Political Institutions of the United Kingdom

Radina Mutskova

Westminster Parliament- Two Houses (Bicameral)

House of Lords“Upper House”

House of Commons“Lower House”

Parliament

Fixed-term Parliaments Act (2011): Introduced fixed-term elections (set date, cannot be changed by incumbent) for the first time to the Westminster parliament; elections must be held every 5 years

– PM can change date of elections within 2 months– “vote of no confidence” exception

Censure motion Motion of confidence gone bad Motion of no confidence Defeat of a supply bill

Prime Minister (PM) and Cabinet

Majority Party/ Coalition chooses member of Parliament (MP) as party leader

Appoints Cabinet from MPs– One minister per major bureaucratic subdivision

PM Initiates 90% policy with cabinet PM and Cabinet defend policy during “Question Time” “collective responsibility”- Cabinet supports PM

– If cabinet member publically disagrees with PM, expected to resign position

House of Commons

Two party system (650 seats)– Majority party/ coalition– Loyal opposition

Single member district voting– One candidate per party– Candidate with most votes wins– Candidate does not have to reside in district

Party leaders often run in “safe” districts

House of Commons

Debate– Speaker of the House presides

Nonpartisan Allows all to speak

– Question Time One hour four times a week, PM and Cabinet defend policy The foremost privilege claimed by both Houses is that of

freedom of speech in debate; nothing said in either House may be questioned in any court or other institution outside Parliament

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xUy2inkGHQ

House of Lords

House of Lords Act (1999): no more (than 92) inherited seats Lords Temporal (unfixed number)

– Can be partisan, recommended by PM Lords Spiritual (26 members)

– Nonpartisan, officials of the Church of England– The Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) and Anglican churches in

Wales and Northern Ireland are not represented May delay legislation, debate technicalities

– House of Commons may remove additions by simple majority House of Lords may be empowered in the future http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rKhK8RPSgtE

Passing a Bill

House of Commons Composition

House of Lords Composition

Political Parties

Caucuses 19th century- 2 party system

– Tories (supported King Charles II)– Whigs (opposed)

Industrial Revolution– Tories became Conservative Party

Traditional Wing Thatcherite Wing

– Whigs became Liberal Party Labour Party

Liberal Democratic Alliance Party– Liberal and Democrats merged in 1989– In 1980s had as much as 26% of popular vote, no more than 62

seats in HOC Other small parties…

Parties

Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Labour Party

•opposition to the European single currency

•Reduce the rate of taxes

•Social conservatives

•Opposed to state multiculturalism

•Favor international alliances

•Job growth

•Fair taxes (tax cuts for working class)

•Fair but firm immigration

•Equal marriage

•diversity of ideological trends from strongly socialist, to more moderately social democratic

•trade union movement

•Keynesian economics

Other Parties

Plaid Cymru of Wales Scottish National Party of Scotland Sinn Fein of Northern Ireland

– Political wing of IRA

Democratic Unionist Party led by Protestant clergymen

The Judiciary

Common Law- focus put on precedent and interpretation– No fixed Constitution

Statues, court judgments, treaties, parliamentary constitutional conventions, royal perogatives

“No word of Parliament can be unconstitutional for the law of the land knows not the word or the idea.”

Change by passing new acts of Parliament Bill of Rights 1689

Appeals– Lowest: District Court– Appeal to: High Courts, then UK Supreme Court

Supreme Court replaced Law Lords (5 MPs from HOL) in 2005 Impartial Expected to retire at 75

The Crown

Ceremonial Head of State– Opens Parliament– Meets foreign Heads of State

Expected to respect will of Parliament– “royal assent”: Assents bills

“royal prerogative”: a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law

Powers– “Speech from the Throne” opens Parliament– requests the person most likely to command the support of a

majority in the House to form a government– Can refuse of a request of the PM to dissolve Parliament– Formally appoints members of the House of Lords

Bureaucracy

Ministers (heads of bureaucracy) appointed by PM Top officials

– Nonpartisan– Experts in their fields– Long term– Advise ministers

Discretionary power “Oxbridge”