British Political System

1.Monarchy

2.Parliament

3.Government

4.Cabinet

5.Political Parties

6.General Election

Constitutional Monarchy

The King or Queen is the personification of the State.

An old-fashioned government On the basis of constitutional monarchy Head of state: the king or queen In practice: the Sovereign reigns, but does

not rule.

I. A Brief Introduction

The present Sovereign: Queen Elizabeth II since 1952

3.Prince Charles is the heir to the throne.

Prince William Arthur Philip Louis Windsor and Prince William

The Royal Family

1. Gives effects to all laws as the head of the executive branch of the government

2. May pardon criminal offences and cancel punishments

3. The commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the temporal head of the Church of England

The Power of the Queen

4. Confers 授予 all titles of rank, and appoints judges, army officers, governors, bishops and diplomats

5. Concludes treaties, declares war, and makes peace with other nations

The Importance of Monarchy

1. Effects on public attitude

3. A symbol of national unity

4. Preserves the human rights and property

2. Represents the political continuity and adaptability

The Royal Duties

Visits many parts of Britain

Pays state visits to foreign countries

Tours other Common-wealth countries

The Constitution Britain doesn’t have a constitution written

down in a single document. The constitution flows from 6 sources:

1) The Royal Prerogatives 皇家特权2) *Statute Laws 成文法3) *Common Laws 普通法 , 判例法4) *Conventions 习惯法5) Authoritative Opinions 权威意见6) European Union Laws 欧盟法

Israel and Britain are the only two countries without written constitutions.

英国宪法不是一个具体的法律文本，但实际上其大部分内容还是以成文法的形式出现的，包括由议会通过的法例、法院的判例和国际公约等等。除此之外，英国宪法的法律渊源还包括英国议会惯例和国王特权。

Parliament consists of 3 constituent parts: they must all agree to pass any given legislation

Parliament

UK: a unitary stateThe Parliament at Westminster

(London)• In 1999, Scotland and Wales had

their own parliaments• In 2007, Northern Ireland set up its

parliament UK seems to be moving toward

federalism.

Legislature ( 立法机关 ) = Parliament Parliament is the highest legislative authority

in the UK – the institution responsible for making and repealing ( 废止 ) all the UK laws. It’s also known as the Legislature.Function:

Make all the UK laws; Scrutinize ( 审查 ) government policy,

administration & expenditure; Hear appeals ( 上诉 ) in the highest Court of

Appeal ( 最高上诉法院 )in Britain; Debate the major issues of the day.

What’s the meaning of “parliament”?

(A place for argument and debate) The word parliament comes from the verb

“to parley 谈判” , that is, to discuss or talk. The birth of this term: the king occasionally summoned barons（上院议员） and representatives from counties and towns if he wanted to raise money.

The Birth of Parliament

The House of Lords(上议院 )

Those who were summoned “by name”.

At first it’s only a gathering of barons and by the 13th century, kings found they couldn’t make ends meet by asking money from this quite small group.

And later they widened it to include representatives of counties, cities and towns.

The House of Commons (下议院 )

Representatives of communities

The Commons quickly gained in political strength and in return they wanted an increasing say( 发言权 )in what the king was doing.

Palace of Westminster

(Houses of Parliament)

House of Lords House of CommonsRed Chamber 红厅 Green Chamber 绿厅

The House of Lords

• Structure:About 1,100 hereditary （世袭） and life peers （贵族） or peeresses

• Power: 1.Review legislation2.Propose amendments3.Veto bills according to

conventions and operations of the Parliament Acts.

The House of Commons

• Also called the Lower House

• 651 MPs （ members of Parliament 下院议员）

The Sovereign

powerpower

Summons the House of Lords

Dissolves Parliament

Opens each new annual session

The Monarch -- Official Head of Parliament The life of parliament is divided into periods called

“sessions” ( 会期 ) (A session lasts for 1 year). The beginning of a new session, called the “State

Opening of Parliament” ( 议会开幕典礼 ) , takes place in the House of Lords.

It’s a tradition for the monarch to open Parliament in person.

On the day, the Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in the State Coach ( 典礼马车 , a golden carriage).

Once the Queen arrives at Parliament, the Union Flag is lowered and replaced by the Royal Standard （皇旗） .

Golden State Coach

The Union Flag a.k.a. （亦称）

The Union Jack

The Union Flag a.k.a. （亦称）

The Union Jack

The Royal

Standard

From Buckingham to Westminster

The queen then takes her place on the throne in the House of Lords, from where she sends her messenger Black Rod (黑杖礼仪官 ) to summon the MPs.

