FAQs about Great Britain

1
FAQs about Great Britain

• http//www.parliament.uk/
• Population 59.8 million (predominantly urban and
  suburban)
• Independence from 12th century
• Head of State Queen Elizabeth II
• Head of Government Prime Minister Tony Blair
• Religion Anglican, Roman Catholic, Muslim,
  Protestant (Presbyterian, Methodist), Sikh,
  Hindu, Jewish

2
Important Characteristics

• A very secular state dates from Henry VIIIs
  break with the catholic church
• Westminster style of government
• Parliamentary sovereignty
• Unitary state
• Fusion of powers (eg cabinet)
• Industrial revolution
• Loss of empire
• Uneasy relationship with Europe

3
International Influence

• European state with middling influence on
  regional or world affairs
• Post-colonial power with cultural and economic
  ties to old colonies
• An unequal partner in a special relationship with
  the USA

4
Culture of Democracy in Britain

• Tradition of democracy dating prior to 12th
  century
• Critical events
• World war II
• Devolution
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland (peace process)

5
The Environment of Politics

• Political divisions
• States United Kingdom of Great Britain and
  Northern Ireland, a union not a federal system
• Great Britain England, Scotland, Wales
• England has 56 of the population of great
  Britain
• Multiracial England
• The after-effects of colonialism

6
Insularity, Involvement and Isolation

• Shrinking military and diplomatic commitments
• Absence of popular support
• Dependency on world trade
• World organizations
• Commonwealth (50 sovereign states)
• United nations
• European union
• Citizen self-identification
• Non-european 50
• The English Channel symbolic literal
  separation

7
Insularity and the EU

• 1957 EU created GB does not join
• 1973 Edward Heath, GB joins but in limited
  manner
• 1975 referendum 67 33 favor EU
• Remains controversial
• Thatcher government opposes Maastricht Treaty
  Major government barely ratifies it in 1993
• Blair Government discusses possibility of
  national referendum on adoption of Euro but backs
  away as popular dissatisfaction becomes clear
  (currently, the Pound is stronger than the Euro).

8
Explanations for Enduring Political Legitimacy

• Following the rules of the game
• Willingness of citizens to be governed
• Even Scots and Welsh accept parliament as an
  institution, want their own
• devolution
• Tradition
• Habit

9
One Crown-Five Nations

• United Kingdom (1)
• England (2)
• Scotland (3)
• Wales (4)
• Northern Ireland (5)
• Northern Ireland
• Protestant majority, dominate government
• Ireland (Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921)
• The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
  Ireland multiple identifications.

10
Structure of Government

• Crown - symbolic
• Unwritten Constitution
• Mix acts of Parliament, judicial pronouncements,
  customs, conventions about the rules of the
  game
• Parliament
• Final authority (U.S. SC) parliamentary
  sovereignty
• House of Lords, House of Commons
• Courts
• No judicial review
• Statutory examination only.
• Individuals have had no redress in courts until
  Blair govt. incorporated European Convention of
  Human Rights

11
British Parliament

• Bicameral
• House of Commons
• Lower house
• Government formed from Commons
• Single member first past the post districts
• House of Lords
• Upper house
• Life peerage
• peerage

12
House of Commons

• House of Commons (659)
• May 1997 new districts increased the number of
  seats in Commons from 651 to 659
• Select committee on modernization of the House of
  Commons established (1997).
• Sitting hours, devolution, House of Lords
• The House of Lords Act 1999 restricted the
  number of hereditary peers in Lords to 92 (678)
• sole jurisdiction over finance.

13
House of Lords

• shorn of most power
• can review, amend, or delay temporarily any bills
  except those relating to the budget
• 1999, the government removed the automatic right
  of hereditary peers to hold seats in the House of
  Lords.
• Currently consists of appointed life peers who
  hold their seats for life and 92 hereditary peers
  who will hold their seats only until final
  reforms have been agreed upon and implemented.
• Highest court of appeals

14
Other Parliaments of the UK

• Scottish Parliament Welsh Assembly
• 1997 Scottish/Welsh referenda
• British Government introduced legislation to
  establish a Scottish Parliament and a Welsh
  Assembly.
• Elections for each were held May 6, 1999. The
  Welsh Assembly opened on May 26, and the Scottish
  Parliament opened on July 1, 1999.
• The devolved legislatures have largely taken over
  most of the functions previously performed by the
  Scottish and Welsh offices.

15
Northern Ireland

• 1921-73 had its own parliament and prime minister
  
• British Government imposed direct rule in order
  to deal with the deteriorating political and
  security situation.
• 1973- 1990s, the Secretary of State for Northern
  Ireland, based in London, was responsible for the
  region, including efforts to resolve the issues
  that lay behind the "the Troubles.

