1. Great Britain Unit 2 Chapter 4

2. What’s up with all the Names? England small geographic area on the largest island Great Britain: Wales, Scotland, & England United Kingdom: Great Britain & Northern Ireland Significant minorities in Wales & Scotland that want completely autonomy

3. United Kingdom England Wales Scotland Northern Ireland

4. Sovereignty, Authority, Power Great Britain the oldest Democratic Tradition in the world The Legitimacy of govt. has developed gradually Tradition is the primary source of legitimacy Buckingham Palace

5. The Tradition Never had a written constitution as such It has evolved over time and is often called the Constitution of the Crown Several important documents: 1. Magna Carta 1215: Limited Govt. 2. The Bill of Rights 1688: Policy Making power to Parliament

6. The Evolution of British Political Traditions The Shaping of the Monarch: Limited Monarchy began when King John forced to sign the Magna Carta English Civil War 1640’s monarch was beheaded Brought back in 17 th century with restricted powers by Parliament, No power today

7. The Evolution of British Political Traditions The Ascendancy of Parliament: 1688 the Glorious Revolution established the constitutional monarchy when William &Mary agreed to written restrictions on their power by signing the Bill of Rights Prime Minister was firmly established in the 18 th century by Robert Walpole

8. The Evolution of British Political Traditions Challenges of the Industrial Revolution: Industrial revolution took place in the 18 th century. Created a new class of merchants and businessmen. Peasant lives were transformed, they left rural areas, moved to cities, worked in factories. These people asked for the political system to change

9. The Evolution of British Political Traditions Britain in the 20 th and 21 st Century: Beginning of the 20 th century the greatest imperialist nation in the world. Early 21 st Century her power had been diminished by WWI, WWII, economic problems in 1970’s Power plunge stopped in 1980’s by Margaret Thatcher

10. Political Culture Nationalism: Pride in being English Insularity: Feeling of separation from the Continent. –Cautious attitude toward E.U. Flag of England

11. Other Factors of Political Culture Noblesse Oblige (Social Class): The duty of the upper class to take care of the lower class. Custom dates to feudal times –General Willingness to accept a welfare state Multi Nationalism: Britain has large amount of cultural homogeneity, boundaries include Wales, Scotland, N.Ireland, England on govt. today. National identities are strong and impact political system functions

12. Political and Economic Change Political change in Britain has been gradual leading to tradition Gradualism: shift of power from king to parliament

13. House of Lords and Commons William of Norman, in order to keep his claim to English lands, promised to consult the nobility before taxing them. Leading to gradual acceptance of House of Lords Commercialism created towns and a new middle class who demanded more of a voice leading to the House of Commons

14. Industrial Revolution Began in late 18 th Century created two new social classes: Middle class and Labor Gradually they were included in political system

15. Extension of Voting Rights Great Reform Act of 1832: 300,000 men gained right to vote; House of Commons gained more power Reform Act of 1867: 3 million working class were allowed to vote Representation of the People Act 1884: Majority of Voters are working class Women’s suffrage: 1918 all women over 28 and men over 21 allowed to vote 1928 all women over 21 allowed to vote

16. The Extension of rights to the Common Man By 1911 House of Lords only significant power was to delay legislation 1906 Labour Party was created: for working man Conservative Party members were middle class and businessmen Liberals were pushed into third place

17. Collective Consensus WWII led to a spirit of cooperation. Under Churchill to overriding objective of both parties was to win the war 1960’s this collective consensus continued with both parties working to develop a welfare state

18. Beveridge Report Provided for Social Insurance, Written in 1942 Made all citizens eligible for health insurance, Pension programs Unemployment benefits One goal of the report was to guarantee subsistence income to every British citizen Sir William Beveridge

19. 1970s Collective Consensus began to break apart Social and economic problems Growing divide between labour and conservative parties Labour went left,endorsing socialist economy Conservative went right, pure market economy