When the Black Rod arrives at the Lower House, the door is slammed in his face, symbolizing the independence and dominance of the House of Commons.

He must then knock 3 times to gain entry and deliver his summons.

Then the leading MPs follow the Black Rod to the Upper House, standing crowded at the end of the chamber opposite to the throne.

The Throne in the Upper House

Black Rod (黑杖礼仪官 )

Knock 3 times

Come to the Upper House (Throne)

The Queen will then read out the Queen’s Speech, a document about 1,000 words in length prepared by the government.

What is the speech about?

In the document the government outlines its planned programmes and the policies it intends to follow.

When the one-week debates on the Queen’s speech are finished, Parliament is ready to begin the actual work of the new session.

The Queen’s Speech

Main functions of Parliament

Main Functions

Debating

Making laws

Supervising

1. Introduce a bill 2.Pass through the necessary stages in

two houses

Parliamentary Legislation Process

• First reading• Second reading• Committee & report stages• Third reading

3. Royal assent从 1714年以后，国王从来没有否决过议会的议案。

The House of Lords It exercises the supreme judicial power. (最高司法机

关 )

It has over 1000 non-elected members:1. Lords Spiritual ( 神职议员 ):

2 archbishops ( 大主教 ) and 24 diocesan bishops ( 辖区主教 ). Their eligibility ( 资格 ) to sit ends on retirement.

2. Law Lords ( 司法议员 ): 12 Chief Judges 3. Hereditary Peers ( 世袭贵族 ):

Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron (royal descendants)

4. Life Peers ( 当世贵族 / 一代贵族 ): The life peer is a title given by the Crown during his/her lifetime, in honor of his or her professional achievements. The title is NOT hereditary.

Attention: 2,3 and 4 are called the Lords Temporal.( 俗职议员 )

两名来自 the Church of Canterbury 和 the Church of York 的大主教

24 名来自英格兰教（ the Church of England英国国教）的大主教。

Theoretically the two Houses are equally important. But the Upper House does NOT exercise the dominant constitutional influence ( 上院不具有主导法律影响力、不掌控立法权 ).

It has NO power to prevent the passing of legislation or bills approved by the House of Commons. The lords can only delay a bill for up to 1 year.

The work of Lords is largely complementary to that of the Commons: hold debates, put questions to ministers, examine and revise bills.

The peers get no parliamentary salary, but they enjoy a small allowance for each day of attendance.

Being a lord brings no personal authority over others.

Many Lords aren’t enthusiastic about politics and the average daily attendance is quite low. (Their average age is 63.)

The Government can partly control the Lords by creating new peers.

大法官 (Lord Chancellor) 英国大法官职位自公元 605 年设立，至公元 2003 年被 Blair 取消，总共存续了 1400 余年 , 也叫 御前大臣。在撤消大法官部后，布莱尔宣布设立一个宪法事务部（ Department of Constitutional Affairs ），总揽原大法官所负责的大部分事务。

The House of Commons The most powerful and important element in

UK. （ the real center of British political life ）

Three main functions:

1) Make laws;

2) Control and criticize the executive government;

3) Control the raising and spending of money.

The Prime Minister Leader of his party in the House of Commons Head of the government Chief spokesman for the government He has the right to select his cabinet, hand out

departmental positions, decide the agenda 议事

日程 for cabinet meetings which he also chairs. He directs and controls policy for the

government. He keeps the Queen informed of government

decisions. (weekly meeting with the Queen)

英国保守党领袖戴维 · 卡梅伦 5 月 11 日晚接受英国女王伊丽莎白二世的任命成为英国新一届首相，卡梅伦的履新同时宣告了英国工党连续 13 年执政的结束。此前保守党与自由民主党就结成议会中的多数联盟达成了协议。 在工党领袖戈登•布朗 (Gordon Brown) 在充满感情的告别仪式上离职之际，卡梅伦准备与尼克•克莱格 (Nick Clegg) 领导的自由民主党组建联盟政府。 43 岁的卡梅伦是自 1812年利物浦勋爵 (Lord Liverpool) 以来最年轻的英国首相。 卡梅伦入主唐宁街，意味着保守党自 1997 年以来首次重掌政权，当时托尼•布莱尔 (Tony Blair) 的工党以历史性的压倒多数击败了约翰•梅杰 (John Major) 领导的保守党政府。然而，卡梅伦的首相任期将面临巨大挑战。 他将不得不管理 30 多年来英国首次出现的两党合作关系。他还将面对通过削减支出和加税来控制英国巨大的公共财政的艰巨任务。

中文名： 戴维 · 威廉 · 唐纳德 · 卡梅伦 外文名： David William Donald Cameron 国籍： 大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国 (the United

Kingdom) 出生地： 英国伦敦 出生日期： 1966 年 10 月 9 日 职业： 英国首相 毕业院校： 伊顿公学、牛津大学 信仰： 英国国教 (Anglicanism)( The Church of

England understands itself to be both Catholic and Reformed).

