Category: Samples

 

Courts, Judges, and Politics

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2^2nd, February 2013

 

Law is important in society, as it guides the lives of people, including their actions. The judges, through their laid down principles, participate in determining common law, which applies in the country and controls actions of people. This law today is set in a country’s legislation. In the process of writing law, legislators set out to use a kind of language that will be easily understood by officials, citizens, as well as judges. However, laws written in the past generations, which were different from the present generation, have outlived present generations. This kind of law, even though was clear to the past generations, becomes problematic in the present generation, and results in different problems, including its interpretation, as this can be seen as ambiguous or lead to different interpretations by judges. The fact that words attract different meanings has led to problems in interpretation of statutes.

Frankfurter Felix is right as he makes claims in text about statute interpretation, basing on his experience as an associate justice of the US Supreme Court in the past years. He identifies the main problem in interpretation of law as emanating from the use of words (Frankfurter, 1947). Words are used differently by different people, therefore, even in law; these might get different interpretations, which then might become problematic. For instance, if a statement reads workers in an industry are not required to carry luggage weighing more than 50kgs, might appear to legislation that these workers are only supposed to carry reasonable weight. However, the term reasonable will result in problematic interpretation, since this might mean a different thing to different judges. Therefore, Frankfurter’s claims about language and its problematic nature in interpretation of statutes are quite on point.

Frankfurter also notes that because language presents a problem in interpretation of statutes, which is commonly performed by judges, this casts a doubt on those statutes that are constructed by judges (Frankfurter, 1947). This is a matter of fact, because in such cases, the decisions on the statute are wholly left to the judges. These might use their own judgment and interpretation to interpret the statute. Some of the judges might be wrong in their interpretation. Frankfurter therefore, has emphasized on the need of judges to utilize their knowledge and professionalism appropriately in such cases. I concur with Frankfurter on this, because in such cases, the judges are regarded as in charge of polishing or refining some legislation, which requires processing. Legislation is important and affects people’s lives, therefore, just like Frankfurter, I believe judges should perform their best, while interpreting this, and should make use of their professionalism.

Sometimes the congress has deliberately left the role of legislation processing to the courts, so that these are responsible for the choice of policies in the country. Policies are crucial, therefore, judges must interpret statutes regarding these well. As Frankfurter notes, some judges might not understand the language of the Congress, and therefore, end up making their own interpretation, basing on what they choose to make out of the statute, or as Frankfurter has called it, “apperception mass” (Frankfurter, 1947, p. 505). Judges should interpret statutes, as the Congress would want them to. These should even use the congress dictionary, if they are supplied with it. This works to ensure good interpretation of statutes.

Frankfurter has also addressed the issue of laziness as inherent in most human beings. Judges being humans too, might portray this in their interpretation of statutes. For instance, judges might choose to pass a statute, without first being committed to understanding its interpretation (Frankfurter, 1947). Sometimes, a statute might have used complex language and complex content, which judges need to interpret. In some cases, the complexity of statutes will make judges pass them in order to save themselves the long and demanding process of interpreting them. This however, can be detrimental to the future of a country, and might have an influence on the nature of future legislation and statutes that judges will be presented with for interpretation. Generally, interpretation of legislation by judges is a process that judges should be address in the most careful manner, and with professionalism, as this affects many dimensions of a country.

 

References

Frankfurter, F. (1947). Some Reflections on the Reading of Statutes. New York:  The

Association of the Bar of the City of New York.

 

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Letter to the Editor, Wall Street Journal

Date: 02/22/2013

To,

The Editor,

Wall Street Journal,

USA.

Subject:  THE US NEEDS A REAL TAX REFORM

Taxes add value to the economy of the United States; however, this country needs real tax reform, to increase the effectiveness of taxes. Real taxes have the capability of promoting positive economic practices in a country and getting rid of all the negative economic practices. In this country, the representatives, whom people elect, are responsible for determining tax. However, I am convinced that these have not represented their people well, as far as matters to do with tax are concerned.

The Federal tax code has had negative impact in the country. This is the major cause of why different jobs and companies have been driven outside the country.  The prices of products produced in the country have gone up, thanks to the high business taxes.  The income tax in the country promotes negative economic practices. By taxing the income of rich people highly and that of poor and average income-earners lowly, this makes the poor poorer, as they are not motivated to scale up. This strategy also deprives the rich, making them to scale down. I am also against tax deductions on debt, as this encourages more debts in the country.

I would like to support Joel Rudicil’s letter “Taxes Can Help; This One Doesn’t,” (Feb. 20), as a response to your editorial “A Buckeye Tax Reform” (Feb. 12). He opposes the Buckeye tax reform, although he is inclined on the side of oil and gas production in Ohio, since he is the president of Ohio Oil and Gas Association. He is right, and I support his views on the whole issue. This is an example of how inconsiderate the taxation system in this country is. However, I would add that this tax reform seeks to lower taxes for all small businesses in Ohio, and increase tax on big businesses. This does not make sense at all. The tax code in this country will only increase the number of poor people and reduce the number of rich people, since it favors the poor. Therefore, the US needs a sensible tax reform.

 

Yours sincerely,

Your name and title

Address

 

Works Cited

Rudicil, Joel. “Taxes Can Help; This One Doesn’t.” The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 22

February 2013 <http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324449104578313902111722208.html>

 

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Wal-Mart in China

Question 1

            Wal-Mart’s strategy in the United States is low-cost, in addition to its high volume strategy. This is meant to help the company achieve customer satisfaction through its low prices, and through quality customer service. What makes Wal-Mart have cost advantages in the United States lies in its distribution practices. Wal-Mart has a distribution network that has superior capabilities, compared to its competitors. This includes the location of its stores; these are located in strategic places, and are many in number, therefore, it is easier for customers to spot them. Wal-Mart also has a speedy growth in the United States. This is reflected in its increased number of stores, even as it plans to open more stores in the United States in the next two years. The superior information management of Wal-Mart is another source of the company’s cost advantages in the United States. Wal-Mart offers a big range of products to its customers, thus raising its cost advantages, as customers will buy all the products they need under one roof. Finally, customer satisfaction contributes to Wal-Mart’s low cost advantages. Since this company has satisfied employees, these offer quality services to customers, who keep coming back (“The Economist” Web).

Question 2

            These sources of cost-advantage have helped Wal-Mart gain a competitive advantage in the United States. Wal-Mart’s efficient distribution such as cross-docking helps the company save costs from lower levels of inventory, which leads to lower prices and more customer satisfaction. Wal-Mart uses IT to integrate its suppliers, and this reduces the company’s cost of distribution and saves the costs that the company could have incurred linking up with manufacturers. Wal-Mart’s work force culture that ensures employee and customer satisfaction has helped the company attain customer loyalty, and its employees work productively. Wal-Mart has also maintained its everyday low prices in the US, and this helps lower advertising costs, improve stability of supply chain and customer satisfaction. All these factors have helped Wal-Mart compete healthily in the market, since these are cost saving, enabling Wal-Mart to grow more and register an increased market share (“The Economist” Web).

Question 3

            When Wal-Mart got an entry into the Chinese market in 1996, the management thought that by duplicating the business model of the US market in China, the company could still rise to success in China. However, this was wrong, since Wal-Mart in China has been faced by a myriad of challenges despite its everyday low prices. This has been overtaken by Carrefour, a foreign investor in China. This show that China has not achieved a competitive advantage in China, as is the case in the US. Problems with food labelling have led Wal-Mart to be sanctioned, and close to 13 of its stores closed down by the Chinese authorities. This in addition to the Chinese culture, Anti-monopoly laws, Anti-unfair competition laws, and Price laws, among other restrictions in the market, has weighed Wal-Mart down in China. The fact that Wal-Mart is a foreign company in China makes it hard for it to grow, since China prefers their domestic companies to grow more than the foreign companies (Wang and Farhoomand Web).

 

 

Question 4

            For Wal-Mart to be effective in China, management should put the cultural factor in consideration. Apart from cooking their own food, the Chinese value fresh foods, compared to Americans. Therefore, most processed foods should be replaced with health foods. Asians are quality-oriented; therefore, Wal-Mart’s everyday low prices might not apply in China, since they view these as low-quality products. Some cultures believe that cheap is low in quality. Additionally, instead of targeting the low-income earners in China, as it does in the US, Wal-Mart in China should target high-income earners, as China is different from the US. Finally, Wal-Mart should consider opening more stores in China, and improving on its distribution, since China is more populated than the US.

 

Works Cited

The Economist. “Wal-Mart: How big can it grow?” April 15, 2004. Web. Retrieved 21 February

2013 <http://www.economist.com/node/2593089>

Wang, Iris and Farhoomand, Ali. “Wal-Mart Stores: “Everyday Low Prices” in China.” Harvard

Business Review. September 11, 2006. Web.

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Are Ethnicities Optional?

            Advanced technology in the world today, including advances in transport and communication has increasingly contributed to the strengthening of the process of globalization. The world has become a global village, as the advanced technology enables people from different geographical regions to communicate effectively, as well as move from one geographical region to another. This happens in the shortest time possible, compared to the ancient means of transport and communication. Therefore, in the contemporary world, people from different continents interact at a higher level and more easily compared to the past decades. We therefore, continue to witness a social and economic evolution in society, even as immigration rates increase today. With immigration, the immigrants are able to experience other cultures. This therefore, raises the aspect of ethnicity in the people because of the varying cultures. There are instances of stereotyping and prejudicing of different cultures, which most of the times is hurtful to them.

In her article Optional Identities: For Whites Only?, Mary Waters presents an argument about the issue of ethnicity, which is of great concern in today’s countries, which are mostly multi-cultural, owing to globalization. Waters argues against the aspect of ethnicity being considered a biological aspect. According to her, ethnicity is an aspect that human beings construct socially, and are not born with (Waters 1). She gives various reasons to show that when people claim to belong to a common ethnic group, it does not necessarily mean that these have a common ancestry. Waters gives an example of how the white people choose their ethnicity, due to the various economic, social, and political forces, which force them to choose an ethnic identity (Waters 1).

