Bellringer What are two differences between a presidential system and parliamentary system?  Executive  Elections  Legislature

UK/ EU

Objectives Agenda Explain the structure of UK’s political parties& elections. Discuss cleavages within the UK. Examine the European Union. 1. Slide/notes 2. EU Video & Article 3. Closure HOMEWORK: Study for test & annotated outline due Today we will …

Majority Minority The Government  Initiates policies  The Cabinet & PM = collective responsibility  MPs - backbenchers scrutinize & pass the laws Loyal opposition  Question the Government & vote against things they disagree with Shadow Cabinet  Leader of opposing party chooses ministers who will head cabinet departments when they eventually form a Gov. Roles of Parties in the Parliament

Election Results – Any Trends?

2.5 Parties Often considered two-party system, but Lib-Dems are a strengthening third party.

Conservative Party 47% rep Pragmatic/Flexible/Well-Organized Center-Right David Cameron, a Conservative, is current PM. Compassionate Conservatism  Poverty, Environment, Social Justice, etc.

Labour 39% rep Historically a blue-collar party, center-left Rebranded as “New Labor” under Blair, wanted to open up to more than just unions/public sector. More progressive today, turned away from “New” without returning to “Old”.

Liberal-Democrats 8% rep Center-left & critic of New Labour Erosion of civil liberties in post 9/11 & 7/7 world has played to Lib-Dems strength Nick Clegg is current leader, in 2008 campaigned by knocking on 1 million doors in the U.K. Health Care & Education spending important to the party

Regional Parties Other Parties Scotland  Labour and Nationalist  Liberal Democrats  (SNI)dominate Scotland Wales  Plaid Cymru Northern Ireland  Irish nationalism has led to moderate growth in support for regional parties.(Sinn Fein) Independence Party (UKIP) British Nationalist Party Official Monster Raving Loony Party / / Other Parties

Check for understanding Conservative, Labour or Liberal-Dem? 1. Trade unions & socialist groups 2. Majority party from Noblesse oblige & “Thatcherites” 4. Wants proportional representation 5. Cameron 6. Clegg 7. Miliband 8. Shadow Cabinet 9. The Government

Elections Prime Minister calls elections w/in 5 years General elections solely for seats in House of Commons First Past the Post System  Most votes wins/winner take all  Exaggerates scale of largest party ALSO: elections for  Devolved legislatures in the different nations  Members of European Parliament (MEPs) – EU reps

Political Participation Liberal democracy, free and fair elections + Open Civil Society  Legitimate: people vote and participate in other ways Participate through Political Parties and Interest Groups Gender Gap  Women more likely to vote Labour  Men more likely to vote Conservative Young Voters  Anti-war  Less likely to vote (Sound familiar?)

Under Representation Representation in the Parliament remains mainly white men, but women/minority representation growing. Both parties fight for urban & northern votes. Conservatives dominate rural.

Check for understanding Which or the following areas would be least likely to vote for a Labour MP?  Liverpool  Manchester  Central London  Scotland  Rural England

Interest Groups in Parliamentary System

Corporatism Society and economy of a country organized into major interest groups (corporations) by gov.  Labor unions, agriculture, management, etc. Representatives of those interest groups settle any problems through negotiation & joint agreement. In contrast to a market economy which operates through competition, a corporate economy works through collective bargaining. When was Britain corporatist?

Neo-corporatism Thatcher government in 1980s effectively froze the unions out of the decision making.  Labor Unions lost public support  Parties start to distance themselves- New Labour

Quangos: Quasi- nongovernmental orgs. Types of Interest Group Systems:  Pluralist: many compete (US)  Corporatist: government controls (China)  Neo-corporatist (UK & Mex- under PRI) Policy advisory board appointed by the government (5,000)  Advise  Provide services Policies are made by non-elected bodies Disproportionate access  Trade Unions Congress (TUC) – Labour  Confederation of British Industry (CBI)– Conservative

The Cleavages Social class  #1 cleavage Geographic  North-South Religious  Secular v. official religion Anglican Economic

Social Movements & Policies Inequality & Women  Gender Gap Distributional effects Childhood Poverty Inequality and Ethnic Minorities Social Unrest: what’s the answer? Social Unrest Some Policy Issues  National Health Service  Environment  Adoption of the Euro?  Constitutional Reform, including the Lords (page 82)  Immigration and Asylum (page 83)  Race and Religion  Terrorism/ War in Iraq (page 84)  Devolution (page 69)  Ireland (page 81)

Political Violence  Anti-war protests, especially with Blair <3 Bush- Iraq  Otherwise, minimal  Terrorism  Irish Republic Army  Good Friday Accords  London 7/7/05 bombings  Killed 52 civilians and 4 bombers  How has terrorism and immigration affected British culture?

