Institutions of Government AP COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT

Institutions  The British government is parliamentary system  In this system there is an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary, but they function very differently than in a presidential system  The executive and legislative branches are fused together with the prime minister and members of the cabinet being sitting members of Parliament  Because of this, separation of powers do not exist  The judicial branch also lacks the power of judicial review  Britain is a unitary state  Political authority is centralized in London and all decisions made are binding

Cabinet and Prime Minister  The cabinet comprises both the prime minister and his ministers  Each of these individuals is from the majority party (or from the coalition)  The term collective cabinet refers to the center of policymaking in the British political system  The prime minister has the responsibility of shaping their decisions on policy  There is not vote in the cabinet and all ministers publicly support the prime minister’s decision  The cabinet takes on a “collective responsibility” for making policy for the country

Cabinet and Prime Minister  The prime minister is the “first among equals” and stands at the top of the unitary government  The prime minister is elected by the majority party in Parliament, or in the case of 2010, by a coalition government  The prime minister:  Speaks legitimately for all members of Parliament  Chooses cabinet ministers and important subordinate posts  Makes decisions in the cabinet, with the agreement of the ministers  Campaigns for and represents the party in parliamentary elections

House of Commons  The House of Commons is the lower house of the legislature  The party that opposes the majority party is known as the opposition party known as the loyal opposition  Working for the loyal opposition is a group of people known as the shadow cabinet  The shadow cabinet are the leaders of the loyal opposition  Less influential MPs are referred to as “back-benchers”  Debate in the House of Commons is usually loud and contentious  This is especially true during Question Time  During this period, the prime minister and his cabinet must defend themselves against attack from the opposition, and sometimes members of their own party  The speaker of the house presides over the debate and allows all to be heard

House of Commons  Party discipline is integral to the success of the government  If there is a vote of no confidence, the cabinet by tradition must resign immediately, and elections for new MPs must be held as soon as possible  This happens when a majority of the House does not support legislation presented by the prime minister  Parliament has substantial powers for members that include  The ability to debate and refine potential legislation  They are the only ones who may become party leaders  The ability to scrutinize the administration of laws  The ability to keep communication lines open between voters and ministers

The House of Lords  The second house of Parliament is known as House of Lords  The House of Lords is the only hereditary parliamentary house in existence today  The House of Lords has minimal impact in the workings of parliament  The main powers of the House of Lords are the ability to delay legislation and to debate technicalities of proposed bills  The House of Lords can also add amendments to bill, but those can be removed with a simple majority vote in the House of Commons  The House of Lords formally had a group called the law lords who held the ability to rule acts unconstitutional  This power was removed in 1999  There has been talk about changing the House of Lords so that it contains either voted or appointed members, but no change has taken place

The Bureaucracy  The bureaucracy is stable and powerful  Many top level bureaucrats directly advise ministers and the prime minister and have great power in the creation of policy  Bureaucrats have great discretionary power to make decisions about the implementation of legislation  Ministers heavily rely on bureaucrats to make decisions

The Judiciary  Because British government is largely based upon parliamentary sovereignty  Parliamentary sovereignty is based upon the idea that parliaments decisions being final, it has limited the development of the judicial branch of government  This is a fusion of powers  There is no concept of judicial review in Britain  The idea that supreme authority of the government is in the legislature can also be known as the Westminster model  The British legal system is based upon common law  Common law is dictated by precedents and tradition  Code low does exist, but is based upon strict interpretations of written statutes

The Judiciary  In 2009 a Supreme Court was created to replace the law lords  The court has a president and eleven justices appointed by a panel of lawyers  Their chief function is to serve as the final court of appeal on points of law in cases across the country  Scotland has their own system  The court can nullify government actions if they are judge to exceed powers granted by an Act of Parliament, but cannot declare an Act of Parliament unconstitutional  Britain is now bound to the European Union’s treaties and laws  The courts then determine if British laws conflict with EU laws