1. WEEK 2 – OVERVIEW OF THE BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEM Joy Johnson

2. Lecture and seminar Need to understand: The institutions
The political context
The issues
key text: Morrison, public affairs for journalists, ch 1
Jones, et al, UK Politics
If time: Kavanagh and Cowley, The British General Election of 2010

3. British Constitution – United Kingdom of Gt. and Northern Ireland
There are two broad constitutions that nations have
written or unwritten
UK does not have a written constitution

4. Primary sources of the UK’s constitution
Statute –individual laws, known as ‘Acts of Parliament’
Common Law – judge-made or ‘case’ law
Conventions – customs, traditions and long standing practices
Treatises – history works of legal/and or constitutional authority
Treaties

5. Sovereign in Parliament – (You tube coverage)

6. The monarchy Constitutional monarchy Queen – titular Head of State
Figurehead with little real power
Power rests with government
And Parliament
Royal Prerogatives (exercised by Parliament)
Core fundingby civil list out of public money Morrison p 25

7. Historical context Westminster model Parliamentary Democracy
MPs elected on first past the post
Majority party leader becomes Prime Minister (& First Lord of the Treasury) and selects his cabinet
Accusations of an elective dictatorship come with landslide majorities
2010 saw new circumstances

8. Crown the symbol of authority Parliament is sovereign
Representative Parliament
Parliament sovereignty
Constitutional monarchy (crown the symbol of executive authority)
The elected overtook the unelected
Issue: contemporary debate over reform of the House of Lords

9. Monarchy above the fray of party politics
Monarchy has to be seen to be separate
Monarchy has to avoid controversy
Abdication crisis 1936 Edward and Wallace Simpson
Marital problems in the 90’s
Charles interfering over planning decisions
Queen and the formation of new government

11. Charles intervenes – abuse of a privileged position (?)

12. Consequences of Hung Parliament
2010 British General Election
Labour lost
No one party won overall majority
Resulting in first coalition government for over sixty years
Cameron made a bold offer to the Liberal Democrats to form coalition (not thought of as natural allies) – David Laws 22 Days In May an insider’s account

13. Prime Minister Brown stands down

14. Gordon Brown stands down

15. Prime Minster Cameron goes to see the Queen

16. 2010 coalition government
Queen had to be kept out of the process in forming a coalition government
Not for the Monarch to work out who could command confidence in the House of Commons
Palace to be observer not participant
Incumbent Prime Minister (Brown) would remain in office until new government apparent
Evidence to select committee Kavanagh & Cowley, The British General Election 2010 p205

17. First draft (?)

18. http://www. guardian. co
A cabinet office source said: "It's a mixture of convention and constitution, for the first time written down in one place."
O'Donnell has previously stressed that he is not aiming to produce a blueprint for Britain's first written constitution or advocating introducing one, but that if there was a political decision to introduce one the cabinet manual might be the start of it.

19. Queen’s speech delivered in House of Lords

20. Queen’s speech (government ‘s programme)

21. Parliamentary Sovereignty
Parliament (body of MP’s following election) can make laws
Can also repeal laws
Any one Parliament not bound by the actions of a predecessor
(it is the sovereignty of Parliament that the Euro sceptics claim the European Union threatens)

22. Parliamentary privilege
Constitutional principle fundamental to the working of the Parliament
Allows MPs and peers to raise issues on the floor of the Chambers without fear of prosecution or defamation

23. MPs not above the law

24. MPs not above the rule of law
Supreme Court rule on MPs attempt to cite privilege and be tried in Parliament and find against the MPs
2 went on plead guilty
As of Jan 2011

25. Contempt of Parliament (p11)

26. Separation of Powers Executive (the government)
Legislature (Parliamentary)
Judiciary (the courts

27. Rule of law One of the twin pillars of the constitution
Essential feature of a free society
Subordinate to first pillar – parliamentary sovereignty
Could pass a measure undermining or destroying the rule of law

28. ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND THE BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEM
To provide for rule (decision making) subject to consent.
Consent provided by Parliament, via election.
Representative status meant Parliament provided legitimacy; Parliament sovereign.
Parliament provided consent for executive actions
- Ministerial responsibility
- Government confidence
This consent provided the (only) link between executive action and popular will.