According to Waters, ethnicity for White Americans is symbolic, apart from being optional. People choose the ethnicity they want to be associated with regard to cultural symbolisms in the ethnic group. Waters likens this to an example of White Americans, who choose to identify themselves with the Irish, mainly because of their love for Irish, as well as the elements that make Irish an enjoyable ethnicity to belong to (Waters 3). However, Waters notes that not all people in society settle for optional ethnicity. This is because some of the people might not be interested in keeping up or identifying with the popular and attractive ethnicities, instead, these would be happy to belong to their original ethnicity, no matter the weaknesses it bears.

Waters therefore, identifies “Non-optional ethnicity.” The minority in the population mainly embraces this. In this case, members of a minority group will deliberately refuse to adopt the norms and values of the mainstream popular culture. Waters notes that such situations arise when a minority group wants to maintain their identity, which could be influenced by their history, or their uniqueness, with regard to other factors. The remaining members mostly judge the people who abandon this kind of ethnicity in a negative way. This kind of ethnicity is named ‘oppositional ethnicity.’ Waters attributes this ethnicity to the blacks and the Latinos. She believes that, “the oppositional component of a black identity also explains how black people can question whether other black are acting black enough” (Waters 7).

In the article Notes of a Native Speaker, Eric Liu, talks about his experiences that relate to his ethnicity, immigration, and race, during his childhood and teenage years. Although Liu was Chinese, after immigration, he became American. However, he was called ‘banana’ for emulating the White Americans. Liu experienced vast challenges adapting to life in America, especially with regard to culture. Even though he was a citizen of America, he still viewed himself different from the White Americans, who also considered him a Chinese-American, and not an American. In this case, Liu was Chinese on the inside, but American on the outside. He therefore, felt a conflict in him, as the two ethnicities failed to integrate. He said, “And the result is always more complicated than the monochrome language of “Whiteness” and “authenticity” would suggest”(Liu 10). He felt timid and lost his confidence. From Liu’s life story and experiences with ethnicity, it is possible to use Water’s arguments to analyze Liu’s situation. First, by choosing to change nationality to American, Liu defied his original ethnicity, which is Chinese. Therefore, we can call Liu’s Chinese-American ethnicity as an optional ethnicity. Liu chose this because of immigration and schooling reasons. Being among the minority groups in America, Liu was likely to attract attention from the White Americans, because of their different ‘ethnicities.’

In another article titled, Scents by Maria Laurino, different aspects of ethnicity are highlighted. Laurino uses her experiences in the US as an Italian to show the state of ethnicity “I can still remember the day when my ethnicity no longer felt like the tag line of my narrative, reluctantly affixed to my American self, but instead signified an inescapable me” (Laurino 14). Since she is Italian-American, it is possible to compare her to the oppositional ethnic, which is hard to run away from. This therefore, makes her experience some level of prejudice from her peers, who were mostly White Americans. Even though she tried to evade all the prejudice that comes with being an Italian in America, she could not manage to escape as she had all the physical features of an Italian, in addition to the strong stereotypes the White Americans had about Italians. It was therefore, hard for Laurino to move away from her oppositional ethnicity, no matter how hard she would try.

Jen Gish in her article An Ethnic Trump describes the experiences of her son and herself in America with regard to ethnicity. Although these are both Chinese-Americans, Jen wants her son to adopt the Chinese values, by enrolling him to a Chinese school. On the other hand, the son does not want to be identified with Chinese, including eating Chinese food, and attending a Chinese school. The young boy cries and says that he is American, yet Jin knows he that his son is Chinese, and nothing is going to change that, since his physique tells it all (Jen 20). With regard to Waters, both Gin and her son belong to oppositional ethnicity, and therefore, it is hard for them to identify with other ethnicities, even though they are American citizens. In this case, Jin is proud of her ethnicity, which is why she wants her son to embrace the Chinese values and norms.

The ideas of Waters are useful in analyzing the situations of Jin, Liu, and Laurino. Since Waters provides a framework with which one can analyze and interpret various ethnicity issues, these can be applied to the cases of the three authors. These three authors have one thing in common. They all struggle with the question of ethnicity, and are victims of ethnic identity. They struggle with this in the same way that Waters puts it. However, ethnicity is inevitable, and it is impossible for one to escape their ethnicity, just as Waters put it. Therefore, this is also seen in the case of the three authors, since in as much as they want to identify with a different ethnicity, they are unable to hide their original ethnicity, and the White Americans still identify them as immigrants, even though they have the American citizenship.

A contrasting view of Water’s argument is however, presented by Laurino. Laurino was able to overcome uncontrolled ethnicity after years of struggling with her identity. “I fear that after years of trying to rid myself of the perceived stench of my ethnic group and its musty basement class status, I sanitized my own voice, washed it away” (Laurino 14). Laurino later accepted that she is Italian, despite all the strong stereotypes Americans attached to Italians. Therefore, this might prove that people also choose their ethnicity with regard to their experiences and struggles with ethnic identity.

With increasing globalization, the levels of immigration will only rise. Therefore, more cultural interactions are eminent in future. However, the question of ethnicity in this case will always remain, where people from various cultures interact. Cultural consciousness is a historical notion, which still persists in people’s minds today. However, this is full of misconceptions, prejudices, and stereotypes of other cultures, which is inappropriate. Therefore, it is important that people learn to adopt immigration and embrace cultural tolerance. If this is adopted, the immigrants in different countries will be able to live comfortably without any discrimination based on their ethnic backgrounds.

 

Works Cited

Jen, Gish. “An Ethnic Trump.” New York Times Magazine, July 7, 1996 rpt.

Chicago Sun‐Times, <http://www.e‐thepeople.org/a‐

suntimes/article/13652/view>.

Laurino, Maria. “Scents.” Were You Always an Italian? New York: Norton,

2000.

Liu, Eric. “Notes of a Native Speaker.” The Accidental Asian. 1998.

Waters, Mary. “Optional Ethnicities: For Whites Only?” Eds. Sylvia Pedraza and

Ruben Rumbaut.Origins and Destinies: Immigration, Race and Ethnicity in

America. Belmont: Wadsworth Press, 1996.

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Formal and Informal Social Control

            Different societies have their different forms of social control. Social control is therefore, part of the socialization process in different societies. When growing up, individuals have knowledge about the different forms of social control in their communities. Social control includes rules or laws, which community members adhere. Failure to adhere to the rules in society is regarded deviant behaviour. In most societies, deviant behaviour is punishable. The purpose of this punishment is normally to retain social order in the community. Social control can therefore, be defined as “the techniques and strategies for preventing deviant human behaviour in any society” (Schaefer 158). There are different strategies through which this is ensured, which can be either social strategies or political strategies. Nonetheless, social control is in two major forms, namely the formal social control and the informal social control. These are used “to encourage conformity and obedience-and to discourage violation of social norms” (Schaefer 160).

Although formal social control and the informal social control help maintain social order and adherence to rules and laws in society, there are various factors, which differentiate between these two forms of social control. The first difference between these two forms of social control lies in their mode of implementation. Formal social control is implemented by a higher authority compared to informal social control. The police, military officers, employers, among other authorized agents are responsible for implementing formal social control. Formal social control is also resorted to as a last option when informal social control fails. However, since social control is an aspect of the culture of a society, considering that cultures vary in different societies, it is therefore eminent that the type of behaviour that will call for formal or informal social control will vary in different societies (Siegel 201).

According to Parsons, formal social control is mostly in the form of codified regulations, statutes, and rules, which are meant to counter deviant behaviour. Therefore, a community might have many rules and regulations, meant to address different types of deviant behaviour (168). For instance, all the individuals in society will be expected to adhere to the laws that are concerned with theft. While some laws might apply to all the members of a society, others will apply only to a group of people in the society. Laws concerned with murder, theft, incitement, impersonation, among others, will apply to all people, as everyone is capable of such deviant behaviours. However, laws regarding poaching, illegal fishing, and mining, among others, are only applicable to the specific individuals who are capable of indulging in such activities. Additionally, different countries have corporate laws. These do not also apply to the whole population, but only to the concerned institutions in the country. Therefore, not all formal control is always directed to all individuals in society, but is diverse, and might apply to specific individuals, and also to the whole population (Parsons 169).

Another difference between formal and informal control lies in the ways in which these are conducted. For formal social control, it is the government of the specific country, which ensures that formal law takes effect. In addition, organizations, which are concerned with law, are also responsible for ensuring formal social control, through development of law enforcement mechanisms. Law enforcement mechanisms differ from country to country. However, in most countries, these are in the form of sanctions. Sanctions also vary from country to country, depending on the nature of deviant behaviour. Sanctions comprise imprisonment, fines, among others. Social control in a country is a process, as there are procedures or steps to be undertaken in order to attain control. In the case of formal control, this is also a process, which most countries consider important. Therefore, different countries might have varying steps involved in their formal social control processes (Clinard and Meier 43). In democratic countries, legislation is the source of formal control. Therefore, different individuals sit down to develop and implement the processes involved in formal social control. These are leaders, holding political offices, and acting as the representatives of their people, who elected them to office. Enforcement of formal social control is a different practice, and government agencies, school systems, courts, police officers, among other authoritative individuals and systems in a country mainly perform this (Siegel 200).

Informal social control is the opposite of formal social control. The characteristics of formal social control are the exact opposite of those of informal social control. For instance, while formal social control utilizes codified laws, the informal social control does not make use of written rules. Instead, informal social control makes use of unwritten norms, customs, and traditions. Another factor that differentiates informal social control from formal social control is the bodies responsible for enforcing the informal social control in society.

While the government and other authoritative bodies enforced the formal social control, informal social control is performed by its agents, including informal social networks and organizations (Siegel 202). The agents in charge of informal control are unofficial, and not recognized in an official capacity. Another major difference between formal social control and the informal social control is the nature of societies, where these forms of social control are adopted. Communities that are still traditional or conservative practise are more likely to rely fully informal social control. Such communities still live in the past, ad have not adjusted their cultures with regard to the arms of time. Therefore, they will use their cultural form of social control, which is informal in nature. However, the formal social control of the wider society or country, might affect such communities, as it will apply to them as well (Clinard and Meier 36).