莱尔在伊战问题上“劣迹斑斑”，难以为英国多数民众和历史所原谅。

其一，伊拉克战争是美国冷战后发动的最不得人心的战争。布什总统是第一责任人。但布什在开战前最后一次同布莱尔会晤中，后者竭力主战，促使布什下定开打的最后决心。且英国是除美国之外，派兵参战最多的国家，可以说，布莱尔是伊战的第二责任人。

其二，为了取得英国国会和公众的支持，布莱尔竟亲口编造伊拉克“可能在 45天之内开发出核武器”的开战借口。事实证明这是一个弥天大谎，布莱尔由此信誉扫地。

其三，伊战让英国付出沉重代价，除造成重大人员、财产损失外，还使英国成为国际恐怖主义袭击的重点对象，“ 7·7”伦敦地铁连环大爆炸就是一例。同时，布莱尔无条件紧跟布什，留下了他是布什的“走狗”、“跟班”的骂名，也影响了英国的国际形象。

其四，伊战是错误的，这几成举世共识，也是美英两国民意的主流看法。但布莱尔同布什一样，死不认错，并决心将伊战“进行到底”。

He exercises wide powers of patronage ( 任命权 ) & appointments in the civil service, church & judiciary.

He can amalgamate ( 合并 ) or split government departments.

He can dismiss ministers if this is required. He decides the date for a general election

within the five-year term. He decides the timetable of government

legislation in the House of Commons.

The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet

To ensure good relations between Crown and Parliament, the king or queen met regularly with a group of important Parliamentarians, a group which became known as the Cabinet.

In 1714, the ruling Queen (Anne of Great Britain) died without producing an heir to the throne and so Britain had to “import” a member of the royal family from Germany to rule Britain.

The new King George spoke English very badly and was Ⅰnot very interested in politics anyway, so he left the job of chairing cabinet meetings to one of his ministers. In time he came to be called the prime minister.

The powers of the PM within the British political structure have developed in recent years to such an extent that some political analysts now refer to Britain as having a Prime Ministerial government rather than a Cabinet government.

The PM selects his own Cabinet and he will select those people who: Have ability Have demonstrated good party loyalty Have clearly demonstrated loyalty to the

PM himself

在地板中央有两排相距 2.5米的红线 ,传说是为了正好超过两柄剑的长度。历史上，此举是为了避免下院的辩论演变为冲突。今天在下院辩发言时两方议员不得超越该线。若有议员在发言时越过该线，将会遭到对方的斥责。这可能也是英文用语“ to toe the line” （循规蹈矩）的出处。有趣的是，下院议事厅只有 427 个坐位，但议员总数却合共 646人，并不能安置所有议员。因此，如果有议员迟到，而议事厅又满座的话，那他就只好站在议事厅的入口处，继续参与会议。Frontbencher

Backbencher

scepter

What Goes on in the House of Commons?

Making New Laws This is what happens in the chamber, but in fact there’s much happening elsewhere in the Commons which has hundreds of rooms. There’re committee rooms, offices and a library, a barber’s shop, post office and restaurants.

MPs meet in committees, or do their office work or meet visitors.

1. DebatesMany hours are spent debating issues of national and international importance. Most often a motion is proposed by one or two of the Government’s front benchers (内阁大臣 , 资深议员 ) & then the same number of persons from the Opposition front benches oppose it (the Shadow Cabinet).

The Speaker ( 议长 ) decides who is allowed to speak & he/she must ensure that each side is given equal opportunity and time to speak.

2. Vote After the debate the MPs vote for or against

the motion. MPs vote by going into ‘lobbies’ (投票厅 ), corridors outside the chamber, one for ‘aye’ ( 满意厅 )and one for ‘no’ （反对厅） votes where they are counted.The MP’s vote is recorded so that anybody can know which way an MP voted on any particular issue. After the votes are counted the results are announced in the chamber.

Prime Minister’s Question Time （质询时间）

The PM( 首相 ) answers questions from MPs in the Commons for half an hour every Wednesday from 12 at noon. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs to ask the PM questions known as “oral questions”.

Are those oral questions merely from the PM’s opposition parties or out-parties?

