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Essay on scottish independence
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Impact of the Proposed Devolution for Scotland
Britain has never relished doses of constitutional reform, although they have accepted the drip-feed of frequent, unpalatable and ill-fated local government changes.
Ambivalence to reform was reinforced in recent decades. The 1974 Labour government proposed an ambitious program of devolution for Scotland and Wales. It was a luckless policy, not least because of Labour’s divisions. Now it is all different. The case for Scottish devolution is being argued with renewed vigour. Its consideration is linked with proportional representation for a Scottish assembly. (Rt. Hon. Lord Biffen)
With Britain being so against constitutional reform in the past, the impact of such reform could be perpetuated by such reform coming at the same time as many other policies on reform, such as devolution in Wales and Northern Ireland. These reforms have all come at the same time and in a short span of time since Labour only became government in May 1997.
Devolution as described by Bogdanor is the delegation of power to local or regional administration, so power is dispersed from a superior to an inferior political authority, or to be more precise it consists of a sub-ordinate elected body on a geographical basis of functions at present exercised by Parliament.
Scotland is to have its own parliament, while still remaining part of the United Kingdom. A referendum held in September 1997 endorsed the Scottish parliament by a substantial majority; 78% voted for a separate assembly, although the turnout was only 62% of the electorate. Now that the legislation has passed through Parliament, it will be introduced as soon as possible. Elections for 129 Members will be held in early 1999.
It is expected that the parliament, which will be situated in Edinburgh, will become fully operational in the year 2000.
The responsibilities which will be transferred to the Scottish parliament will include: - health, education and training, local government, housing, sports and the arts, economic development, law and home affairs and the environment. Among the areas of responsibility, which will remain at Westminster, are - overseas affairs, defence, national security, economic and monetary policy, employment legislation and social security.
Of the 62% of the electorate who turned out to the referendum, 68% agreed that the Scottish parliament should have some tax raising powers, there is however a limit on the amount this tax can be raised which will be up to 3p in the pound.
It could be argued that Gladstone’s failure to unite his party, during a time when their ultimate support and confidence in his leadership was crucial, was a significant tactical error that contributed heavily towards the failure of the 1886 Home Rule Bill. The results of the 1885 general election were to have a significant impact on the political landscape of Britain; despite winning the most seats, the Liberals did not have an overall majority.As Parnell and the Irish Parliamentry Party (IPP) held the balance...
Ahead in the book, I discover that Norway, Sweden and Denmark nullified their second chambers, choosing that bicameralism was no more essential. In reality, even the House of Lords in England has had its energy fundamentally decreased through time and as Dahl says, "The fate of that old chamber stays in extensive uncertainty." The purposes behind these bicameral contemplations in the constitution need to do with accommodating equivalent representation.
... effect changes in the senate, to alter the representation within the House of Commons, influence immigration, control the Supreme Court and to be accorded a distinct society status, were excessive. Despite these demands being too much, they did not lead to the failure of the agreement, which was mainly influenced by the weaknesses in the constitution.
The vision system integrated into the console provides viewing of the surgical field via a 3D image. It features a tiny telescope, which is placed inside an incision in the patient’s body. The telescope takes images from two points, which are relayed back to a console so the surgeon has a 3D image on-screen while he operates (Fig. 3).
If the parties in our governmental system would openly discuss about the difference in positions and in point of views within the groups in realizing these controversies will minimize the unnecessary troubles greatly. Another possibility of improvement would be following the great examples of other countries with the Westminster governance system. For example, in countries like Australia and New Zealand have already a well-established party discipline rules that are less strict than the ones in Canada and way more effective than the ones we have. In an article, it was said that” Australian parties are considerably more discipline than those in the UK an even those in Canada, although the degree of discipline in the latter has been the subject of much critical comment. Parliamentary votes in the UK are subject to varying degrees of party discipline, with the most rigid being the so-called” three-line whip’ votes. Neither Australia nor Canada has such gradations. In New Zealand party discipline has increased under its mixed Member proportional (MMP) electoral system and, unless party leaders have agreed to a conscience vote, standing orders require a party vote to be taken rather than individuals casting their votes in the chamber. “(Sawer, Abjorensen and Larkin
The issue of electoral reform has become more important than ever in Canada in recent years as the general public has come to realize that our current first-past-the-post, winner-take-all system, formally known as single-member plurality (SMP) has produced majority governments of questionable legitimacy. Of the major democracies in the world, Canada, the United States, and the United Kingdom are the only countries that still have SMP systems in place. Interestingly enough, there has been enormous political tension and division in the last few years in these countries, culminating with the election results in Canada and the USA this year that polarized both countries. In the last year we have seen unprecedented progress towards electoral reform, with PEI establishing an electoral reform commissioner and New Brunswick appointing a nine-member Commission on Legislative Democracy in December 2003 to the groundbreaking decision by the British Columbia Citizen’s Assembly on October 24, 2004 that the province will have a referendum on May 17, 2005 to decide whether or not they will switch to a system of proportional representation. This kind of reform is only expected to continue, as Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty decided to take BC’s lead and form an independent Citizen’s Assembly with the power to determine whether or not Ontario will have a referendum regarding a change to a more proportional system. There is still much work to do however, and we will examine the inherent problems with Canada’s first-past-the-post system and why we should move into the 21st century and switch to a form of proportional representation.
