Elective Dictatorship

its a phrase coined by the former Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom, Lord Hailsham.
It describes the state in which Parliament is dominated by the government of the day. It refers to the fact that the legislative programme of Parliament is determined by the government, and government bills virtually always pass the House of Commons because of the nature of the governing party's majority.

Child Benefit

From the BBC...

What has been announced?
From 2013, the coalition government will withdraw child benefit from families in which one or both parents are higher-rate taxpayers.

Families where both parents are on modest incomes will not be affected

Chancellor George Osborne said the measure would affect people earning more than £44,000 a year.
That means people in the 40% income tax bracket, and those whose taxable earnings are above £150,000, who therefore pay the new 50% additional rate of income tax.
There are an estimated 3,274,000 individuals who will pay tax at these levels this year.
The proposal means that if both parents earn less than £44,000, they will continue to receive child benefit. But families with one main earner on, for example, £45,000, will see their benefit stopped.
Mr Osborne said it was not a decision they had "taken lightly".
"It's a big decision for us, but we think it's absolutely necessary and fair, given the financial situation we face," he said.
Continue reading the main story

Impact of child benefit cut

Tax rate	Annual income	Benefit	Keep or cut?
Lower	£43,875 or less	£1,752.4
Higher	£43,876 or more	0
2x Lower	£87,750 (2 x 43,875)	£1,752.4
1x Lower 1x Higher	£87,751 (43,875 + 43,876)	0

Note: higher rate tax begins after earning £43,875 (£37,400 + personal allowance of £6,475)
Source: HMRC

Who will be affected and how much will it save the Treasury?

The Treasury says about 15% of families will lose out. In real terms, this means 1.2m families will be affected, while 6.6m will see no change to their child benefits.

The Treasury says the annual child benefit bill is about £12bn, and the cutback will save £1bn a year.
How could the government stop higher earners claiming?
Mr Osborne has suggested that any higher-rate taxpayers in receipt of child benefit may be asked to declare this fact on their self-assessment tax returns, implying they would then face an extra tax charge.

Continue reading the main story

“Start Quote

The nitty-gritty will be decided; we don't have any details yet”

End Quote HMRC spokesman

It might be simpler for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), which administers the child benefit system, simply to cross-reference claimants against their tax records.

The child benefit claim form already asks for full details of a spouse or partner.
Even simpler would be to put a warning at the bottom of the form, warning higher rate tax payers that they are no longer eligible and they might be prosecuted if they still claim.
What is clear is that the government announcement has taken HMRC by surprise.
"The nitty-gritty will be decided; we don't have any details yet," said an HMRC spokesman.
How much is child benefit? Child benefit is worth £20.30 every week for a first-born child.
For each subsequent child, there is an additional weekly payment of £13.40. The money is not taxed.
In June's emergency budget, after the general election, Mr Osborne announced child benefit would be frozen for three years.
Who can receive it? It is available for every child in the UK below the age of 16; child benefit is paid to the parent directly responsible for care of the youngster.
You may get child benefit if you pay towards bringing up a child who does not live with you if no-one else is claiming the benefit for them.
Those in full-time education remain eligible until the age of 19, but the cut-off point for children registered for work or training is 18.
How many parents claim it? Child benefit is taken up by 96-97% of the eligible population, according to the most recently published HMRC statistics.
Which department administers the benefit? HMRC is responsible for the administration of child benefit; previously it was overseen by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP).
Whose idea was it? After World War II, bringing up several children was encouraged to restore the birth rate.
And in 1945 the Family Allowance was introduced to provide benefit for second and subsequent children.
In 1975, then Labour Social Affairs Secretary Barbara Castle put forward the Child Benefit Act, proposing additional benefit for the first child.
And between 1977 and 1979, child benefit replaced the Family Allowance and Child Tax Allowance.
What has this got to do with child tax credits?
Nothing. That is an entirely different and more complicated system introduced by the last Labour government.

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To what extent are long-term factors still important in voting?