Anyone can ask him some questions. In theory, the PM won’t know what questions will be asked. However, he’ll be extensively briefed by government departments in anticipation of likely subjects he could be asked about.

Executive ＝ The Government What does the British Government refer

to?

Technically, the Central Government refers to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is the nucleus of the government. All its members are chosen among the MPs. This makes the British government known as the Parliamentary government ( 议会制政府 ) or Cabinet government.

British Government Prime Minister

Ministers (Heads of all important departments)

Treasury 财政部 Ministry of Defense　国防 Ministry of Agriculture

Foreign and Commonwealth Office 外交联邦部 Department of Education and Science

Department of Health and Social Security

What is the Cabinet composed of?

(It’s composed of the chiefs of the most important ministries and departments.)

Who are always included in the Cabinet?

(The Minister of Defense, the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer 财政大臣 )

Cabinet meets weekly at No. 10 Downing Street.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet is appointed by the Queen with the advice of the PM. The senior positions within the Cabinet are usually appointed within hours of an election victory.

All Cabinet members are serving MPs or peers. They are called the Cabinet Ministers.

The most senior members of the Cabinet are the Deputy Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Home Secretary.

There has never been a set number for posts within the Cabinet. The most common figure for a Cabinet is 22.

• The Oppositions have a ‘Shadow Cabinet’: criticize the Government’s policy; expose its weak points; suggest amendments; draw attention to other matters the

Government might otherwise ignore.

10 Downing Street

The Privy Council 枢密院The Privy Council includes all ministers and ex-ministers, the holders of certain offices outside the political executive and some other people to whom membership has been given as an honor.

1

Includes all ministers and ex-ministers

2 3Have the power to make certain executive orders and proclamations （公告）

The Privy Council

Include the holders of certain offices ; people who has been given as an honor

The Civil Service 公务员 The civil servants are politically neutral.

They are paid with public money. They are career officials serving the elected

political government of the day. They themselves aren’t elected. They’re officials who remain in office despite changes in government.

They are well-educated elite, dominated by Oxbridge (75%).

To enter at the higher levels of the civil service you have to pass a rigorous civil service exam.

Local Government3 layers: county councils (郡议会 )

district councils ( 区议会 )

community or parish councils (社区或教区议会 )

County councilors make important decisions on local issues that affect people’s everyday lives, such as education, social care, transport, the environment and future developments.

District councilors work to improve the quality of life for people in their wards ( 区 ) and make decisions about local issues.

Parish （教区） town or community Councils have limited powers. They can provide certain facilities such as recreational facilities, public conveniences and cemeteries.

The Devolution (地方分权／权力下放 ) Devolution is where power is transferred from

a superior governmental body (such as central power) to an inferior one (such as at regional level).

Since Tony Blair’s constitutional reforms at the end of the 20th century, more power has been devolved from Westminster to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Scottish Parliament -- 1998

The Welsh Assembly -- 1998

The Northern Ireland Assembly -- 1998

45 counties

England EnglandWalesWales

12 regions

ScotlandScotland

26 districts

Northern IrelandNorthern Ireland

8 counties

Administrated area: own elected council responsible for many of the public services

Local Government

Devolution （授权） essentially involves the setting up of an elected regional assembly whose powers are carefully and clearly defined by national government.

These powers don’t usually include major financial powers such as tax collection, the raising of taxes etc, the control of the armed forces or an input into foreign policy decisions.

The devolution is mainly financial, e.g. giving areas a budget which was formerly administered by central government.

English Judges

Political Parties

the Labour Party -- in power

the Conservative Party -- in opposition

the Liberal Democrats （自由民主党）

The Labour Party -- party of underprivileged （下层社会）

-- party of reformists -- aims at nationalization of big enterprises -- more democratic and looser in organizationConservative Party -- developed from the Tory （英国保守党的） Party in

1830s -- party of rich and privileged -- opposed to nationalization -- favor monopoly (垄断 ) capitalists

The Liberal Democratic Party ( 自由民主党 )

-- mixed economy with state-owned & private- owned enterprises

-- opposes isolationism (孤立主义政策 )

-- Advocates policies based on freedom of the individual and support for the adoption

of Propositional Representation (比例代表制 ) at elections

UK now is adopting the winner-take-all （赢者全

胜） system.

General Election-- every 5 years

-- any citizen over 18 years old There are 646 constituencies in 2005, each

of which returns one MP. The elected MPs will make up the House of

Commons. The leader of the party that wins the majority

of seats in the House of Commons will become the PM and form a new Cabinet.

http://www.number-10.gov.uk/output/Page306.asp

the Prime Minister’s Questions for 10 minutes.