How effective is Parliament in fulfilling its functions
How effective is Parliament in fulfilling its functions? (25 marks)
The Parliamentary system within the UK is widely regarded as one of the best, most democratic and efficient systems of government within the world. With functions such as legitimacy, representation and scrutiny being carried out on a daily basis, Parliament is the most important and powerful part of the UK political system. However, the effectiveness of Parliament in fulfilling its functions has come in to question for a number of reasons, and many people feel that the UK’s Parliament is in fact no longer successful in properly fulfilling its functions. One function which Parliament can be viewed as effectively fulfilling is its representation. A major responsibility of Parliament is to represent each and every person within the country, and people within Parliament would certainly argue they are doing so. Each member of Parliament is there because they have been elected by the public to be there, and as a result they are representing the people within their constituency. This means that each person within society has a representative and someone who is echoing their views in front of the people who matter – those in Parliament. Furthermore, not only are the people being represented, but they are being represented by politicians who have expertise and are highly educated, meaning their representation is further improved. However, it can be argued that Parliament is in fact ineffective in fulfilling its function of representation. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the House of Lords, a major element of Parliament that has a huge say in decisions that are made, is made up of unelected citizens. This causes many people to ask how they are being represented, if the a major part of the Parliamentary system is purely
The Parliamentary system within the UK is widely regarded as one of the best, most democratic and efficient systems of government within the world. With functions such as legitimacy, representation and scrutiny being carried out on a daily basis, Parliament is the most important and powerful part of the UK political system. However, the effectiveness of Parliament in fulfilling its functions has come in to question for a number of reasons, and many people feel that the UK’s Parliament is in fact no longer successful in properly fulfilling its functions. One function which Parliament can be viewed as effectively fulfilling is its representation. A major responsibility of Parliament is to represent each and every person within the country, and people within Parliament would certainly argue they are doing so. Each member of Parliament is there because they have been elected by the public to be there, and as a result they are representing the people within their constituency. This means that each person within society has a representative and someone who is echoing their views in front of the people who matter – those in Parliament. Furthermore, not only are the people being represented, but they are being represented by politicians who have expertise and are highly educated, meaning their representation is further improved. However, it can be argued that Parliament is in fact ineffective in fulfilling its function of representation. This is for a number of reasons. Firstly, the House of Lords, a major element of Parliament that has a huge say in decisions that are made, is made up of unelected citizens. This causes many people to ask how they are being represented, if the a major part of the Parliamentary system is purely