dat nuoc hoc anh

and its leaders = MPs The parties choose candidates in elections independent candidates are rarely elected The largest minority party = opposition criticize the party running the count

British Political System

1 The party system

2 The public attitude to politics

3 The style of democracy

The party system

A two party system – party system

The party system

The party that wins

the majority of seat forms the Gov and its leaders (= MPs)

The parties choose candidates in elections

(independent candidates are rarely elected)

The largest minority party = opposition

( criticize the party running the country )

Without agreement between the political parties, the British parliamentary system would break down

Names of their local MPs

Names of important Gov ministers

Are unknown

Style of democracy

 Have high respect for the law

• Little systematic law breaking by large number

• Not invading taxation

 Comparatively unenthusiastic about

making new laws

• Best to do without them

• Few rules and regulations in many aspects (for

Government and individuals)

 Relationship between Individual and the State

Both should leave each other alone

Style of democracy

Not breaking the

law and paying taxes

Not being obliged

No concept of By the “By the

The constitution

Is a constitutional monarchy

– party system governed by a King or Queen

– party system accepts the advice of Parliament

Is also parliamentary democracy

– party system Government controlled by Parliament– party system Official head of state or President has little real power

The style of politics

Political life is still influenced by the traditional British respect for privacy and love of secrecy

- Being good friends

- Little fighting about how political business is

to be conducted fairly

1 The appearance

2 The reality

3 The role of the monarch

4 The value of the monarch

5 The future of the monarch

The appearance

In written law, the Queen has absolute power to:

 Choose the Prime Minister

 Dismiss ministers and governments

 Dissolve Parliament

 Refuse to agree to legislation

passed by Parliament

 Dismiss the governments of

other countries of which she is

monarch

 Embody the law in the courts

 Can do nothing that is legally wrong

In reality: Different

 Can t choose anyone she likes to be P.M ’t welcome

 P.M decides the other government ministers

 P.M requests a dissolution of Gov.

 The Royal assent to a bill passed by

Parliament is automatic

The reality

The Queen has almost no power at all

When she opens Parliament each year,

the speech she makes has been written

for her

• she makes no secret of the fact

• She reads word for word

• She might ask the Gov minister to

change the wording

The reality

The Queen has almost no power at all

Can t stop the Gov ’t welcome going ahead with any of its politics

The Role of the monarch

Personal embodiment

of the Gov

A final check on a Gov

Plays practical role

People can be as critical as they like about the real

Gov without being accused of being unpatriotic

Perform the ceremonial duties

 the real G has more time

to get on with the actual job

of running the country

The Value of the monarch

Important to the economy

Popular with the

majority of the

British people

Make up for the

lack of colour and

ceremony

 A source of entertainment

Future of the monarchy

• Not a political issue

Changing Guard at Windsor Castle

Future of royal style

a little grand,

a little less distant

1 The Government Structure

2 Collective Responsibility

3 The cabinet

4 The Prime Minister

5 The civil service

6 Central and local government

Government structure

• The Government includes:

– party system The Prime Minister: most powerful

– party system 20 MPs:

• From the House of Common and belong to the same political party

• Heads of the Gov Departments (Minister of )

• Appointed by the monarch (on the advice of the PM)

• Take on various responsibilities of managing Parliament but have COLLECTIVE

RESPONSIBILITY

Collective responsibility

All share the responsibilities for every

policy made by Government

The CabinetWhich?

Who?

Where?

The committee at the centre of the British political system and is the supreme decision- making body in

government

Leading politicians in the governing party

In the Cabinet room in

Downing Street

The Prime Minister

 Has a great deal of power in reality

– party system Appoints the cabinet and change his cabinet

(power of patronage)

– party system Makes the final decisions on major issues

– party system Decides the agenda for cabinet meetings

which he also chairs

 Has the power of public image

the leader of his party

in the House of Commons

The civil service

Helps run the Government day-to day and implement policies

Remains though Governments come and go

Knows the secrets of previous Gov which the present minister is unaware of

Reputed for absolute impartiality

 Top civil servants exercise quite a lot of control over their ministers

The civil service

Unknown to the larger public

Is a career

 get a high salary

 have absolute job security

 stand a good chance of being awarded

an official honour

• From the same narrow section of

to work on various projects

- Ministers have their own political advisers working

alongside with their

civil servants

Central and local

– party system Meet in council chamber in the Town Hall

or County Hall ≈ Parliament

– party system Make policy implemented by local

Government officers ≈ Civil Servants

Central and local

government

 Local Government authorities (=

councils) only have powers given by the Central Government

 Most people have far more direct dealings with local Gov.

