chapter two copo

"Opposition parties joined in Parliament tonight to introduce a motion . . . that is believed likely to bring down the Labor Party government of Prime Minister James Callaghan and force a national election here by the beginning of May. Callaghan made a desperate attempt to win more time by proposing first to the House of Commons and then to the nation on television this evening that a crucial parliamentary vote on limited home rule for Scotland, which Callaghan was almost certain to lose, be postponed for several weeks to discuss alternatives. . . . Callaghan had been trying to delay the election until October, near the end of the Labor government's full five years in office, because union strife during the winter has left Labor well behind the Conservatives in public opinion polls... The prime minister, who has used a variety of delaying tactics and favors for some of the minority parties to stay in power this long, can count only on the 305 Labor members of Parliament plus a dwindling number of the contested Welsh and "Ulster votes". From The Washington Post. © 1979 The Washington Post. All rights reserved If Mr. Downie's prediction was accurate, which of the following would have been likely to occur?

A vote of no confidence would have been staged and James Callaghan would have been removed from office.

The Italian political scientist Sartori looked at the competition between parties for votes. . . . He argued that systems may be centrifugal so that the main competition is between parties for voters in the centre of the spectrum. [Other systems] are centripetal, in which parties move to the extremes of the spectrum to gain their voters there. In systems where there are two main parties, one centre left and one centre right then the system is centripetal with the two parties adjusting their policies to compete for 'floating voters' in the centre ground. The political scientist Otto Kirchheimer called them 'catch-all' parties, losing clear ideological direction and promoting policies with popular appeal. In Britain, competition between the Conservative and Labour parties can be seen to have had this character with the two parties each claiming that they will be the best at running the economy rather than having sharply different approaches. They competed for floating voters and for votes from the centrist Liberal party. When Labour moved to the left for the 1983 election their heavy defeat pushed them back to the centre and the same happened, to a lesser degree to the Conservatives after the defeats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 when Cameron looked to change the party's image. A change may have occurred since 2010 with the rise of UKIP and increased support for the Greens. Opinion pollsters have noted that there has been limited switching of voters between the two parties. Instead the main competition has been between the Conservative and UKIP on the one hand and between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the other. The system is tending to become centripetal. Source: https://www.britpolitics.co.uk/uk-elections-multi-party-systems-democracy Which of the following best explains how centrifugal party systems in the United Kingdom affect constituency service?

Centrifugal party systems with single-member districts and two main parties provide voters with strong constituency service because there is one representative per district.

Which of the following poses a threat to state sovereignty in the United Kingdom?

Foreign direct investment and multinational corporations

Which of the following caused the British government to establish a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 ?

It was determined that a permanent legal body be established with jurisdiction to resolve disputes relating to devolution in Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

Based on the table above, which political party in Great Britain would gain the most seats from a change to proportional representation?

Liberal Democrat

"Opposition parties joined in Parliament tonight to introduce a motion . . . that is believed likely to bring down the Labor Party government of Prime Minister James Callaghan and force a national election here by the beginning of May. Callaghan made a desperate attempt to win more time by proposing first to the House of Commons and then to the nation on television this evening that a crucial parliamentary vote on limited home rule for Scotland, which Callaghan was almost certain to lose, be postponed for several weeks to discuss alternatives. . . . Callaghan had been trying to delay the election until October, near the end of the Labor government's full five years in office, because union strife during the winter has left Labor well behind the Conservatives in public opinion polls... The prime minister, who has used a variety of delaying tactics and favors for some of the minority parties to stay in power this long, can count only on the 305 Labor members of Parliament plus a dwindling number of the contested Welsh and "Ulster votes". From The Washington Post. © 1979 The Washington Post. All rights reserved Which of the following would have been the most effective way to prevent the Callaghan government from falling in a vote of no confidence?

Mr. Callaghan could have worked closer with members of the Labour Party and minor parties to earn support.

In the British political system, effective policy- making power rests primarily with the

Prime Minister and cabinet

The Italian political scientist Sartori looked at the competition between parties for votes. . . . He argued that systems may be centrifugal so that the main competition is between parties for voters in the centre of the spectrum. [Other systems] are centripetal, in which parties move to the extremes of the spectrum to gain their voters there. In systems where there are two main parties, one centre left and one centre right then the system is centripetal with the two parties adjusting their policies to compete for 'floating voters' in the centre ground. The political scientist Otto Kirchheimer called them 'catch-all' parties, losing clear ideological direction and promoting policies with popular appeal. In Britain, competition between the Conservative and Labour parties can be seen to have had this character with the two parties each claiming that they will be the best at running the economy rather than having sharply different approaches. They competed for floating voters and for votes from the centrist Liberal party. When Labour moved to the left for the 1983 election their heavy defeat pushed them back to the centre and the same happened, to a lesser degree to the Conservatives after the defeats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 when Cameron looked to change the party's image. A change may have occurred since 2010 with the rise of UKIP and increased support for the Greens. Opinion pollsters have noted that there has been limited switching of voters between the two parties. Instead the main competition has been between the Conservative and UKIP on the one hand and between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the other. The system is tending to become centripetal. Source: https://www.britpolitics.co.uk/uk-elections-multi-party-systems-democracy Which of the following features best explains why the United Kingdom has what Sartori calls a "centrifugal" party system?

