Lecture Overview

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Lecture Overview

• What is Western Europe?
• Impressions
• Why Study it?
• Themes and Challenges
• Country vs. Comparative
• Conflict vs. Cooperation
• Parliamentary vs. Presidential
• Integration vs. Disintegration

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What is Western Europe?

• now many former Soviet satellite states have
  accession agreements with the European Union
• Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
  Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak
  Republic, and Slovenia are set to join on 1st May
  2004

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What is Western Europe?

• Traditional definition
• all countries - about 2 dozen to 30 states that
  were located west of the iron curtain
• all countries of the first world - that is,
  advanced industrial and often liberal democracies
• Since 1990
• fall of Berlin wall, decomposition of the former
  Soviet empire diminished the importance of the
  traditional distinction b/w East and West Europe

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Defining Western Europe

• For now, though, it makes some sense to adhere to
  the traditional definition of Western Europe
• the common experience with capitalist development
• in most cases, the longer experience with liberal
  democratic institutions

5
What is Western Europe?

• - two dozen countries and city states
• counting Andorra, Lichenstein, Vatican City, San
  Marino
• some outside the geography of Western Europe
• (egs Cyprus, Iceland, Finland, Greece)

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Democracies, but

• those states in Europe which did not come under
  Soviet control/influence
• first world states
• some dictatorships until very recently (Portugal
  until 1974 Spain until 1975-77 Greece until
  1975)

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Why Study Western Europe?

• Three broad reasons
• cultural/philosophical significance of the region
  over history
• geopolitics - esp. during Cold War
• Europe a battleground for Superpower
  confrontation
• comparative political laboratory
• despite shared heritage, geography
• wide variations in political conditions and
  institutional structures

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Main variations in Political Regimes

• Countries fall into three broad types based on
  role of political authority in the economy
• a) pluralist
• e.g., UK and the EU
• State involvement primarily via regulation
• b) étatist (statist)
• More interventionist industrial policy state
  ownership control
• e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy
• c) democratic corporatist
• e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

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Themes and Challenges

• Country versus Comparative approach
• integral nature of the components of the
  political systems
• appreciate the evolution of political life and
  institutions, and the historical rootedness of
  contemporary practices
• common framework of text facilitates comparison
  across systems

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Themes and Challenges

• Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe
• a troubled continent
• two world wars in the past 100 years
• battleground during Cold War

14
A Common Future?

• Emergent supranationalism in EU
• broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX,
  Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member
  states in 1995
• 13 more states lined up for membership, with
  prospects of more to come!

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Themes and Challenges

• Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems
• most European states are parliamentary
  democracies
• A fusion of executive legislative power
• France, however, an interesting hybrid system
• encourage you to make comparisons with the more
  familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the
  US
• Powers separated w/ checks balances
• do different configurations of executive/legislati
  ve relations matter?

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Themes and Challenges

• Integrationversus Disintegration
• some see it as paradoxical that West European
  state sovereignty being simultaneously eroded
  from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist
  movements)
• UK
• Scottish and Welsh parliaments Northern
  Irelands Assembly
• France
• Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements
• Italy
• Lombardy League, etc.
• Spain
• Catalan Basque nationalism

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Hancock et al. (2003)

• Third edition
• Country by country organization (and EU)
• Only materials on countries covered included on
  exams
• You are not responsible for materials on Sweden
  Russia in the text

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Second Lecture Overview

• Themes and Challenges in Study of Western Europe
• Country vs. Comparative
• Conflict vs. Cooperation
• Parliamentary vs. Presidential
• Integration vs. Disintegration
• State-Building in Western Europe
• The United Kingdom
• State-building
• The Unwritten Constitution
• Sources of constitution
• Parliamentary supremacy

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Main variations in Political Regimes

• Countries fall into three broad types based on
  role of political authority in the economy
• a) pluralist
• e.g., UK and the EU
• State involvement primarily via regulation
• b) étatist (statist)
• More interventionist industrial policy state
  ownership control
• e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy
• dirigisme state led development
• c) democratic corporatist
• e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

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Themes and Challenges

• Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe
• a troubled continent
• two world wars in the past 100 years
• battleground during Cold War

21
A Common Future?

• Emergent supra-nationalism in EU
• broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX,
  Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member
  states in 1995
• 13 more states lined up for membership, with
  prospects of more to come!