According to Clinard and Meier, the mechanisms of enforcement of informal social control and formal social control are different. While the formal social control employs sanctions such as fines and imprisonment, informal social control utilizes rather low-profile mechanisms. These include laughter, ridicule, shaming, smiles, sarcasm, disapproval, criticism, and raising of eyebrows, among others (31). These forms of sanctions are not formal, compared to those in formal social control. In cases where individuals engage in extreme deviant behaviour, informal social control allows for stricter sanctions such as being banned from the community and social exclusion. Specifically, the sanctions in informal social control mainly aim at injuring the victim’s ego, self-identity, and self-esteem. This is mostly the case when victims are banished from their communities (Clinard and Meier 33).

Finally, Siegel notes that the degree of punishment in formal and informal social control differs. This is in addition to the size and nature of group or individuals on which these are exercised. Informal social control is less severe, therefore, suitable for primary units such as families, and other small groups. This is learnt during a person’s socialization period in the family (202). Formal social control is however, more sever, and therefore, suitable for larger groups. Informal social control cannot maintain social order in large and complex groups because of its sanctions, which are less severe, and can be easily ignored by people. Therefore, where informal social control fails, formal social control might apply (Siegel 202).

According to Schaefer, informal social control can be utilized by any person, as opposed to formal social control, which is only utilized by those in authority, such as school heads, judges, or police officers (163). Examples of informal social control as seen include facial expressions, ridicule, criticism, among others. Therefore, an example of formal social control might be when a student bullies another student. The bullied student reports to the school principal and the bully is either suspended or given another type of punishment. In addition, robbers if arrested are taken to court then might be made to serve imprisonment for a number of years. Another example is when a traffic police officer asks a driver to submit a certain amount of fine for failing to observe traffic rules. Finally, a security guard might ask owners of vehicles to remove their cars from the parking lot for failing to have stickers, which are required for every car parked. All these are formal social control because the individuals conducting them are in an authoritative position.

An example of informal social control is when my mother lifts her eyebrows when I use inappropriate language at home in the presence of guests. Secondly, passengers in a full bus might scorn a teenager who refuses to leave a seat for an elderly passenger who enters into the bus. In addition, a librarian might give a stern look to students who are talking in loud volumes in the library, when they are not supposed to, thus disrupting others. Finally, students might laugh and ridicule a fellow student who does not observe personal hygiene. All these are informal social control, since the people conducting them are not necessarily in an authoritative position. Additionally, these are simple and less severe compared to imprisonment and fines in the formal social control. Nonetheless, both formal and informal social control are important in society, as they serve their purposes in the situations, they are applied.

 

Works Cited

Clinard, Marshall B. and Meier, Robert F. Sociology of Deviant Behaviour. New York: Cengage

Learning, 2010.

Schaefer, Richard. Sociology: A Brief Introduction. New York: McGraw Hill, 2005.

Siegel, Larry J. Criminology. New York: Cengage Learning, 2011.

Parsons, Talcott. The Social System. London: Routledge, 1991.

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Occupy Wall Street

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9^th, March 2013

 

Occupy Wall Street is a protest movement in the United States of America, which began in the year 2011, on the 17^th day of September. The first protest happened in New York, specifically, in Zuccotti Park. A group of individuals, including the Canadian Magazine adbusters, lawyers and journalists, among other professionals, founded this protest movement, with varieties of issues, which this movement aimed at addressing (Schechter, 2012). There is no specific issue, which this group aims at addressing, but generally focuses on the wrongs in the American society. These are mainly social and economic evils in the country, such as corruption, greed by corporations and leaders, among others. Therefore, the main issues focused on by this group are those that are influenced by the country’s financial sector. This protest group claims to be the 99 percent, while the remaining 1 percent is the wealthy ‘capitalists’ in society. This therefore, points to unequal distribution of wealth, power, and income in the American society (Schechter, 2012).

The goals of Occupy Wall Street include addressing taxation issues in the country, and how disparity in taxation could be solved. Secondly, this aims at bringing to justice those individuals involved in past injustices, especially concerning the 2008 financial crash Occupy (Wall Street, n.d). Additionally, this group aims at making the government to restrategize its spending by focusing on priorities in the country, which do not include spending on foreign wars. In order to achieve their objectives, Occupy Wall Street used direct action, such as peaceful demonstrations. However, these changed to making their issues heard in board meetings, institutions of higher learning, and headquarters of corporations, among others. This was after they were driven away from their initial position in Zuccotti Park, in November 2011 (Gautney, 2011).

A survey by Héctor Codero-Guzmán, PhD, a sociology professor at the City University of New York (CUNY), showed that 70 percent of the people who make up Occupy Wall Street are independent politically, therefore, not affiliated to any political party. Their ages also vary, but most people were younger, below 34 years, and accounted for 64.2 percent of the total Occupy Wall Street group. However, those aged above 45 years were the least in number. Their level of education also varied significantly, but most (92.1 percent) were learned up to the college or university level (Franzen, 2011). This survey also revealed that only 50 percent of the Occupy Wall Street protesters are in employment, some with full time, and others part time. Most of the Occupy Wall Street in Zuccotti Park are not opposed to the government taxing the rich in America at a higher rate, compared to the other income-earners (Cordero-Guzman, 2011).

The Occupy Wall Street movement uses the social media to increase its popularity. For instance, multiple Facebook pages have been formed by/for this group. Additionally, YouTube has different videos of the activities the group is involved in, including videos of them protesting on the streets (LOOPS99to1, 2011). On Twitter, the group has an account, which helps them keep in contact with the larger American society. By making use of the social media, the popularity of the group increases, and therefore, their agenda is known by many people. On the social media, this group has received great following, which means the agenda of the group will influence majority of the people, thus, gaining support from the public.

Occupy Los Angeles was formed in October 2011. This was after the arrest of close to 700 Occupy protesters in New York City. Its main aim is to end ‘corporatism’ at both the national and local level. This group aims at ensuring that the state and the government cease the merger they have adopted lately, and instead focus on their different roles, exercising their different powers. Currently, the relationship between the US government and the corporation has resulted in the interests of the 1 percent people being met, at the expense of the remaining 99 percent. In order to stop this relationship, the Occupy Wall Street group in Los Angeles is involved in various actions. These include general assemblies each Wednesday morning, petitions, peaceful protests, camping, among others (Occupy Los Angeles, 2012). All these actions help the group spread word to the rest of the population about the rate of political irresponsibility in the country, as well as ways of ensuring effective governance. Apart from these, this group also has a Facebook page, which it uses to communicate to various people on this social media, about their plans and activities, among other issues. This Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/occupyLA has a great following, showing how influential this group has become in Los Angeles.

Different people have different views about this group. First, the locals in Los Angeles are comfortable with the group. Generally, the public supports Occupy Wall Street, since they attempt to advocate for people’s economic and social rights. On the other hand, the government and authorities in Los Angeles are opposed to the group, as shown through the arrests they make. However, the media supports this indirectly, considering the number of journalists and media personalities in the group. During their protests, some group members have been arrested by police and arraigned in court. The police with tear gas and pepper spray have on many occasions dismissed masses of protesters in Los Angeles. This has had various implications on the group. For instance, the demonstration sites used by the group have been abandoned (Bowlin, 2011).

Image 1: Police arrest a man during a peaceful protest by members of Occupy Wall Street.

I have confirmed that great disparity between the poor and the rich exist in the United States, and this is heightened by corporate greed. However, it seems the authorities are in denial of this circumstance, as people are not allowed to voice their concerns on this issue through Occupy Wall Street protests. When people are harshly dismissed in their attempt to fight for a worthy cause in society, it reflects negatively on the government and its integrity. Given the circumstances surrounding the Occupy Wall Street Movement in the US, it is hard to tell whether the US government will one day put the concerns of the protesters, who represent the ‘99 percent’ into consideration. Nonetheless, for just governance, the government must listen to the concerns raised by its people, and address them together with the people.

 

Images of Occupy Wall Street protesters with placards
References

Occupy Wall Street (n.d) Retrieved from http://www.occupywallst.org/

Occupy Los Angeles (2012). Retrieved from http://www.occupylosangeles.org/

Bowlin, K. (2011). Occupy Wall Street takes over Los Angeles Special

Retrieved from http://digitaljournal.com/article/312586

Cordero-Guzman, R. (2011). ‘Main Stream Support for a Mainstream Movement.’ Retrieved

from http://occupywallst.org/media/pdf/OWS-profile1-10-18-11-sent-v2-HRCG.pdf

Schechter, D. (2012). Occupy: Dissecting Occupy Wall Street. New York: Cosimo, Inc.

Franzen, C. (2011). ‘Occupy Wall Street Demographic Survey Results Will Surprise You.’ TPM.

Retrieved from http://idealab.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/10/occupy-wall-street-demographic-survey-results-will-surprise-you.php

Gautney, H. (2011). ‘What is Occupy Wall Street? The history of leaderless movements.’

Retrieved from http://articles.washingtonpost.com/2011-10-10/national/35277702_1_heather-gautney-movement-gay-rights

LOOPS99to1 (2011) Occupy Los Angeles: 9/26, 2011. Youtube. Retrieved from

http://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=wkbMJEbjvVs

 

 

 

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How to Become a Successful Student

            In order to reach the accomplishment of being a successful student, one must be ready to face all the challenges and obstacles presented in the way toward this success. Therefore, dedication and commitment are paramount in this case. Becoming a successful student can be compared to a journey of many steps, which does not occur at once. One must sacrifice and be disciplined in order to undertake all the steps required to reach this accomplishment. Nonetheless, becoming a successful student is a process, which involves different steps, and these are mainly based on the development of virtues, personal principles, standards, and values, which are considered to conform to success.

