Politics in Britain

1. Politics in Britain The political system

2. Russia U.S. Domestic economy Legislature Court Executive Bureaucracies Political parties Interest groups Domestic culture Domestic society France Germany

3. United Kingdom • Size • about two times that of the state of Mississippi • Population • about 59 million • non-white immigration since WWII • from South Asia, West Indies, and East Asia • 4.6 million (8% of total population) • Europeans?

4. United Kingdom > Great Britain • United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland • created in 1801 • Great Britain • England • Scotland • Wales

5. Historical evolution: gradualism • Historical challenges to all industrialized democracies: • Building the nation-state • Defining the relationship between church and state • Establishing liberal democracy • Dealing with the impact of the industrial revolution

6. Monarch versus Parliament • 1215: Magna Carta • 1500s: the Church of England • 1642-60: Civil War and Restoration • 1688: Glorious Revolution • 1701: Act of Settlement • royal succession • Early 1700s: emergence of prime minister

7. Unwritten constitution • Lack of a written constitution

8. Parliamentary system • Parliament selects the prime minister • prime minister is not elected by popular vote • normally the head of majority party or coalition • Cabinet responsibility to parliament • major legislation and votes of confidence Parliament Majority party Prime minister & cabinet voters Minority party

10. British government • Government • Queen’s, Tony Blair’s, or Labour government • Whitehall Street • executive agencies • Downing Street • prime minister’s residence • Westminster • parliament

11. Democratization continued • 1832: Great Reform Act (men’s suffrage) • 1911: Reform of House of Lords • 1928: Right to vote for all adults

12. Electoral system • Single-member district • First-past-the-post (winner-take-all) system

13. Election results

14. Parliament • The House of Commons • 659 members • voting is 100% along party lines in most votes • party versus constituency interests • the House of Lords • is not elected • reforms

15. House of Commons • the government gets its way • MPs weigh political reputations • MPs in the governing party have opportunities to influence government • MPs talk about legislation • MPs scrutinize administration of policies • MPs publicizing issues

16. Russia U.S. Domestic economy Legislature Court Executive Bureaucracies Political parties Interest groups Domestic culture Domestic society France Germany

17. Parties and interest groups • Postwar collectivist consensus until 1970s • consensus about role of government for the collective economic and social good • state should take expanded responsibility • economic growth and full employment • state should provide social welfare • public education, health care, etc. • publicly owned sector (1/5 of total production)

18. Collectivist Consensus • Both Labour and Conservative gradually expanded the role of government • Party identification, electoral behavior, and occupation were strongly correlated • most of working class voted Labour • most of middle class voted Conservative

19. Margaret Thatcher • Economic stagflation in 1970s • Neither party was able to manage economy well • 1978-79 “winter of discontent” strikes • Thatcher’s alternative vision • cut taxes, reduce social services • stimulate the private sector • market and “businesslike” methods

20. Margaret Thatcher • Served (1979 - 1990) longer without interruption than any other British prime minister in 20th century

22. Welfare state • Even under Thatcher and Major, Britain experienced real growth in both social services and health care provisions

23. Margaret Thatcher • 1979-1984 government spending actually rose from 39% of GNP to 44% of GNP • 1890: 8% • 1910: 12% • 1920: 26% • 1989 survey: less than 1/3 approved of the “Thatcher revolution”

24. New Labour Party • 1997 electoral victory • the largest majority in parliament (419/659) that the Labour Party has ever held • Conservative vote fell to its lowest share since 1832 • Tony Blair: “New Labour is a party of ideas and ideals, but not of outdated ideology. What counts is what works.”

25. Tony Blair & “Third Way” • “Third way” alternative to collectivism and Thatcherism: • rejected the historic ties between Labour governments and the trade union movement • reversed the tendency to provide centralized statist solutions to economic and social problem • A vague philosophy to draw support from across the social-economic spectrum.

28. % Voted for Labour Party • Year Working class Women • 1974 57% 38% • 1979 50% 35% • 1983 38% 26% • 1987 42% 32% • 1992 45% 34% • 1997 58% 49%

29. Hypothetical voter distribution n left social-economic spectrum right

30. Interest groups • Civil society • institutions independent of government • Interest groups influence politics • not by contesting elections • regardless of which party wins • Distance between party and interest groups • Interest groups criticize partisan allies

31. Interest groups • Organizations of British businesses • Confederation of British Industries • dominated by large firms • Organizations of British labour • Trades Union Congress (TUC) • 38% of workforce is unionized • 90% of unionized workers are affiliated with TUC • affiliation with the Labour Party

32. Interest aggregation • Political demands of individuals and groups are combined into policy programs • farmers, environmentalists, business, etc. • substantial political resources • popular votes, campaign funds, legislative seats, executive influence, etc. • competing policy goals are compromised to produce a single governing program

33. Interest aggregation