20. Economic Crisis of 1970s Decline in Industrial Production, International influence combined with loss of old empire OPEC quadrupled prices and embargoed oil causing inflation and high unemployment rate Labour demanded higher wages and went on strike. They lost membership and Voters

21. Margaret Thatcher: The Iron Lady Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 Blamed socialist policies for economic problems Strengthened defense, cut welfare, privatized business

22. John Major Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1990 to 1997 Followed Thatcher’s policies at first Moderated later reconciling with EU and slowed social cutbacks

23. Tony Blair The Labour Party won the 1997 General Election by a landslide, after 18 years in Opposition. At the age of 43, Tony Blair became the youngest Prime Minister since Lord Liverpool in 1812.

24. Third Way Blair way developing an alternative between collectivism and Thatcherism. Rejected the notion that working people look at Labour party and the prosperous at the conservative party. Returning labour party to the center and give more power to Wales, Scotland, N.Ireland Lately Blair has been dealing with Foreign Affairs

25. Gordon Brown Became Britain's PM on June 27, 2007, succeeding Tony Blair Chancellor of the Exchequer, he presided over a prosperous period of low inflation, low interest rates & low unemployment. He was determined to dispel Labor's reputation as a tax- and-spend party, & kept a tight rein on spending. Later, he routed savings to public services, including the National Health Service.

26. TODAY! David Cameron (Conservative): Became PM on May 11, 2010 (Hung Parliament; Conservatives gained plurality of seats) Describes himself as “compassionate and liberal conservative; not a Thatcherite” Recent budget had large reduction in public spending Nick Clegg (Deputy PM – Liberal Democrat)

27. Citizens, Society, and the State Homogenous: everyone is the same English is spoken by virtually all British citizens Only 5% of 60 million are ethnic minorities Major social cleavages based on multi- national identities, social class, and Protestant/Catholic split in Northern Ireland

28. Wales Subject to king in 16 th Century Language is still alive Feelings of being exploited Feelings of resentment National Assembly of Wales passes local Welsh Laws WALES

29. Scotland The United Kingdom Parliament retains power over Scotland's taxes, social security system, defence, international relations. The Scottish Parliament has legislative authority for all other areas relating to Scotland. The Scottish Parliament is not a sovereign authority, and the UK Parliament could, in theory, overrule or even abolish it at any time. Scotland

30. Northern Ireland Protestant outnumber Catholics 60%-40% in N.Ireland Been under control of England since 1949 with considerable conflict Northern Ireland

31. Good Friday Agreement 1998 Signed in April 1998 Agreement to give Northern Ireland a regional government Based on a proportional basis The religion based parties would each have a percentage of representatives matching total vote each recieved

32. Social Class Differences between rich and poor have always been important Most important portal to elite classes is through Oxford and Cambridge Universities or Oxbridge

33. Ethnic Minorities 2001 census state only 7.1% of British population in non-European Grew by 53% between 1991-2001 Main Groups Indian 23%, Pakistani 16%, Afro- Caribbean 12.2%, Black African 10.5% Tight immigration laws mean most ethnic minorities are young. Thatcher restricted immigration in 1980’s. Huge debate in Britain Reports abound of unequal treatment of minorities

34. Political Beliefs and Values In 1960’s the political culture was characterized by Trust Deference to authority and competence Pragmatism Harmony British Citizens reflect good democratic participation: High % voters, Tolerance of different points of view

35. Politics of Protest 1970’s discord led to a tendency to disagree openly and sometimes violently Changes in Political Beliefs and Values include: 1. Decreasing support for labor unions 2. Increased violence in N. Ireland 3. Thatcherism 4. New Labour

36. Politics of Protest (continued) Decreasing Support for Unions: Strong traditions dating from Industrial Revolution. 1970’s crippling strikes turned public opinion against them Violence In N. Ireland: Issues surrounding British claim to N. Ireland and 1972 bloody Sunday incident have led to campaign of violence.

