1. British Judiciary Hierarchy of Courts (like the U.S.) 2009: Supreme Court Created (12 justices) – Prior to 2009: Law Lords were highest authority 12 members from House of Lords Prime Minister appoints justices

2. British Judiciary No tradition of Judicial Review – Declare an Act of Parliament unconstitutional – Parliamentary Sovereignty Can only determine if government’s actions are in keeping with common law and previous acts of Parliament. POSSIBLE CHANGE? Britain bound by EU laws and treaties. EU law conflicts with British law?

3. Supreme Court Overturns Non-EU Spouses Ban Describe the UK law. With what international law did it conflict? What practice did the UK law hope to deter? Describe Lord Wilson’s justification. How is this a SOVEREIGNTY ISSUE? UK: no “Bill of Rights.” EU: has “Bill of Rights.”

4. Bureaucracy (Whitehall) Led by the Cabinet ministers (MPs) 100,000s of civil servants who administer the laws. Top level bureaucrats – Experts in their field – Ministers rely on expertise – Have discretionary power Bureaucrats: bipartisan – Retain jobs through changes in government. – Merit-based hirings. http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/ Partial List of Cabinet HM Treasury Home Office Defense Ministry Ministry of Justice Ministry of Health Ministry of Education Ministry of Business Ministry of Work and Pensions

5. Linkage Institutions Groups that connect the citizens to the government. – Political Parties – Interest Groups – Mass Media

6. Political Parties and Interest Groups Similarities Represent political POV of members. Influence Policymaking Differences Parties: run candidates for office. Interest Groups: only support/endorse Parties: broad spectrum of policies. Interest Groups: support a few related policies.

7. Special Interest Groups Pluralist v. Corporatist Systems Pluralist Many rival groups compete for policy influence in a sector. autonomous of govt. U.S. system Corporatist Few groups for each sector. Officially approved by govt. Groups involved in policymaking.

8. Quango Quasi-Autonomous Non-Governmental Org. Government funded Approx 1,000. Help Govt. craft policy Examples Forestry Commission Environment Agency Nat’l Institute for Clinical Excellence – Which drugs to fund. Because of quangos Britain has a pluralist system with neo-corporatist tendencies.

9. Britain and Special Interests Historically, business and trade unions are the most powerful. Trade Unions Congress (TUC) – Especially powerful during Collectivist Consensus.