Suchergebnisse

TO MANY POLITICAL COMMENTATORS, `LOBBYING' IS STILL VIEWED AS ESSENTIALLY AN ALIEN CONCEPT. NEVERTHELESS, COMMERCIAL LOBBYING COMPANIES HAVE SUCCESSFULLY MARKETED THEMSELVES THROUGHOUT THE 1980S AS EXPERTS INN PARLIAMENTARY PROCEDURE AND INFORMED OBSERVERS OF THE WIDER POLITICAL PROCESS. THEIR SUCCESS CAN IN LARGE PART BE ATTRIBUTED TO THE PERSONNEL INVOLVED AND IN PARTICULAR THE BACKGROUNDS OF KEY COMPANY EMPLOYEES. AFTER AN EXAMINATION OF THESE LOBBYING COMPANIES, THIS ARTICLE CONCLUDES THAT WHILE THE REALITY BEHIND MUCH OF THE LOBBYING INDUSTRY'S ACTIVITY IN BRITAIN IS OPEN TO QUESTION AND INVESTGATION, MUCH OF THEIR ACTIVITY IN BRITAIN REMAINS SURPRISINGLY MUNDANE, AND LARGELY UNRECOGNIZABLE FROM THE SENSATIONALIST LOBBYIST EXCESSES SO OFTEN PORTRAYED IN THE MEDIA.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS IS AN ANACHRONISM WHICH HAS BECOME RELEVANT. IN THE 1990S, A REFORMED AND STRENGTHENED SECOND CHAMBER IS ONCE AGAIN ON THE POLITICAL AGENDA, FOLLOWING A REVERSAL IN THE POSITION OF THE LABOR PARTY WHICH HAS COME ABOUT BECAUSE THE LORDS HAVE DEMONSTRATED IN PRACTICE THE ROLE OF A COUNTERWEIGHT TO AN OVER-MIGHTY EXECUTIVE. THIS ARTICLE EXPLORES: THE PAVING BILL AND ABOLITION; ORGANIZATION AND SERVICES; LOCAL GOVERNMENT FINANCE; AND, THE RIGHT TO BUY. IT CONCLUDES THAT THE RE-EMERGENCE OF AN ACTIVE SECOND CHAMBER IN BRITAIN REQUIRES ONE TO LOOK AFRESH AT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT THE WORKINGS OF THE BRITISH PARLIAMENTARY SYSTEM.

Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher's leadership style is compared with those of William Gladstone, Lord Salisbury, Joseph Chamberlain, & Neville Chamberlain with respect to success in setting the political agenda & mobilizing political support. Thatcher is seen as a latter-day Gladstone, or a more effective Joseph Chamberlain. Gladstone's campaign against the Bulgarians arose from moral populism, a blend of charismatic radicalism & conservatism. Salisbury's support of utilitarianism (for the benefit of privileged minorities, eg, the aristocracy & the Church of England) was a feature of his arch-conservatism. Although he failed to inspire the Right, or to gain mass support, Joseph Chamberlain initially was successful in politicizing the masses. Thatcher was able to replace local rates with a poll tax, promote privatization, free choice, & capitalism, & fight for the Falkland Islands. However, judged by Winston Churchill's moral standards of resolution, magnanimity, defiance, & goodwill, Thatcher falls short. Her insularity, concessions to pragmatism, & sudden fall from public favor resemble the career of Neville Chamberlain. J. Sadler