22
Themes and Challenges

• Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems
• most European states are parliamentary
  democracies
• A fusion of executive legislative power
• France, however, an interesting hybrid system
• encourage you to make comparisons with the more
  familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the
  US
• Powers separated w/ checks balances
• do different configurations of executive/legislati
  ve relations matter?

23
Themes and Challenges

• Integration versus Disintegration
• some see it as paradoxical that West European
  state sovereignty being simultaneously eroded
  from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist
  movements)
• UK
• Scottish and Welsh parliaments Northern
  Irelands Assembly
• France
• Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements
• Italy
• Lombardy League, etc.
• Spain
• Catalan Basque nationalism

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Emergence of States in Europe

• Geopolitical map of Europe made and remade
  continuously over past 2000 years
• Empires
• Egs., Rome Austria-Hungary Napoleon
• Mini-states/principalities
• Modern sovereign territorial state normally
  dated from Treaty of Westphalia, 1648

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The State-building Process

• State-building essentially involves consolidation
  of control over territory by a political
  force/system
• Extraction of resources by political authorities
  (taxation)
• Establishment of legitimacy against rivals (e.g.,
  Church)
• successfully claim a monopoly of the legitimate
  use of force (Weber)
• War makes the state, and states make war.
  (Charles Tilly)
• Establish uniform legal codes, measurement
  systems that make transactions and exchange
  easier
• In some cases, cultural penetration/standardizatio
  n (France)
• conducive to market-based capitalist development

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Emergence of States in Europe

• Establish uniform legal codes, measurement
  systems that make transactions and exchange
  easier
• conducive to market-based capitalist development
• 1700-1800s emergence of nationalism to legitimize
  the new state formations
• political ideology in which nations should govern
  themselves the boundaries of the nation should
  be congruent with the boundaries of the state

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The Mother of Parliaments The United Kingdom

• first country to industrialize
• Coal mining, iron steel, railways canals,
  weaving, all ushered in the Industrial Revolution
• by early 1800s, Britain the workshop of the
  world
• A pattern state (Hans Daalder)
• Gradual democratization over centuries
• Naval versus army bases of state power
• expanded as worlds leading imperial power
• by 1900, 25 of all worlds population lived
  under the British empire

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The British Empire
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British State-building

• England unified under Roman occupation
• Julius Caesar invades 55 BC
• "All the Britons paint themselves with woad,
  which gives their skin a bluish color and makes
  them look very dreadful in battle."

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Roman Britain (55BC 400AD)

• A lasting legacy
• Cities/Forts
• Roads

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Anglo-Saxon/Norman England

• After Romans left, return to regional kingdoms
• Core expansion out of Wessex (Hampshire)
• Norman invasion (1066)
• William the Conqueror

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Patterns in State-Building

• United Kingdom comprised of four components
• England the Celtic Fringe
• Each has its own history of independent statehood
• Each has its own distinctive form of integration
  within the UK state

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Component Parts of the UK

• Core/Center
• forms by gradual expansion of this core,
  eventually to encompass entire UK
• Prior advantages in economy fertile ground

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Constituent Parts of the UK

• Wales
• Unified in 950 developed an elaborate
  governmental/legal system
• Centuries of conflict w/ kings of England
• 1301 English king made eldest son Prince of
  Wales
• Tradition continues today
• 1536 - conquest institutional (though not
  cultural) assimilation
• First act of union in 1536 announced the
  English intention "henceforth . . .to utterly
  extirpate all and singular the sinister usage and
  customs differing from the same nglish laws."

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Scotland

• Wars of independence 13th-14th centuries
• Declaration of Arbroath- 1320 - one of the
  earliest expressions of nationalism
• "It is not for honour nor riches, nor glory that
  we fight but for liberty alone, which no true man
  lays down except with his life."
• Scotland
• 1603 Union of Crowns
• 1707 -- Act of Union
• elite accommodation and considerable Scottish
  autonomy
• separate Church Bank (currency) educational
  system and legal system

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Ireland

• English armies invaded Ireland for centuries
• Elizabeth I Protestants sent to colonize Ulster
  1600s
• Union -1801-1921 integrated into UK
• Ireland given 100 seats in Commons and 32 in
  Lords
• Protestant minority, with British backing,
  discriminated against Catholics spawned Irish
  nationalism
• Easter 1916 uprising
• Partition (1921)
• Eventually 26 counties in south given
  independence in 1922 6 counties in north
  (Ulster) remain with UK as Northern Ireland

