The Impact of the 1997 General Election In 1997 there was an expected swing from Conservative to Labour government. It resulted in Labour receiving 9.2% more votes, and 147 more MPs than in 1992; and with the Conservatives winning 11% less votes, and 171 less MPs than in 1992 (the Liberal Democrats won 17% of the votes about equalling the previous election, and gained 26 seats). The outcome of the election was due to various factors which had always been apparent yet commentators never
middle class, and upper class) began to erode as the times changed, due to more employment, and a greater spread of wealth among the population. During Thatcher’s term in office at Number 10, the class divisions that were prominent in the United Kingdom began to break down, with the working class becoming (almost) nonexistent due to the explosion of employment and ‘white collar’ work. These days, it is the North-South Divide that tends to show divisions in politics and not class. Although
Polls Get it Wrong in 1992? Opinion polls play a major role in politics, they can be used by the Government to decide when to call and election, and, among other things, how their pre- election campaigns are run. Throughout the history of opinion polling, from the time when polling began to be widely used before an election, in 1945, until 1987, the last general election before 1992, the polls have on average been correct to within 1.3% of the vote share between the three leading parties, and the 'other'
Political Party Funding Political parties require funds so that they can pay for election campaigns and wages and so forth. Donations can range from a mere £5 a year to millions of pounds, or funding for offices and equipment. Frequently, a party spends a lot more money in a year than they will receive in donations or membership fees. To see how the parties are funded, it is best to look at them individually. The Liberal Democrats, in comparison to the big two, have a relatively small
viewpoints on key issues. These differences can often lead to conflicts or disagreements between the parties over which policy will be most beneficial to the country. A particularly controversial and fiercely contested issue is the role of the United Kingdom in the future of the European Union. The Labour party are often considered to be pro-Europe although their policies do tend to keep Britain's interests at heart. Their priorities for Europe include the expansion of the EU by increasing the
The WWII Proposal for the Provision of a Welfare State The proposals made during the Second World War for the provision of a Welfare State were made in order to eliminate poverty from the country. Various proposals were made that aimed to achieve this. One proposal, which was the main aim of the "Beveridge Report" was to abolish Want by providing social insurance for all: this meant providing various benefits and making people pay contributions, both depending on the class of the individual
economic and also the minority position. Ramsay MacDonald’s government was opposed by the liberals and so as a result Ramsay MacDonald had to do something, a deal was struck with the Liberals that they would not stand against each other in by-elections leading up to 1914. Ramsay MacDonald was a double, meaning that he under took two positions in the labour party they were: Foreign Secretary and also the prime minister of England, however several years later he didn’t want to do the “double”
The Liberal victory in General Election of 1906 has gone down in History for being one of the biggest landslides in modern UK politics, but it can be argued that it was more of a Conservative loss than a Liberal gain. The Conservatives made many mistakes in policy which alienated much of their support base that originally elected them into power. The key policy that they pushed in their election campaign was Tariff Reform, an issue that divided the party, making them appear weaker to voters
in their time. 1.2 Key terms: The idea of New Labour is described by Philip Norton as "A summary label to describe the economic polices devised by the Labour Party in the 1990's to ensure a departure from 'old Labour' economic policy" (Jones 2001, 697). 1.3 Hypothesis/Argument: I will compare and contrast different government policies from various governments at home and abroad. To establish whether New labour is actually novel in its initiatives and policies, or whether its various recent
The 2005 General Election Campaign and the Democratic Party The 2005 general election campaign has been a defective democratic event in many ways. Yet beneath the surface there has echoed a national conversation of passion and seriousness. Thoughtful people have debated for months with families, friends and colleagues - and with themselves - about how to vote in this contest. Much of the electorate is still
bicameral legislatures all over the world, whose constitutions were influenced by United Kingdom. In United Kingdom, House of Lords be considered as the symbol of undemocratic, there is a long discussion about reform of House of Lords. This essay will describe Hose of lords reform, past and future. Reform of the House of lords is the core issues of government’s program of constitutional change. In 1997 general election, Tony Blair who was the leader of labour, he claim that labour party would seek
Industrial Countries all over the world have seen a steady decline in voter participation; Great Britain is a great example of this. The country has witness turnout in elections falling slowly as time pass. However, the election of 2001 dropped the country from their average of 76% voter turnout to just a 59.4% turnout. Comparatively, Australia, a former colony of Britain, has enjoyed high and steady voter participation since 1924 because of the implementation of compulsory voting. This system has
The Need For Constitutional Reform No government in modern times has ever been elected with such a commitment to reforming the constitution as the Labour administration that won office in May 1997. Within months of its election, Scotland and Wales were on the road to devolution. Within a year, although in a very different context, the framework had been set for a devolved, power sharing government in Northern Ireland. A year after that the process was well under way for reform of the House
pre-existing to a government, giving legitimacy and defining powers under which a government may act. Due to Britain’s unwritten constitution, there was a sense of ambiguity in the word and whether if there was a constitution at all. Ironically, United Kingdom was once described as ‘the mother country or modern constitutionalism’. This goes to show that constitutionalism here does not require the existence
are basically concerned with winning the next general election’, so compete for votes takes the largest part of competition. The series of competitions reflects in every aspect. I will quote Tony Blair’s government and David Cameron’s government as examples. 1997 was a meaningful year for both the United Kingdom and the Labour Party. On one hand, the UK had another new Labour government in the past 18 years. On the other hand, the Labours won the election under the leadership of Tony Blair and then
1. Saudi Arabia: Brief history of Saudi Arabia and its society The kingdom of Saudi Arabia is one of the largest countries in the Middle East. It occupies the Arabian Peninsula in the southwest of Asia. It is bounded by the Arabian Gulf, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates to the East; Yemen and Oman on the South; Red Sea and Gulf of Al-Aqaba to the West; and Jordan, Iraq, and Kuwait to the North. Its area is about 2,240,000 square kilometers and has a population of seventeen million people according
party in the Lower House of the legislature. The Prime Minister is the head of the cabinet. A governor-general, appointed by the United Kingdom monarch also possesses some appointing power in Parliament. The governor-general is an extension of the Royal Family, and his/her duties are rather superficial and more of a formality. According to Latin America Profiled, the UK appointed Governor-General of Belize is Sir Colville Young. Said Musa is the Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs
The Two Party System of UK It has often been said that the United Kingdom possesses a two party political system. However, any balanced argument on this issue must take into account both the differing perspectives from which this subject can be viewed and the time period which is being evaluated. The two party theory is not universally accepted and many people argue that the UK can best be described as a multi party, dominant party or even a two and a half or three party system, depending
Battle of St. George’s Caye in 1798, and with the Treaty of Amiens of 1802, Spain recognized British sovereignty. British law began to uphold as of 1840 and the area was eventually declared a crown colony in 1862 known as British Honduras. The United Kingdom’s main interest in Belize was purely economic. In the mid 17th century the African Slave Trade was introduced as a source of labor for forestry which continued to be the main enterprise until it was eventually supplanted by sugar. Although
Introduction The United Front for Democracy Against Dictatorship, or most commonly known to the international community as the Red Shirts, is a social movement formed to protest against the 2006 coup d'état by the military in Thailand, and subsequently the People’s Alliance for Democracy, or the Yellow Shirts. They believe in a political and judicial system that ensures their universal human rights and justice that in currently lacking in Thailand. Background of Thailand Thailand has been in military