Single-member districts promote two centrist political parties.

Which of the following is an accurate explanation of a limitation of the data in the graph?

Specific information for each year is lost by averaging data for each time period.

Delivering our promise of a Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly has strengthened the [United Kingdom] not weakened it, and now, having defeated the force of conservatism in granting devolution, let us continue to defeat the separatism, which is just the forces of conservatism by another name. And don't let the forces of conservatism stop devolution in Northern Ireland too. Those who are addicted to violence. Those who confuse any progress with selling out. They shouldn't determine Northern Ireland's future. Walk through Belfast. No armed soldiers. Drive through it. No road blocks. Source: Prime Minister Tony Blair's speech to the Labour Party Conference, September 28, 1999. Which of the following later became an example of Tony Blair's reference to "defeat the separatism" referenced in the passage?

The 2014 referendum on independence for Scotland

Which of the following is an accurate explanation of a limitation of the data in the graph?

The data show only political parties as the source of variation in government spending on health and not other possible sources of the variation.

Which of the following is a consequence of the establishment of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom in 2009 ?

The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty remains intact, which means the Supreme Court has limited powers and cannot overturn parliamentary legislation.

Which of the following is a limitation of the data in the graph?

The first data period is long and contains various governments, which makes it not very meaningful.

Who selects the head of the British government?

The majority party in the House of Commons

The Italian political scientist Sartori looked at the competition between parties for votes. . . . He argued that systems may be centrifugal so that the main competition is between parties for voters in the centre of the spectrum. [Other systems] are centripetal, in which parties move to the extremes of the spectrum to gain their voters there. In systems where there are two main parties, one centre left and one centre right then the system is centripetal with the two parties adjusting their policies to compete for 'floating voters' in the centre ground. The political scientist Otto Kirchheimer called them 'catch-all' parties, losing clear ideological direction and promoting policies with popular appeal. In Britain, competition between the Conservative and Labour parties can be seen to have had this character with the two parties each claiming that they will be the best at running the economy rather than having sharply different approaches. They competed for floating voters and for votes from the centrist Liberal party. When Labour moved to the left for the 1983 election their heavy defeat pushed them back to the centre and the same happened, to a lesser degree to the Conservatives after the defeats in 1997, 2001 and 2005 when Cameron looked to change the party's image. A change may have occurred since 2010 with the rise of UKIP and increased support for the Greens. Opinion pollsters have noted that there has been limited switching of voters between the two parties. Instead the main competition has been between the Conservative and UKIP on the one hand and between Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Greens on the other. The system is tending to become centripetal. Source: https://www.britpolitics.co.uk/uk-elections-multi-party-systems-democracy Which of the following best explains how Sartori's idea of centripetal party systems relates to the United Kingdom?

There has been an increase in support for minor parties, which has pushed the major parties away from the political center.

Which of the following is an example of civil society changing in the United Kingdom?

Trade unions became less influential with fewer resources after Thatcherism.

Party discipline in Great Britain tends to be strong because

a government's tenure in the House of Commons relies on its ability to maintain party support

The electoral system in the United Kingdom tends to

exaggerate the scale of victory of the largest party

In Great Britain, the title "chancellor of the exchequer" refers to the

finance minister

The primary purpose of the Question Hour in the British Parliament is to

hold government ministers accountable for their actions

The use of judicial review in the United Kingdom is limited because

judicial review is seen as violating the principle of parliamentary sovereignty

"Opposition parties joined in Parliament tonight to introduce a motion . . . that is believed likely to bring down the Labor Party government of Prime Minister James Callaghan and force a national election here by the beginning of May. Callaghan made a desperate attempt to win more time by proposing first to the House of Commons and then to the nation on television this evening that a crucial parliamentary vote on limited home rule for Scotland, which Callaghan was almost certain to lose, be postponed for several weeks to discuss alternatives. . . . Callaghan had been trying to delay the election until October, near the end of the Labor government's full five years in office, because union strife during the winter has left Labor well behind the Conservatives in public opinion polls... The prime minister, who has used a variety of delaying tactics and favors for some of the minority parties to stay in power this long, can count only on the 305 Labor members of Parliament plus a dwindling number of the contested Welsh and "Ulster votes". From The Washington Post. © 1979 The Washington Post. All rights reserved The types of motions discussed in the passage are most common only in countries with

parliamentary systems

The voting behavior of members of the British House of Commons is principally determined by their

party affiliation

The "first-past-the-post" electoral system in Great Britain is based on

single-member districts

A successful vote of no confidence in a parliamentary system means that

the government steps down and a new government must be formed