The Birth of British democracy, the constitution: a few generalities The UK: a constitutional monarchy – a parliamentary democracy, the sovereign power: Parliament A constitution: definition: a body of rules organising the distribution of power among organs of government The UK: a flexible constitution, no single formal written constitution Main sources of constitutional practice: statutes= written laws, created over the centuries convention= traditional practices and ideas which have evolved through time, but cannot be found in any written document case law: jurisprudence, or judge-made law (especially influencial for the regulation of civil liberties) European legislation

A brief historical outline 1215: Magna Carta: a charter granted by King John, recognizing the rights and privileges of the barons, church and freemen; traditionally regarded as the basis of English liberties; no imprisonment without trial by the accused’s equals, and no taxation without consent of the Common Council (:Parliament’s ancestor) 13th century: birth of the English parliament: 1295: Model Parliament (summoned by Edward I to raise money for war) 14th century: English parliament >> a bicameral body: House of Lords + House of Commons

17th century: series of clashes between the monarch and Parliament >> Parliament eventually getting the upper hand (The Glorious Revolution 1688: James II >> William III and Mary II) 1689: Bill of Rights: England = the first constitutional monarchy: the constitutional principle (: the idea of a contract between the ruler and the ‘ruled’) substituted for the previously dominant principle of Divine Right parliamentary control of legislation and taxation, while the king retained the executive power >> a monarch can only rule with the support of parliament 1st half of the 18th century: rise of the Cabinet and Prime Minister: during the reigns of George I (1714-1727, House of Hanover) and George II (1727-1760); Cabinet: more and more powerful; Prime Minister: the actual leader of the executive; the monarch: the official head of the government

19th century: Gradual extension of the franchise: General male suffrage gradually introduced Reform Act 1832: franchise extended to 1/5 of males (= the middle class >> industrial workers and agricultural labourers: left out >> Chartism, see BBC series History of Britain B13 ff) Over the rest of the century: franchise extended to the wealthier working classes and to agricultural labourers 20th century: female suffrage and limitation of the powers of the House of Lords: Parliament Act 1911: limitation of the powers of the House of Lords: Could no longer block the passage of ‘money bills’ (= projets de loi de finance) for more than one month On most other bills: only a suspensory veto of up to two years (NB: now one year)

1918: Representation of the People Act: franchise given to women over the age of thirty and to all men over the age of 21 1928: Equal Franchise Act: all women over 21 Chapters from your book: the constitution = chapter 4 ; + chapters 5-9 How is Britain governed now? See the handout + Read and memorize p 70 (branches of power)

Milicent Fawcett Emmeline Pankhurst Emily Davison

How is Britain governed now How is Britain governed now? A few more words about British political institutions:   Read page 70 carefully: the three branches of power (memorize all the info on that page) New edition: Read page 66 carefully (chapter 4 B): the three branches of power (memorize all the info on that page) Now for a synthetic presentation of the roles of the different organs: (for more detailed information: chapters 4-8) Now for a synthetic presentation of the roles of the different organs:

The Queen: the sovereign She is the official head of state, as well as the Commander in Chief of all the armed forces of the Crown and the Supreme Governor of the established (: official) Church of England, but she has very limited powers and plays a mainly symbolic part. To really sum things up: The Queen: - signs all new laws (in other words: she gives them the Royal Assent) - receives other heads of state visiting Britain - opens Parliament every autumn with a speech in which the government’s policies are outlined, the Queen’s Speech. She meets the Prime Minister regularly, but she has no role in deciding policies, remains politically impartial, and never withholds the Royal Assent She reads the Queen’s Speech every year, but it is the Prime Minister who writes it.   As the British put it, ‘The Queen reigns but does not rule.’

Parliament (= Westminster): the sovereign + a parliament made up of two houses (= chambres), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons   The House of Lords: Until recently, membership of the House of Lords was mostly an inherited privilege (Lords = members of the nobility, peers), or due to the member’s function. The House was reformed in 1999, with most hereditary peers (who had inherited membership from their fathers) removed, but it is still not an elected chamber. There are different types of peers and peeresses: - Lords Spiritual: 2 archbishops and the 24 most senior bishops of the Church of England - Lords Temporal: hereditary peers (92) and life peers (= peers who are appointed, for example retired senior politicians, and who cannot pass on their privilege to their children). Among the life peers until recently there were the ‘Law Lords’, top ranking judges. (The House of Lords was the ultimate Court of Appeal until 2005.) The powers of the House of Lords are limited, they can deliberate on and amend non-finance bills, but they cannot veto them, just delay them for up to 1 year. They cannot delay money bills.

The House of Commons: The House of Commons is by far the more powerful of the two houses, it scrutinises and approves all legislation. There are around 650 MPs (Members of Parliament), each representing one of the constituencies (circonscriptions électorales) of the UK. General elections are organized at least every five years, following a one round, ‘first past the post’ system (scrutin majoritaire à un tour). The leader of the political party which has the majority of seats in the Commons becomes Prime Minister.   Parliament as a whole : three main functions: - law-making - scrutinising the work of ministers and government departments (Ministers are also MPs, and they must explain and justify their actions to the Commons) - controlling taxation and expenditure

The Government (Whitehall): As head of the Government the Prime Minister (Downing Street) appoints about 100 ministers. About 20 ministers make up the Cabinet, in which the most senior ministers make the major decisions under the authority of the PM. Even if Parliament is the sovereign power, the Prime Minister has considerable power. He or she - controls the agenda (: ordre du jour) of Cabinet meetings, - until 2011, could ask the Queen to dissolve Parliament and call for general elections at any time (NB: this changed with the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011) - can use various procedures to shorten or end the debates in Parliament.   Conclusion on political institutions: The UK has no written constitution, no separation of powers, no separation of Church and State, no elected head of state, but it is definitely a stable and respected democracy.

For information on political parties in the UK, read chapter 9   I do not expect you to memorize all the info on political parties in chapter 9 of your book, if you are able to name the main ones, to say which is in power right now, and to have a general idea of how to situate them on the political spectrum, that should be sufficient.