‘The US Congress is a more powerful legislature than the UK Parliament’ Analyse and evaluate this statement PLAN PDF

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,The ‘The US Congress is a more powerful legislature than the UK Parliament’ Analyse and evaluatethis statement;Introduction Congress and Parliament are examples of representative, bicameral legislatures. Similar functions of representation, passing legislation and oversight.Agree Greater oversight ...

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,The ‘The US Congress is a more powerful legislature than the UK Parliament’ Analyse and evaluate this statement; Introduction

Congress and Parliament are examples of representative, bicameral legislatures. Similar functions of representation, passing legislation and oversight.

Agree

Greater oversight powers of Congress compared to Parliament e.g. confirmation of appointments, the ability to impeach etc E.g. Confirmation hearing of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh through Senate hearings and vote on the floor Determined by the US Constitution - fear of the founding fathers of executive power and the tyranny of the government over the people. No strict enforcement of party voting, enables representatives to represent the views of their constituents theoretically **limited by extreme partisanship and ideological views between parties**

Structural differences between Parliament and Congress. Separation of powers allows for greater oversight. Fusion of powers means executive is drawn from the majority party of Commons. Oversight is limited during large majorities e.g. Thatcher and Blair. Limited power of lords by Parliaments Act due to hereditary peers with lack of a democratic mandate. Due to the strict whip system, the opposing parties will almost always vote against each other. This greatly increases the ease with which the government (usually possessing a clear majority) can pass their bills, and makes Parliament weaker in its ability to amend and reject bills. Effectively only one main opposition party in Britain reinforces the division of parliament along party lines, and therefore its weakness.

Better Representation Both houses are elected and provide constituents with three representatives Representatives up for re-election more often, so more attentive to the needs of their constituents

Parties determine candidates for reelection. E.g. conservative party members deselected sitting MP Tim Yeo, who represented the constituency for over 30 years

Constituents determine reelection/selection of candidates as opposed to the parties. Greater individual role. E.g. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez beat incumbent congressman Joseph Crowley by 57.5% of the vote in Democratic Primary in New York’s 14th Congressional District Disagree

The inevitability of Gridlock due to equal powers of both Houses - A balanced bicameral system is one whereby legislative power is divided equally between each house. Less effective in passing legislation - passing only a few bills of the thousands proposed each year.

Commons dominates over Lords Prevents gridlock as it establishes clear priority. Overturn amendments made in Lords via Parliament Act to bypass. Salisbury doctrine enables clear passage of legislation in the governing parties mandate

Limitations of Oversight Hyper-Partisanship limits how effective scrutiny can be. Confirmation of appointments often reflects party desires - only supreme court nominees rejected have been under divided government e.g. rejection of 1999 Clinton nomination of Ronnie White to the federal trial court judge.

A parliamentary system = one party into legislative and executive control and give that party (or a coalition of parties constituting a parliamentary majority) the tools to both enact and implement its mandate. Opposition role is to criticize and oppose the in-power party, to describe its alternative ideas for how to run the country and scrutinise Scrutiny via the opposition - PMQs and debates. E.g. Commons emergency debate tomorrow on the convention that parliament should have to approve military interventions over military air strikes April 2018

Power weakened by Judiciary Judiciary can limit the powers of Congress by declaring legislation unconstitutional. ‘Supreme law of the land’ 1803, Marbury v. Madison was the first Supreme Court case where the Court asserted its authority for judicial review to strike down a law as unconstitutional E.g. April 2018 The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a law that allowed the government to deport some immigrants who commit serious crimes, saying it was unconstitutionally vague. The decision will limit the Trump administration’s efforts to deport people convicted of some kinds of crimes. Conclusion

Parliamentary Sovereignty The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty makes UK parliament theoretically the most powerful branch of government. Increased after removal from the EU. Judicial branch cannot declare laws unconstitutional, only not in accordance with the Human Rights Act 1998....