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Regional Differences 1980s (UK 100)
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Third Lecture Overview

• British Constitutionalism
• The Unwritten Constitution
• Sources of constitution
• Parliamentary supremacy

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The Unwritten UK Constitution

• In England (sic) the Parliament has an
  acknowledged right to modify the constitution
  as, therefore, the constitution may undergo
  perpetual changes, it does not, in reality,
  exist. The Parliament is at once a legislative
  and a constituent assembly.
• Alexis de Toqueville (1805)

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Sources of UK Constitution

• Four main ones
• Statutory law
• passed by Parliament in normal legislative
  process
• e.g., 1679 - Act of Habeus Corpus
• Common law
• judicial interpretations of laws become
  precedents
• stare decisis -let the decision stand
• Convention/tradition
• e.g., that Monarchs give consent to laws
• last royal veto in 1707
• Works of Authority
• academic commentaries on constitution (e.g.,
  Wheare, Jennings)

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Constitutional Principles- 1

• Bicameral parliament
• House of Commons
• House of Lords
• Bills need to be approved by both houses
• Development of asymmetrical bicameralism
• House of Commons ascends House of Lords descends
  in importance.

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Parliamentary supremacy

• Parliamentary sovereignty (or parliamentary
  supremacy)
• A.V. Dicey - 19th Century constitutional lawyer
  and author of several works of authority
• the right to make or unmake any law whatever
  and, further, that no person or body is
  recognized by the law of England as having a
  right to override or set aside legislation of
  Parliament.
• NO meaningful JUDICIAL REVIEW!
• In reality, however, there are some checks on
  parliamentary power

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Constraints on Parliamentary Supremacy

• Norms, traditions, liberal democratic values
• Party organizations (esp. traditional Labour
  Party)
• Bureaucratic power
• European Union law / institutions
• emergence of qualified majority voting (QMV) in
  Council of Ministers
• European law takes precedence over domestic for
  all member states
• Referenda
• European Union membership in 1975
• Devolution in 1979 and again in 1997

Pro Welsh devolution poster, 1997
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Constitutional Principles- 2

• Constitutionalism
• rule of law
• judicial independence
• government not arbitrary but follows rules
• respect for civil rights
• (but no written Bill of Rights)

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Charter 88 (excerpt)

• You dont have the right to a fair trial.
• You dont have the right to be treated equally
  whatever your race, religion, or sexuality. You
  dont have the right to privacy, the right to
  protest, or the right to an education.
• Were talking about Britain.
• Your rights have no protection.
• We have no positive legal rights in this
  country. We only have the permission to do what
  the law doesnt expressly forbid. So any
  government can pass laws that whittle away at
  fundamental rights we thought were secure.
• Source http//www.gn.apc.org/charter88/politics/
  bill.html

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Fourth Lecture Overview

• British Constitutionalism
• Democratization in Britain
• Institutions of Parliamentary Government
• The Westminster Model
• Dual Executive
• House of Lords

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19th Century Democratic Transitions

• 2 routes for gradual democratization
• Democratizing the Commons
• Reform of the House of Lords

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Democratizing the Commons - Electoral Reform

• Entered the 19th century dominated by wealthy
  individuals from rural England
• by 1830, large cities created by the Industrial
  Revolution (lLeeds, Manchester, Liverpool,
  Sheffield, Birmingham, etc.) had NO
  representatives in H of C
• rotten boroughs - seats in Commons for places
  with next to no population
• Old Sarum near Stonehenge, 2 MPs and no
  population!

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Extending the Franchise

• Seven acts that each expanded the rights to vote
  and participate in political life
• 1832 - The Great Reform Act
• increased electorates size by about 50 by
  granting middle class land owners (10 property
  owners) right to vote
• 1867 1884 Reform Acts
• gradual removals of property restrictions
• each act roughly doubled the size of the
  electorate

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Extending the Franchise

• 1918 - universal suffrage for males over 21 yrs.
  and females over 28 yrs.
• 1928 - eliminated the gender differential
• 1948 - eliminated university constituencies that
  gave graduates 2 votes, one in constituency of
  residence and one in university
• 1969 - lowered voting age to 18

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The Westminster Model
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Dual Executive

