1. Political Institutions of the United Kingdom
Radina Mutskova

2. Westminster Parliament- Two Houses (Bicameral)
House of Commons
“Lower House”
House of Lords
“Upper House”

3. Parliament
Fixed-term Parliaments Act (2011): Introduced fixed-term elections (set date, cannot be changed by incumbent) for the first time to the Westminster parliament; elections must be held every 5 years
PM can change date of elections within 2 months
“vote of no confidence” exception
Censure motion
Motion of confidence gone bad
Motion of no confidence
Defeat of a supply bill

4. Prime Minister (PM) and Cabinet
Majority Party/ Coalition chooses member of Parliament (MP) as party leader
Appoints Cabinet from MPs
One minister per major bureaucratic subdivision
PM Initiates 90% policy with cabinet
PM and Cabinet defend policy during “Question Time”
“collective responsibility”- Cabinet supports PM
If cabinet member publically disagrees with PM, expected to resign position

5. House of Commons Two party system (650 seats)
Majority party/ coalition
Loyal opposition
Single member district voting
One candidate per party
Candidate with most votes wins
Candidate does not have to reside in district
Party leaders often run in “safe” districts

6. House of Commons Debate Speaker of the House presides Nonpartisan
Allows all to speak
Question Time
One hour four times a week, PM and Cabinet defend policy
The foremost privilege claimed by both Houses is that of freedom of speech in debate; nothing said in either House may be questioned in any court or other institution outside Parliament

7. House of Lords
House of Lords Act (1999): no more (than 92) inherited seats
Lords Temporal (unfixed number)
Can be partisan, recommended by PM
Lords Spiritual (26 members)
Nonpartisan, officials of the Church of England
The Church of Scotland (Presbyterian) and Anglican churches in Wales and Northern Ireland are not represented
May delay legislation, debate technicalities
House of Commons may remove additions by simple majority
House of Lords may be empowered in the future

8. Passing a Bill

9. House of Commons Composition

10. House of Lords Composition

11. Political Parties Caucuses 19th century- 2 party system
Tories (supported King Charles II)
Whigs (opposed)
Industrial Revolution
Tories became Conservative Party
Traditional Wing
Thatcherite Wing
Whigs became Liberal Party
Labour Party
Liberal Democratic Alliance Party
Liberal and Democrats merged in 1989
In 1980s had as much as 26% of popular vote, no more than 62 seats in HOC
Other small parties…

12. Parties Conservative Party Liberal Democrats Labour Party
opposition to the European single currency
Reduce the rate of taxes
Social conservatives
Opposed to state multiculturalism
Favor international alliances
Job growth
Fair taxes (tax cuts for working class)
Fair but firm immigration
Equal marriage
diversity of ideological trends from strongly socialist, to more moderately social democratic
trade union movement
Keynesian economics

13. Other Parties Plaid Cymru of Wales Scottish National Party of Scotland
Sinn Fein of Northern Ireland
Political wing of IRA
Democratic Unionist Party led by Protestant clergymen

14. The Judiciary Common Law- focus put on precedent and interpretation
No fixed Constitution
Statues, court judgments, treaties, parliamentary constitutional conventions, royal perogatives
“No word of Parliament can be unconstitutional for the law of the land knows not the word or the idea.”
Change by passing new acts of Parliament
Bill of Rights 1689
Appeals
Lowest: District Court
Appeal to: High Courts, then UK Supreme Court
Supreme Court replaced Law Lords (5 MPs from HOL) in 2005
Impartial
Expected to retire at 75

15. The Crown Ceremonial Head of State
Opens Parliament
Meets foreign Heads of State
Expected to respect will of Parliament
“royal assent”: Assents bills
“royal prerogative”: a body of customary authority, privilege, and immunity, recognized in common law
Powers
“Speech from the Throne” opens Parliament
requests the person most likely to command the support of a majority in the House to form a government
Can refuse of a request of the PM to dissolve Parliament
Formally appoints members of the House of Lords

16. Bureaucracy Ministers (heads of bureaucracy) appointed by PM
Top officials
Nonpartisan
Experts in their fields
Long term
Advise ministers
Discretionary power
“Oxbridge”