With many sources that attempt to explain why youth join gangs, studies based on empirical research are optimal to reveal the critical factors. This paper will focus on the key sources that are based on empirical methodologies as the base for comprehending why youth join gangs. The research has a pattern that reveals youth join gangs because of pre-existing delinquency, homophily, and low socio-economic status.
Lack of Jobs, Poverty, Domestic violence, Negative peer networks, Lack of parental supervision and early academic failure. Although there are all these risk factors gangs are still expanding. Most young people join because they need a sense of family. They might not get enough support at home of feel like they don't get support so they leave home for companionship. They are trying to escape a negative home life, or they may be looking for a father figure to guide them. Gangs often make promises to give unconditional support, and to become the "family" they never had. Gangs often present themselves as a way to survive everyday life to those who lack basic essentials such as food, clothing and shelter. Gangs members use their affiliation to make money through illegal activities, like selling drugs and auto theft. Communities with high gang activity usually see younger kids join gangs to survive. It is often easier to join the gang than to remain to yourself, as this is a sign of vulnerability. One of the biggest reasons why kids join gangs is because of peer pressure. Kids face a constant pressure to fit in, they may not have the support they need to avoid the pressure of gangs.Some young people get a rush out of defying authority, or committing crimes. Currently gangs offer a brand new life style. Gang members usually have the newest clothes, the best cars, and throw the best
A robot-assisted surgery demonstrates how far America and the whole world have come in means of technology within a particular working field. The necessity for a more superior technology within hospital settings are best supported by the development of the da Vinci Surgical System. In 1991, when the surgical system was introduced to the globe, many acknowledged that this system improved three different aspects of regular laparoscopic surgery: it gave doctor...
Surgical Robots have increasingly become common in many hospitals across the country. The most common of the robots used in the medical field is the da Vinci system. The da Vinci system is “a three- or four- armed robot that surgeons operate with hand controls in a computer system several feet from the patient” (Tanner). But can the skills of a surgeon be so easily replaced by a machine? Though there are many benefits to saving time in surgeries, the cost of a human life is not worth the efficiency to sa...
On one hand, political constitutionalists argue that parliamentary sovereignty is the underlying principle in the British constitution as power and law making are bo...
Since the beginning of time, human beings have been in search of ways to advance life as we know it. Every single day, somewhere in the world, technology is being transformed and an exciting new piece is birthed into society. Perhaps, one of the most influential advances is in our ever evolving medical profession. Thus, as technology continues to change the world as we know it, it is sweeping the medical field right along with it. Surgical procedures are being drastically improved with the use of robotic technology called da Vinci.
Robotic surgery has recently become the most popular surgical procedure around. It is used by many surgeons around the world for surgeries such as, “hysterectomies, cervical cancer, and endometriosis” (Robotics Surgeries on the Rise). Robotic surgery is a form of surgery where a robotic device is used to assist a physician in the physical presence of the patient. In the NBC news report, Robotic Surgeries on the Rise,
A gang can be defined as a group of people who unite to serve a common purpose and engage in violent or otherwise criminal behavior. (http://www.ci.torrance.ca.us) The types of crimes committed by gang members differ between gangs, but the crimes generally associated with gangs include vandalism, robbery, drug-trafficking, assault, arson, and murder. There are many reasons why teenagers may join gangs. The root causes of violent gang formation are poverty, stressed families, unemployment, under-employment, under-education, racism, and the breakdown of sociocultural institutions. (http://www.instanet.com) Many people join gangs for protection from violent people in other gangs. (http://www.public.iastate.edu) Other people join gangs for the sense of family that comes along with it. The youth gang satisfies a void - the child's desire to feel secure. It provides the child with a sense of identity, belonging, power, and protection. The gang provides a protective barrier against the outside world. (http://www.highways.com)
In a Parliamentary system there is a power concentration instead of division of powers. The Legislature is the greatest power, the government and the executive branch is dependent on Parliament. In contrast to Presidential systems, parliamentary and semi-presidential democracies have Legislative responsibility. Legi...