29. ASSUMPTIONS BEHIND THE BRITISH POLITICAL SYSTEM
Representative government, not representative democracy.
MPs represent constituents in Parliament
"Representative government in Britain has historically been conceived, and functioned, as a means of legitimating executive power."
David Judge, Political Institutions in Britain, 2005: 28

30. ALTERNATIVE WAYS OF ORGANISING POLITICAL POWER
Popular sovereignty
Use of referendums
Switzerland, US, Italy, Australia
Limits on government power
Written constitution
US, Germany
Checks on government power
Federalism, bicameralism, judicial review
US, Germany, Australia

31. OLD ASSUMPTIONS UNDERMINED
Growth in government: Public spending and size of government departments. (this coalition government committed to cutting the size of government and spending)
Rise of disciplined political parties.
 Executive dominance over Parliament.
Sovereignty of Executive not of Parliament.

32. Power of the Prime Minister ‘first among equals’
Margaret Thatcher regarded as powerful Prime Minister yet she was brought down by her Cabinet over Europe and popularly the poll tax
Tony Blair was also powerful yet he couldn’t sack his Chancellor and resigned before he wanted
Cameron – reports that he is strengthening the centre

33. From sofa government to Cabinet government
Blair’s sofa government - criticism that small elite governed without civil service note taking
Coalition return to cabinet government
(still an inner circle/kitchen cabinet)

34. Prime Minister and his Deputy

35. THE MAJORITARIAN OR ‘WESTMINSTER’ MODEL
Parliamentary sovereignty
Plurality electoral system
 Two party system
 Single party majority governments
Strong party discipline (and collective cabinet responsibility)
Executive control over Parliament
Centralisation of power; weak sub-national government

36. Is the system broke
First past the post (FPTP)) usually produces majoritarian government
2010 hung Parliament
FPTP – winner takes all
Claims that the system is broken – multiple parties, Conservatives in the South, with the North and Scotland - Labour

37. ALTERNATIVES TO ‘WESTMINSTER’ MODEL
Power-sharing or ‘consensus’ model
Representation of minorities; winner doesn’t ‘take all’
Power is shared or dispersed, not hoarded or concentrated
Presidential model
Separation of executive and legislature
President not dependent on legislature
Checks and balances
Source: King, 2001: ch2; Shaw, 2004;

38. ALTERNATIVES TO ‘WESTMINSTER’ MODEL (pre-2010)
Consensus
Coalition government
Legislature stronger in relation to executive
Multi-party system
Proportional system
Federal
Bicameral
Written constitution; strong judicial oversight
Westminster
Single party government
Executive dominates legislature
Two party system
Plurality electoral system
Unitary
Unicameral
No formal constitution; weak judicial oversight
Source: King, 2001: ch2; Shaw, 2004;

39. EVALUATING THE WESTMINSTER MODEL
Strengths
Accountability via elections
Government stability
Government decisiveness
Weaknesses
Little accountability between elections
Weak representation of minorities
Policy instability
Sources: King, 2001: pp10-12, 43-50; Shaw, 2004; Wilson, 1994

40. RECENT CHANGES TO THE WESTMINSTER MODEL
Devolution: Scotland, Wales, N Ireland, London
Judicial review: Human Rights Act
Reform of House of Lords
New electoral systems: devolved and European legislatures
Bank of England independence
Freedom of Information

41. THE ‘HOLLOWED OUT’ STATE
EUROPEAN UNION
INTERNATIONAL
(eg. WTO)
WESTMINSTER / WHITEHALL
PRIVATISATION /
MARKET TESTING
QUANGOS/AGENCIES
eg. Bank of England
Economic regulators
Student Loan Company
Source: Based on Richards & Smith, 2002: Fig 2.1; also Kavanagh et al, 2006: Fig 3.4

42. SEMINAR QUESTIONS
How would you characterise the Westminster model? What has changed?
To what extent is the Westminster model descriptively accurate? Is the state ‘hollowing out’?
Rule of Law
Separation of Powers
Civil list

43. Reading
Coalition Agreement – Political reform
Morrison ch1