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UK Politics Examples

Representative and Direct Democracy

The Passage Of the Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill As An Example Of Representative Democracy:

• On Friday the 24th of November, the House of Commons passed the  Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life) Bill 2024 through its 2nd reading. The bill passed with a majority of 55, and was introduced by Labour MP Kim Leadbeater as a Private Members Bill, after she came top of the PMB ballot. 

  • This bill legalised assisted dying for terminally ill adults in England and Wales, and is one of the most significant social reforms in a generation. 

• This highlights Parliament's legislative function, as backbenchers are able to propose and make significant changes to law via the PMB process. If an MP comes first in the ballot, their bill is debated first on sitting Fridays and they are most likely to advance legislation. 

• This PMB also raised a key criticism of the PMB process - that the rapid production and passage of legislation (the bill was only published for 18 days prior to the vote) is insufficient for evidence, analysis and scrutiny. 

• This also highlights Parliament's representative function. The vote was a "free vote" meaning MPs were allowed to vote with their conscience rather than along party lines. Despite polling showing 2/3rds of the public supported assisted dying, the vote was much closer. 

  • This shows how MPs fulfil the trustee model of representation and exercise their own judgement, rather than being beholden to the public's views.

UK Government Examples

Planted Questions In PMQ's And How These Undermine Scrutiny:

• Prime Minister's Questions, which occur every Wednesday at 12pm, are key for holding the government to account, as they require the Prime Minister to be directly accountable to individual MPs on the floor of the house. 

  • However, in practice PMQs often fails at its aim, as parties seek to score political points and rely on rehearsed one-liners. 

  • The government also makes use of planted questions, which allow the PM to highlight the government's achievements rather than being answerable for their shortcomings. 

• A key example of this occurred on the 13th of November 2024, where Labour MP for Southport, Patrick Hurley, asked the Prime Minister if he could confirm that his budget would "provide much needed investment" and properly support public services "unlike the previous government. 

  • This clearly shows the influence of planted questions, allowing the Prime Minister to condemn the Conservative's policy platform and tout the £1.3 billion investment into local government announced in the budget.

US Government & Politics Examples

Matt Gaetz Drops Out Of His Nomination As Attorney General:

• On the 22nd of November, president elect Trump's nomination for attorney general Matt Gaetz withdrew from consideration, as he was unable to get the support of the Senate.

  • Matt Gaetz was a highly controversial congressman, and faced significant scrutiny by the House Ethics Committee following a federal investigation into sex trafficking allegations.

• This highlights the power of the Senate to check the President. A number of Senators opposed the nomination meaning Trump would have faced significant difficulty in getting a majority vote in the Republican controlled Senate needed to confirm him. 

  • Moderate Senators including Lisa Murkowski were vocal in their opposition and showed how the President can face resistance from within their own party.

  • As a result, Trump decided to change his nomination to Pam Bondi.

• This checks the President's power as the Constitution gives the Senate the power to confirm Presidential appointments to executive heads of departments and the judiciary. The threat of Senate rejection means the President must maintain the support of Congress and cannot bypass them.