1. Bellringer for Quiz UK vs GB Collective Consensus Third Way
Hung Parliament
Neoliberalism
NHS
Social welfare programs
Current Coalition Government

2. 3 - Governance & Policy Making
United Kingdom
3 - Governance & Policy Making

3. Today we will … Objectives Agenda
Assess understanding of Modern British State & Political Economy and Development
Explain the structure of the British government
Quiz
Government Structure notes
Organization of the State
Executive
Public and Semipublic Institutions
Judiciary
Closure
Intro to Parliament video?
HW – IV A-C

4. Structure of British Government

5. Structure of British Government

6. Westminster Model History Parliamentary System The Westminster Model
In the 1200’s, Parliament became officially recognized as a gathering of feudal barons summoned by the king whenever he required their consent to special taxes
By the 15th century they gained the right to make laws.

8. British Parliament House of Commons House of Lords MPs Make laws
Center of public debate
Source of government ministers
House of Lords
Peers
Minimal influence today
Can delay legislation & debate technicalities of proposed bills
May amend (but Commons can delete)
Acts as a final Court of Appeals (law lords), not judicial review
Parliamentary
Sovereignty

9. Executive branch

10. Role of the Monarch Queen Elizabeth II (since 1952)
Must give royal assent to all legislation passed by both houses of Parliament.
Opens Parliament & dissolves it.
Formally makes treaties w/foreign states, creates peerages, makes many top appointments in civil service, armed forces and judiciary.

11. Role of the Monarch
Constitutionally bound to take the advice of the Prime Minister
“Queen must sign her own death warrant if the two Houses unanimously send it up to her.”
Head of the armed forces: Declares war and declares the end of war (with PM)
Makes visits: hospitals, schools, and factories
Official visits abroad

12. Executive Executive – Dual Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II
Buckingham Palace
Executive – Dual
Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Ministerial System – PM is David Cameron– How was he selected?
“God save the Queen”

13. Prime Minister: David Cameron (Tory) Deputy PM Kick Clegg (LD)
The “Government”
Parliament
The Cabinet (Government)
Prime Minister: David Cameron (Tory)
Deputy PM Kick Clegg (LD)
Shadow Cabinet: Ed Milliband (Labour)
A Government is formed when
the party (or coalition - if there was a hung parliament) with the most MPs wins the election.
Their leader is the Prime Minister and they choose ministers to form the government.
About 12 ministers. Most will be chosen from the House of Commons, but they can also be chosen from the House of Lords

14. Prime Minister & Cabinet
“First among equals”
Member of Parliament and Leader of majority party
Speaks legitimately for all Members of Parliament
Chooses cabinet ministers and important subordinate posts
Makes decisions in cabinet, with agreement of ministers
Campaigns for and represents the party in parliamentary elections
Shapes cabinet decisions into policy
Cabinet
Collective cabinet is the center of policy-making in the British political system
As leaders of majority party elected by the people, they take “collective responsibility” for making the policy of the country
Most important: Foreign Office, Home Office, chancellor of exchequer

15. Executive Branch Prime Minister The Cabinet
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
Ministries (political experts)
Foreign Office (Sec of State)
Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury)
Until recently, the Cabinet controlled monetary policy which is now controlled by the bank of England
Key functions of the Cabinet
Responsible for policy making but are not (policy experts)- bureaucrats
Supreme control of the government
Coordination of all government departments
PM has the responsibility of shaping their decisions into policy
Cabinet does not vote
They take collective responsibility- they support the policy making of the PM
Backbenchers

16. Westminster Model Parliamentary sovereignty Parliamentary democracy
Cabinet government
Center of British politics
Formulates and presents policy to Parliament
Supreme ruling body of the executive branch
Collective responsibility

17. The Cabinet System

18. Bureaucracy: Civil Servants
Hundred of thousands of civil servants in the UK
They administer laws and deliver public services
Most do clerical and routine work for the bureaucracy
A few hundred directly advise ministers and oversee work of departments
Top civil servants and bureaucrats usually stay with their departments, while ministers are party officials who move with party demands
Therefore, top civil servants often have a great deal of input into policy-making

19. Comparative Executives
PM of Britain
President of the US
Serves only as he/she remains leader of the majority party
Elected as a member of Parliament
Has an excellent chance of getting his programs past Parliament
Cabinet members not experts in policy areas, rely on bureaucracy to provide expertise
Elected every four years by an electoral college based on popular election
Elected as President
Has an excellent chance of ending up in gridlock with Congress
Cabinet members usually don’t come from Congress
Some expertise in policy areas, one criteria for their appointment, head vast bureaucracies

20. Check for understanding
How is the US Executive Branch different or similar to the Executive “branch” in the UK?

21. Public and Semipublic Institutions

22. QUANGOS Quasi-nongovernmental organizations
Almost 6,000 present, 90% operating at the local level
Some advise on policy, others deliver services, all are created by Acts of Parliament and publically funded

23. Interest Groups Corporatist arrangements during collectivist years
In a Parliamentary system
Little of the lobbying one finds in the U.S.
Interests groups focus their attention on decision makers: ministers, party leaders, and senior civil servants; try to influence the drafting of a bill, not how it is dealt with on the House floor. WHY?
Corporatist arrangements during collectivist years
Thatcher government in 1980s effectively froze the unions out of the decision making.
Labour unions lose public support
Parties start to distance themselves- New Labour

24. Quagnos: 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

25. judicial branch

26. Judiciary Branch
In Britain, the principle of parliamentary sovereignty (parliament’s decisions are final) has limited the development of judicial review
British courts can only determine whether government decisions violate the common law or previous acts of Parliament
By tradition British courts cannot impose their rulings upon Parliament, the prime minister, or the cabinet
Law lords – settle disputes from lower courts; they do not have power of judicial review, so their authority is limited
Constitutional Reform Act of 2005 – provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the existing role of the law lords
Most judges are not MPs and few are active in party politics; most were educated in public schools and the Oxbridge connection

27. Judicial Branch-est. 2009
Highest appellate court in all matters under English law, Welsh law, Northern Irish Law, Scottish civil law and devolution issues
12 professional judges appointed by House of Lords
No term limits, can be removed by an address of Parliament
Judges forced to retire at 70 or 75
Composition: A President, Deputy President, 12 permanent Justices

28. Closure Define a parliamentary system.
Explain how devolution challenges the sovereignty of the Parliament in Great Britain. Provide 2 examples.