First, planning is the most important step in becoming a successful student. One must have the workplan of their success, which includes the various strategies and habit changes that one will adopt in order to move toward success. A student must also adopt the habit of planning in their everyday life. This helps one to develop realistic, achievable, and measurable goals in their academics. Unrealistic goals end in frustration. Therefore, planning for realistic goals is the best way to move toward success. After all, success is a gradual process, thus one might take a step at a time, and with patience, will reach the goal. During planning, one must be sure that this helps them in time management, since this is one of the goals of planning. With regard to time management one must be organized and work within the required period. They ought to submit assignments in time, while planning their study time well.

Secondly, in order to be a successful student, one must maintain a positive attitude. A positive attitude will help one to be determined and not to give up. For instance, if one performs below their expectations in an examination, a positive attitude should help them to consider failure as an experience, which they can learn from in future. Therefore, failure should not lead to desperation and despair. If one does not have a positive attitude, they cannot become successful students, since the road to this kind of success is not that smooth, but needs a positive attitude to counter obstacles and elements of failure.

In addition, internal motivation is critical for one to be a successful student. Internal motivation serves as the drive, which propels one toward success. One should find delight in working hard and sacrificing. The fruits of success in future should be their motivating factor. A student should thus, be self-motivate do develop goals and rules, which will guide them. A student must also adhere to the rules they have set for themselves. For instance, one might dedicate a couple of hours during the weekend, for personal study. A student should also hang with peers, who are equally motivated. This helps one not to lose focus of their goals in academics.

Furthermore, for one to become a successful student, they must portray a high level of self-discipline and responsibility. This helps one to meet their goals and to adhere to their personal standards and principles. Responsibility means that a student will schedule their personal routine. For instance, one might have extra reading hours and read ahead of the teacher. One should also be responsible with the regard to their surrounding environment. One should not participate in making unproductive noise in class and bullying others, as well as all other actions, which portray irresponsibility. Self-discipline implies that one is self-driven and does not have to be pushed around to perform their responsibilities. For instance, a student desiring to be successful should not be forced to read, or attend classes. They should know what is expected of them, and perform it.

Finally, seeking guidance from an older, successful person is important for mentorship purposes. A student should develop a close relationship with one of the teachers, relatives, or any other successful person, whom the student admires, and is comfortable around. This is important, as mentorship will encourage the student to reach for success, and make it, just like their mentor, who sets to them an example.

In conclusion, in order to be a successful student, one must undergo various steps. First is planning, second is maintaining a positive attitude, third is self-motivation, then self-discipline and a sense of responsibility, and finally mentorship. This is not a standard process of being a successful student, neither should these steps be followed systematically as presented. One might use other virtues, apart from those mentioned here, depending on their context. The most important factor however, is the desire to succeed. If one has that desire, they will follow these steps. However, when desire to succeed lacks a student will not adhere to these steps with the needed zeal. Nonetheless, the road to success is bumpy, however, with the right attitude one can make it.

 

 

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THE ETHNIC MINORITY GROUPS’ CONTRIBUTION TO POLITICS AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DECISION MAKING IN THE UK

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7^th, March, 2013

 

Abstract

            The government of the United Kingdom (UK) considers participation of its entire people in politics and local government decision making as an important factor. This includes the participation of the ethnic minority groups, as well as the general population. The UK government therefore, focuses on strengthening this participation by adopting policies that will help achieve this. However, loopholes still exist in the UK regarding equal contribution for the whole population. It is widely reported that the black and minority ethnic (BME) groups in the United Kingdom are underrepresented in politics and decision making in governance issues. For instance, in electing political leaders, many studies have shown that most people from the ethnic minority groups do not participate in elections in the UK (Anwar 1986).Therefore, the UK government has focused on addressing this inequality, by ensuring equal involvement of all the citizens, regardless of their ethnicity. This study therefore, addresses the issue of unequal involvement in decision making in politics and governance issues in the UK. First, the background of the issue, showing the roots of this situation, is addressed, as well as the perspectives of stakeholders. This study also focuses on the policy adopted by the UK currently to address the issue, and finally recommendations on how this issue could be resolved appropriately.

 

Introduction

            The issue of political involvement is important in most countries. However, in ensuring this, multicultural countries experience more challenges because of the presence of different people. The United Kingdom is a multicultural country, as it accommodates different people from other countries, besides the native white British people. The BME population in the UK has been excluded from full political involvement in the country’s politics and decision-making in governance (Wolbrecht & Hero 2005). There are however, various reasons and factors, which are attributed to this situation. The BME population in the UK forms part of the UK population, therefore, should be granted an equal consideration in decision-making, since the decisions made in governance, equally affect their lives. When they are allowed equal political involvement, they will be able to raise their concerns, which will be addressed. The fact that the different BME groups have different cultural traits, different languages, and other different social and political profiles, poses a challenge to the UK’s policy makers in developing policies that will ensure equal involvement of all the citizens (Saggar 2000). This paper therefore, focuses on the unequal political involvement by the BME population in the UK and ways through which this situation could be improved. Different evidence used in this essay point to the diversity of the UK population, disparity in political involvement, its outcomes, as well as participation in decision-making by the BME groups, as far as governance is concerned.

Context of the Issue

            The United Kingdom is a multicultural society, and Meien (2007) and Tran (2010) note that the population of the BME populations in the UK is on the rise. In the year 1981, this population stood at 4.2% of the whole UK’s population. In the year 1991, the BME population was 5.5% of the total population of the United Kingdom. This population rose to 7.9% in the year 2001, which is approximately 4.6 Million people. Therefore, this trend shows that the BME population in the UK keeps growing. In the future, this number is still expected to grow, going by this trend, also considering the fact that this BME population comprises more youth and children, compared to the whites, whose population mainly comprises the elderly. The minority ethnic group with the highest population is the South Asian group, with close to a half of the BME total population. The Blacks, both from Africa and from the Caribbean make up close to 1.15 million. Blacks from Africa account for half a million of this population, while the Caribbean blacks account for the remaining 0.6 million (Gill n.d). A large number of the BME population is located in England (Owen n.d).

Political debates in the UK have included issues regarding multi-culturalism and diversity in the country. Multiculturalism and diversity are relevant and important issues in the current United Kingdom. This is because, for the past decades, the immigrants in the United Kingdom have formed part of the culture, both in the economic and political perspective (Jones & Welhengama 2000). However, according to David Cameron, multiculturalism has terribly failed in the United Kingdom. Despite this failed state of multiculturalism in the United Kingdom, Cameron thought this could be rectified. “There are things the government can do to give a lead and encourage participation in society, including all minorities” (BBC 2011). Although some people differ with Cameron’s observation, it is a fact that the failure of multiculturalism in the United Kingdom stems from the marginalization of the ethnic minority groups, since these are not entitled to same political involvement as the mainstream British population.

The social divide existing in the United Kingdom can be gauged using various ways. First is with respect to voting, decision making in governance, and generally, involvement of people in politics (Anwar 1986). Most political analysts argue that political involvement is highly dependent on how people in the population interact socially. Therefore, social alienation will lead to poor political involvement as compared to high social inclusions in the population (Wolbrecht & Hero 2005). For an individual to vote, he or she is influenced by different factors. Most importantly, their social context is a great determinant of whether they will vote or not. Voting represents the people’s sense of belonging. Therefore, when individuals in the ethnic minority groups register low voter turnout, this gives a reflection of their social context, as well as their sense of belonging (Heath & Khan 2012).

Different researches have shown that the BME population in the UK does not fully participate in politics and decision making in the country. One research was conducted within the London borough of Tower Hamlets to establish the level of political engagement of the individuals with White British background, and those from the ethnic minority background. Results showed that the whites participated more in politics and governance issues, compared to those individuals from the ethnic minority groups. Among all the individuals studied in the research, the South Asians registered more likeliness to vote, compared to the blacks from Africa and the blacks of the Caribbean.

Since it is eminent that the ethnic minority groups are less likely to vote compared to the mainstream British population, it is important that the root causes of this scenario be established. Social exclusion is the prime reason for this. Therefore, determining the factors behind social exclusion for the ethnic minority groups is important. Theodoropoulos and Dustmann link low participation in politics to a variety of social problems, including unemployment, poor health, unstable family background, lack of education, and poor housing, among other social problems (2008). All these factors are the roots of social exclusion of the ethnic minority groups, thus contributing to their low levels of political involvement. The low level of the ethnic minority involvement is experienced both at the national and local levels in the United Kingdom. Various proven barriers have contributed to this. First, language barrier, then the inconvenience of location, as well as the fear by the minority ethnic groups that the mainstream British population will harass them (Theodoropoulos & Dustmann 2008).

Political behaviour includes a variety of actions, apart from voting only. When a group of people is actively engaged in political behaviour, this shows that these are included in the political process, including governance and decision making process in the country. However, if a group portrays the minimal political behaviour, this might show that these are excluded in the political process. The mainstream white people are more likely to come out and vote in large numbers. Apart from voting, these can participate in other political behaviours such as petition signing, participating in a protest, working for or with a political party, being in contact with a politician, and conducting fund raising for political purposes, among others. However, the ethnic minority groups are less likely to get involved in these political behaviours. Different studies have shown that for a group to participate wholly in politics and leadership of their country, they must have a strong connection with the country, and deeply rooted in the practices of the country. Most ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom feel that they are foreigners in the country, and therefore, do not have the freedom to participate in the social and political contexts of the country (Heath & Khan 2012).

Stakeholder’s Perspective

            Wolbrecht and Hero (2005) note that political involvement is an important issue in any country as it affects the policies adopted by the country, as well as the leaders chosen. Generally, involvement of the people in the country’s decision-making process and political process influences the type of governance in the country, which is a prerequisite to the development of the country. There are also various stakeholders involved in this issue. These can act collectively and responsibly to ensure that a lasting solution is obtained in order to address disparities in the country, with regard to the involvement of the ethnic minority groups in the political process and decision making in the country. These include the ethnic minority groups themselves, the whites, the government, and different private or public bodies, which are concerned with policy making in the country (Wolbrecht & Hero 2005).

