Free and Open Society

• Tradition of unarmed police (“Bobbies”)

• Strong role of customs and tradition (non-written laws)– Could we apply the same rules? Why

• Party system embedded in both the state and society

Goverment• All All members of governmentmembers of government are first are first members of members of

the Parliamentthe Parliament– Prime Minister: leader of the political party that

wins the majority in elections. He organizes the Gvt. and requests the dissolution of the Parliament from the Queen. The PM cares especially for the economy and foreign affairs (not legally defined functions). Chosen by the Queen

– The Cabinet: includes diverse departments (i.e. Economic affairs). Its organization changes. Cabinet members are senior ministers members of the majority (Secretary of the Cabinet)

• Committees: Cabinet committees include ministers from the departments most affected by some specific issues.

British Structure of Government

Prime Minister

Cabinet

State Bureacracy

Local Gvt.Regional Assemblies

Parliament (House

Of Commons)

Voters

UK Parliament

• to examine proposals for new laws brought forward by the Government (and occasionally others), and either reject or approve them (subject to the approval of the Queen);

• to scrutinise government policy and administration; and

• to debate the major issues of the day.

– Process of devolution to elected bodies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. in recent years

The House of Lords• 500 life peers or Lords, 92 hereditary peers

and 26 clergy).• Peers are not elected. Two different

categories:– Hereditary peers – Life peers

• Has been disempowered through time (= Crown).

• Since 1911, they can only revise, delay, and introduce changes in laws, but they do not have any veto power.

• Final Court of Appeal

Lords• Lords are designated by the Queen (created by

Letters Patent)• Peerage can be removed by Parliament (last

time in 1917, for treason in WWI)• Criminal (or bankrupt) Lords cannot seat in the

House but do not lose their status, and can resume their activities after serving

• May 2000 - House of Lords Appointments House of Lords Appointments CommissionCommission, with the purpose of:

a) make recommendations to the Queen for non-political peers.

b) to check nominations for peerages, including those from political parties.

The House of Commons

• 659 seats (659 constituencies): representatives are elected for five years unless the Parliament gets dissolved earlier.

Class• 35% of the Conservative and 14% of

Labour candidates attended “Oxbridge”

• Conservative: Lawyers and businessmen

• Labour: Lawyers, businessmen and teachers

• How does Curtis explain party identification?

Electoral System• 659 single member constituencies• Citizens over 18 (postal vote)• In each district, the winner is the candidate who gets

more votes (simple majority)• Manufactured majority/disproportional representationManufactured majority/disproportional representation:

the party with more seats (and not with more votes) forms the government– The Liberal party has only a few seats despite the # of votes

• Voter registration in charge of the State• Voters choose between parties• Elections must take place at least once every five years

– “By-elections” are also held when an MP resigns, dies, or is made a member of the House of Lords

• System advantages: provides the winning party with an “automatic” majority

659 Constituencies

• Although constituencies are intended to be equal, their size varies. Average size in 2001: 68,000.

• Also in 2001– Largest # of electors: Isle of Wight (over 104,000). – Smallest # of electors: Western Isles (21,900)

• England: 529 seats• Wales: 40 seats• Scotland: 72 seats• Northern Ireland: 18 seats

Four permanent Four permanent Parliamentary Boundary Parliamentary Boundary Commissions Commissions Constituencies are reviewed Constituencies are reviewed every 8 to 12 years.every 8 to 12 years.

Party Hegemony• Main parties: Labour and the Conservatives• Parties choose candidates, settle the agenda,

and elect leaders who become prime ministers. • For anyone to become the Prime Minister, the

only election to be won is the one for the party leadership.

• No primaries (party recruitment)• Despite the SMD, voters vote for parties and not

for candidates (members of the Parliament are accountable to their parties and not to their constituencies)

• Candidates do not have to live in the area for which they compete.

Effects of Disproportional Electoral System (1997 election)

25%31%

64%

43%

7%

17%

4%9%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

Conservative Labour LiberalDemocrats

Other

Seats Votes

Source: Rose, Richard, “Politics in England” European Politics Today

In the 1983 Election…

• The Liberal Democrats got only 2% less of votes than the Labour Party, yet Liberals were assigned only 17 seats whereas Labour got 209.

Greater London Authority• Created by the Greater London Authority Act 1999, the Greater

London Authority (GLA) provides strategic city-wide government for the whole area of Greater London - i.e. the area covered by all 32 London Borough Councils, plus the City of London itself. The GLA assumed its main responsibilities on 3 July 2000.

• The Authority consists of two parts - an executive Mayor of London (not to be confused with the ceremonial Lord Mayor of the City of London) and the Greater London Assembly

• The Mayor's responsibilities are wide ranging and embrace the police, transport, fire and emergency planning, regeneration, planning, sustainability and environmental issues, cultural affairs, health concerns, as well as the general promotion of London to the wider world.

• The Assembly provides a check and balance on the Mayor

The Prime MinisterThe Prime MinisterTitle: Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury,

and Minister for the Civil Service of the United

Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (not all PMs are Lords of the Treasury, though)

Is the British Prime Minister a de facto President?

Compare the prerrogatives of the U.S. President with the PM

The Prime Minister

• Through time, the prime minister’s power has increased at expense of the Parliament and the Cabinet

• Whereas Prime Ministers now look like presidents, the process of governing society is still much more collective (Cabinet) than in presidential systems

Shadow Cabinet?

• (Since 1937) Paid leader of the political opposition keeps a team who is consulted by the government and gives advice in major issues

The Invisible Power: The Civil Service

• Career bureaucrats• Tradition of efficiency, impartiality, and

dedication• Organized into Departments• 1988 Margaret Thatcher created QUANGOS

(semi-private agencies of provision of services) inspired in an entrepeneurial spirit. More than 100.

• Problems: selective recruitment, unclear functions, lack of accountability, and… occasions for corruption.

Recent Changes

• New parties (Liberal and other)

• Regional assemblies (Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland)

Judiciary

• No system of judicial review as in the U.S.• Judges are independent of political parties• No Supreme Court

– The House of Lord plays the role of ultimate Court

• Final court of appeal for civil cases in the United Kingdom and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

• The Law Lords or Lords of Appeal (they are 12, employed full time).

• 1998 Human Rights Act