Political Crossfire Forums

Comparing USA to parliamentary governments.

Leaders of USA's two legislative chambers are the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, and the majority leader of the Senate, Mitch McConnell. I suppose they each can refrain, if not effectively prevent a question from coming to a vote on the floor of their respective chambers.
Does a prime minister or anyone else have such similar power in parliament?

Respectfully, Supposn

Among Great Brittian's, and I suppose all other truly democratic nation's parliamentary governments, there are periods of regularly scheduled times for MPs to publicly question and require responses from the Prime Ministers and their cabinets. Press conferences and individual journalistic interviews are desirable, but the parliamentary questioning of their governments is a superior democratic practice that the USA lacks.

I, a Yank envy that and the significant discipline their political party's demand of their party's members of parliament.
Is that discipline demanded upon all votes on the parliament's floor, or only what the Prime minister considers the votes to be upon questions that the prime ministers' believe to reflect their party's very basic political positions? I prefer absolute orthodoxy not be demanded from political parties legislators, but party members should share some common basic political principles of their political party.

I regret USA's political parties cannot be held responsible because they're unable and unwilling to practice any real party discipline. There's little real difference between USA's Republican and Democratic Parties; they're both actually unprincipled and that in turn is too often reflected within our governments' policies, (or lack of consistent policies). This problem's not nor do I believe should or can be remedied by law. We USA voters don't hold our political parties to higher standards. We vote for and sometimes obtain superior government, and I don't believe we now or ever had a government inferior to what we deserved.

Respectfully, Supposn