Age-The older people tend to vote conservative whilst young and middle age people vote liberal or labour. The posible explanation is that younger people tend to be more idealistic, want to change the country and the world. They favour policies involving more public spendings.As they become older, people have a more realistic and perhaps more cynical point of view. They pay the taxes and so become anti-social. because the burden of taxation falls upon them.In 1997 labour`s landslide win, it did better than the Conservatives among all age groups other than the over-65s.In 2005, the progresive parties, Labour and the Liberal Democrats, again fared better among young people. Labour scored well among 34-44 age group and Liberal fared well among those under 34. Moreover Labour`s policy on tuition fees was widely believed to have troubled many voter in contituencies that had a univeristy=more sttudent in the constituency the greater the fall in the labour vote and the rise in the Liberal vote.
Gender- in the past women were found to be strongly pro Conservative(stayed at home and were protected from bad working cond., when the work they usually worked in cleaner conditions and offices, had a greater commitment to traditional values of family and religion and women are more cautious in their attitude to social change) but in the 80s this trend was partially reversed and women become more inclined to vote Labour Party. in 1997 the swing to Labour was greater among women than man and in 2001 and 2005 elections women were more likely to vote Labour than man.
Ethnicity- members of ethnic minorities have traditionally been more likely to vote Labour than Conservative although the turnout among them in generally low. Saggars Findings(2000) based on data derived from the 1997 election,  suggested that of those who voted, 89% of black and 81% of Asian opted for Labour(unsurprising because many of them are simple workers+ Conservative more restrictive policy towards immigration) BUT Labour lost a lot of ground in constituencies with big muslim minority in favor of Liberal democrats. reason? most probably the Iraq War

Parliamentary sovereignty

Its a concept in a constitutional law. Under parliamentary sovereignty, a legislative body has absolute sovereignty , meaning it is supreme to all other government institutions (including any executive or judical bodies as they may exist). Furthermore, it implies that the legislative body may change or repeal any prior legislative acts. Parliamentary sovereignty contrasts with notions of judicial review , where a court may overturn legislation deemed unconstitutional. Specific instances of parliamentary sovereignty exist in the UK

judical review

this doctrine means that executive and legislature actions can be reviewed and even invalidate by the judiciary. Special courts(constitutional) have power of judical review and must annul the acts of the state if it finds them incompatible with higher act, usually Constitution

Judiciary System

is the system of courts that interprets and applies the law in the name of the state. The judiciary also provides a mechanism for the resolution of disputes. Under the doctrine of the separation of powers, the judiciary generally does not make law (that is, in a plenary fashion, which is the responsibility of the legislature) or enforce law (which is the responsibility of the executive), but rather interprets law and applies it to the facts of each case. This branch of government is often tasked with ensuring equal justice under law. It usually consists of a court of final appeal (called the 'supreme courts" or 'constitutional courts"), together with lower courts.

Entrenched

Entrenched in politics refers to a very solid politicals views. People who are politically entrenched rarely change their opinion. Most of us are affected by recent events or long term factors but entrenched views do not. In Britain for instance there are people who vote for labour, conservative because their grand-father and father voted this way.This are so called safe-seats

Uncodified Consitution

in such countries no single legal document delineates the power of government and the limits thereof. Instead several other documents comprising the body of country`s law, enacted over time along with political precedents and enshrined parliamentary procedure create a framework in which a limited government operates.The most notable example is The Constitution(rather its absence) ok the UK.