According to Simpson and Finney (2009), the attitudes of the ethnic minority groups greatly influence their participation in politics of the UK. Although most blacks and other ethnic minority groups recognize the fact that they have a civic responsibility to vote, most do not participate in voting deliberately. According to Miki and Tate (2004), most consider their underrepresentation in politics as the main reason for their failure to perform their civic responsibility of voting. Since these are a minority population, most feel that there will never be a political leader in the United Kingdom, from their minority population, as most whites in the mainstream population might never vote for a person from the minority population (Miki & Tate 2004). In addition, the fact that most politicians in the United Kingdom show less concern for the ethnic minority group has contributed to the failure of most of them to vote, since this might not change their plight. Nonetheless, there are different ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom; therefore, some might register more voter turnout and engagement in the political behaviors more than the others. For instance, the South Asians participate more in politics than the other minority groups. These are followed by the Black Afro-Caribbean. The reason for the difference could be attributed to the fact that the South Asians are many in number, compared to other minority groups (Miki & Tate 2004).

The government of the United Kingdom is also tasked with ensuring that all the citizens in the UK participate in politics and decision making in governance, without any inequalities, and regardless of their ethnicity (Gov.uk 2013). This could be through civic education about the importance of voting, among other issues. In addition, the public is responsible for ensuring that the ethnic minority groups are actively involved in the political process. For instance, the racists among the mainstream British population should shun that, as this influences the ethnic minority groups in a negative way. Therefore, the government, together with the British society should not address individuals in the ethnic minority groups with hostility, as this makes them lose a sense of belonging, leading to them not feeling part of the British society, thus not participating in the country’s politics and leadership process (Gov.uk 2013).

Policy, Theory, and Contemporary Practice

The unequal involvement in politics and local governance by the whole population in the United Kingdom has been experienced over the years, and continues to raise concerns. This has different effects on the public and on the government. The ethnic minority groups are ones disadvantaged, as politics and governance in the UK mainly revolves around the mainstream British population, who register high participation in politics and governance. However, the UK government is focused on ensuring the participation of the ethnic minority groups in the country’s politics and governance. If successful, this will help to eliminate different types of discrimination from the country, including racism (Modrzejewski 2012).

Different theoretical ideas make up the aspect of inclusion of the ethnic minority groups in decision-making. First, political involvement of all citizens might lead to effective decisions, which could spur further development in various spheres of the country. All the people in the society, regardless of their race, religion, education, culture, and economic status, among other differentiating factors, are entitled to equal participation in a country’s politics, provided they are citizens. Inclusion of all citizens also fosters cohesiveness in the society (‘European Regional Development Fund’).Additionally, this makes the different needs of all people to be considered in policy making in the country. When the population participates in the politics and governance of its country, the individuals experience a sense of belonging, as they have a voice in the society, and through their voice, their various concerns can be addressed appropriately.

In the United Kingdom, there has been a gradual increase in the way different practices are adopted by the government and the people to ensure the political involvement of all people in the country, including the ethnic minority. Since the past decades, different people in this country have adopted various practices, which ensure that they voice their concerns on important governance issues (Statham 1999). For instance, this is through the formation of various groups such as trade unions, among others. In these groups, people make their concerns and needs known to the government, as well as ways through which they want these concerns to be addressed. By doing this, they contribute to decision-making in the politics of their country (Perrett 2009).

Additionally, the issue of immigration in the United Kingdom can be traced to the 1960’s when most people migrated from their countries to the United Kingdom to provide labour, which was highly demanded. Since the immigrants had different culture, economic status, and political views, from the mainstream British population, it became challenging for them to be integrated into the political system of the British people (Fanning, Shaw, O’Connell & Williams 2007). Therefore, the exclusion of the ethnic minorities from political participation is not a new phenomenon in the United Kingdom, as this has existed for many decades now. The presence of the immigrants in the United Kingdom resulted in a population that is complex and diverse. This has been blamed for the unequal participation of the ethnic minority in UK’s politics, citing the cultural difference as the basis for lack of cohesiveness between the mainstream British population and the ethnic minority group (‘European Regional Development Fund’).

When the Labour Government came into power in the year 1997, more efforts have been witnessed in trying to ensure equal political participation of all the citizens. For instance, they came up with the agenda of increasing the participation of the citizens in politics and governance (Rudiger & Spencer 2003). The new government developed new strategies through which this agenda could be attained. These include civic education conducted throughout the country, and the emphasis by the government for people to increase their volunteerism. An important step for the Labour government was taken when the Social Exclusion Unit was developed (Rudiger & Spencer 2003). This carried the responsibility of investigating the reasons behind social exclusion of some groups in the population, especially exclusion from politics and decision-making. This unit was also tasked with developing effective ways that would ensure that more people are involved in politics, decision-making, and leadership, regardless of their ethnicity or social or economic status. Local authorities in the United Kingdom also ensured that their services empower and engage the citizens (Rudiger & Spencer 2003). In addition, the aspect of devolution in the United Kingdom has made individuals more responsible and enabled them to participate more in governance, since governance is now closer to the people (Rudiger & Spencer 2003).

Recommendations

            The government of the United Kingdom has already come up with policies that aim at reducing the disparity in political involvement among the ethnic minority groups and the mainstream British society. This began in the 1990’s when the Labour government initiated different strategies to ensure equal political involvement of all citizens. Despite all these, disparity in political involvement in the United Kingdom is still existent. However, the rate is not as high as it was in the past decades. Nonetheless, more efforts need to be put in place to ensure that all citizens participate equally in politics, leadership, and decision-making in the country. The government is still tasked with ensuring that the policies developed are enforced to ensure cohesiveness in the country at both the national and local levels.

The policies employed in most local authorities in the UK to ensure equal political involvement are universal in nature, and apply to all the citizens there. This is through communication to the people by council website and magazines, consultation events, canvassing, among others. On the other hand, some policies to address ethnic minority groups include translation facilities, and communication with mosques and churches. These are therefore, more specific. All these are aimed at de-ethnicising the public policy in the country. However, these have not been successful as they were expected. Therefore, more considerations and adjustments need to be undertaken on these policies, to ensure their effectiveness.  This shows that there is need for council services to be easily available to all the people the council serves. All people should be well informed about their councils and the services they offer, since most are not aware, specially the ethnic minority groups. In addition, it is important for the council authorities to build trust with the people, specifically the ethnic minority groups. Lack of trust inhibits participation of the ethnic minority groups in politics and decision-making. Nonetheless, the aspect of multiculturalism is multifaceted, raising different challenges, such as social exclusion of the ethnic minority groups, which inhibits political involvement, a problem the United Kingdom continues to fight with, to date

 

Works Cited

‘BBC’ 5 February 2011, State Multiculturalism has Failed, says David Cameron, Viewed 7

March 2013 < http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-12371994>

‘European Regional Development Fund’ n.d, Integration and Ethnic Minorities, Viewed 7

March 2013 < http://www.ludenet.org/urbact/workshop5.htm>

Gov.uk 2013, Policy: Bringing People together in Strong, United Communities, Organisations:

Department for Communities and Local Government, Viewed 7 March 2013 <

https://www.gov.uk/government/policies/bringing-people-together-in-strong-united-communities>

Anwar, M 1986, Race and Politics: Ethnic Minorities and the British Political System,

Routledge, London.

Fanning, B., Shaw, J., O’Connell, J., & Williams, M 2007, Irish Political Parties, Immigration

and Integration in 2007, Viewed 7 March 2013 < http://www.law.ed.ac.uk/staff/joshaw/files/immigrationandintegrationinparties2007.pdf>

Gill, P. Bhopal, R, Kai, J, & Wild, S n.d, Black and Minority Ethnic Groups, Viewed 5 March

2013<http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/collegemds/haps/projects/HCNA/04HCNA3D4.pdf>

Heath, A., & Khan, O 2012, ‘Ethnic Minority British Election Study – Key Findings,’

Runnymede Trust, Viewed 7 March 2013 <http://www.runnymedetrust.org/uploads/EMBESbriefingFINALx.pdf>

Jones, R. & Welhengama, G 2000, Ethnic Minorities Eng. Law, Trentham Books, London.

Meien, J 2007, The Multiculturalism vs. Integration Debate in Great Britain, GRIN Verlag,

London.

Miki, K. & Tate, K 2004, Political Parties, Minorities and Elected Office: Comparing

Opportunities for Inclusion in the U.S. and Britain, Viewed 7 March 2013 < http://www.escholarship.org/uc/item/9j40k1m0#page-2>

Modrzejewski, A 2012, Białystok Law Books 8 Political Participation Of Foreigners As An

Instrument Of Integration In The Republic Of Poland, The Federal Republic Of Germany And The United Kingdom, Wydawnictwo Temida, London.

Owen, D n.d, Profile of Black and Minority Groups in the UK, Viewed 5 March 2013 <

http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/healthatwarwick/publications/occasional/ethnicprofile.pdf>

Perrett, R 2009, ‘The Diversity and Politics of Trade Unions’ Responses to Minority Ethnic and

Migrant Workers: The Context of the UK,’ Economic and Industrial Democracy, 30(3),

324-347.

Rudiger A. & Spencer, S 2003, ‘Social Integration of Migrants and Ethnic Minorities: Policies to

Combat Discrimination,’ OECD, Viewed 7 March 2013 < http://www.oecd.org/els/mig/15516956.pdf >

Saggar, S 2000, Race and Representation: Electoral Politics and Ethnic Pluralism in Britain,

Manchester University Press, London.

Simpson, L. & Finney, N 2009, ‘Do Ethnic Minorities Exclude Themselves?’ Radical Statistics,

99, 34-45, Viewed 7 March 2013 <http://www.radstats.org.uk/no099/SimpsonFinney99.pdf>

Statham, P 1999, ‘Political Mobilization by Minorities in Britain: Negative Feedback of ‘Race

Relations?’ Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, 25(4), 597-629

Theodoropoulos, N. & Dustmann, C 2008, Ethnic Minority Immigrants and their Children in

Britain, Viewed 7 March 2013 <http://www.ucl.ac.uk/~uctpb21/Cpapers/SubmissionOEP_June.pdf>

Tran, M 13 July 2010, ‘Ethnic minorities to make up 20% of UK population by 2051,’ The

Guardian, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/13/uk-population-growth-ethnic-minorities>

Wolbrecht, C. & Hero, R 2005, The Politics Of Democratic Inclusion, Temple University

Press, New York.

