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Edexcel Government & Politics - Unit 2 Governing the UK (09/06/16)

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Original post by Hurbad
I wrote the exact same thing as you and yeah i kinda ran outta time
Did you mentioned "english law for english mps" ?


No, but I was going to as part of my nicely planned out devolution and quasi-federalism para that I had to abandon and turn into my conclusion lol
They messed up the setting the clocks back so I thought I still had 10 mins left when they told us to stop writing..
Can we do model answers for each question?
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Original post by espicton98
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Couldn't agree more


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Original post by thesporkthief
No, but I was going to as part of my nicely planned out devolution and quasi-federalism para that I had to abandon and turn into my conclusion lol
They messed up the setting the clocks back so I thought I still had 10 mins left when they told us to stop writing..


Thats alright as long as u mentioned england doesnt have a devolde assembly.

Also did you mention Tactical voting ?
Original post by Ringles
Someone help me out,
For the Constitution essay I wrote;
Codified vs uncodified
Electoral Reform aka change vs no don't change
HOL reform, to elected vs no don't because disadvantages..

Also did anyone answer the judiciary 45 marker?


Yep I answered it! Thought it was a good question to assess which branch upholds civil liberties more
Original post by Hurbad
Thats alright as long as u mentioned england doesnt have a devolde assembly.

Also did you mention Tactical voting ?


Nah, I only touched on electoral systems in the conclusion. I used the AV referendum to show that the electorate had no appetite for change, so no argument in favour of reform would likely be convincing
That was a horrible paper in my opinion, I thought unit 1 was a lot nicer and easier. I really needed a good grade in this paper today to take the pressure off A2 politics next week :/
not bad tbh, Parliament question was a bit annoying because I revised select committees a lot for essays, but I guess I made up for that in the short answer questions.

Judiciary question was ok, unfortunately the only one I didn't plan for, and was hard to maintain a balanced answer, but I still think I did ok.

Time management hit me really hard in this one, much more than the other.. had only 35 minutes to do 40 marker, about 20 for 25 marker. I think I just spend way too long on short questions...
I'm not gunna lie I really liked that the only thing I did worng was forgot you could use source for b lol but apart from that thought it was really nice
For the 40 mark constitution one I put:

- UK's constitution has strength in tradition, longevity and has been copied in many democracies around the world which shows its strength. However, it allows for undemocratic institutions such as the Lords and monarchy, the former of which is arguably increasing in power (striking down tax credits, which is a financial matter that the 1911 parliament act forbids).
- Lack of codification makes the government flexible and able to respond effectively to changing world events without being constrained (e.g. Financial Crisis 2007-2009), however this leaves it with the ability to potentially abuse rights, is difficult to understand by citizens etc.
- The independent judiciary can effectively protect rights without government intervention, which disperses power by taking judicial power away from the central government. However, this potentially allows it to 'legislate from the bench' under the protection of a supranational policy such as the ECHR, and many modern democracies (such as America) have elected judges which would increase their accountability, which may be a cause for further judicial reform.
- Parliamentary sovereignty means that parliament can always call government to account, so the constitution is more under popular control as the government could struggle to introduce a reform that is un-mandated. However, government dominates parliament and parliamentary sovereignty means there are no constitutional safeguards, so the government (and not the people) arguably are still in control of constitutional change which could be a threat to rights.

My conclusion basically said that the current constitutional amendments allow for a strong and efficient government with an effective parliament (which is increasing in power due to the poor mandate of the last two governments) and an independent judiciary. Reforming these factors further could constrain the government too much, so the constitution should not be reformed (not my personal opinion, it just followed on from some of my points).

I assume the question was specifically addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the constitution and whether or not reform was therefore necessary, although my arguments strayed into codification territory in places. I'm a bit worried that not mentioning things such as devolution, recall of MPs etc could have a negative impact on my mark, but I think I adequately addressed the question and it was quite open anyway. At the time I didn't have a problem with it lol


Tl;dr

P1: Tradition, Lords, Monarchy
P2: Codification
P3: Judicial reform
P4: Parliamentary sovereignty and popular influence
(edited 7 years ago)
What was the Parliament 25 marker?

Parliament controlling executive, right?
Original post by popcornjpg
What was the Parliament 25 marker?

Parliament controlling executive, right?


yah
Original post by popcornjpg
What was the Parliament 25 marker?

Parliament controlling executive, right?
Yeah along those lines, excluding select committees.
Original post by JRKinder
Yeah along those lines, excluding select committees.


Original post by 1998cafc
yah


ok thank ****, thought I read it wrong hah since its usually about executive controlling Parliament
PM and judiciary were the simplest questions.
If I bulletnpointed the 5 marker what is the most I can get?
Original post by popcornjpg
What was the Parliament 25 marker?

Parliament controlling executive, right?


Yeah thought that was nice but if you didn't mention the House of Lords rip. Did you do the constitution question? I thought that was a god send. I said electoral reform vs not. Codify vs not. HoL reform vs not. Bill of Rights vs Not. Then I said been enough constitution changes no need, and I also put EU referendum could present a change.
Original post by alevelpain
Yeah thought that was nice but if you didn't mention the House of Lords rip. Did you do the constitution question? I thought that was a god send. I said electoral reform vs not. Codify vs not. HoL reform vs not. Bill of Rights vs Not. Then I said been enough constitution changes no need, and I also put EU referendum could present a change.


nah I did Judiciary.

ye I did talk about Lords delaying powers and them breaking conventions with lots of examples.

I also talked about PMQs (not sure if this is valid tho)
and backbench rebellions
Original post by popcornjpg
nah I did Judiciary.

ye I did talk about Lords delaying powers and them breaking conventions with lots of examples.

I also talked about PMQs (not sure if this is valid tho)
and backbench rebellions

Lol we said the exact same thing then. I also include vote of no confidence
What was the exact wording for the 25 marker on parliament again?

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