Written Constitution

Constitution(lat.constituo, ere) act ,also known as a Basil Law, which generally has the highest legal force in the system. All other acts must be in accordance with the constutution and in democratic states special committes or tribunals stand on guard of it. In practice all citizens can complain about some act and certain tribunal has to check it for any contradiction with Basil Law. If it`s found they can suspend the entire act or some of its paragraphs(i.e Constitutional Tribunal in Poland)
Constitution usually defines basis of the socio-economic system of the State, in addition the organization, powers, and procedure for appointment of key state organs, and the fundamental rights, freedoms and responsibilities of the citizen.
According to the legal Definitions, Constitution is a Basil Law which is characterized by a special procedure of changing it usually very difficult.
US Consitution of 17 september 1787 considered as the first in the world
Polish-Lithuanian Constitution of may the 3rd 1791 considered as the first in europe
*Constitution of Corsica considered as the first in the world*

Direct Action

Activity taken by indviduals, groups(pressure groups), governments to achieve economic, political or social goals outside normal channels. Direct Actions can be violent or non-violent. Strikes, workplace occupations, sit-ins, graffiti etc are an example of non-violent direct actions. Violent direct actions include assault and murder. Many countries such as USA or UK consider sabotage as a violent action therefore groups like Animal Liberation Front are considered as violent ones

Types of pressure groups

British Medical Association-professional association and registered trade union for doctors in the UK.The BMA has a range of representative and scientific committees and is recognised by National Health Service employers as sole contract negotiators for doctors.Insider

Confederation of British Industry-non for profit organizatition which promotes the interests of its members some of 200.000 British businesses, a figure which includes some 80% of FTSE 100* companies and around 50% of FTSE 350* companies.
*share index of the 100 most highly capitalized UK companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.Insider

Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals-charity organization promoting animal welfere.Insider

Animal Liberation Front-group that fights for animal right usually using illegal means to do so(i.e. removing animals from laboratories and farms, destroying facilities, arranging safe houses and veterinary care, and operating sanctuaries where the animals live out the rest of their lives).Typical outsider

Society for the Protection of the Unborn Children-pro-life organization.outsider

Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) is a campaign for clean, safe recreational water free from sewage effluents,toxic chemicals, nuclear waste and marine litter. SAS also campaigns to protect surf spots from environmental damage, negative impacts on wave quality and to safeguard wave riders right of access.


Groups that are not truly outsider nor insider will be: Greenpeace, Amnesty International or Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg ( welsh language society)

Is IRA a pressure group?

Can terrorists or an armed organization be a pressure group? ''Normal'' pressure groups try to influence media or government policy using peaceful methods. They can write letters, organise protests or advise politicians during the legislative process. They can represent various causes or interests of their members. They can even use illegal actions to achieve their goal. But they never use violence. On the other hand the IRA(or ETA or any other armed group) use terror to make their statements clear and well heard. They can also influence the media or the government. Sometimes they meet with extreme success like in Spain where presumably Al-Queda changed the result of the parliament elections by bombing trains in Madrid. People were angry about their current government, Partido Popular and voted for PSOE instead. The IRA used terrorist actions to bring chaos into the Northern Ireland government and cause as many casualties as possible for British soldiers and officials. They hoped that huge losses would force Britain to withdraw their presence from the north. They also wanted to influence the British media.
Even though they didn`t meet with much success , famous military actions like the assassination of Lord Louis Mountbatten and Warrenpoint ambush attracted media attention from all around the world.
In my opinion groups that use violence and terror to achieve political goals aren`t pressure groups sensu stricto. Of course they make a serious impact on societies and politics but the means of pressure they use, exclude them from being pressure groups and are considered by most of the people as terrorist or armed organisations

Referendum

it is a mechanism which allows voter to make a choice between alternatives courses of action on a particular issue. The result of the referendum may then be embodied in the particular`s state ; it can be mandatory before an international treaty can be signed; it may serve as the equivalent of legislation;May be necessary before public funds can be raised for a particular purpose; or it may simply be advisory. In some countries, such as Britain, the referendum has been effectively limited to big constitutional issues. In countries or states where there is more extensive use of the referendum, it is usual for a referendum question to be placed before the electorate if a given number or percentage of signatures can be obtained from electors in a specified time period, although there may also be provision for a referendum initiated by the head of government (as in France) or the legislature.