• Head of State - The Monarchy
• The Dignified Part of the British Constitution
  according to Walter Bagehot (The English
  Constitution, 1867)
• Symbolic role
• non-partisanship at the top
• continuity/tradition
• no real power
• Bagehot argued in 1867 that Britain had become a
  disguised republic and that power had passed -
  almost unnoticed by the public - to the efficient
  parts of the constitution, which in the case of
  the political executive means Prime Minister and
  Cabinet

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Bicameral Parliament

• House of Lords - upper house
• power declines as Britain democratizes
• in Bagehots terms, moved from the efficient to
  the dignified parts of the British constitution
• Recently reformed - Fall 1999
• attempt to increase its legitimacy and efficacy,
  and reduce the role of hereditary peers
• reduce partisan advantage to Conservative party
  an important motivation
• pre-2000 had been about 1,200 peers - most
  hereditary and large majority Conservative

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Reforming the Lords

• House of Lords
• until 1911 the Lords could veto any legislation
  passed by the Commons
• as age of democracy progressed, the bodys
  (legitimacy declined
• Parliament Act 1911)
• limited Lords veto power
• could now only delay financial matters for 30
  days and normal non-financial legislation for 2
  years
• further limited powers in 1949
• Recent Reforms (1999-gt)
• Abolition the objective of Blair Government
• Agreed to allow 92 seats to remain for
  hereditary peers to gain Conservative support
  for rapid passage of reform

http//www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hlords.htm
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Wakeham Commission Recommendations (1999)

• 550 members,
• a minority of them elected from the regions
• most of the rest chosen by a powerful
  Appointments Commission which would have massive
  powers to determine the make-up of the second
  chamber.
• Commission would be responsible for ensuring that
  around 20 per cent of the new House are
  independent crossbenchers and that the second
  chamber, of which the clear majority would be
  unelected, should proportionately reflect votes
  cast at the previous general election.
• Otherwise, let the institution evolve!

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Composition of Lords (1/2000)
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Sixth Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government
• The Westminster Model
• House of Commons
• Passage of Legislation
• MPs Roles

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House of Commons Composition

• 659 Members of Parliament (MPs)
• each elected from electoral districts using the
  Single Member Plurality (SMP) electoral system
• one member from each district
• elected by a plurality formula
• winner has more votes than any other candidate
• well-known distortion associated with SMP systems
  
• more shortly on this

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MPs

• Must win local party associations nomination
  (and be acceptable to party leader)
• Not necessary to live in your constituency (or
  riding)
• Paid 56,358 per year (4/2003)
• Up to a maximum of 120,000 in expenses for staff
  support office, London living expenses, plus
  travel allowance
• Enough for 2-3 full-time assistants, in
  constituency and/or London
• Average constituency served has about 67,000
  electors
• MPs overwhelmingly WASP
• Since 1918, 4,531 individuals have served as MPs
• 252 have been women (6 of all MPs)
• 64 of women MPs have been Labour members
• 118 women elected in 2001 (18 of 659)

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Commons as of July 2002 (2001 election)

• Labour 410
• Conservative 164
• Liberal Democrat 53
• Scottish National Party/
• Plaid Cymru 9 (SNP 5/PC
  4)
• Ulster Unionist 6
• Democratic Unionist 5
• Sinn Fein 4 (Have not
  taken their seats)
• Social Democratic Labour 3
  
• Independent 1
  
• Speaker 3 Deputies 4 (Do not normally
  vote)
• Total 659
  
• Government majority 165
• 330 MPs needed to form a majority government

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Four Primary Functions of House of Commons

• Educating the public
• mobilizing consent
• legitimation
• Improve legislation
• policy refinement if not policy making
• Recruitment of executive
• Executive accountability
• Question period
• Select committees

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Passing Laws

• To become law, bill must pass House of Commons,
  House of Lords, and receive Royal Assent
• Party Cohesion / Party Discipline
• Not government by parliament but government
  through parliament

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Legislation

• Government Bills
• introduced by Prime Minister or Cabinet Minister
• about 90 pass each session!
• Relatively few
• average of Thatcher/Major under 50 per session
• Very few actually defeated
• about 10 are withdrawn by the government
• Private Members Bills
• lottery to select among all proposed
• 20 drawn from about 400 proposed
• debated only on about a dozen Fridays
• very few pass
• total of 256 passed of more than 2,000 introduced
  b/w 1983-2002

