Developing better exam technique

DO NOWIn last week’s general election, it took around 28,000 votes to elect each of the 331 Conservative Members of Parliament. Estimate how many votes it took to elect each MP from: a) Labour; b) the Lib Dems; c) the SNP; d) the Greens; e) UKIP? What does this say about our electoral system? In broad terms, what would results have been like under a more proportional electoral system.

Exam technique

Quick fixes

1) Keep to time.

2) Read and follow all instructions.

Longer-term

3) Write with precision and clarity.

Parliamentary scrutinySelect committees have proved effective at scrutinising the actions of the executive and holding it to account. Select committees decide which issues they are going to examine. They have wide powers to summon witnesses and to examine restricted documents. Committees spend much of their time questioning ministers, officials and outside experts. Membership of select committees reflects the party balance in the Commons. Chairs of committees are allocated to parties according to their relative strength. Candidates from that party are then elected by all MPs in a secret ballot using the alternative vote system. Successful candidates often have a reputation for independence. Members of select committees are elected by secret ballot within party groups.Since a unanimous select committee report is likely to carry maximum weight, members aim to strike compromises across party lines. Over time, committee members can become more expert in their chosen fields than the relevant ministers, who usually have short tenures in a specific office.

Adapted from Lynch and Fairclough AS UK Government & Politics (2013)

• Define the term party balance as used in the extract. (5)• Using your own knowledge as well as the extract, consider two ways in which

Parliament can scrutinise the executive and hold it to account. (10) • ‘The experience of coalition government has made Parliament a more independent

body.’ Discuss. (25)

Topic 2 Parliament

One way Parliament is able to scrutinise the executive is by debating specific issues throughout the UK, going through stages of debate to get laws changed in ways that benefit the people.

Sample responses

How do I answer this question?

1) What topic is the question about?

2) What are the key concepts involved in this topic?

3) Which of these concepts is relevant to this question?

4) How can I use the relevant concepts to help me answer the question?

How do I answer this question?

‘The experience of coalition government has made Parliament a more independent body.’ Discuss.

• Topic? Parliament

• Key concepts? representation legislationscrutiny (of the executive)

• Relevant? All of the above.

How do I answer this question?

‘The experience of coalition government has made Parliament a more independent body.’ Discuss.

• Identify three possible measures of parliamentary independence, e.g: representation in the HOC and/or HOL;scrutiny and/or legislation in the HOC; scrutiny and/or legislation in the HOL; other stuff, e.g. reform measures (FTPA, BBBC, etc.)

• Example: legislation in the HOC = rebellions vs the extension of the ‘payroll vote’.

• Conclusion: ‘In some ways yes; in some ways no’.

Now do the same for these questions

‘The principal role of backbench MPs in the House of Commons is to support their parties, not to exercise their personal judgments or air their consciences.’ Discuss.

‘The House of Lords performs no useful role in the British political system and should now be abolished.’ Discuss.

Questions with a more specific focus

‘Select committees provide the most effective means by which Parliament can scrutinize the executive.’ Discuss.

‘The House of Lords can often be more effective than the House of Commons in the scrutiny of the executive.’ Discuss.

‘The legislative process in the House of Commons offers backbench MPs significant opportunities to influence policy.’ Discuss.

Electoral systems

Key concepts:

• Representation

• Proportionality (and Reform)

• Participation

• ‘Primacy’ and ‘Recency’ factors

Key questions

‘In the past few decades, recency factors have become more important determinants of UK general election outcomes than primacy factors.’ Discuss.

‘The failure of recent efforts at electoral reform has been good for democracy in the UK.’ Discuss.

Exemplar paragraph – Not to be re-producedSome primacy factors have clearly declined in importance over the past few decades. In the post-war period, most people’s voting behaviour could be predicted by their socio-economic status: more than 90 percent of working class voters voted Labour; a similar percentage of middle class voters voted Conservative. In more recent elections, support for the main parties among these groups has declined to less than 50 percent, respectively. However, other primacy factors such as age and region remain as important as ever. Support for Labour and the LibDems was greater among voters aged 34 and under in the past three elections than it was among voters aged 35 and over. For the Conservatives, the picture is reversed; Conservative support has remained highest among voters over 65. Region is also key. In 2015, Labour was reduced to its core areas of support in the industrial North West and North East of England, South Wales and inner London. The rest of England voted overwhelmingly for the Conservatives. These primacy factors remain critical determinants of UK general election outcomes.

‘In the past few decades, recency factors have become more important determinants of UK general election outcomes than primacy factors.’ Discuss.