the head of RBS Stephen Hester, shows that the opposition might not be as toothless as we have come to believe. The issue, covered here will prove useful for AS Politics students as another example of the power of Parliament and another blow for David Cameron.

Kelner on the value of the Lords

mrjstacey — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 17:39:50 +0000

The former editor of The Independent Simon Kelner has written an opinion piece for the paper eulogising the value of the House of Lords in a comparison with the fictitious nobility of Downton Abbey. It also highlights the fact that Julian Fellowes, the writer of the ITV show, is a Lord himself. The piece also contains this gem of an exchange, concerning Lord Annan, who was a leading figure in the movement to liberalise homosexuality.
“Shortly after achieving success in the Lords, the following week he backed a bill to protect badgers. This was roundly defeated. “I can’t understand it,” he said to one of his fellow Peers. “We vote to protect homosexuals, but not badgers.” “I think you’ll find,” his colleague answered, “there are very few badgers in the House of Lords.”

Charles and the Constitution

mrjstacey — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 16:20:00 +0000

Not a guest post from the AS Revolutions course but rather a reference to the hornet’s nest that The Guardian is trying to stir with it’s revelations that Prince Charles is in regular contact with ministers on matters of legislation. The Guardian is on something of a republican high horse about this, personally I’d consider Charles to be more reputable than many MPs and less distanced from reality than many Lords but this article does ask some interesting questions.

Parliamentary Reform: Funding

mrjstacey — Sat, 29 Oct 2011 10:47:01 +0000

Proposals to change the way in which political parties are funded have come under fire from Tories who would lose out. The findings of a government commissioned enquiry suggest that an allowance of £3 per vote they received at the last election. On this basis, the Tories would get £32m, Labour £25.8m and the Lib Dems £20.4m. The figures could be higher if tax relief were added. The implications are potentially serious for the Tories but very positive for the Lib Dems and minor parties like UKIP, the Greens and the BNP.

The Royal Prerogative Moebius Loop

mrjstacey — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 10:15:34 +0000

The change to the laws of succession agreed today at the Commonwealth Summit constitute constitutional change but of an interesting type. This article from the BBC earlier in the month. The changes to the 310 year old Act of Settlement come at the behest of the PM but need the approval of the other 15 Commonwealth nations for whom the Queen is the Head of State, making this an example of Queen having to sign in a law that affects herself, the inspiration from which comes from the PM but the enactment of which requires the agreement of people beyond Parliament. An interesting example of sovereignty therefore.

Pressures on the PM

mrjstacey — Wed, 26 Oct 2011 08:59:55 +0000

As part of the AS Unit 2 section on the Executive questions are often asked about the power of the Prime Minister and the answer usually contains some reference to setting the agenda and having the agenda set by outside forces. David Cameron is finding this all to realistic at the moment after a huge Tory rebellion of 81 MPs over proposals for a referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU as The Guardian reports here. Managing a coalition of pro-Europe Lib Dems and increasingly Euro-sceptic Tories has seemed effortless for Cameron so far but the euro-split that haunted the last Conservative administration may be coming back to stalk the PM again.

A Private Affair

mrjstacey — Tue, 18 Oct 2011 19:35:24 +0000

There’s an excellent article here about the difficulties MPs have in getting through legislation in the form of Private Member’s Bills. These bills are often suffocated by government or opposition and die a slow death as they fail to drum up sufficient support despite representing the clearest form of direct democracy. In the article Tory backbencher Harriett Baldwin MP explains how her private member’s bill, the legislation (territorial extent) bill, was killed off at third reading by 20 coalition ministers summoned by the whips.

Not so Fantastic Dr Fox

mrjstacey — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 07:21:32 +0000

There’s a good piece in The Guardian this morning on the art of handling cabinet resignations comparing Cameron (who has now suffered two with Fox joining early casualty David Laws) to Blair and Major. The article refers to Alistair Campbell’s ’10 Day Rule’, the idea that if your story is on the front pages of the press for ten days then you have to go. An interesting insight into the power of the press to determine cabinet longevity. It shouldn’t be forgotten that the Liam Fox story was broken and pursued by The Guardian rather than the opposition.

Letwin joins the IMR endangered list

politicsrus — Sat, 15 Oct 2011 07:18:39 +0000

Cabinet Minister Oliver Letwin has been photographed by the Daily Mirror on five separate days disposing of government documents in bins around Westminster. Though Letwin claims that none of the documents were sensitive this is another one of those issues where an indiscretion could potentially build into a resignation issue, particularly if David Cameron doesn’t back Letwin fully. The BBC story is here.

Liam Fox provides a minute by minute insight into IMR

mrjstacey — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 08:04:27 +0000

The travails of Liam Fox, the Defence Secretary, to limit the damage of newspaper revelations about his relationship with close friend Adam Werrity provide the AS Politics student with a fascinating insight into the issue of Ministerial Resignations. Though Fox has yet to resign his position is looking increasingly untenable as issues of Individual Ministerial Responsibility in terms of his judgement also morph with rumours about his private life. In this article in The Daily Telegraph Fox appears to be pinning his hopes on the idea that Cameron can’t afford to sack him. The next week will tell.