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THE GOVERNMENT
OF THE UNITED
KINGDOM
Structure
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The Monarchy
The Parliament
The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The British Government Today
1. The Constitution
2. Parliament
3. The Role of Monarchy Today
4. The House of Lords and the House of
Commons
The Monarchy
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Monarch
supreme ruler
the king, queen,
emperor, or
empress.
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Monarchy
state ruled by a
monarch
Divine Right of Kings
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The sovereign derived his authority from God,
not from his subjects.
A hereditary king or queen
An exception
Structure
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The Monarchy
The Parliament
The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The British Government Today
1. The Constitution
2. Parliament
3. The Role of Monarchy Today
4. The House of Lords and the House of
Commons
Parliament
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Derived from the French “parlement”, the
action of parler (to speak)
A parlement is a talk, a discussion – a meeting,
an assembly
Originated in 1200’s, during the reign of King
John’s grandson-Edward I.
The aim – to constrain the power of the
monarch.
Model Parliament
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1295 - Model
Parliament - included
members of the
clergy and the
aristocracy, as well as
representatives from
the various counties
and boroughs.
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Each county
two knights
each borough
two burgesses
each city
two citizens
Model Parliament
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At the time, Parliament‘s
legislative authority was
limited and its primary
role was to levy taxes.
Edward’s paramount goal
in summoning the
parliament was to raise
funds for his wars,
specifically planned
campaigns against the
French and the Scots for
the upcoming year, and
countering an
insurgency(叛乱) in
Wales.
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King Edward I
Parliament
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the Model Parliament was unicameral, summoning
49 lords to sit with 292 representatives of the
Commons.
In 1341 the Commons met separately from the
nobility and clergy for the first time, creating
what was effectively an Upper Chamber and a
Lower Chamber, with the knights and burgesses
sitting in the latter. This Upper Chamber became
known as the House of Lords from 1544 onward,
and the Lower Chamber became known as the
House of Commons, collectively known as the
Houses of Parliament.
Parliament
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In 1407, Henry IV decreed that
money grants
Should be considered and approved by
the Commons
Before being considered by
the Lords
This became a formula almost the same today.
The Commons also acquired law-making powers by
the 15th century.
Parliament
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King James I → Charles I
Divine right of kings
Civil war
To reassert the rights of Parliament
1649
1660
Parliament
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1688 – the Glorious Revolution
In return
William of Orange promised the
representatives that he would declare
governing without parliamentary consent to
be illegal.
1689
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Bill of Rights passed by
Parliament
It laid down a number of
things that future
monarchs could not do. It
marked a sharp decline in
powers of the Monarch. It
marked the beginning of
the British Constitutional
Monarchy.
Provisions of the act
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Freedom from royal interference with the law. Though the sovereign
remains the fount of justice, he or she cannot unilaterally establish new
courts or act as a judge.
Freedom from taxation by Royal Prerogative. The agreement of
parliament became necessary for the implementation of any new taxes.
Freedom to petition the monarch.
Freedom from the standing army during a time of peace. The
agreement of parliament became necessary before the army could be
moved against the populace when not at war.
Freedom for Protestants to bear arms for their own defence, as suitable
to their class and as allowed by law.
Freedom to elect members of parliament without interference from the
sovereign.
Freedom of speech in parliament. This means that the proceedings of
parliament can not be questioned in a court of law or any other body
outside of parliament itself; this forms the basis of modern
parliamentary privilege.
Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, as well as excessive bail.
Freedom from fine and forfeiture without a trial.