 

 

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ACCESS TO QUALITY HEALTH CARE FOR ETHNIC MINORITIES IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

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5^th, March, 2013

  Abstract There is a disparity in the access of health care among the populations in the UK. The minority population is disadvantaged and does not access health care like the other native population. In this paper, I will address the case of quality health care access by the Blacks and the other ethnic minority population in the UK. Different literature review will be considered in highlighting this instance, and mainly research findings, linking poor access to health care with the minority populations. This will also include the context of the situation, which involves the factors behind poor health care access for the minority groups. In addition, this essay will address the role of the clinicians, policy makers, and managers in the UK, who are stakeholders in the health sector, in ensuring equitable access to health care by all the population in the United Kingdom. Nonetheless, their challenges in achieving this equal access to health care for all the population are also highlighted. Introduction             Gill et al note that the black and minority ethnic (BME) populations have suffered in most health care systems, as these are not given equal consideration as those individuals in the mainstream population (n.d). To this day, most of the BME populations have poor access to quality health care in their countries of residence. This is because of different factors, which act as barriers for these groups to access quality health care, including vital health services (Wikinson, Lane & Stoskl 2010). It is therefore, important that these health gaps in different populations be narrowed down and closed completely. This aspect should be prioritized by all the affected countries, since the BME populations are part of the country’s population and contribute equally to the national economy (Kingfund 2006). In the United Kingdom, the BME population accounts for a considerable part of the whole population in the country (Jones & Welhengama 2000). This is a country where there are different cases and evidence pointing to the fact that the BME populations do not receive quality health care (Gill n.d). However, this is blamed on a number of challenges by the health care providers and practitioners, experienced in dealing with the BME populations in health care provision (Owen n.d). The fact that the different BME groups have different cultural traits, different languages, as well as varying health profiles, poses a challenge to the United Kingdom’s policy makers and health practitioners, in developing a health care system that will cater for the needs of the different groups in the country (Ali & Atkin 2004). This paper therefore, focuses on the inequitable access of health care by the BME population in the United Kingdom, and ways through which this situation could be improved. Different evidence used in this essay point to the diversity of population in the United Kingdom, disparities in health care access between different populations, outcomes of health care, effective communication by patients, and participation in decision making, as far as the health issue is concerned. Context of the Issue             According to Meien (2007) and Tran (2010), the population of the minority ethnic populations in the United Kingdom is on the rise. In the year 1981, this population stood at 4.2% of the whole United Kingdom population. In the year 1991, the BME population in the United Kingdom was 5.5% of the total population of the United Kingdom. This population rose to 7.9% in the year 2001, which is approximately 4.6 Million people. Therefore, this trend shows that the BME population in the United Kingdom keeps growing. In the future, this number is still expected to grow, going by this trend, also considering the fact that this BME population comprises more youth and children, compared to the whites. The group with the highest population is the South Asian group, with close to a half of the BME total population. The Blacks both from Africa and from the Caribbean make up close to 1.15 million. Blacks from Africa account for half a million of this population, while the Caribbean blacks account for the remaining 0.6 million (Gill n.d). A large number of the BME population is located in England (Tran 2010). In the United Kingdom, different bodies concerned with health care, realize the need to create a health care system that provides equal health care to all the population in the United Kingdom. Such bodies in the UK include the Department of Health and Professional associations. In addition, various legislations have been implemented to address this issue of discrimination in provision of quality health care to different people. For instance, the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 was implemented in the year 2001. This puts an emphasis on NHS and other bodies in the United Kingdom concerned with health care, to put a stop to the kind of discrimination in the health sector, which is considered unlawful. This legislation also requires these health care bodies to prioritize racial equality in their various acts involving health care (Butler 2001). One of the biggest letdowns in the health systems of the United Kingdom is failure to adopt an ethnic monitoring data recording. This case does not compare to the United States of America, as thy have implemented this fully. This has therefore, led to the lack of sufficient tracking of the disparities that are witnessed in the United Kingdom’s health sector, which mainly affect the BME population (Memon, Abbas, Khaonolakar, Dixon & Sign 2002). The census of 2001, and the show that e censuses of other previous years have evidently indicated the presence of vast disparities in the health care of the population in the United Kingdom. Evidence also shows that the blacks and other ethnic minority groups in the United Kingdom are most affected. The health disparities are mainly between the ethnic minority groups in the UK and the whites, who are the natives of the land. The blacks and other minority groups have poor access to quality health care, compared to the whites. The blacks also are also more affected by long-term illnesses, compared to the mainstream population. This is the case especially among the older black population. In addition, different surveys were conducted in the United Kingdom, with the purpose of determining the level of patient satisfaction with the health care services presented to them. The NHS in the UK initiated this exercise. The findings of these surveys showed that almost all the patients from the ethnic minority groups registered dissatisfaction with the health services. However, the UK has not taken the step of integrating the health disparities in the population, just like USA has done (Lee, Syed & Bellis n.d). Davidson et al (2012) argues that quality health care goes beyond the simple aspect of providing health care. Health care can be provided to everyone in the population. However, the way it is performed is what makes the difference, and differentiate it from low quality health care. All the population is entitled to access to quality health care. Therefore, provision of health care only to the population bars some people from accessing quality health care. The NHS in the United Kingdom, therefore, has identified this as a factor that increases health disparity in the UK. This case has prompted the NHS to think and develop different strategies, which will help deal with this situation in the UK. There have been concerns among the general population in the United Kingdom, about their perception of the terminology ‘diversity.’ The practitioners and providers of health care in the UK seem to not consider or embrace diversity while offering their health services. According to Bahl (2001), health services are provided to the black people, and other people of ethnic minority in the country. Therefore, the ethnic minorities, including the black people in the UK, are not denied health services. However, the issue that arises is the fact that, the health care providers and practitioners do not consider the quality of health care availed to these minority groups. To them, once the ethnic minority groups are provided with health care services, it does not matter the quality of the services. In addition, these did not follow up to ensure that these health care services reach the ethnic minority groups. Complaints launched by members of the ethnic minority groups about services not reaching them, do not get a positive redress from the concerned health care providers, as they emphasize that they have already played their role of providing the health services (Bahl 2001). Stakeholder Perspectives             The issue of health is important to any country as it affects the population, which is a prerequisite to the development of the country. There are various stakeholders involved in this issue. These can act collectively and responsibly to ensure that a lasting solution is obtained in order to address health disparities in the country. These include the ethnic minority groups themselves, the whites, the government, health providers, health practitioners/professionals, and different private or public bodies, which are concerned with health in the country (Bahl 2001). Different health bodies need to identify the major or specific areas in health where the disparity unfolds. For instance, in the year 1993, the Department of Health identified cancer screening as one area of the areas in health, which was not provided to the ethnic minority in the most appropriate manner (Memon, Abbas, Khaonolakar, Dixon & Sign 2002). This department identified this area as core to the country, since if it would be addressed, it could lead to the reduction of mortality and morbidity among the ethnic minority population in the country. Apart from cancer screening, the treatment programmes for the same were not availed to the ethnic minority populations in the right manner. The study performed by the department of health generally revealed that the individuals from blacks and other minority groups in need of cancer treatment were not provided with the right services to address their health needs concerning their cancer condition. Therefore, there was no sensitivity and accessibility of the cancer services to these groups (Bahl 2001). Today, if more professional bodies concerned with health issues in the UK would follow in the steps of the Department of Health, this would probably see a reduction in the level of health disparities sin the country (Ingleby, Chiarenza & Kotsioni 2012). Health care organizations in the United Kingdom should also consider training their native personnel on how to be competent both culturally and linguistically. Health care organizations ought to develop policies that are based on cultural and linguistic competencies to address health disparities in the country (Ingleby, Chiarenza & Kotsioni 2012). Since communication is considered a barrier to effective health care for the ethnic minority population, the health care practitioners should be trained to communicate effectively, in a way that is understood by those who are less competent in English, as well as the illiterate. The staff in the health care facilities could also be multi-lingual, or consider hiring interpreters for various foreign languages, which the ethnic minority groups ascribe to. The different groups of ethnic minorities have different cultures. Therefore, their beliefs and perceptions about health and healing vary. Health care organizations ought to as well consider cultural differences among the blacks and other ethnic minority groups, in relation to the mainstream culture and health and recovery beliefs. If the staff members in health care organizations are linguistically and culturally competent, they will be able to respond to the health needs of the blacks and other ethnic minority groups (Wikinson, Lane & Stoskl 2010). On the other hand, the government should develop and implement more legislation and policies that will effectively address the question of health disparity in the country. The government should act on this because they ought to realize that poor health among the blacks and other ethnic minorities is detrimental to the national economy as a whole. Therefore, it is the government’s responsibility to ensure equal access to quality health care for the whole population in the country (Davidson et al 2012). The public has a role to play in ensuring equal access to health care by everyone in the country. They can do this by changing their perception about the blacks and other ethnic minority groups. Specifically, racism should be eliminated from the public to allow for equality with the ethnic minority groups. The individuals comprising the ethnic minority groups should also be responsible enough to change their conservative beliefs about health and healing, and instead adhere to the health instructions from the professional health care providers. If all these stakeholders in health play a role, racism will be reduced, and the health disparity in UK might change for the better (Kingfund 2006). Policy, Theory and Contemporary Practice             The unequal access to quality health care by the whole population in the United Kingdom is an instance, which has been experienced over the years. This has had different effects on the public, the government, and health organizations. Access to quality health care by all lies on the theoretical foundation that this ensures a healthy population in a country (Potvin, Gendron, Bilodeau. & Chabot, 2005). This also lowers the mortality rate, as well as the rate of morbidity in the population. By ensuring equal access to health care for all the people regardless of their backgrounds, this eliminates different types of discrimination from the community, including racism. Additionally, access to quality health care for all ensures a healthy population, thus a stable economy in the country. The people are the main prerequisite for development in a country; therefore, if all are healthy, the country is able to develop without any constraints. One might define the concept of ‘equal access to health care’ in different ways. Nonetheless, this means that all the people in the society, regardless of their race, religion, education, culture, and economic status, among other differentiating factors, are entitled to health services, which are of the same quality, as the other people (Jones & Welhengama 2000). In the contemporary world, the United Kingdom has adopted a new contemporary practice, which is meant to ensure equal access to quality health care by all. For instance, different bodies of health care have come up with different strategies of emphasizing the need for equal access to health care by all the people in the United Kingdom (Randhawa 20007). The NHS since the late 1990’s has emphasized the importance of implementing ethnic monitoring data recording in hospitals, which is meant to integrate the health disparity in the country, among the blacks and other ethnic minority groups. This has the purpose of further finding strategies to fill the gaps in health within the population (Meien 2007). In addition, the Department of Health in the United Kingdom, together with NHS has worked to ensure that all the policies developed and implemented in the sector of health care must incorporate the aspect of equality in the provision of health care. These two bodies ensure that their decisions, as well as policies, contribute to the elimination of illegal discrimination based on race (Randhawa 20007). In the year 2001, the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000 was implemented in the United Kingdom. This requires different public authorities in the United Kingdom to eliminate any kind of discrimination that could be present in their procedures, as well as policies (Watt & McGauhey 2006). This emphasizes the importance of race equality in all spheres. This legislation came as an amendment to the 1976’s ‘Race Relations Act.’ In this legislation, equality was emphasized regardless of color, race, nationality, and citizenship. However, after being amended, the new legislation in 2001 puts more emphasis on the importance of racial equality. Here, authorities are encouraged to employ pro-active measures in ensuring there is racial equality in the population (Tran 2010). Today in the United Kingdom, people are expected to comply with this legislation. This includes both groups and individuals. Victims of racial discrimination with respect to health care therefore, have a right to take legal action through judicial review, which is then guaranteed to be addressed by the concerned body (Sheppers, Dongen, Dekker, Geertzen & Dekker 2006). Therefore, the United Kingdom has adopted the best practice in addressing the health disparity. However, for this to be effective, the public, as well as the authorities need to be committed to this practice and adhere to it. In addition, the victims should know their rights with regard to this, and follow the right channels in order for their concerns to be addressed (Lee, Syed, & Bellis n.d). Recommendations             The United Kingdom has already adopted laws to deal with the unequal access of the blacks and other ethnic minority groups from quality health care. This is in form of the Race Relations Amendment Act 2000, which was implemented in the year 2001. This law puts more emphasis on racial discrimination, since inequality to access to quality health care based on ethnicity is a form of racial discrimination. Although this legislation was first adopted in 1976 before its amendment, it has currently seen the levels of racial discrimination, with regard to access to quality health care decrease considerably. However, the United Kingdom today is still faced with incidences of unequal access to health care based on race. Health disparity is therefore, still existent, even though this law was implemented and is operational. However, the degree of this health disparity in the United Kingdom is reportedly narrowing down with each year. This therefore, points to the fact; more efforts are required in order to ensure that this health disparity is eliminated from the country. As observed, the government, health care organizations, and the public are responsible for seeing to it that the health disparity experienced in the country decreases. The government has tried to do its role through the creation of laws and policies, which will promote racial equality, even in health care. On the other hand, most health care organizations have aligned their policies with racial equality, such that every client has access to the same quality health care services. It is therefore, among the members of public to cultivate racial equality in their minds. The staff in health care facilities ought to adhere to the organization’s objectives, since these are influential in the rate of health disparity in the country. Therefore, taking individual responsibility and adhering to policies and laws, which address health disparity is important for the population of the United Kingdom, to avoid further marginalization of the ethnic minority population, with regard to access to quality health care. Works Cited Kingfund 2006, Access to Health Care and Minority Health Groups, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/publications/access-health-care-and-minority-ethnic-groups> Ali, S. & Atkin, K 2004, Primary Healthcare And South Asian Populations: Meeting the Challenges, Radcliffe Publishing, New York. Bahl V. ‘Improving access and quality for ethnic minority women,’ Women’s Health Issues2001; 11:348–54. Butler, P 22 February 2001, ‘Key Points of the Race Relations Amendment Act Report,’ The Guardian, Viewed 5 March 2013 <http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2001/feb/22/policy.raceequality> Davidson, E., and Liu, J. Bhopal, R.S., White, M., Johnson, M., Netto, G., Deverill, M. &Sheikh, A 2012, ‘Adapting health promotion interventions to meet the needs of ethnic minority groups: mixed-methods evidence synthesis,’ Health Technological Analysis. Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.hta.ac.uk/fullmono/mon1644.pdf> Gill, P. Bhopal, R, Kai, J, & Wild, S n.d, Black and Minority Ethnic Groups, Viewed 5 March 2013<http://www.birmingham.ac.uk/Documents/collegemds/haps/projects/HCNA/04HCNA3D4.pdf> Jones, R. & Welhengama, G 2000, Ethnic Minorities Eng. Law, Trentham Books, London. Ingleby, D., Chiarenza, A., & Kotsioni, I 2012, Inequalities in Health Care for Migrants and Ethnic Minorities, Maklu, New Jersey.Top of FormTop of Form Lee, B., Syed, Q. & Bellis, M n.d, Improving the Health of Black and Ethnic Minority Communities: A North West of England Perspectives, Viewed 5 March 2013 <http://www.nwph.net/nwpho/publications/Ethnic_improve.pdf> Meien, J 2007, The Multiculturalism vs. Integration Debate in Great Britain, GRIN Verlag, London. Memon, M., Abbas, F. Khaonolakar, M., Dixon, J., & Sign I 2002, ‘Health Issues in Ethnic Minorities,’ Journal of Royal Society of Medicine, Viewed 5 March 2013 <http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1279912/> Owen, D n.d, Profile of Black and Minority Groups in the UK, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/fac/cross_fac/healthatwarwick/publications/occasional/ethnicprofile.pdf> Potvin, L., Gendron, S., Bilodeau, A. & Chabot, P 2005, ‘Integrating Social Theory Into Public Health Practice.’ Am J Public Health, 95(4): 591-595 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1449225/ Randhawa, G 20007, ‘Tackiling Health for Minority Ethnic Groups: Challenges and Opportunities,’ Better Health Briefing, Viewed 5 March 2013 <http://www.hastingsbme.org.uk/health_files/health%20inequalities%20for%20BME%20groups%20jan%2009.pdf> Sheppers, E., Dongen, E., Dekker, J. & Geertzen, J. & Dekker, J 2006, ‘Potential barriers to the use of health services among ethnic minorities: a review, Family Practice,’ The International Journal for Research in Primary Health Care, 23(3): 325-348, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://fampra.oxfordjournals.org/content/23/3/325.full> Tran, M 13 July 2010, ‘Ethnic minorities to make up 20% of UK population by 2051,’ The Guardian, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2010/jul/13/uk-population-growth-ethnic-minorities> Watt, P. & McGauhey, F 2006, Improving Government Service Delivery to Minority Ethnic Groups, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.ofmdfmni.gov.uk/nccrireport2.pdf> Wikinson, S., Lane, K., & Stoskl, A 2010, A Survey of the Health Needs of Black and Minority Ethnic Groups in Norfolk, Viewed 5 March 2013 < http://www.norfolk.nhs.uk/sites/default/files/BME%20Health%20Needs%20Survey%20for%20NHS%20Norfolk-1.pdf>

