Yet this serves to underline the limitations of interpreting the significance of the OBR only through the lens of depoliticisation, that is, the extent of its independence from elected politicians. It is probably broadly correct to conclude that the willingness of Chote (and of course the statutory responsibility of the OBR to Parliament) to honestly and very publicly appraise progress along the coalition and Conservative governments’ deficit reduction schedule has compelled Osborne to frequently postpone the point at which a balanced budget will be achieved. However, to conclude that this significant hampers the austerity agenda assumes that Osborne is highly motivated by deficit reduction – –this appears not to be the case. Similarly, while …show more content…
Furthermore, while the OBR’s statutory functions may necessitate a greater degree of honesty about the failure to date of deficit reduction, it does not assess the underlying economic problems that have led to the government failing to cut spending, or increase revenues, as quickly as it might have liked. This becomes especially problematic, however, if simply by existing, the OBR creates the sense that fiscal policy decisions are being ‘supervised’ by apolitical experts, thereby helping to shield the government from wider scrutiny. It should be noted that, by legislating for the Charter for Budget Responsibility, and introducing measures such as the welfare cap, Osborne has imposed rule-based constraints on his fiscal policy approach reminiscent of those employed by New Labour, even if they differ markedly in content. Yet the existence of the OBR in an apparently supervisory role appears to be deflecting some of the critical attention away from Osborne in terms of whether such rules are adhered …show more content…
With probity in the public finances elevated to a first-order political issue, it is not difficult to appreciate why public discourse appears to have assimilated seamlessly the notion that elected governments inherently misappropriate ‘taxpayers’ money’. Greater independence for the OBR may occasionally lead to embarrassment for Osborne, but also reinforces such trends, ultimately benefiting the Conservative agenda and how policy elites more generally have sought to respond to growth model failure. Indeed, former Cabinet Secretary Gus O’Donnell (commonly referred to as ‘GOD’ because of the range of his influence within the UK civil service in the 2000s) advocated in 2013 the creation of an Office of Taxpayer Responsibility to sit alongside the OBR. The new body would appraise the worth of all large items of public expenditure before they are implemented (effectively exercising a veto over spending decisions by directly elected governments), similar to the way that the National Audit Office appraises many policies with fiscal implications after they have been implemented (O’Donnell, 2013, pp. 384–-5; see also Berry and Berry, 2014). It is highly unlikely that any government would agree to create such a body, as O’Donnell well knows – –but that it has been advocated by such a prominent figure within the UK policy elite
Mikesell, J. L. (2010). Fiscal administration: Analysis and applications for the public sector (8th ed.: 2010 custom edition). Mason, OH: Cengage Learning
In terms of scrutinizing the executive and actions of government, the House of Commons has a number of opportunities at its disposal, mainly in the form of debates and questions. The Commons is notorious for its constant debate; the Commons can express its views on foreign policy and international crisis, for example the 1956 debates of the Suez crisis and the emergency debate on the Falklands following the Argentinean invasion in 1982. Question time is also a very important example of an opportunity for the executive’s actions and plans to be publicly questioned as the meeting is now frequently featured on TV news and politics analysis programmes. This allows Her Majesty’s Royal Opposition to challenge the exec...
Lazar, Harvey. “The Spending Power and the Harper Government.” HeinOnline. 34 Queen's L.J. 125 2008-2009
A balanced stance on fiscal policy was targeted by the Government in response to the global recession between short and long-term policies. These measures involved bonus payments to low and middle-income Australians to insta...
The Australian Budget is an annually published document which details the Federal Government's plans to affect the level of economic activity, resource allocation, and income distribution through the use of fiscal policy. It describes the framework which the government intends to follow during the next financial year which will result in the attainment of their objectives. The budget is a publication of the government's plans regarding the use of fiscal policy, and is published to parliament and the general public on “budget night”, so as to allow open dissemination about the status of public finances and to promote transparency in Australia's fiscal policy.
If the government changes the way they spend the budget, then they can change the way our government is ran. According to document C we spend 83% of the budget on “The Big Five”, which are the five main categories in the budget.We need to take 10%
To begin with, if they achieve their ultimate aim of Scottish independence, the SNP want to withdraw public spending from what they consider “unessential” expenses, e.g. the military, with particular emphasis on Trident, our nuclear deterr...
This power is lodged in the Parliament and we are as much dependant on Great Britain as a perfectly free people can be on one another.”
It was seemingly clear that the role of the aristocracy and House of Lords in governance had long been called into question but was slowly falling entirely apart. Future Prime Minister and Liberal Party MP, David Lloyd-George said in a speech in 1909, “should 500 men, ordinary men, chosen accidentally from among the unemployed, override the judgment...of millions of people who are engaged in the industry which makes the wealth of the country?” This malcontent with regards to the political power of the aristocracy would surface in legislation shortly thereafter. The 1911 Parliament Act removed the House of Lords’ role in financial legislation and curtailed their veto over ordinary legislation.” Needless to say, the stripping of a historically powerful class of political power and importance would seemingly lead to antagonism, and Pugh wrote, “not surprisingly, as titled families became conscious of their political marginalization, angered by the collapse of agriculture and land values, and fearful of Britain’s retreat from Empire, some of their members embroiled themselves in extremist movements.”
-Hyman, David M. (1990) Public Finance: A Contemporary Application of Theory to Policy, 3rd, Dryden Press: Chicago, IL
Trotman, A. (2013). Angela Merkel: 'Austerity makes it sound evil, I call it balancing the budget'. The Telegraph. Retrieved from
Policy makers are continually trying to formulate policies that will help the economy achieve these objectives. However, there are numerous difficulties which policy makers are faced with. In a democratic society like the UK, the macroeconomic objectives are not under the sole control of the Government. For example, the level of employment depends on the decisions not only of the government (e.g. for employment in the public sector) but also of private firms as to how many workers they wish to employ. Also, membership to international organisations (i.e. WTO or EU etc.) means that the international regulations and directives must be adhered to and cannot be altered.
Grant, W. (2004) „Pressure Politics: The Changing World of Pressure Groups‟, Parliamentary Affairs, 57(2): 408-419
...has so much power. The findings of this research could be used by campaigners in an attempt to swing an election in their favour, creating an unfair bias in parliament and denigrating the ideals of democracy.
The controversial issue in question is whether or not the UK has a constitution. On the one hand, It can be said that the UK does not have a constitution because the current system put in place is 'idiosyncratic' (peculiar) in Europe. On the other hand , it can be argued that the UK has a complex and comprehensive system of Government , therefore it has a constitution. The issue then becomes whether or not a constitution has to be written before it can be said to be in existence.