Essay 'The UK Prime Minister Is The Prisoner Of The UK Parliament'
‘The UK Prime Minister is the prisoner of the UK Parliament’ Discuss.
Typically, when contemplating the word ‘prisoner’, one envisages someone kept under lock and key, detained in an institution and devoid of all freedom. However, the term ‘prisoner’ can be used in many different ways. To be a prisoner can simply imply having a lack of liberty and power, being kept in restraint against one’s own will. This more complex and subtle interpretation of the word ‘prisoner’ opens up the question of whether the Prime Minister is a prisoner – how much liberty and power does he really have? To what extent does Parliament keep his power in check? To answer this, the UK executive (government) and legislature (Parliament) must be examined to determine the power of the Prime Minister and the limitations on his authority. It is also important to consider other factors in evaluating the extent of the Prime Minister’s power, so the influence of the European Union and the electorate will also be …show more content…
As an asymmetrically bicameral system (Lijphart, 1999 cited in Heffernan 2010 p.22), more power is afforded to the former than the latter; while the House of Lords is a reactive chamber, able only to revise and delay the passage of legislation, the House of Commons is a policy-making chamber which is able to pass legislation and override the decisions of the House of Lords. The House of Commons, therefore, is what is commonly meant when referring to Parliament overall. It is composed of 646 seats, one for each Member of Parliament. The majority of seats in the Commons are occupied by the governing party at any given time, or parties in a coalition government. Policies are implemented in the House of Commons by voting - one vote per MP. Therefore the governing party(s), with the majority of votes, is likely to control the outcome of legislative decisions, as will be explained further
Typically, when contemplating the word ‘prisoner’, one envisages someone kept under lock and key, detained in an institution and devoid of all freedom. However, the term ‘prisoner’ can be used in many different ways. To be a prisoner can simply imply having a lack of liberty and power, being kept in restraint against one’s own will. This more complex and subtle interpretation of the word ‘prisoner’ opens up the question of whether the Prime Minister is a prisoner – how much liberty and power does he really have? To what extent does Parliament keep his power in check? To answer this, the UK executive (government) and legislature (Parliament) must be examined to determine the power of the Prime Minister and the limitations on his authority. It is also important to consider other factors in evaluating the extent of the Prime Minister’s power, so the influence of the European Union and the electorate will also be …show more content…
As an asymmetrically bicameral system (Lijphart, 1999 cited in Heffernan 2010 p.22), more power is afforded to the former than the latter; while the House of Lords is a reactive chamber, able only to revise and delay the passage of legislation, the House of Commons is a policy-making chamber which is able to pass legislation and override the decisions of the House of Lords. The House of Commons, therefore, is what is commonly meant when referring to Parliament overall. It is composed of 646 seats, one for each Member of Parliament. The majority of seats in the Commons are occupied by the governing party at any given time, or parties in a coalition government. Policies are implemented in the House of Commons by voting - one vote per MP. Therefore the governing party(s), with the majority of votes, is likely to control the outcome of legislative decisions, as will be explained further