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WAYS AND EXTENT TO WHICH THE UK HAS A ‘PRIME MINISTERIAL’ GOVERNMENT

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4^th, March, 2013

 

The position of the Prime Minister is vital in any government or political system. This is evident, going by the trend witnessed in the last thirty years, in relation to the Prime Minister, and their level of power. As each year passes by, the position of the Prime Minister becomes more influential in the government, as even more power is attached to it. While in the past, the government of the United Kingdom was strongly founded on its cabinet, which was influential, today, this has changed. Cabinet members in the past shared equal authority and capacity, with no one being considered more powerful than the other. Although cabinet members were regarded equal, the Prime Minister, who is also a cabinet member, ranked higher. This is reflected in the role of the Prime Minister today, which has become more complex and more important. O’Malley (2007) concurs with the fact that the government witnessed in the United Kingdom today is Prime Ministerial in nature, as it ceased to be a cabinet government. In this type of government, the Prime Minister has capitalized on the powers bestowed on them to control a vast part of the political system of the United Kingdom, including the dictation of government policy. Therefore, the reason behind the Prime Ministerial government in the United Kingdom today is the amount of power and authority, which the British Prime Minister holds.

According to Bennister (2012), there are various evidences to the extent that the Prime Minister exercises their power in the government of the United Kingdom, which show that the country has shifted to a Prime Ministerial government. For instance, today, the British government is headed by none other but the Prime Minister. However, the cabinet remains significant in government, since sometimes the Prime Minister might different types of support from it. Their success is still dependent on the support by the cabinet and parliament (Bennister 2012).

There is no doubt that in the recent years, the cabinet in the United Kingdom has experienced increased bypassing and control by the Prime Minister. All this emanates from the fact that the privilege to head the government was availed to the Prime Minister. Different Prime Ministers have conducted bilateral meetings. These are meetings whereby the Prime Minister meets with specific cabinet members, whom the Prime Minister thinks are more trusted. The Prime Minister and the other cabinet members in this meeting discuss the agenda of a meeting scheduled to happen, deciding on the most important policies to be adopted by the government, among other vital issues in governance. This way, it shows that the Prime Minister has more powers in the process of policymaking, compared to other cabinet members, and takes most of the power that was initially meant to be exercised by the cabinet, as a whole. For instance, the ‘kitchen cabinet’ by Blair together with Brown, discussed vital issues relating to policies. An outcome of the kitchen cabinet affected the Bank of England, as its control of interest rates were taken over by a private entity. Therefore, this is an example of how the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom exercises their power to have their personal policies implemented (Buckley 2006).