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The Commons Legislative Process

• First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister
• no debate permitted published in Hansard
• Second reading
• major debate on principles of proposed
  legislation 2-3 wks. after first reading
• Committee stage - Standing Select
• all committees mirror the House in partisan
  composition, so government majority is assured
• prior to 1979, a different committee established
  for each piece of legislation called standing
  committees
• May be referred to a select committee, and if so,
  it will report on the bill
• still responsible for the detailed,
  clause-by-clause scrutiny today
• Amendments possible
• under reasonably tight govt party control
• new members for each committee/piece of
  legislation

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Seventh Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government
• The Westminster Model
• Passage of Legislation
• Adversarial Politics
• MPs Roles

69
The Commons Legislative Process

• First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister
• no debate permitted published in Hansard
• Second reading
• major debate on principles of proposed
  legislation 2-3 wks. after first reading
• Committee stage - Standing Select
• all committees mirror the House in partisan
  composition, so government majority is assured
• prior to 1979, a different committee established
  for each piece of legislation called standing
  committees
• May be referred to a select committee, and if so,
  it will report on the bill
• still responsible for the detailed,
  clause-by-clause scrutiny today
• Amendments possible
• under reasonably tight govt party control
• new members for each committee/piece of
  legislation

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House of Commons- Legislative Stages (cont.)

• Report stage back to the House, further
  amendments considered
• Third reading (no amendments, short debate) and
  vote
• Normally, voice vote sufficient
• Divisions MPs file out to the lobby and are
  counted as they re-enter through doors marked
  Aye or Nay

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Budget procedures

• Chancellor of the Exchequer presents budget
• An annual appraisal of the economy
• Outline the governments economic plan
• Describe tax implications and changes
• Normally, Finance Bill introduced the same day
• Since 1968, most controversial matters in the
  Finance Bill taken up by a committee of the
  whole (i.e., the entire H of C, with no speaker
  in the chair)
• Rest sent to a (slightly larger than normal)
  standing committee

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Adversarial Politics

• The operative principle of parliamentary systems
  is the fusion of executive and legislative
  power
• Government leader (Prime Minister) and Executive
  (cabinet) sit in House of Commons
• effective government by a majority party or
  coalition (Her Majestys Government)
• continually opposed by a vigorous, vigilant
  opposition (Her Majestys Loyal Opposition)
• Worth noting that this is also the basis of the
  British legal system that we inherited

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http//www.parliamentlive.tv/
http//www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hcomms.htm
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The Speaker

• The referee for parliamentary procedure
  debates
• An MP
• After 2001, will be elected by MPs
• Successive ballots until one person has a
  majority
• Impartial
• Resign from party upon selection
• Normally do not vote in divisions of the House,
  but occupant of the chair can cast the decisive
  ballot in the event of a tie
• Normally runs unopposed in elections
• Salary same as a cabinet member (128,000
  4/2003)

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Party Discipline

• MPs actually told how to vote by their parties on
  everything
• party whips
• one, two, and three line whips on the order
  paper
• but free votes or early day motions (EDMS)
• have more freedom to contribute to legislation in
  Committee work
• but, the Commons cannot be seen as a particularly
  important policy-making body
• so, what is its role?

http//www.stats.bris.ac.uk/7Eguy/Research/Politi
cs/Welcome.html
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Eighth Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government
• The Westminster Model
• Adversarial Politics
• MPs Roles

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Parliamentary Questions

• 40,000 on average each year
• About 3,000 answered
• 2 types
• Oral
• Drawn randomly from those submitted each morning
• One hour, Mondays through Thursdays
• MP submitting question reads it, allowed one
  supplemental
• Minister answers both orally
• Roster of departments established
• Normally one major one and 3-4 minor ones per day
  
• Prime Ministers Questions normally at noon-1230
  Wednesdays
• Practice began in 1961 growth of prime
  ministerial power
• Attempt to embarrass the PM in the
  supplementaries
• Written

http//www.britainusa.com/PMQs/
78
Select Committees

• 1979 reforms created 14 committees, by broad
  subject area
• now 18 in number
• Eg, Agriculture, Scottish Affairs, Social
  Security
• Science Technology Health Foreign Affairs
  etc
• 3-6 staff members
• they offer MPs a broader forum for overseeing the
  executive
• May debate particular pieces of legislation, but
  not the bulk of their work
• can call witnesses/ask for evidence
• Organize their own inquiries