Electoral reform

Its a change in electoral systems to improve how public desires are expressed in elections result. It can be done by changing voting system such as proportional representation, a two-round system (runoff voting), instant-runoff voting, approval voting, citizen initiatives and referendums and recall elections.

• Rules about political parties, typically changes to election laws
• Eligibility to vote
• How candidates and political parties are able to stand (nomination rules) and how they are able to get their names onto ballots (ballot access)
• Electoral constituencies and election district borders
• Ballot design and voting equipment
• Scrutineering (election monitoring by candidates, political parties, etc.)
• Safety of voters and election workers
• Measures against bribery, coercion, and conflicts of interest
• Financing of candidates' and referendum campaigns
• Factors which affect the rate of voter participation (voter turnout)

Majoritarianism

This political concept says that the majority(sometimes categorized by religion, social class etc) has a leading role within the society and is authorized to make decisions that affect the whole society. Majoritarianism is often  being criticized by its opponents as a mob rule(Plato) However under democratic majoritarian political structure the majority would not exclude any minority from future participation in the democratic process.The most famous quasi-majoritarian system was Athenenian Democracy.

mass media

Its a section of media designed especially to reach a larger audience.The term was coined in the 1920s with the advent of nationwide radio networks, mass-circulation newspapers and magazines. However, some forms of mass media such as books and manuscripts had already been in use for centuries. Nowadays also The internet..

by-elections

Its a special kind of elections, held to fill office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections
 . Usually this occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall, ennoblement (colloquially known in the United Kingdom as being "kicked upstairs") or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction. By-elections have also been called as a result of a constituency election being invalidated due to voting irregularities regulary scheduled

Voter turnout

Voter turnout is the percentage of eligible voters who cast a ballot in an election. After increasing for many decades, there has been a trend of decreasing voter turnout in most established democracies since the 1960s. in general low turnout might be the reason of indifference and dissatisfaction.
Voters turnouts differ from each other. The highest one are to be found in compulsory voting countries such as Australia(96% during last elections).The lowest In Poland(51%) due to the fact almost 50 % of polish population had ascended to the divine enlightenment . We know that taking part in the elections wont change a thing..so why  lose our precious time to do so?

http://www.theonion.com/articles/poll-1-in-5-americans-believe-obama-is-a-cactus,18127/?utm_souce=popbox

Lobbying

Lobbying is any kind of pressure exerted on certain groups in order to achieve some goal.It is most common in politics for pressure groups to lobby politicians and/or media.
There are two main types of pressure groups:insider and outsider.
Insider pressure groups influence the political process,they have links connecting them with decision makers and usually are consulted by the goverment. Outsider groups are on the other hand outside the political process, either they dont want to take part in it or they simply cant(i.e because of their radical views)
Lobbying is a part of the politics.Many people consider it as something wrong since more resourceful pressure groups tend to have more influence in politics. There is a risk that Big Business can lobby for decision and acts that are against the common good of the society(i.e big tobacco companies)

Political apathy

its an indifference towards political events(elections,referendums etc) and politics as such. Epicureanism represented this point of view. According to Epicurus, philosopher should stay in the quiet of his home, living simple life in harmony with nature. Only in dire need for the country he leaves his shelter only to come back there after the situation will be resolved

Pluralism

Political pluralism - in a democracy, one of the rules of the parliamentary party system, which consists of the existence of two or more political parties representing the various programs and orientations, fighting to gain power in the country. Freedom means the operation of many organizations in the country. An important indicator of pluralism is, therefore, legitimacy and freedom of political opposition.

Polish-Lithuanian noble democracy

Democracy

Democracy is a form of  goverment where governing power comes from the people. Colloquially we can say that power comes from the people which couldnt be more wrong. The term comes from the ancient greek: demos(people) and kratos(power). Depending of how the authorities are being chosen we distinguish DIRECT democracy when all authorized members of the society are allowed to vote.Due to impossibility to achieve that in modern , usually big societes we use referendums instead.Second form is representative democracy where people are represented by elected representatives.According to many one of the worst political systems...