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Democracy in the UK:

The 2015 General Elections 


by
Seb Eskauriatza
PhD Candidate
University of Birmingham

from

On Monday, 30th March 2015, the dissolution of Parliament in the United Kingdom (UK) signalled that the 2015 General Election had begun.  At this present time, and until the new Parliament enters the House of Commons on 7 May 2015, there are no Members of Parliament (MPs).  The general election means that every ‘seat’ in the country will be contested.
 
What type of government does the UK have?
 
Although the UK (England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland) is ‘ruled’ by Queen Elizabeth II of the House of Windsor, the power of the monarchy is limited by the UK’s (unwritten) constitution.  Although the constitution is quite complicated, ultimately it places the supreme legislative and executive functions on Parliament.   
 
Parliament is divided into the lower house (the House of Commons) and the upper house (the House of Lords).  According to Montesquieu’s classic separation of powers doctrine, the House of Commons is the legislative chamber, while the House of Lords is the ‘revisionist chamber’.  The UK Constitution is strange in that the executive chamber also sits in the House of Commons (known as the Cabinet and headed by the Prime Minister).  The House of Commons debates and drafts legislation and then passes it to the House of Lords for ‘approval’.  Note that the House of Lords can only block legislation for about 2 years before the proposals become law.
 
 
How is the House of Commons structured?
 
The Commons is divided into 650 seats, each representing one ‘parliamentary constituency’.  Each constituency elects one member of Parliament (MP).  For example, David Cameron’s constituency is Witney in Oxfordshire, Ed Miliband represents Doncaster North and Nick Clegg’s seat is Sheffield Hallam.  England has by far the most constituencies with 533 seats.  Scotland has 59, Wales has 40 and Northern Ireland has 18.  This distribution represents the proportionate number of inhabitants across the UK as a whole.
 
Elections run according to the ‘first past the post’ system. It is not the number of overall votes that matters but the number of overall seats which dictates which political party can form a government.  This is very different to proportional representation.  The different parties try to win seats in the House and second place in a constituency counts for nothing. 

 

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The Mexican government expects to lower spending next year by 135 billion pesos ($8.8 billion), in addition to the 124 billion pesos it has cut from this year’s budget as it aims to continue narrowing fiscal deficits amid lower world oil prices, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.

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FINANCIAL TIMES 

Mexico and the unexpected virtue of tightening 


April 1st, 2015


Mexico, like many emerging markets, is going through a period of exchange rate depreciation that has the peso close to its lowest levels in history. Mexico tightened its fiscal policy a few weeks ago by cutting public expenditures and it will probably cut expenditures again in 2016. 

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THE GUARDIAN

Toyota plans new factories in Mexico and China

April 3, 2015


Toyota is launching its first major investment in new car factories for five years with a $1.3bn plan to build new plants in China and Mexico, according to reports.The cash is aimed at boosting its production capacity by some 300,000 units a year in a bid to better compete with global rivals, the Japanese business daily Nikkei said.

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A fire at a Pemex platform in the Gulf of Mexico killed four workers and injured 16 others, the Mexican state-owned oil company said on Wednesday. The accident is likely to renew questions over Pemex’s safety record. Two years ago, a gas leak at its headquarters in Mexico City caused a blast that killed at least 37 people.

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Russia hit the buffers, initially because of Ukraine but subsequently because of the collapse of the oil price. The World Bank thinks its GDP will fall by nearly 4 per cent this year. Now Brazil also looks like having a year of negative growth, with GDP expected by market economists to fall by about 1 per cent.

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THE ECONOMIST

Start-ups in Mexico: Techs-Mex

April 4, 2015

An on-call masseuse is the clearest sign of Kueski’s ambitions to be a Silicon Valley-style tech star, perks and all. But the startup, which lends money to middle-class people starved of credit, is based not in San Francisco but a four-and-a-half hour flight to the south, in Guadalajara—a Mexican city more associated with tequila, conservative families and Catholicism than the modern religion of entrepreneurship.

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REUTERS

Mexico fills deal-making void left by Brazil in tough year

April 1st, 2015


With regional heavyweight Brazil less of a force in global capital markets this year, Mexican companies are filling the void by luring more investment in the form of mergers and acquisitions, bond and equity offerings. Several deals have taken place since Mexico's $2 billion sovereign bond sale in January as investors look to benefit from the impact of U.S. economic growth on its southern neighbor.

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THE GUARDIAN

Everyone hails Copenhaguen. But what if your city has 20m people? 

April 2, 2015

We often hear the looming figure that 70% of the world’s population will be living in cities by 2050 – yet that’s a milestone Latin America has already reached. It is the most urbanised region in the world. Do its cities champion ideas that are up to the task of cutting greenhouse gas emissions and enhancing climate change resilience?

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MEXICAN EMBASSY PRESS RELEASE

Mayas: Revelation of an endless time 

April 4, 2015

World Museum in Liverpool will invite visitors to uncover the hidden treasures of the ancient Mayas this summer, with the opening of a breathtaking exhibition in the city; the only place to host it in the UK.

For the complete article click here.
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