79
Select Committees

• Limited effectiveness
• understaffed
• government control remains
• relatively few committee reports (about 5) get
  debated in Commons
• 3 days given over to this on the Commons
  schedule
• no formal means of ensuring their recommendations
  considered or acted upon
• but Members can specialize in subject areas
• often good for careers after the Commons

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Ninth Lecture Outline

• MP Roles
• Prime Minister An Elected Dictator or primus
  inter pares?
• Powers of the Prime Minister
• Prime Ministerial Styles
• Limits on Prime Ministerial Power
• The Cabinet

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MPs Perceived Roles

• Donald Searing, Westminsters World, Harvard
  University Press, 1994
• based on interviews with 338
• backbench MPs, 1972-73
• not all MPs see themselves as
• doing the same kinds of things
• - Four principle self-identified
• role specializations

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MP Role Specializations

• Constituency Service 25
• Ministerial aspirant 25
• Supporting/Attacking Executive 40
• Good Parliamentarian 9
• SOURCE Searing, Westminsters World, Harvard
  Univ. Press, 1994

83
What do British voters want from their MP?

• Survey asking people to pick most impt. MP role
• Ombudsman 19
• Protect constituency 26
• Executive oversight 5
• Information 24
• Law-making (debates votes) 11
• All roles equally important 10

84
Prime Minister primus inter pares?

• Sir Robert Walpole 1721 first prime minister
• Had won confidence of both King Parliament
• first among equals the traditional depiction
• PM is still an MP
• Extensive formal and informal powers
• some argue that these have increased and the
  office has been presidentialized
• Richard Crossmans introduction to Bagehots
  The English Constitution (1963)

85
Prime Ministerial Powers

• leader of the party
• large staff of personal advisers at Downing
  Street
• selector of cabinet ministers and party
  leadership positions (about 80-90 parliamentary
  posts)
• chairs takes the sense of cabinet meetings
• provider of patronage
• peerages QUANGOS etc
• leader in parliament
• can DISSOLVE parliament
• International negotiator/European Council
• highly visible public figure
• media (esp. television) personalizes politics
• chief campaigner during elections

PM statement on reshuffle - 18 June 2003

• http//www.pm.gov.uk/output/page19.asp

86
R.H. Crossman - Prime Ministerial Government

• The post-war epoch has seen the final
  transformation of Cabinet Government into Prime
  Ministerial GovernmentEven in Bagehots time it
  was probably a misnomer to describe the Premier
  as chairman and primus inter pares. His right to
  select his own Cabinet and dismiss them at will
  his power to decide the Cabinets agenda and
  announce the decisions reached without taking a
  vote his control, through the Chief Whip, over
  patronage - all this had already before 1867
  given him near-Presidential powers. Since then,
  his powers have been steadily increased, first by
  the centralisation of the party machine under his
  personal rule, and secondly by the growth of a
  centralised bureaucracy, so vast that it could no
  longer be managed by a Cabinet behaving like the
  board of directors of an old-fashioned company.
  (pp. 51-52)

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Tenth Lecture Outline

• Prime Minister An Elected Dictator or primus
  inter pares?
• Prime Ministerial Styles
• Limits on Prime Ministerial Power
• The Cabinet

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Margaret Thatcher on Selecting a Cabinet

• One way is to have in it people who represent
  all the different viewpoints within the party,
  within the broad i.e. conservative) philosophy.
  The other way is to have in it only the people
  who want to go in the direction in which the PM
  wants to go.
• her choice?
• It must be a conviction government.
• (from an interview with Thatcher prior to the
  1979 election)

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The Road to Downing StreetThe Rt Hon Tony
Blair, MP

• born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh
• entered Parliament in June 1983 at the age of 30
• as MP for Sedgefield (Durham, in NE of England)
• Promoted to the Treasury front bench team (1985)
  
• Spokesman on Trade and Industry
• Elected to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary
• of State for Energy (1988) Shadow Secretary of
  
• State for Employment (1989) Shadow Home
• Secretary (1992)
• elected Leader of the Labour Party on 21 July
  1994
• became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997 when the
  Labour Government was elected with a majority of
  179. Re-elected June 2001.