Judicial Powers

Judiciary English ideas about justice have shaped those of many other modern democracies  Trial by jury However, parliamentary sovereignty limited the development of judicial review  Courts have no power to judge the constitutionality of legislative acts (judicial review)  Court can determine policy directives or administrative acts violate common law or an act of Parliament. By tradition, the courts would not impose rulings on Parliament, the PM, or the cabinet

EU Led to Reforms Britain is bound by EU treaties and laws, it is the judges responsibility to interpret them and determine whether or not EU laws conflict with parliamentary statutes. Many conflicts between supranational & national laws.  Sex Discrimination Act of 1986  Human Rights Act of 1998  The European Court on Human Rights ruled that Britain may not exclude gays and lesbians from serving in the military under EU law

2009 – Supreme Court 2009, Supreme Court took the power as the highest court of appeal from House of Lords 12 Justices, appointed by independent board Final court of appeals in cases across the country (except Scotland) Explicitly separate from both Government & Parliament Political-ness  Judges can head up special commissions  Separation from Parliament may lead to more isolation of judges from Parliament and thus political attack Courts must abide by European Court of Justice

No judicial review but … Can nullify government actions if they are judged to exceed powers granted by Act of Parliament  Common law & statutory law Parliament is Sovereignty

Check for understanding The policy making power of Britain’s Supreme Court and the function of judicial review are limited mainly by?

European Union

ure=player_embedded EU Review Sheet  Why formed?  Treaty that began it?  Policy areas?  Democratic deficit?  Qualified majority?  How is the EU’s role changing?

What is the European Union?European Union Supranational organization = an organization that transcends national boundaries Membership –Stable and functioning democratic regime –Market oriented economy –Willingness to accept all EU laws and regulations

1991 Maastricht Treaty Purpose Origins Council of Europe to repair European economies after the war reduce trade barriers Developed the European Union Established European Citizenship (free movement) ECB European Central Bank- Common Currency (Euro) Three pillars of authority (policy powers)

Three pillars The European Union The Treaties European Community domain (most of common policies) Common foreign and security policy Police and judicial cooperation in criminal matters

The EU – a major trading power Share of world trade in goods (2006) Share of world trade in services (2005) Others 50.5% EU 17.1% United States 16% Japan 6.6% China 9.6% Others 44.9% EU 26% United States 18.4% Japan 6.9% China 3.8%

EU Policy Areas Trade (sets uniform standards for products and export decisions) Monetary System (Euro currency/ central bank) Justice (Cooperation among nations in fighting crime) Labor (Sharing of workers freely between countries) Agriculture (subsidies and agricultural planning, most of the budget) Human Rights (requires elimination of death penalty and sets other standards of human rights) Foreign and military policy (currently by far the weakest areas of EU)

EU & UK- Read article The United Kingdom is a member BUT … UK has opted out of the monetary system (Euro Currency) keeping the pound as its currency & maintaining control over its economy, including the setting of interest rates.

Should a country use the shared currency? For EURO European solidarity Economic advantages: transition costs, competing with the EU, Larger market for goods Easier access to markets Against EURO Psychological attachment to currency Nationalism Sovereignty issues Loss of control over interest rates UK economy was stronger than the whole.

Supranational Influences Cautious attitude because of insularityCautious attitude Sovereignty of the UK is threatened by the EU treaties and Courts Economically –United Kingdom has not adopted the Euro –80% of the rules governing economic life in Britain are determined by the EU An increasing amount of ministers & senior civil servants are absorbed by EU agenda and directives Foreign and Security policy

Impact of the EU Has become increasingly powerful & increasingly likely to impact member countries’ sovereignty. –Court of Justice has the ability to declare member states laws unconstitutional. Democratic deficit: the lack of citizen’s understanding of the EU. –Most policy elites support further integration, while citizens largely mistrust the organization. –Many decisions are increasingly being made by bureaucrats and not elected officials. Court of Justice: ability to declare member states laws unconstitutional

Check for understanding What are arguments for joining the European Union? Arguments against joining the European Union?

Current discussions Enlarge the EU? Larger EU more influence in trade negotiations with the rest of the world. Cheaper labor in the new EU states will attract businesses from developed west. New and diverse markets Help promote political stability in new member states Challenges Trade disputes with nonmember countries Discrepancies in economic power between member states Pressure from nonmember states to join the EU Challenges to EU’s authority by nationalist sentiment w/in member states

CLOSURE Describe three challenges to Parliamentary sovereignty in the UK. HOMEWORK: Study for Test Complete Annotated Outline Revise Source List, if necessary (last chance!)