The United Kingdom

Kasey Bond, Evan Dean, Heather Flowers, Jessica Mendez, Emily Overfelt

Unitary GovernmentThe UK has a unitary governmental structure

and that consists of 4 subunits:EnglandNorthern IrelandScotlandWales

Evan

Centralization in the UK“In a unitary state, political authority is centralized.

Decisions made by central government are of fundamental importance, for that are binding on all public agencies…”The central concept of centralization in the UK is that

the same standards of public policy apply everywhere in the country. Ex. Equal funding for all schools instead of favoring more

prosperous districts. This is achieved by collection of taxes to a central source and

then even distribution throughout the whole of the nation.Elected ministers stress their accountability to a

national electorateCentralization has led to the formation of executive

agencies run by non-elected officials to distribute major public services National Health Service (NHS) is the largest of these

organizations Allocates money to medical professionals who are self-

employed, but as a result of universal healthcare, receive a large majority of their wages from NHS and they must also work to the NHS’s guidelines.

Evan

Centralization cont.Widespread public welfare programs cost a great deal, such as

the NHS. This has lead parliament to attempt to limit the increase public expenditures amid an increasing public demand for more and better services at less personal expenditure.Ex. Parliament is trying to reduce the cost of medical supplies,

which is possible due to the government having a monopoly over their purchase; and furthermore through the rationing of the supplies This has led to longer waits for the receipt of medical services, although

the UK has not adopted a popular method in use by the majority of the EU: asking citizens to pay a small portion of their medical expenses, i.e. simply government run insurance with a deductable.

The UK supports more than 1000 Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental OrganizationsSome may provide services, while others simply provide policy

Evan

Devolution in the UKDevolution has given some autonomy to

Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. New legislatures in Wales and Scotland.1998 Good Friday Agreement between Catholics

and Protestants in Northern Ireland allowed for establishment of North Irish Assembly.

Established Office of Mayor and General Assembly in London.

Regional and local authorities have greater legitimacy and more powers than in past, but central governments still controls defense policy, most taxation power, and national economic policy.

Also, the central government may limit power if it chooses to do so.

Evan

Mixed Parliamentary SystemThe government of the UK consists of Parliament,

The Prime Minister (Head of Government), and a monarch (Head of State).The Prime Minister is currently David Cameron of

the British Conservative PartyThe monarch is currently Queen Elizabeth II of the

House of Windsor

Evan

Head of State

“The crown rather than a constitution symbolizes the authority of government. However, the monarch is only a ceremonial head of state.”

A British monarch typically serves from coronation until death, unless they decide to abdicate (step-down).Ex. Elizabeth II has been reigning queen for the last 59 years.

While holding no true political power, the monarch gives formal assent to the laws passed by Parliament, but is not allowed to publicly state opinion about legislation. The monarch is expected to respect the will of Parliament as communicated to her by the Prime Minister.

The crown is a symbol to which people are asked to give their loyalty and is the traditional foundation of British government.

Evan

Head of Government The head of government of the UK is the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is generally the leader of the ruling party in Parliament, and always the leader of his/her party, and is elected indirectly by Parliament, causing this phenomenon.

Elections are held every 5 years, but there is no limit on the number of terms that a Prime Minister can hold Ex. Margaret Thatcher was Prime Minister from 1979 to 1990

The office of the Prime Minister focuses primarily on foreign affairs because of the need to interact with heads of governments around the world

The PM: guides the legislative process, usually with a goal of pushing the agenda

of his/her party appoints a cabinet from among the House of Commons and the House of

Lords that generally contains members of his/her party is the First Lord of the Treasury and this is where a majority of his power

is derived from, since he controls governmental cash flow. Has the power to deploy British forces and to declare war Advises the monarch on the appointment of Bishops and Arch-Bishops to

the Church of England Also decides on the honors bestowed upon people by the crown Evan

Legislative BranchThe UK has a parliamentary systemLike the US, the UK has a bicameral

legislative system. Two Parliament branches:

House of LordsHouse of Commons

Queen is also part of the Legislature. She has ceremonial responsibilities and little real power

Emily

House of LordsThe ‘upper’ HouseThe representatives aren’t elected directly by

the general populationTwo different types of members:

Lords Spiritual are senior bishops of the Church of England

Lords Temporal are appointed by the Queen/King on the advice of the Prime Minister

Emily

House of CommonsThe ‘lower’ HouseDemocratically elected The ‘Chief whip’ is assigned to keep

parliament attending and voting. The Chief Whip is a member of the Prime minister’s cabinetCan be accessed by the Prime Minister so that

there is some measure of control over the proceedings in parliament.