16
Northern Ireland peace, devolution and assembly

• Mid-1990s peace pressure increases
• Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell leads process
• Good Friday Accords 1998
• approved by majorities in both Northern Ireland
  and the Republic of Ireland
• Major elements work toward "total disarmament of
  all paramilitary organizations," police reform,
  and enhanced mechanisms to guarantee human rights
  and equal opportunity. Also, formal cooperation
  between the Northern Ireland institutions and the
  Government of the Republic of Ireland,
  established the British-Irish Council
• (representatives from British, Irish Governments
  as well as the devolved Governments of Northern
  Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

17
Northern Ireland Self Determination?

• IN Legislature reestablished in Northern Ireland
  in December 1999 under the terms of the Good
  Friday Agreement.
• The Good Friday Agreement provides for a
  108-member elected Assembly, overseen by a
  12-minister Executive Committee (cabinet) in
  which unionists and nationalists share leadership
  responsibility.
• Northern Ireland elects 18 representatives to the
  Westminster Parliament in London. However, the
  two Sinn Fein MPs, who won seats in the last
  election, have refused to claim their seats.

18
Northern Ireland Current Status

• 2002 progress continues on elements of GFA
• IRA has undertaken two acts of decommissioning of
  its weapons
• the assembly functions when not suspended as
  result of sporadic violence/violations of GFA
• Efforts at normalizing security underway
• U.S. has given or pledged over 300 million to
  the International Fund for Ireland

19
Parliamentary Legitimacy

• Causes of Legitimacy?
• Habit and tradition
• Political socialization reinforcing culture
• Trusteeship theory of government
• Leaders behave in public interest but with
  initiative
• Conservative Party/New Labour
• Collectivist theory
• Balancing competing interests of citizens
• Traditional Conservatives
• Individualist theory
• Direct representation of citizens
• Liberal Democratic Party

20
The Prime Minister

• Effective political executive in Britain
• Must manage party politics loyalty, co-option,
  representativeness, competence
• Patronage frontbenchers,backbenchers
• Parliamentary performance question time
• Media performance Press scrutiny
• Winning elections election as party leader
• Policy leadership overall direction of the
  government, international affairs, party
  leadership

21
The Executive Cabinet Government

• Emphasizes key roles of executive government
  (policymaking, control of govt, coordination of
  departments)
• PM selects loyal supporters to serve as ministers
  in the cabinet (frontbenchers)
• Membership in parliament and cabinet required
  no fixed size
• Diverse roles (potential PMs)
• Run their ministry
• Member of parliament duties
• Duty to the PM
• Duty to the political tendency of the party

22
Cabinet Government (continued)

• Principle of Collective Responsibility
• Requires all ministers bound to support any
  action taken by an agency in the name of the
  government.
• Checks on the Prime Minister
• PMs need the support of the majority of their
  Cabinets for significant decisions
• Vote of no confidence in the commons
• PM can dismiss the cabinet

23
Conclusions and Comparisons

• As an individual politician the Prime Minister
  has less formal authority than the American
  President (and most Presidents).
• Collectively the British government is more
  powerful than the administration of an American
  president.
• Circumstances and the individuals holding these
  offices will always play a role.

24
Political Parties of the UK

• Great Britain Two party majoritarian system
  (emerging 3rd party)
• Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats (Liberal
  and Social Democratic party)
• Scotland--Scottish National Party
• Wales--Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales)
• Northern Ireland
• Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and
  Labour Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn
  Fein, Alliance Party, and other smaller parties.
• Suffrage British subjects, citizens of other
  Commonwealth countries, the Irish Republic
  resident in the UK, at 18.

25
The Judiciary

• Judicial--magistrates' courts, county courts,
  high courts, appellate courts, House of Lords.
• Independent but without Judicial Review
• More limited than France, German or US court
  systems
• Parliamentary sovereignty limits Judiciary

26
Judiciary

• Power only to determine whether policy
  directives/administrative acts violate common law
  or an act of parliament
• Less politicized/influential
• Increasingly courts are being called on to
  intervene in controversy
• Impact on democracy in GB?
• Role of EU courts?

27
Economy Modern History

• Status as political and economic hegemon led to
  complacency.
• Dependent on free trade and raw materials
  (colonies).
• 1890 falling behind in technical innovation,
  domestic manufacturing, scale of production
  (facilities).

28
Economy Approaches

• No institutionalized relationship between
  government and organized economic interests
• Laissez faire relationship between government and
  economic actors
• State limited role in economic and social life

29
Economy Previous Approaches

• Keynesianism
• State budget deficits used to expand demand to
  boost consumption and investment when the economy
  slows.
• Post World War Two economic prosperity
• Keynesian economics works to the 1970s.
• State economic intervention focuses on the
  balance of power
• Public/private via privatization of industries
  (late 1970s, 1980s)
• From labor to management by affirming management
  authority -- but no state sponsored planning

30
Economy past to current approaches

• Macro-economic policy also limited by lack of
  political cohesion
• Exception nationalized industries
• GB limits its role to broad policy instruments
  designed to have general impact (state revenues
  and expenditures)
• 1970s recession shows limits of Keynesianism