The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland CH. 2-1

1. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandCH. 2-1

2. Overview: The Big Picture • System of Government: Parliamentary System • Distribution of Power: Unitary • Electoral System: Single Member District Plurality, BUT a multi party system • Constitution: Unwritten constitution • Legislature: Bicameral—House of Commons & House of Lords • Current Prime Minister: Teresa May (2017) • Current Ruling Party: Conservative Party • Major Political Parties: Labour, Conservatives, Liberal Democrats, UKIP, SNP

3. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

4. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: GEOGRAPHY • Great Britain = England, Wales, and Scotland • United Kingdom = Northern Ireland, England, Wales, Scotland (NEWS) • Offshore island adjacent to Europe • Creates feeling that Britons are separate from but a part of Europe • Complicates relations with European Union

5. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS • One Crown but five nations • United Kingdom – • England • Wales: ¼ speak Welch • Scotland: separate legal, religious, educational institutions • Northern Ireland (6 counties): remainder of Ireland rebelled against Crown in 1916 and a separate Irish state in Dublin in 1921.

6. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS - ENGLAND • Largest region of Great Britain • Makes up 2/3 of the land mass • English have dominated the other nationalities historically, and still hold a disproportionate share of political power • West Lothian Question - refers to whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, sitting in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, should be able to vote on matters that affect only England, while MPs from England are unable to vote on matters that have been devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly

7. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS - SCOTLAND • History of resistance to English rule • 1707 Act of Union • Strong sense of national identity • Own parliament and regional assembly (devolution) • Scottish National Party – political party of the region of Scotland

8. Devolved matters include • agriculture, forestry and fisheries • education and training • environment • health and social services • housing • law and order • local government • sport and the arts • tourism and economic development • many aspects of transport • Reserved matters include • benefits and social security • immigration • defence • foreign policy • employment • broadcasting • trade and industry • nuclear energy, oil, coal, gas and electricity • consumer rights • data protection • the Constitution

9. SCOTTISH INDEPENDENCE (REFERENDUM) • Vote taken in 2014 • "Should Scotland be an independent country?” 55.3% of voters answered "No" and 44.7% answered "Yes", with a voter turnout of 84.5%. • News relating to Scottish independence • http://www.cnn.com/2017/03/28/europe/scottish-indy-vote/index.html

10. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS - WALES • Became subject to the King of England in 16th century • Located west of England • Plaid Cymru – Welch national political party • Strong sense of national pride reflected in their flag and in their own language • Granted their own assembly (devolution) • The assembly has no tax-raising powers, unlike the Scottish parliament, but it can make regulations and set statutory guidance, and pass assembly measures. Health, Education, Local gov’t, social services

11. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: THE ENVIRONMENT OF POLITICS – NORTHERN IRELAND • The Irish Republican Army (IRA) used guerrilla tactics against British officials and citizens • Sinn Fein– political party of the IRA • Under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the IRA decommissioned its weapons in exchange for some self rule • An assembly was created for Northern Ireland (devolution) • Ulsters - 6 northern Protestant counties (Ulster) remain a part of the UK

12. I. INTRODUCTION TO COMPARATIVE POLITICS: DEVOLUTION • British government is a unitary system (centralized control) • Starting in the 1970s the Scots and Welsh made an aggressive push for political autonomy in their regions • Devolution – the turning over of some political power and autonomy to regional governments

13. II. SOVEREIGNTY, AUTHORITY, POWER: HALLMARKS OF “CONSTITUTION” • Constitutional monarchy • “Her Majesty’s Government” • Unitarism • Power centralized; all regional/local units controlled by center • Devolution • Parliamentary sovereignty (Parliamentary democracy) • Legislative gov. - Has the right to make or unmake any law • Westminster model - democracy rests on supreme authority of the legislature • KEY POINT: Concept of parliamentary sovereignty undermines judicial power! • This means that parliament’s decisions are final • Cabinet government (includes the PM) • Control legislative agenda (collective responsibility) • Judiciary • Subordinate to Parliamentary laws

14. II. SOVEREIGNTY, AUTHORITY, POWER: SOURCES OF AUTHORITY • Social compacts and Constitutionalism • No written Constitution • “Constitution of the Crown” • Documents, common law, legal codes, customs • Tradition primary source of stability

15. II. SOVEREIGNTY, AUTHORITY, POWER: LEGITIMACY • The government of Great Britain has developed gradually; tradition is a primary source of stability • Great Britain’s constitution is unwritten (de facto) having evolved from different documents (Magna Carta, English Bill of Rights), common law, legal codes, and customs • The UK has rational legal legitimacy, stemming from its democratic constitution and government

16. KEY POINT: Britain didn’t become a democracy overnight. • Evolution not revolution • Democratization was a slow process

17. Structure of British Government

18. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS • Core of British system is parliamentary sovereignty • Parliamentary sovereignty—the doctrine that grants the legislature the power to make or overturn any law and permits no veto or judicial review.

19. Developments affecting Parliamentary sovereignty: • Over the years, Parliament has passed laws that limit the application of parliamentary sovereignty: • The devolution of power to bodies like the Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly. • The Human Rights Act 1998. • The UK's entry to the European Union in 1973. • The decision to establish a UK Supreme Court in 2009, which ends the House of Lords function as the UK's final court of appeal. • These developments do not fundamentally undermine the principle of parliamentary sovereignty, since, in theory at least, Parliament could repeal any of the laws implementing these changes.

20. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS • FUSION OF POWER • Executive: Prime Minister (PM) • Queen head of state; PM head of government • Legislative: Parliament • Legislative, executive, and judicial supremacy • House of Commons, House of Lords, Cabinet (PM) • The majority party IS the government • Judiciary: Supreme Court of UK (Constitutional Reform Act of 2005)

21. Parliament: Big Idea • Although British government consists of three branches, little separation of powers exists between the cabinet and the parliament. • Like most parliamentary systems, the executive and legislative branches are fused, largely because the leaders of the majority party in parliament are also cabinet members. • Bicameral Legislature: • House of Commons: All Power • House of Lords: Ceremonial

22. How to Get Elected to House of Commons • 650 members; 650 districts • Single Member District Plurality (First-Past-The-Post) • One MP (member of Parliament) per district • Represent about 70,000 people per MP • Do NOT have to live in district • Party leaders run in “safe” districts • Most votes wins (do not need majority - 50% + 1 more): First-Past-the-Post • Serve fixed 5 – year terms* • General election was May 2015 (first one after fixed parliament act passed in 2011. Most recently, elections were called by PM in 2017 :(

23. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: HOUSE OF COMMONS • Majority holds ALL of the power • Question time (PMQ) – hour when PM must answer questions from opposition • Check on PM power • Speaker of the House presides – not necessarily a member of majority

24. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: BACKBENCHERSis a Member of Parliament (MP) or a legislator who holds no governmental office and is not a frontbench spokesperson in the Opposition, being instead simply a member of the "rank and file"

25. Party Discipline Since majority party = Govt, party discipline very important Must vote party line Majority party wants to avoid losing “vote of no confidence” If issue is not supported, cabinet must resign immediately and elections for new MP’s must be held as soon as possible

26. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: PRIME MINISTER • Speaks for all Members of Parliament • Chooses cabinet ministers • Makes decisions in cabinet, with agreement of the ministers • Campaigns for and represents the party in parliamentary elections • Dissolves Parliament and sets date for next election

28. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: COLLECTIVE CABINET • Cabinet = PM and ministers (cab secretaries) • Head a major bureaucracy of the gov • Either members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords. • Center of policy-making in British political system and the Prime Minister has the responsibility of shaping their decisions into policy • Do not vote; unity represents collective responsibility for policymaking • PM is “first among equals”

29. Head of the minority party leads the SHADOW CABINET • Westminster system of government. It consists of senior group of opposition spokespeople who, under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition, form an alternative cabinet to that of the government, • It is the Shadow Cabinet's responsibility to criticize the policies and actions of the government, as well as offering an alternative program.

30. THE LEGISLATIVE PROCESS • Bills must be introduced in House of Commons and House of Lords. • Approval of House of Lords is not required. • Bill comes to the floor three times: • First: formally read at introduction, printed, debated in general terms, and after interval, given a second reading • Second: Undergoes detailed review by standing committee; then report stage during which new amendments may be introduced. • Third reading: bill is considered final form (and voted on) without debate. • Follows parallel path in the Lords • Finally, it receives royal assent (which is only a formality) and becomes an Act of Parliament. • Three line whip: In the UK a three-line whip is an instruction given to Members of Parliament by the leaders of their party telling them they must vote in the way that the party wants them to on a particular subject.

31. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: HOUSE OF COMMONS • PM would dissolve Parliament if: • 1) The life of Parliament is about to reach the statutory limit of five years • 2) party in power unable to muster majority of support b/c has most seats BUT lacks majority vote for key issues (loss of confidence) • 3) majority party wishes to capitalize on its popularity and seeks to gain more seats before five year limit

32. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: HOUSE OF LORDS • Role in church, hereditary or appointed by monarch (approval by PM) • Upper house • Minimal influence – delay legislation, may add amendments • 753 members (not fixed) • Used to act as a judiciary body

33. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS • What People Mean When They Say: • Government (PM & Cabinet) • Government Officials (Civil Servants) • Whitehall (Executive Agencies) • Downing Street (Prime Minister) • Parliament (on Whitehall, too) • Westminster(collective term for gov’t institutions)

34. III. POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS: THE CROWN • It’s HER MAJESTY’S Government • Role of the queen: • Head of state (reigns but does not rule) • Commander-in-Chief (technically) • Four Roles: • Appoint PM • Advise PM • Give their assent to legislation • Dissolve Parliament • **Effects: dilute authority; insulated from partisan controversy

35. HEY, LOOK…WE’RE COMPARING Prime Minister of UK Serves only as long as he/she remains leader of majority party Elected as MP Has an excellent chance of getting his/her programs past Parliament Cabinet members are always MPs and leaders of the majority party Cabinet members not experts in policy areas: rely on bureaucracy to provide expertise President of the US Elected every four years by an electoral college based on popular election Elected as president Has an excellent chance of ending up in gridlock with Congress Cabinet members usually don’t come from Congress (although they may) Some expertise in policy areas; one criteria for their appointment; head vast bureaucracies