– party system Manage nearly all public services

– party system Employ 3 times as many people

– party system Fairly free from constant central

interference in their day-to-day work

There is greater and greater

control by Central Government

Central and local

government

1 House of Commons

2 The Atmosphere of Parliament

3 MP’S BEEN OFFICIALLY DENIEDs life

4 Parliamentary business

5 MP’S BEEN OFFICIALLY DENIEDs way of working

6 The House of Lords

Like parliament in other

western democracies:

– party system Make new laws

– party system Give authority for the Government to raise and spend money

– party system Keep a close eye on Government activities and discuss these activities

Activities

Place of working offices

Palace of Westminster

House of commons

American Senate British House

Facing each other

• Either For or Against (No opportunity for a reflection of all various shades of political opinions)

• Encourage confrontation between Gov and opposition

• Reinforce the reality of the British two-party system

Speaker chairs the debate

between two rows

MPs speak in a conversational tone and don t ’t welcome normally speak

• Use “through the honourable Member of Winchester ”

or “through my right honourable friend ”

Take the heat out of debate and decrease “through ”

the possibility that violence may break down

MP’s life

• Traditionally, MPs weren t supposed to be ’t welcome

specialist politicians

should be ordinary people

ideally come from all walks of life

• MPs weren t paid until early 20 ’t welcome th

supposed to do a public service, not making a career

only rich people could afford to be MPs

• MPs have incredibly poor facilities: share

with at least more than 2 MPs

an office

a secretary

MP’s life

Politics in Britain in the last 40

years has become professional

 Most MPs = full-time politicians and

do another part-time job (if at all)

 Spend more time at work than any other professional in the country

However

• Mornings are taken up with

committee work, research, preparing speeches and dealing with the

problems of constituents

• Afternoons = meetings in the house

• Weekends are not free:

– party system Visit their constituencies

– party system Listen to the problems of anybody who wants to see them

MP’s life

A busy life

MP’s life

A busy life

So busy that they have little time for

• pursuing another career

• for families (higher rate of divorce)

Parliamentary business

Debate on a particular proposal

MPs have to vote for or against

by walking through one of 2 corridors

at the side of the house

– party system Aye: agree

– party system No: disagree

Parliamentary business

• Some committees are appointed to

examine particular proposal for laws

• There are also permanent committees

whose job is to investigate the

activities of government in particular field

– party system include 40 members

– party system have power to call certain people such

as civil servants to come and answer

their questions

Parliamentary business

The committees are becoming

a more and more important part

of the business of the Commons

• Each of the 2 major parties has several MPs

who perform this role

• Those make sure MPs do this by

- Informing all MPs in their party how they should vote

- Acting as intermediaries between the backbenchers and the front benches

- Keeping the party leadership informed about backbench opinion

MP’s way of working

House of lords

• Parliament's second

chamber

• Its main job is to

'double check' new laws

• There are 675 members

• Does not have the

power to stop a new law

that the Commons

wants, but it can delay

it

• Is a forum for public

discussion

The system

• The electoral system used in Britain doesn t seem to add up ’t welcome

The first-past- the-post system “through ”

• Nearly everybody votes for a candidate on the basis of the party (s)he represents, not on the qualities

or political opinions of the candidate

• Voters can choose only one

candidate ; otherwise, the ballot

paper is spoiled and not counted “through ”

• Voters ≥ 18 years old and on the

Time for New Election

• It is the Government

which decides when

to hold an election

• An election has to

take place at least

every five years

usually shorter

The campaign

– party system Local newspapers give

coverage to the

candidates

– party system Candidates hold meetings

– party system Party supporters stick up

posters in their windows

– party system Local party workers spend

their time canvassing

Comparatively

quiet affairs

no large rallies or parades like in USA

the campaign

 Limited amount of money

have to submit detailed

accounts for their expenses

for inspection

 Any attempt to influence

voters improperly is outlawed

Strict regulations on the campaign

the real campaign

• Takes place at a national level

• The parties spend millions of pounds

advertising on hoardings and newspapers

• They don t buy time on TV= USA but given ’t welcome

a number of strictly timed party election “through broadcasts”

• Each party also holds a daily televised

news conference

the real campaign

Emphasis is on the national party personalities

rather than local candidates

Process of Election

 The country is divided into a number

of areas of roughly equal population

= constituencies

must declare himself belonging to

one of these constituencies (after

Officer)

Process of election

 The date of general election

(polling day) is fixed

- always on Thursday

- not a public holiday

 On polling day, voters go to polling stations and put a cross next to the name of one

candidate on a ballot paper

Process of election

 After the polls close,

the marked ballot

papers are taken to a

central place in the

constituency and

counted

announcement for the votes cast for

each candidate and declares the winner

to be the MP for the constituency

 At the election night, TV start their

programmes

 By midnight, experts will be making

predictions about the composition of the newly elected House of Commons

validity of election

at any time

Suggestions for further reading

1 Major political parties

2 Powers of the monarch

3 Parliamentary procedure

4 The tension between central

government and local government

5 British voting behaviour