90
Blair on the Prime Ministers Role

• Youre either a weak Prime Minister, in which
  case theyll knock you for that, or if you appear
  to have a clear sense of direction, and know what
  you want to do, then you are a quasi-dictator.
  And all this President Blair rubbish, its
  absolute rubbish.
• Tony Blair, The Observer, 5 Sept. 1999
• They have got to know Im running the show.
• Tony Blair, quoted in The Sunday Times, 26 April,
  1988

91
Limits on PM Power?

• Some journalists have likened the PM to an
  elected dictator
• some respects, a popular PM can resemble this
• but,
• can be defeated
• in a general election
• or by their own party (e.g., Margaret Thatcher in
  1990)
• limited by their limited amount of time

92
The British Cabinet-Origins

• Arose centuries ago as advisors (Ministers) to
  the Crown (monarch)
• Appointed by the Queen as Privy Councillors
• Membership in Privy Council includes all members
  of the Cabinet, past and present, the Speaker,
  the leaders of all major political parties,
  Archbishops and various senior judges as well as
  other senior public figures.
• During debates in the Commons MPs who are Privy
  Councillors are referred to by their colleagues
  as The Right Honourable'.
• 1832 Reform Act emphasized that it needed to
  have the confidence of the House of Commons as
  well as the Crown

Lord Irvine,Blairs Lord Chancellor until June
2003
93
The British Cabinet- Basics

• about 20 members of cabinet proper
• most senior advisers to the PM
• most have title of Secretary of State and
  represent the largest and/or most prestigious
  departments (portfolios) of the civil service
• also includes parliamentary secretary to the
  Treasury (better known as the chief whip) and
  the Lord Chancellor (chief adviser for law
  matters a Lord) and Chancellor of the Exchequer
  (Treasury)
• serve at the PMs pleasure
• may be shuffled to another portfolio

94
Cabinet Meetings

• Normally held Thursday mornings
• meet in private
• no minutes recorded PM chairs meetings
• decision by consensus - not by voting
• PM takes the sense of the meeting
• meetings supported by Cabinet Office
  (secretariat)
• sub-cabinet committees
• coordinate cabinet activities set priorities

The Cabinet Room, No. 10 Downing Street
95
The British Cabinet

• a hyphen which joins, a buckle which fastens,
  the legislative part of the State to the
  executive part of the state
• Bagehot, The English Constitution, 1867, p. 68

96
Blairs Cabinet (9/2003)

• me Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and
  Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Hon Tony
  Blair MP
• Deputy Prime MinisterThe Rt Hon John Prescott
  MP
• Chancellor of the Exchequer The Rt Hon Gordon
  Brown MP Secretary of State for Foreign and
  Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
• Secretary of State for the Home Department The
  Rt Hon David Blunkett MP
• Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
  Rural Affairs The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP
• Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary
• of State for ScotlandThe Rt Hon Alistair Darling
  MP
• Secretary of State for HealthThe Rt Hon Dr John
  Reid MP
• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Rt
  Hon Paul Murphy MP
• Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Hon Geoff
  Hoon MP
• Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt
  Hon Andrew Smith MP
• Leader of the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Lord
  Williams of Mostyn QC

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and
Minister for WomenThe Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP Parliamentary
Secretary, Treasury and Chief Whip The Rt Hon
Hilary Armstrong MP Secretary of State for
Education and SkillsThe Rt Hon Charles Clarke
MP Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon
Paul Boateng MP Leader of the House of Commons,
Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State for
WalesThe Rt Hon Peter Hain MP Minister without
Portfolio and Party ChairThe Rt Hon Ian
McCartney MP Secretary of State for International
Development The Rt Hon Baroness Amos Secretary
of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord
Chancellor for the transitional periodThe Rt Hon
Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC
97
Sub-Cabinet Members of Government

• Ministers
• occasionally some without portfolio
• Ministers of State
• - lower rank, not in cabinet, less important or
  prestigious civil service departments
• junior ministers
• assistants to a Minister
• parliamentary secretaries
• liason b/w executive and House of Commons
• in all, PM makes b/w 80-90 governmental
  appointments

98
Roles of a Cabinet Minister

• Head of Civil Service Department
• often large organizations
• about 500,000 employed in central
  administration in Britain
• not including teachers or military personnel
• since 1979 about 260,000 civil servants
  transferred to agencies, quangos, local
  authorities, or privatized
• Member of Parliament
• Constituency party pressures
• Member of Cabinet