37. Politics of Protest (continued) Thatcherism: Turn toward free market economy has led to Rejection of redistribution of resources has gone away from noblesse oblige New Labour: Moderate trend between Thatcherism and noblesse oblige. Good Friday agreement with N. Ireland

38. Voting Behavior Relatively high percentages of qualified voters 2001-2005 decline, but still more than 70% vote in parliamentary elections Less party loyalty than they once had.

39. Regional Factors (Voting) Labour usually does well in urban and industrial areas and in Scotland and Wales Cities such as Liverpool, Manchester, Yorkshire Conservatives usually win in England and in rural and suburban areas Voting patterns patterns tied to social class but, also reflect urban and rural values

40. What has been the biggest foreign policy issue in recent years? War in Iraq and Terrorism

41. Political Institutions The Monarchy rules head of state The Queen also acts as a focus for national unity, presiding at ceremonial occasions, visiting local communities and representing Britain around the world.

42. Parliamentary System Unitary Form of Government 3 Branches of government No separation of powers between legislative and executive branch Judiciary does not have judicial review

43. The Prime Minister Elected by the people as a member of parliament Leader of the Majority party, becomes PM Speaks for all Members of Parliament Chooses cabinet and subordinate posts Campaigns for and represents the party in parliamentary elections

44. Cabinet Consists of the PM and ministers, each of which head a major bureaucracy Cabinet members are party leaders from Parliament Collective Cabinet is center of policy making, PM is responsible for shaping decisions. The take collective responsibility for policy Cabinet unity is extremely important

45. Parliament Little separation of Powers Made up of House Commons and House of Lords Westminster Palace Thames River

46. House of Lords Only hereditary parliament in existence Minimal Influence, can delay legislation House of Lords may add amendments to bills, but can easily be deleted Chamber includes 5 law lords who are the highest court of appeals in UK 92 hereditary peers and 567 life peers (appointed due to distinguished service to UK)

47. House of Commons Britain has multiple parties, House of Commons based on the idea of two parties The party who wins a plurality at the polls is the majority, second place party becomes party of loyal opposition

48. Set Up Long benches face one another The PM who is elected as an MP like all the rest sits on front bench of the majority side Right across is the opposition Between them is a table

49. The Rest of the Cabinet Cabinet sits on the front rows on the majority side, and the Shadow Cabinet sits on the opposite side facing them The less influential MP’s or Backbenchers sit on the back benches

50. Elections Only national officials elected are MP Must be held every 5 years but PM can call sooner Winner take all system like the U.S., run a candidate in a district who ever wins most votes wins the election MP’s do not have to live in the districts they represent

51. Judiciary British Judiciary has influenced democracies around the world Modern Judiciary has more limited powers than that of the U.S. The idea of jury trial goes back to Henry II in 13 th century

52. Parliamentary Sovereignty The principle that Parliamentary decisions are final British courts can only determine whether government decisions violate common law or previous acts of Parliament. However, the tend to rule very narrowly deferring to Parliament By Tradition no imposition of rulings on Parliament, PM, or Cabinet

53. Law Lords Highest Court in Great Britain Members of the House of Lords Settle disputes from lower courts, recognize appellate and original jurisdictions Constitution Reform Act of 2005 provides fro a Supreme Court of the UK to take over the existing role of Law Lords

54. Bureaucracy Hundreds of thousands of civil servants who administer laws and deliver public services Largest number do clerical work a few hundred advise ministers and oversee work in the departments Powerful and stable force: top level bureaucrats are experts in field and are career people

55. Bureaucrats The minister has powerful position in cabinet but relies heavily on advice from Bureaucrats Bureaucrats almost never run for office and are not active party politics

56. Interest Groups Most influential are those who are linked to class and industrial interest Powerful Trade Unions Congress represents a coalition of unions No single comparable group represents business interest Unions lost influence under Thatcher

57. Media British Newspapers reflect social class division Quality news and comment appeal to upper and middle class while mass circulation tabloids carry sensational news.