Local Politics
The local government is sectioned into the highest being the Hampshire County Council then the City Council which is also known as the District Council and then the lowest form is the Parish Council. Big cities such as Southampton have a City Council that is joined with the County Council. A cabinet minister is also known as a portfolio holder. The Civil servants are not elected and are there to prevent things happening. They are a top councillor and remain neutral in terms of politics and parties.
National Politics
There is a group of people known as the constitutional position, The Fourth Estate who are basically the 'watch dogs' over politicians. There job is to make sure the politicians are doing their job and keep an eye on expenses and what is being bought. They are allowed to report on anything that may seem suspicious as they have privilege. John Wilkes was a hero journalist as he is the only one to have a statue which is in London. He was a mayor of London and a member of parliament who was elected 3 times from in prison. He wrote for the newspaper The North Briton and attacked the Lord Brute MP and King George ||| which in theory was contempt of parliament however by doing this he established the privilege for us. He went and reported what was going on in parliament as he believed people had a right to know even though he did this illegally. He also established statutory QP for reporting on parliament.
Fair comment
This provides a defence for journalists when expressing their opinion in newspapers. You are not allowed to write about politicians private life as this is defamatory and you can be sued, you are allowed to comment as long as it is in the public interest and it is not malicious. You are allowed to say what you like about politicians in newspapers and you don't have to write a balanced account. However on television and radio you are expected to be balanced about both parties. This is due to the Representation of the People's Act also Broadcasting Act section 6. You cant be sued if you break the RPA however it is seen as a criminal act which states you need to give the same sort of air time to the party and its opposition. In some cases the idea of 'balance over time' can get you out of trouble if you haven't successfully followed these acts.
Westminster
You have Qualified privilege in the house apart from subjudice (contempt) which you need to be careful of. There is an old rule that you are not allowed to mention the Royal Family which is still in place which needs to be followed. Voting in the commons is a division where parties try to control the way in which their MP's vote through whipping unless there is a free vote on matters of conscience. Whipping means that people are there to ensure there is party discipline whereas a vote on conscience is very rare which is in the case of abortion or a subject away from politics.
MPs- Shadow Cabinet (Michael Goal Minister for Education - Rival Party (Ed Milliband)
House of Lords
All new laws have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament (except tax- raising measures which are for MPs alone to decide) Peers are not elected and do not represent the constituencies. They are not paid a salary although they can claim expenses. Peers are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance and never have the final word though sometimes government may choose to compromise. Just a little note that in parliament opposing parties speak via a 'speaker' as this is seen as less personal and is supposed to keep people more calmer. Some amendments have to be agreed by both houses and in the event of disagreement the Lord doesn't have the power to reject legalisation which can always be overruled by the government.
A new law begins as a green paper where it is fresh and new, this is then looked at and comes back as a white paper, it then has a first reading and a secondary reading, it then reaches the committee stage which is where a group of MPs that are experts in that particular area analyse the 'new law' it then goes to the report stage and then has a third reading where it is put to the House of Lords and goes through consideration of Lords Amendments where it is finally passed for Royal Assent.
Hansard is the official report of the proceedings of Parliament which is published daily and is for all of the public. Party Funding used to be through subscriptions from members, state funding and donations from wealth donors. However party membership has fallen so donors are relied on.
The local government is sectioned into the highest being the Hampshire County Council then the City Council which is also known as the District Council and then the lowest form is the Parish Council. Big cities such as Southampton have a City Council that is joined with the County Council. A cabinet minister is also known as a portfolio holder. The Civil servants are not elected and are there to prevent things happening. They are a top councillor and remain neutral in terms of politics and parties.
National Politics
There is a group of people known as the constitutional position, The Fourth Estate who are basically the 'watch dogs' over politicians. There job is to make sure the politicians are doing their job and keep an eye on expenses and what is being bought. They are allowed to report on anything that may seem suspicious as they have privilege. John Wilkes was a hero journalist as he is the only one to have a statue which is in London. He was a mayor of London and a member of parliament who was elected 3 times from in prison. He wrote for the newspaper The North Briton and attacked the Lord Brute MP and King George ||| which in theory was contempt of parliament however by doing this he established the privilege for us. He went and reported what was going on in parliament as he believed people had a right to know even though he did this illegally. He also established statutory QP for reporting on parliament.
Fair comment
This provides a defence for journalists when expressing their opinion in newspapers. You are not allowed to write about politicians private life as this is defamatory and you can be sued, you are allowed to comment as long as it is in the public interest and it is not malicious. You are allowed to say what you like about politicians in newspapers and you don't have to write a balanced account. However on television and radio you are expected to be balanced about both parties. This is due to the Representation of the People's Act also Broadcasting Act section 6. You cant be sued if you break the RPA however it is seen as a criminal act which states you need to give the same sort of air time to the party and its opposition. In some cases the idea of 'balance over time' can get you out of trouble if you haven't successfully followed these acts.
Westminster
You have Qualified privilege in the house apart from subjudice (contempt) which you need to be careful of. There is an old rule that you are not allowed to mention the Royal Family which is still in place which needs to be followed. Voting in the commons is a division where parties try to control the way in which their MP's vote through whipping unless there is a free vote on matters of conscience. Whipping means that people are there to ensure there is party discipline whereas a vote on conscience is very rare which is in the case of abortion or a subject away from politics.
MPs- Shadow Cabinet (Michael Goal Minister for Education - Rival Party (Ed Milliband)
House of Lords
All new laws have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament (except tax- raising measures which are for MPs alone to decide) Peers are not elected and do not represent the constituencies. They are not paid a salary although they can claim expenses. Peers are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance and never have the final word though sometimes government may choose to compromise. Just a little note that in parliament opposing parties speak via a 'speaker' as this is seen as less personal and is supposed to keep people more calmer. Some amendments have to be agreed by both houses and in the event of disagreement the Lord doesn't have the power to reject legalisation which can always be overruled by the government.
A new law begins as a green paper where it is fresh and new, this is then looked at and comes back as a white paper, it then has a first reading and a secondary reading, it then reaches the committee stage which is where a group of MPs that are experts in that particular area analyse the 'new law' it then goes to the report stage and then has a third reading where it is put to the House of Lords and goes through consideration of Lords Amendments where it is finally passed for Royal Assent.
Hansard is the official report of the proceedings of Parliament which is published daily and is for all of the public. Party Funding used to be through subscriptions from members, state funding and donations from wealth donors. However party membership has fallen so donors are relied on.
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