Emily

Jobs of the Houses (and Queen)House of Commons proposes legislation House of Lords reviews legislation proposed

by the lower house and debates on whether to change amendments.

The Queen formally approves the actions of the parliament, thus making it law. However, this is ONLY a formality, the Queen has no real choice.

Emily

BackbencherBackbencher- a member for Parliament who

doesn’t hold governmental office. They are either a new member or a senior member.

They are not chosen to sit in the ministry for or against a bill

Sometimes can wield lots of power because they have not declared their opinion when there is a split legislature

Emily

Judicial BranchEngland and Wales

The Court of Appeal, Civil DivisionThe Court of Appeal, Criminal Division(limited cases) the High Court

ScotlandThe Court of Session

Northern IrelandThe Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland(limited cases) the High Court

Jessica

Judicial (cont.)Supreme Court

highest court of all the lands hears appeals on arguable points of law of

general public importanceconcentrates on cases of the greatest public

and constitutional importancemaintains and develops the role of the highest

court in the United Kingdom as a leader in the common law world

Jessica

Selection of JudgesApplicants selected by President of the CourtQualifications include:

Holding high judicial office for min. 2 years or been practicing law for 15 years

Still informal process because it’s so new

Jessica

An “Unwritten Constitution”Britain has a “jumble of acts of Parliament”

as a constitution, nothing is actually written in one document

The Bill of Rights is meant to be secured by the leaders who govern

Since the Magna Carta no other document has been written to ensure the individual rights of the English people, but it all works

The Crown is not a constitutional symbol but rather an authority of government

Jessica

http://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/aboutus/structure/index.htm

http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/docs/UKSC_StoryPanel_9_1100hx800w_v6.pdf

Jessica

Bureaucracy in Great BritainNot held in one document but in the monarchSovereignty rests in ParliamentParties consist of Conservative party, Labour

party, Liberal Democrats, Liberal party, and the Social Democratic party

Trades mostly with European Union rather than with the U.S. as it’s main trader

Majority of population holds to a Christian based society

Heather

Cabinet in Great Britain Collective body of Her Majesty’s Government in the UK. The 22 members are selected from the House of Commons, and

the House of Lords by Prime Minister. Also they are heads of government departments; e.g. Secretary of

State The Prime Minister is the Head of the organization Treasury

Controls taxing, spending, and manage the economy which they concentrate on the most

More senior civil servants Most important politically with the Chancellor of the Exchequer,

Gordon Brown Ministers

Initiates policies- selecting from what they have or avoiding difficult ones

Responsible for civil actions of the people Experts in parliamentary politics rather than one subject Reputation depends on department success Heather

Political RecruitmentMost important roles:

Cabinet minister, higher civil servant, and intermittent public person To become a Cabinet minster, an individual must first be

elected to Parliament and spend years attracting positive attention there. To ensure one to be an ambitious Cabinet minister, becoming an MP and obtaining a seat in the House of Commons is important

Higher Civil Servants are recruited without specific professional qualifications or training. They become specialists in the difficult task of managing political ministers and government business.

Intermittent public persons such as leaders of institutions are concerned with their own organization, and when government infringes on their business, they become concerned with politics.

GeographyThere is a gap between the everyday lives of policymakers

and the majority on whose behalf they act

Kasey

ParticipationElections are the one opportunity people have to influence

government directly. Turnout at general elections has averaged 77% since 1950.The wider the definition of political participation the

greater the number who can be said to be at least indirectly or intermittently involved in politics.

Kasey

Other important things to knowGovernment is seen in many aspects

Queen’s gov’t- nonpartisan featuresBlair’s gov’t- personal or transitoryLabour (Conservative) gov’t- partisanship

Whitehall is the executive agencies Downing Street represents Prime MinisterParliament- House of Commons and House of

LordsAll together is Westminister

Jessica

Civil Service All the hard working people keeping activity

in bureaucracy The job includes summarizing long papers,

looking at graphs, relating to people Power is often abuses because there is no

check on ministers by the ParliamentUntil 2005 information on policymaking was

never released by the government Politicians don’t hesitate to lie about what is

really going on As a result roughly 1/3 of Britons truly trust

their government Jessica

ReferencesComparative Politics Todayhttp://www.hmcourts-service.gov.uk/cms/aboutus.htm