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In a parliament the people who form the government - the prime minister and other ministers, secretaries of state, etc. sit in the front benches, facing their opponents. Those who are in the same party, but who do not hold any government office, are known as backbenchers, because they sit in the seats towards, or at, the back. Opposition parties have 'spokespersons' on variou subjects.... they are often called the 'shadow Minister for ..... ' because they are said to 'shadow' the minister in charge of whatever their interest is.... These are usually referred to as 'front-bench spokespersons' or 'The Shadow Cabinet'. People in the opposition party, or parties, who are not spokespersons are also called backbenchers. Again, because the spokespersons sit at the front.
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What are MPs called if they are not ministers?
MPs who are not ministers are typically referred to as backbenchers. Backbenchers are Members of Parliament who do not hold any ministerial or leadership positions within a political party. They are generally involved in legislative work, representing their constituents, and sometimes participate in committee work.
Who are the people who are the members of parliament who are not members of the cabinet or shadow cabinet?
They're called the "Backbenchers"
Why is backbenchers job difficult sometimes?
because they work very hard and the goovernment doesn't support maybe........ because they work very hard and the goovernment doesn't support maybe........
What limitations does the Prime Minister of England have?
Before the general elections of 2010, the Prime Minister would have been limited by backbenchers. If they chose to revolt then the position of the PM could become very weak. another limitation would be Cabinet revolt, although this is historically rare. PM's question time could be considered a limitation as a poor performance can lead to loss of support and a damaged reputation.
How powerful is the Church of England in politics?
The Archbishop of Canterbury, Head of the Church of England, is an important member of society. The Church of England is active in politics mainly through its involvement with Parliament. This includes 26 Bishops in the House of Lords, Second Church Estates Commissioner. The Ecclesiastical Committee of Parliament comprises 30 members; 15 drawn from the House of Commons and 15 from the House of Lords. Members, who are by convention backbenchers, are appointed by the Speaker of each House early in a Parliament, and usually remain on the Committee for the life of the Parliament. The Speaker's Chaplain says the prayers for Parliament in the Chamber each day at the beginning of the day's business
Analyze the main factors which limit the effectiveness of Parliament?
Legitimacy: Eg.Unelected House of lords and the FPTP system, specifically compared to PR systems.Extent of party unity: Specifically seen in the Blair years, making a comparison between his first and last term.Size of the majority: Again compare the majority of Blairsfirst and last term - evaluate which one was more effective, and note that all good changing governments (parliaments) who have effective legislature THROUGH parliament have large majorities , eg.Margret thatchers 1983 government.Coalition: Specifically between Backbenchers of the Lib demparty, who as the smaller coalition partner often feel their ideological character being lost, and compare lib-demswith the toryright - and how government therefore find it hard to pass law that satisfy both parties - therefore compromise is needed.- this is seen as in 2010 - 2012 24% of all divisions involved a Lib-demrebellion.
Why do the cabinet ministers need the backbencher's support?
In a parliamentary system, the cabinet is the executive branch of government, and is usually simply referred to as 'the government.' The leader of the political party that elects the most members of parliament in a general election usually becomes the prime minister. The prime minister then appoints several of his/her party members to the cabinet. Most cabinet ministers are also members of the House of Commons, although one or two are members of the Senate. A cabinet minister can be neither; however, this occurs but rarely. Those members of the prime minister's party who are not in the cabinet are usually referred to as 'government backbenchers.' It is a fundamental principle of parliamentary democracy that the government (i.e., the cabinet) must at all times have the 'confidence' (i.e., support of the majority of the members) of the House of Commons. If a government fails to win the majority on any vote in the House of Commons, it is said to have 'lost confidence.' Another way to describe this would be to say the government was 'defeated.' Usually this would result in another general election being called. If a party, in an election, elects more than half the members of the House of Commons, that party is said to have a 'majority' government. In this situation, having the support of a majority of the members of the House (i.e., having the 'confidence' of the House) is almost automatic, because the 'government backbenchers' will support the government. However, if a party elects the most members, but not a majority of members, it is said to be a 'minority' government. A minority government can easily 'lose confidence' and be 'defeated,' simply by being outvoted by the opposition parties (i.e., those parties that elected fewer members than the government party). Thus, a minority government could be 'defeated' on any one of the several votes taken in the House each week. Generally, however, one of the opposition parties will introduce a 'motion of non-confidence' when it truly wants to 'defeat' the government and have a general election. A government has occasionally lost a vote in the House simply because not enough of its members showed up for the vote. Such a circumstance is embarrassing to the government, which usually, after a day or two, introduces a motion to the effect that the motion that was lost was not considered to be a 'confidence' motion. If this motion passes, the government is not 'defeated' and things carry on as usual (at least until the next vote).
Is the jury of UK obsolete today?
