As we have seen in the video, the opposition has a real retort power in front of the majority party.
II) Some weapons in the parliamentary procedure
The opposition has some weapons:
- The motion of censure: It can overthrow the government
- It has the right to ask parliamentary writing or speaking questions.
- It can demand votes or debates
- It can participate to some parliamentary investigation commissions.
- It has one third (1/3) of working time that is to say it has the possibility to express oneself.
- It has the possibility to pass texts to the Parliament.
- It profits of the parliamentary publicity.
- It has the benefit of the speaker protection: it’s an impartial person and he ensures the respect of the minority.
- After the throne speech, the opposition has the right of response.
The role of the opposition leads to a phenomenon fit for UK.
III) The change-over phenomenon:
This change-over phenomenon is the thing that makes British regime in ahead of the other regimes.
Thinking that the opposition is recognized, it has the means to prepare itself.
Its preparation has an important influence over the majority party and in a larger scale an influence over the legal system: it creates the dynamism: it’s a driving force behind the system.
Because:
- The starting point: As it prepares itself, it will have more chance with the next election because the population knows that it is ready.
- So, we can say that there is a link with the majority dynamism because more the opposition does its job well, more it informs the population and more it has support.
So, more it does his job well more it forces the majority to do his job well too.
This creates the two party system (bipartism): minority knows that it can win the next election & the majority knows that is can loose.
“Swing of the pendulum”.
So, there is a real respect of the minority.
Eventually, we are going present the last aspect in which the opposition plays a key role.