99
Operating Principles of Cabinet Government

• Collective Responsibility
• cabinet solidarity in public
• underpins the cohesion of the party in the House
  of Commons, necessary for party discipline
• entire cabinet resigns if the government falls
• Individual Ministerial Responsibility
• minister must resign if there is serious
  maladministration or other difficulty in her/his
  civil service department
• no longer seriously applied, but minister must
  answer for her/his departments actions

100
Eleventh Lecture Outline

• The SMP Electoral System
• Chief Characteristics
• Strengths and Weaknesses
• Electoral Reform?
• The Jenkins Commission
• Alternative Vote (plus) system

101
The Electoral System

• Electoral systems have 2 defining features
• District Magnitude (DM)
• Allocation Formula (AF)
• Single Member (DM) Plurality (AF)
• first past the post
• SMP

102
Advantages of SMP System

• Delivers strong majority governments
• by manufacturing majorities of seats from less
  than majorities of votes
• discourages minor parties - avoid splintering the
  legislature
• Simple - Quick
• most votes wins winner known generally on
  election night
• Encourages personal ties b/w MP and electorate

103
Dysfunctions of SMP

• Perverse results
• on 2 occasions since 1945 (of 15 elections) party
  winning majority of seats won fewer votes than
  main rival (1951 and Feb. 1974)
• Wasted votes
• disincentives for minority preference holders to
  vote
• Safe seat apathy
• Sometimes disincentives for majority preference
  holders to vote
• Disproportionality
• 1997 - Labour wins 64 of seats on 43 vote
• 2001 Labour wins 413 seats (62.7) on 40.7 of
  vote
• (or, taking turnout rate in 2001 of 59.4 into
  account, only 24.1 of the eligible electorate
  supported Blairs party)

104
Liberals/Liberal Democrats
105
Duvergers law

• electoral system party system
• SMP
• two party system
• Strong majority governments penalties for (most)
  minor parties
• Proportional Representation
• multiparty system

106
Jenkins Commission Proposals

• - Labour committed to referendum on electoral
  reform in 1993
• After coming to power in 1997, appointed Right
  Honorable Roy Jenkins former Labour cabinet
  minister and co-founder of the Social Democratic
  Party in the early 1980s to an independent
  commission on election reform
• - Reported in 1998
• -recommended a mixed system
• Alternative Vote () system
• 80-85 elected by Alternative Vote in individual
  constituencies
• 15-20 top up Members from party lists
• voters given 2 ballots, one for constituency and
  containing preference ordering of
  parties/candidates, one for party lists top-up
  candidates assigned by region

107
Alternative Vote systems

• a majoritarian system.
• Winning candidates secure the support of over
  half the voters in constituency.
• Voters record preferences for all candidates on
  the ballot paper.
• If no candidate receives more than half of the
  votes cast on the first count of first preference
  votes, the candidate who received the fewest
  first preference votes is eliminated and his/her
  second preferences are distributed between the
  other candidates.
• This process continues until one candidate has
  achieved an overall majority.

108
PSC 340 Essay Writing Tips
109
Essay Tips Finding a Good Topic

• Often the most difficult part!
• Best to work from what you know
• i.e., your own interests
• What would you write on if you had to do a paper
  on some aspect of US politics?
• How effective is gun control at reducing violent
  crime in Europe?
• What country/area of Europe is of most interest?
• Can compare political systems if you wish
• E.g., how threatening is the extreme right in
  Western Europe?
• where and why is the environmental movement
  strongest in Western Europe?
• or focus on a sub-region of one or more countries
• Or focus on one country in particular that is of
  particular interest

110
ESSAY TIPS

• Organization
• Work from an outline
• I will review an outline, but not read a draft of
  a paper
• Clarity of writing/exposition
• Proofreading essential
• Quality of argument
• Pose your question in the title answer it by the
  time you conclude
• Appropriateness of evidence
• Quality/diversity of sources consulted
• Internet alone NOT sufficient
• Must consult scholarly journals (many available
  online)

111
Scholarly Journals dealing with Europe in
Lockwood Library

• Political Studies (UK PSA)
• British Journal of Political Science
• European Journal of Political Research
• Scandinavian Journal of Political Studies
• West European Politics
• Journal of Common Market Studies
• Online access to MANY more
• INGENTA - http//www.ingenta.com/