UK AP classroom

Which of the following is a check on the executive in both a presidential and a parliamentary system?

The legislature may refuse to pass executive proposed legislation.

• In both a presidential and parliamentary system, the legislative branch has the sole power to pass or reject legislation.

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.

• The Supreme Court cannot overturn any primary legislation made by parliament and has limited power. The Court may only rule on matters that lay beyond the scope of parliament.

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.

• The most effective way for Mr. Callaghan to have stopped his government from falling would have been to work closely with party members and members of minor parties to earn their support in a vote of no confidence.

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.

“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 process for removing an executive in a parliamentary system is a vote of no confidence.

One difference between the parliamentary and presidential forms of government is that the presidential form

makes the executive electorally independent of other branches of government

Which of the following is the best description of Great Britain’s Fixed-Term Parliaments Act of 2011 ?

It mandates that parliamentary elections must occur every five years starting in 2015.

Which of the following best describes how judiciaries remain independent from other branches of government?

Judiciaries overrule executive and legislative actions.

• Judiciaries remain independent from other branches of government by overruling executive and legislative actions. This is an important check that helps the judiciary to remain independent.

In a parliamentary system, a minimum winning coalition refers to

the smallest number of parties necessary to command a majority in an assembly

Which of the following explains a potentially negative consequence of executive term limits?

Executive term limits can force effective executives out of office.

• One negative consequence of executive term limits is that successful, effective, popular executives still need to vacate the executive office upon the completion of their term limit.

Which of the following explains why a country would choose a parliamentary system over a presidential system?

A parliamentary system does not divide powers among as many branches of government, so it is more efficient.

• Because a parliamentary system fuses branches of government, it has fewer institutional obstacles to enacting policy, and so is more efficient.

Which of the following is often true about semi-presidential systems?

The president usually nominates the prime minister, which implies that the prime minister would support the president’s policy agenda.

• In semi-presidential systems, the president nominates a prime minister who would be likely to support the president's policies. The president may have the power to dismiss the prime minister.

The common law system, especially as practiced in Great Britain, is based on

the use of precedents to guide legal decisions

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

judicial review is seen as violating the principle of parliamentary sovereignty

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

Prime Minister and cabinet

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

hold government ministers accountable for their actions

In the twentieth century, the greatest social cleavage manifested in British politics was

class

Which of the following is a consequence of the United Kingdom's single-member district plurality electoral system?

Third parties without specific regional support are often underrepresented in Parliament.

• Third parties, including the Liberal Democrats, are underrepresented as a result of the electoral system. The two main parties, the Conservatives and Labour, often receive a larger percentage of seats in Parliament than the percentage of votes they received in an election.

Which of the following best explains how the government of the United Kingdom maintains political legitimacy despite the lack of a written constitution?

There is a long-standing legal tradition of protecting civil liberties and representative government at the national level.

• The United Kingdom’s political legitimacy is maintained with the help of a long legal tradition of protecting civil liberties and representative government at the national level.

The United Kingdom has used a referendum in the past ten years to

decide whether to leave the European Union

• The United Kingdom has used a referendum in the past ten years to decide whether or not to leave the European Union. The vote, called Brexit, occurred in June of 2016 and started the process for the United Kingdom’s withdrawal from the European Union.

 Devolution in the United Kingdom has allowed

separatist parties to have roles in Scotland and Wales

Which of the following is an accurate description of why Great Britain’s conflict in Northern Ireland has diminished since 1998 ?

Britain supported a power-sharing agreement between Protestant and Roman Catholic leaders in Northern Ireland.

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

Foreign direct investment and multinational corporations

• Foreign direct investment and multinational corporations challenge state sovereignty in the United Kingdom by bringing economic pressures on the United Kingdom that would be beneficial to the foreign company, but not necessarily in the national interest of the United Kingdom.