The British system

The British system            

Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch had real power but gradually, over the centuries, more and more of this power has been transferred to parliament. In 1649 King Charles I was executed and the country became a republic for 11 years. The monarchy was then restored but parliament had become the supreme authority. At first only comparatively rich people were represented in parliament but, during the 19^th century, the right to vote was gradually extended to all men and then, in 1928, to women too. Britain does not have a written constitution. The division of power is based on laws and traditions which have developed over the centuries.

The Monarch

The Queen is the head of state and a symbol of national unity but she has no control over the policies of the government. She officially appoints the ministers of "Her Majesty's Government" but, in fact, they have been chosen by the Prime Minister.

Parliament

Parliament is responsible for making the laws of the country and for giving authority to the decisions of the government. A government cannot continue in power if parliament votes against it. The main institution of parliament is the House of Commons, which has 659 members. These MPs (Members of Parliament) are elected in the following way: Britain is divided into 659 constituencies, each with about 90,000 people. In each constituency the different political parties propose their candidates. The people vote and the candidate who wins most votes becomes the MP.

In the House of Commons the MPs discuss the problems of the country , criticize or support the actions of the government and decide on new laws. A proposal for new legislation (called a "bill") must be approved by a majority of MPs before it becomes a law.

There is also a second institution in parliament , the House of Lords, which has about 1,200 members. They are not elected by the people. Some of them are hereditary peers (members of old aristocratic families who inherit their titles); others are life peers (former politicians and other well-known people who are given a personal title by the government). Senior bishops of the Church of England and senior judges also sit in the House of Lords. The present government is planning to reform the House of Lords by removing the hereditary peers.

The House of Lords has little real power. Its main purpose is to reconsider bills which have been passed by the Commons. It can make amendments to bills but it cannot reject them.

The senior judges in the House of Lords, however, have an important function. They are the final court of appeal of the British judicial system.

The Prime Minister and the Government

The monarch appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the party with most MPs in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister then chooses other leading MPs from his/her party to become ministers in the government. Among the most important ministers are the Chancellor of the Exchequer (responsible for financial matters), the Home Secretary (responsible for internal security, police, prisons, immigration etc.) and the Foreign Secretary (responsible for foreign policy). The party with the second largest number of MPs is recognized as the official opposition.

The government remains in power as long as it has the support of a majority in the Commons. After 5 years there must be a new general election but the Prime Minister has the power to dissolve parliament and call a new election at any time during those 5 years. If no single party has a majority, a coalition of parties may form the government. This rarely happens in Britain because the voting system favours two-party politics.

There is no proportional representation and so it is very difficult for small parties to be represented in parliament (unless they have strong local support in a particular region). In fact the House of Commons is physically designed to accommodate two parties, one sitting opposite the other.

Local Government

Cities and counties (Lancashire, Derbyshire etc.) have their own local governments, called councils. In local elections the people choose councillors (the equivalent of MPs), who meet in the Town Hall or County Hall (the equivalent

of parliament). The local councils are responsible for administering social services, education, roads, transport, housing, police etc. They collect a local tax, called "council tax", but their powers are very limited compared to central government. Britain has a very centralised system of government.

Scotland is different from the rest of Britain in several ways. It has its own legal and education system and it also manages its own health service, agriculture and fishing. However people living in Scotland, and also Wales, are demanding more control over their own affairs and some even want complete independence. The government is now setting up regional parliaments for Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland had its own regional parliament in Belfast but this was closed down because of disputes between the two communities living there, the Unionists (who want to remain part of the United Kingdom) and the Nationalists (who want to unite with the rest of Ireland).

Political Parties

The Labour Party developed as a socialist party, with close connections to the trade unions. It was in power between 1945 and 1951, when it established the National Health Service and other welfare state institutions and also nationalised a number of important industries (coalmines, railways, electricity, gas etc.) bringing them under state control. It was in power again in the 1960s and 1970s but lost popularity because it was seen as a party of high taxation and old-fashioned ideas, dominated by the trade unions. In the 1990s, especially under the leadership of Tony Blair, the party modernised its image and policies, and moved towards the political centre, making it more attractive to middle-class voters. Labour won a decisive victory in the 1997 general election.

The Conservative Party is a centre -right party which traditionally wins support from the middle class and business interests. When it came to power under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher in 1979 the party reversed many of the socialist policies of previous governments.Mrs Thatcher privatised industries which were under state control (selling them to private investors) and reduced the power of the trade unions. The government encouraged people to be less dependent on the state by, for example, taking out private pensions and insurance. It introduced policies in favour of private enterprise and the free market and also tried to reduce taxes. Mrs Thatcher's successor as leader, John Major, won the 1992 election but the party became seriously divided over British participation in the European Union. Many Conservatives (and also some Labour supporters) are opposed to European integration and the transfer of power from London to Brussels.

The Liberal Democrats regularly win 15-20% of votes but have a comparatively small number of MPs because of the voting system. They are politically in the centre and are enthusiastic supporters of the European Union.

Scotland and Wales each has its own nationalist party in favour of independence, the Scottish Nationalist Party and Plaid Cymru. The main political parties in Northern Ireland are the Ulster Unionists and the Democratic Unionists, on the Unionist side, and the Social Democratic Labour Party and Sinn Fein, on the Irish Nationalist side.