Smith and Richard (2011) argue that, since the rulership of the government is the the Prime Minister’s responsibility, therefore, the Prime Minister is charged with the responsibilities that initially belonged to the sovereign, who is also the head of state. However, both the cabinet and the Prime Minister are accountable to the parliament for the decisions they make in governance, even though they are also members of the parliament. Nonetheless, if one compares the roles and powers of the Prime Minister since the period of Margaret Thatcher to the period of Tony Blair, and Brown, one realizes that there are a myriad of shifts in power, which have occurred. All these changes reflect the increase in the power of the British Prime Minister, and UK’s shift to a Prime Ministerial government (Smith & Richard 2011).

Buckley (2006) emphasizes that, today, there is evidence that the cabinet in the United Kingdom holds lesser meetings than they did in the past. In addition, these meetings take a shorter time, compared to the meetings in the past, where they took a long time, discussing important issues in an intensive manner. Specifically, Blair is criticized for having a low attendance in parliamentary meetings. Different cabinet members admitted that meetings rarely lasted for more than twenty minutes.  This therefore, points to the fact that the cabinet in the United Kingdom today is not as influential as it was in the past, as it has lost a considerable amount of its power. The fact that the cabinet holds shorter meetings occasionally means that the cabinet’s responsibility in collective decision making in important governance issues, is slowly losing importance. Instead, the stretch of power and influence of the British Prime Minister keeps growing each year. This shows how power is transferred in the government. Although, Gordon Brown also has also distanced himself from his Labour party, this is not as extreme as Tony Blair. In addition, Gordon Brown has a good record of meeting attendance in the parliament and cabinet, unlike Blair (Buckley 2006).

In the United Kingdom, the Prime Minister plays the role of organizing and controlling controls various positions in the government.  This has an effect of giving patronage power to them, which they utilize in the regulation and control of authority and power different departments of the government. For instance, they can strip off power from some political leaders, or might as well bestow more power to others (Web 2011). When the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom comes up with their own personal policies, these receive support from the cabinet. Therefore, the Prime Minister experiences the lowest levels of rivalry when presenting their decisions in major policymaking process. The Prime Minister in the United Kingdom has a considerable influence on the media. This therefore, draws more attention to the Prime Minister, especially their impact on government. However, it is argued that the Prime gets this kind of attention from the media because; they as well use their powers to manipulate and control the media (Williams 1998).

Independence is a factor that the position of Prime Minister does not lack. For example, the Prime Minister today does not need to consult with their party members on decisions the Prime Minister thinks can be handled on their own. The Prime Minister also forges for cabinet support of hi or her policy ideas. This leadership style is therefore, likened to that in the presidential governments, where the president has power to make independent decisions on important policy and governance issues. Therefore, the Prime Minister’s power has surpassed a kind of governance that is party led, since the party members are rarely involved in decision-making (Buckley 2006). Since the  British Prime Minister has considerable authority, they can be compared to the role of the president. However, the remain Prime Ministers, as the supreme sovereignty in the United Kingdom cannot allow for the Prime Minister to exercise power, which does not belong to them. Similarly, the European Union restricts Prime Ministers to their positions. For example, the fall of Margaret Thatcher in the 1990’s signifies that a Prime Minister cannot assume greater power, and be fiercely controlling than their capacity allows (Williams 1998).

Different scholars agree with the fact that the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom has more powers to influence he government at a higher level. Foley (1993) has addressed the role and power of the British Prime Minister in the UK. He argued that the United Kingdom slowly rose from a cabinet government to a presidential government. In order to prove this, Foley brings the powers of the British Prime Minister and those of the US president under scrutiny and comparison. In this year when Foley was writing his book, the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher was being criticized by many people for exercising a style of leadership, which was quite authoritarian and personal. This shows that after Thatcher, the level of power of the Prime Minister came to a decrease. When John Mayor took over from, he exercised less power compared to Thatcher. However, during Tony Blairs’ time as a Prime Minister, he exercised more power compared to the previous Prime Ministers (Foley 1993). However, the British government cannot be presidential as Foley notes, but remains Prime Ministerial, since the British Prime Minister is not entitled to similar mandate as that of a president. Nonetheless, with regard to power, there is no doubt that the British Prime Minister is entitled to greater power than other political leaders in the system.

According to Foley (1993), spatial leadership is popular among different Prime Ministers in the UK. This means that they act and lead as outsiders, making their own decisions, and not being actively involved with the government. Therefore, Foley has considered most Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom, as acting like ‘outsiders’ in governance. He gives the example of Thatcher, who told people about her being born by a grocer. On the other hand, Mayor also emphasized his low family background, with only few opportunities for a formal education. Mayor acted like an outsider when in 1991, he developed ‘the citizen’s charter.’ This showed that the government cannot be trusted. This therefore, helped citizens to control officialdom. Spatial leadership in Tony Blair and Margaret Thatcher is also evident in the fact that these two developed their own stances namely ‘Thatcherism’ and ‘Blairism.’ This emphasizes their personal influence on the government and the people (Buckley 2006).

In addition, Foley notes that most Prime Ministers in the United Kingdom used the media to appeal to people directly on different issues. Foley argues that presidents commonly use direct appeal through the media. Therefore, when used by a Prime Minister in the United Kingdom, they are assuming the powers similar to those of presidents in the presidential regimes. Foley also notes that the 1997 and 2001 elections in the United Kingdom were a proof at how the Prime Minister is adopting power similar to that of presidents. During these elections, one realizes that more importance is attached to the party leaders, including their personality (Foley 1993). Nonetheless, although their power is likened to that of presidents, the UK cannot be a presidential system, since it is parliamentary. Therefore, since the Prime Minister is influential in government, this inclines the government more to the Prime Ministerial government.

King (1985) notes that, the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom possesses additional powers. This is a resource, which even the president of the United States lack, and would probably like to have. The Congress is responsible for most political decisions, while the president only has power over his mandate and other minor decisions. On the other hand, the British Prime Minister influence and power, as the United States’ president. Unlike the president of the US, the British Prime Minister has the power to determine different positions in the government, as well as appoint people to these positions. King also notes that the British Prime Minister controls the government structure. For instance, the Prime Minister creates new government departments, dismisses some existent departments, and sometimes combines two departments to become one. This power, King argues, that is bestowed on the Prime Minister alone, and the cabinet does not share it. To prove this point, King uses an example from the mid-1970. In the United States, it took the Congress a considerable number of months to come up with the Bill for the creation of the Department of Energy, since this required consultations and intensive debating. On the other hand, in the United Kingdom, it took the Prime Minister a single day to create the Department of Energy in the country (King 1985).

Buckley (2006) seeks the reason behind the increasing Prime Ministerial powers. According to him, the constitution of the United Kingdom has not fully taken into account the importance of specifying the role of the Prime Minister in different contexts. Additionally, Buckley thinks that when the Monarch was done away with, the Prime Minister served as the replacement of the monarch, and its role in the cabinet. He also notes that the superiority of the Prime Minister’s office in the United Kingdom was experienced beginning the early 19^th Century (Buckley 2006).

As discussed, a variety of factors point out to the fact that the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom has continuously become more powerful over the years. However, there are other factors in the governance and policies of the United Kingdom, which serve to limit the powers of the British Prime Minister. These suggest that this kind of power bestowed upon the Prime Minister cannot make any Prime Minister have the right to abuse office through misuse of power. First, since the Prime Minister has the power to develop different policies, they are accountable for the various policies they come up with, or their different ideas about policies. The parliament has the duty of seeing to it that different policies and ideas by the Prime Minister are in accordance with the law. Different sanctions are present for different types of unlawfulness in policies by the Prime Minister. In addition, the Prime Minister’s party members can gain support from the cabinet to revolt against the Prime Minister, if their leadership is unacceptable. For instance, if the party members feel that the Prime Minister has gone out of control, they can act against him collectively, and might as well be joined by the cabinet in this revolt. While it is of interest to study the powers of Prime Ministers in various countries, O’Malley (2007) argues that the progress of this debate in political science has been hampered by a lack of a theoretical framework, which can be used to study the Prime Ministers.

In conclusion, Prime Ministers are important actors in the politics of different governments. In the United Kingdom, different factors point out that the Prime Minister has become more important in the government, even as their power increases with each year. The role of the British Prime Minister has become a center of interest to various people, including scholars. These have reached a conclusion that the British Prime Minister assumes power similar to that of a president in presidential democracies. Nonetheless, it is evident that the government of the United Kingdom has shifted from being cabinet-based in the past, to being Prime Ministerial in the contemporary times. However, although the Prime Minister in the United Kingdom today has vast powers, their position remains, because of the restrictions by the system. Prime Ministers in the United Kingdom have continuously practised spatial leadership. By distancing themselves from their parties and the government, the Prime Ministers assume greater powers and great influence.  By heading the government and cabinet, and making independent decisions, the Prime Minister assumes greater power, and is the dominant force in the government, as he or she influences major decisions in the government. Although some commentators have likened the powers of the British Prime Minister to those of the American president, the British government remains parliamentary, as its Prime Minister does not have the same constitutional independence similar to that of the American president. Therefore, the British government remains Prime Ministerial, considering the fact that it is highly influenced by its Prime Minister.

 

 

 

Works Cited

Bennister, M 2012, Prime Ministers in Power: Political Leadership in Britain and Australia, Palgrave Macmillan, London.

Buckley, S 2006, Prime Minister and Cabinet, Edinburgh University Press, London.

Foley, M 1993, The rise of the British presidency, Manchester University Press, London.

King, A 1985, The British Prime Minister, Duke University Press, New York.

O’Malley, E 2007, ‘The Power of Prime Ministers: Results of an Expert Survey,’ International Political Science Review, 28(1), 7-27, Viewed 4 March 2013 < http://dcu.ie/~omalle/070398_IPS_7-27.pdf >

Smith, M. & Richard, D 2011, The role and powers of the Prime Minister, Viewed 4 March 2013 <http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201011/cmselect/cmpolcon/writev/842/m10.htm>

Web, P 2011, The role and powers of the Prime Minister, Viewed 4 March 2013 < http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201012/cmselect/cmpolcon/writev/842/842.pdf >

Williams, A 1998, UK Government & Politics, Heinemann, London.

 

 

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