United Kingdom

1
United Kingdom

• By Phil, Melissa, Erich, and Sam

2
Legislative Branch

• Parliament is authority (highly partisan)
• Parties Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democrats
• Mini unicameral leg. in each region
• House of Commons (elected)- passes all
  legislation
• House of Lords (appointed)-
• rubber stamp and impeachment
• (last in 1806)
• Queen- figurehead, no real power
• Current is Elizabeth II

3
Analysis

• Parliament is diverse
• and not as centered
• as one might imagine
• Because of 4 different regions
• (England, N. Ireland, Scotland, Wales) hard to
  unite
• Lengthy Q A session (like the movie) only way
  for backbenchers to be heard

4
Executive Branch

• Prime Minister (elected by
• Parliament)- the majority
• leader
• Current is Gordon Brown
• PMs cabinet elected by majority party, runs
  bureaucracy
• PM the first among equals
• Appointments approved by monarch (ceremonial)
• PM answers questions in debate

5
Analysis

• UK has unwritten constitution, so PMs powers
  arent formally defined- leads to interpretation
• Tradition is VERY important- thats why the queen
  is still around (approves appointments,
  knighthood)

6
Judiciary Branch

• Supreme Court of Judicature
• House of Lords- highest court
• High Court of Justice- civil cases
• Crown Court- criminal cases
• Scotland has its own courts system

7
Analysis

• Based on Common Law, which means that court
  decisions rely heavily upon decisions made in the
  past concerning similar cases
• Goes back to our discussion on how the UK holds
  traditions
• Also unwritten constitution allows judges to use
  more common sense than relying on a document such
  as a constitution