Britain 3 Government Structure

Why Britain's monarchy is unique Mix of written and unwritten constitution o Unwritten mostly based from convention Only form of Constitutional Monarchy that supports two hereditary institutions o The Crown and House of Lords No formal checks and balances

Organization Parliamentary Sovereignty o Ultimate power to make and overturn law o Traditionally Prime Minister reports to Parliament (Fusion of Powers) o Recently power has been reduced by the European Court of Justice Unitary State o No powers delegated to smaller regions o Changed under Blair where certain powers were distributed to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland Cabinet Government o Cabinet has a mandated function so PM can't ignore them like the President can

Terms Constitutional Monarchy: Head of State is hereditary, but the elected officials have the powers of the crown Parliamentary Sovereignty: Parliament can make or overturn any law, and no one can rescind or restrict Parliament Parliamentary Democracy: Prime Minister is answerable to Parliament, and may be dismissed by it Unitary State: No powers are reserved constitutionally for sub national units of government Fusion of Powers: Parliament is executive, judiciary, and legislative branches all rolled into one Cabinet Government: The executive power is put into a cabinet of men rather than one person Devolution – ceding of power to subnational govt bodies.

Cabinet Government The cabinet is a group of the most senior government officials from the reigning party Paid Cabinet Ministers The cabinet members are drawn almost exclusively from the House of Commons and sometimes from the House of Lords. They meet once a week In a cabinet government the ministers are given the executive powers which are comparable to the powers of the US President.

Organization (continued) Fusion of Powers o The British cabinet bears enormous constitutional responsibility. Constitutional Monarchy o The position of head of state is passed through the royal family. o However, she is only one element of the parliament.

Cabinet Government Foreign Office o The equivalent of the US State Department Home Office o The ministry for justice and the interior. Also responsible for security and order. Chancellor of the Exchequer o A finance ministry with more power than the US Treasury Department.

US Presidential System vs. British Parliament Bureaucracy and Civil Service Public and Semi-Private Institution Military and The Police The Judiciary Sub National Government

Bureaucracy and Civil Service Cabinets authority must be shared with unelected officials o Permanent Secretary oversees a department Much of the conceptualizing is done by committee o As U.S Congress would do In the past 30 years NPM has been greatly downsized o Permanent to causal (temporary) o Smaller size o Streamline operations

Public and Semipublic Institutions Semipublic Institutions: Entities that are sanctioned by the state but without direct democratic oversight Nationalization of industries did not last o New Labour must find new ways of expanding state functions, such as semipublic institutions Since the 1970’s there have been increasing Nondepartmental Public Bodies (NDPBs, Quangos) o Growing controversy

The Military and Police Police officials command a steady popular support in the UK. Like the US, the military and police are distanced from politics, commanded by a civilian leadership. Considered one of the top five militaries in the world. Their position was strengthened by two decades under Thatcher and Major.

The Falklands War In 1982, Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sent the British fleet to the Falkland Islands (A British territory) in response to an invasion by the Argentinean military. Britain’s decisive victory strengthened their global position and reasserted the dominance of their military. The Argentinean military debacle led to the overthrow of the ruling military government.

Iraq In the 1991 Gulf War, the UK deployed a full armored division to support the coalition forces in liberating Kuwait. In 1998, the UK joined a coalition with the US to perform an aerial bombardment of Iraq. In 2003, under the leadership of Tony Blair, the UK committed troops for the invasion and occupation of Iraq along with a global coalition of nations.

Police Scandals In 1993, the racist killing of Steven Lawrence in London led to a massive scandal and an independent investigation into police conduct. In 2011, the police were accused of looking the other way in the News of the World Scandal.

The Judiciary Unlike the US, the parliamentary system of the UK limits the role of the judiciary. Their only mission is to determine whether government policy or administration violated common law or Parliamentary acts. However, they do perform influential royal commissions on industrial relations. Because of this, they are sometimes accused as being the an extension of partisan politics.

The Iraq Inquiry In the 1980’s an independent inquiry led by judges on the sale of arms to Iraq led to embarrassment for the government. This was part of the Iran-Iraq War where the US and the UK supported Saddam Hussein against the radical new Iranian government.

The Supreme Court In 2004, Tony Blair proposed a constitutional reform bill which moved the court’s authority from the House of Lords to a new and independent Supreme Court. This new court is based on the Supreme Court in the US.

Subnational Government National and Local governments Local government. o No power consitutionally, but DEVOLUTION strengthens o Financial autonomy (1973) Thatcher vs. GLC (1986) o Per capita levy for finance o unpopular

The Policy-Making Process Parliamentary sovereignty Congress vs. Parliament o Executive, not parliament  policy communities/connections EU policy o Council of finance ministers o European central bank