The jury is anything but obsolete today. Said to be one of the leading exports of the U.K., apart from common law system and football, it still holds high levels of respect among billions of individuals.If compared to its history, riddled with drunk judges and property ownership jury members, todays jury come from all walks of life and have finally settled down into a mould initially designed for them.Many have still criticised certain aspects of the system, from its composition to selection process. The Conservative government have been known to be critical of the jury system, and this has not differed when the Labour took over the helms. The unsuccessful, yet purposive attempts by Labour to end trial by jury has been seen in the Criminal justice(Mode of trial) Bill No.1 1999, and No.2 2000. It had been heavily critised, even by Labour very own backbenchers. Keith Vaz stands out, saying "when you take away a fundamental principle going back to the Magna Carta, you have to be very, very careful." Thus, as much as the Government of the day might try to make the jury system obsolete today, it will never be obsolete. In every member of parliament itself, i am very sure, cries a citizen demanding his/her right to be protected via this very mean, the jury system. Dr.Delvinder Singh PhD(Law), LLM, LLB(Hons) London, Barrister
Why did margaret thatcher become prime minister?
Margaret Thatcher was a research chemist before becoming a barrister was elected Member of Parliament for Finchley in 1959. She was appointed Secretary of State for Education and Science by Edward Heath in 1970. She defeated Heath in the Conservative Party leadership election in 1975. She became Prime Minister after winning the 1979 general election.
Who did Margaret thatcher replace as leader of the conservative party?
Margaret Thatcher was elected leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, following a poll of her fellow Conservative MP's beating former PM Ted Heath. She had never been considered for the leadership before this, and had actually declared that she did not think there would be a woman Prime Minister in her lifetime. It was when Heath refused to step down that the Tories had to organise a 2-stage ballot, where the front-runners were asked to stand aside first time round, so that the anti-Heath votes could be concentrated on one candidate, who was clearly meant to be a stalking-horse. They chose Thatcher for this, as she was the only candidate of Ministerial rank who had no chance of actually getting elected - being a woman. But to everyone's surprise, many backbenchers decided to vote for her in the second ballot, and she became the first-ever woman party leader - to the fury of Labour, who felt that this honour would fall to one of theirs.
Can british prime minister be a member of parliamant after retirement?
It depends what you mean by 'retirement'. If a Prime Minister's Party loses a general election, but they themselves keep their constituency seat, then they can if they wish stay on in politics, either as leader of the Opposition or as a backbencher. This depends upon whether they have the confidence of their Party to stay on as leader- for example, Harold Wilson lost the 1970 General Election, but still retained the confidence of the Labour Party to remain as it's head, so stayed on as Leader of the Opposition until being re-elected in 1974. But others are often seen as a liability to future electoral victory, and are voted out as Leader by their Party (as, for example, happened to Jim Callaghan and Michael Foot in the early 1980s). But even if they don't remain as Opposition Leader or a member of the Shadow Cabinet, they can still stay on as an ordinary MP if they keep their Parliamentary seat. In some cases, they are elevated to the House of Lords after being ennobled by The Queen for political services rendered to the nation, in which case they move there. But if this doesn't happen, AND they are unlucky enough to be de-selected as Party Leader after losing an election, then it's up to them what they do. Obviously, if they lose their own constituency seat, they are no longer an MP, so can no longer remain active in the House of Commons, but if they KEEP their seat, they can choose to stay on as backbenchers, or to retire from politics completely and devote their time to something else. If this happens, then what is known as a BY-ELECTION is called in their Constituency; a new MP is needed to represent it, so an election will be held in that one Constituency alone to decide who it's new MP should be. A promising new candidate is chosen from the retiring MP's local Party, and they run against other candidates from other Parties to decide who the areas new political representative will be.
Does the Conservative Party of Canada have weaknesses?
Of course. The biggest weakness of the Conservative Party of Canada and any other political party is that not all members agree on all issues. Certain issues can be used as wedges in the party. Of note is the power of backbenchers versus the control of central leadership of the party, which has occasionally made headlines in Canadian newspapers. Further there are already pre-conceived notions about the Conservative Party. These ideas, though not the full truth, are a far simplified idea and thus easier to handle and then believe for most people. It is far easier to type cast the entire party than to pick out beliefs on an individual basis to try to see the details of the picture. Examples include: - Anti-homosexual bias - Anti-abortion stance - Forcing people into traditional roles - Christian fundamentalists - Pro-guns - Cutting funding for government programs - Controlled by corporations - Anti-democratic (robocalls) - Anti-environment - Illegal election spending Managing and balancing the party's stance on issues is a complicated task and rarely pleases everyone. A single rogue MP can complicate the party's image. The party is heavily reliant on the image of its leader Stephen Harper. Although Harper himself has appeared to be steadfast, a scandal directly involving Harper could severely hurt the Conservative brand. So far, scandals involving the federal government have successfully moved responsibility to a single MP. One possible weakness, (which could also be a strength,) is that Stephen Harper is not as generally open or likeable as the Liberal leader, Justin Trudeau. Comparing Harper to Mulcair is debatable. The Conservative Party has been in power for a long time. The longer you are in power, the greater a chance that you will do something wrong. This will probably be the party's greatest weakness in the long run, while they are in power.