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国会两院经依法集会于西敏寺宫，为确保英国人民传统之权利与自由而制定本法
律。
1．凡未经国会同意，以国王权威停止法律或停止法律实施之僭越权力。
2．近来以国王权威擅自废除法律或法律实施之僭越权力，为非法权力。
3．设立审理宗教事务之钦差法庭之指令，以及一切其他同类指令与法庭，皆为非
法而有害
4．凡未经国会准许，借口国王特权，为国王而征收，或供国王使用而征收金钱，
超出国会准许之时限或方式者，皆为非法。
5．向国王请愿，乃臣民之权利，一切对此项请愿之判罪或控告，皆为非法。
6．除经国会同意外，平时在本王国内征募或维持常备军，皆属违法。
7．凡臣民系新教徒者，为防卫起见，得酌量情形，并在法律许可范围内，置备武
器。
8．国会议员之选举应是自由的。
9．国会内之演说自由、辩论或议事之自由，不应在国会以外之任何法院或任何地
方，受到弹劾或讯问。
10．不应要求过多的保释金，亦不应强课过分之罚款，更不应滥施残酷非常之刑
罚。
11．陪审官应予正式记名列表并陈报之，凡审理叛国犯案件之陪审官应为自由世
袭地领有人。
12．定罪前，特定人的一切让与及对罚金与没收财产所做的一切承诺，皆属非法
而无效。
13．为申雪一切诉冤，并为修正、加强与维护法律起见，国会应时常集会。
彼等(即灵俗两界贵族与众议员等)并主张、要求与坚持上述各条为彼等无可置疑
之权利与自由；凡上开各条中有损人民之任何宣告、判决、行为或诉讼程序，今
后断不应据之以为结论或先例。
Union: the Parliament of
Great Britain
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Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, Acts of
Parliament passed in the Parliament of England
and the Parliament of Scotland created a new
Kingdom of Great Britain and dissolved both
parliaments, replacing them with a new Parliament
of Great Britain based in the former home of the
English parliament. The Parliament of Great
Britain would later become the Parliament of the
United Kingdom in 1801 when the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Ireland was formed through
the Act of Union 1800.
The Houses of Parliament
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House of Lords
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House of commons
Structure
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The Monarchy
The Parliament
The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The British Government Today
1. The Constitution
2. Parliament
3. The Role of Monarchy Today
4. The House of Lords and the House of
Commons
The Birth of the Prime Minister
and Cabinet
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Important Parliamentarians → the Cabinet
the core of leadership of the British
government
Appointed by the sovereign
1714 – King George I – not interested in
politics
Thus
The Prime Minister
The First Prime Minister
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Sir Robert Walpole
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1832
The House of Commons
Appointed by the monarch
→
By popular election
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MPs
→ political parties
→ the leader of the party with the most supporters
becomes the Prime Minister
David William Donald Cameron
he won the Conservative leadership election in 2005.
In the 2010 general election, the Conservatives
gained a plurality of seats in a hung parliament and
Cameron was appointed Prime Minister on 11 May
2010
Structure
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The Monarchy
The Parliament
The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet
The British Government Today
1. The Constitution
2. Parliament
3. The Role of Monarchy Today
4. The House of Lords and the House of
Commons
The British Government Today
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A parliamentary democracy
A constitutional monarchy
代议民主制
君主立宪制
The British Government Today
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Queen - the head of State
In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does
not rule:
the United Kingdom is governed, in the
name of the Sovereign, by His or Her
Majesty’s Government
The British Government Today
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Australia
Canada
New Zealand
India
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Governor-General
The Constitution
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No written
constitution
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Statute law
laws passed by Parliament
The common laws
Laws established through
common practice in the courts
Conventions
Rules and practices regarded as
vital to the workings of
government
Parliament
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1.
2.
3.
4.
Functions:
To pass law;
To provide, by voting for taxation, the means
of carrying on the work of government;
To scrutinise/examine government policy,
administration and expenditure;
To debate the major issues of the day
Parliament
The Queen
House of Lords
The House of Commons
The Role of the Monarchy
Today
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To symbolise the tradition and unity of the
British state.
Legally head of the executive
An integral part of the legislature
Head of the judiciary
Commander in chief of the armed forces
“supreme governor” of the Church of
England
Now
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To represent Britain at home and abroad
To set standards of good citizenship and
family life
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The Queen is a confidante to the Prime
Minister.
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5 mins to read P42-43
The House of Lords and the
House of Commons
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The House of Lords
the Lords Spiritual
the Archbishops and most prominent
bishops of the Church of England
the Lords Temporal
“everyone else”
Peers
Life peers
The main function of the House
of Lords
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To bring the wide
experience of its
members into the
process of lawmaking
More than 1200
members (only 375
on average attend the
sittings regularly).
No salary.
The House of Commons
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members elected from the electoral
districts of the UK called constituencies
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MPs sit for the lifetime of the parliament.
Duration : 5 years
Head of the House of Commons: the Speaker
651 MPs
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Main functions
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Law-making
authorizing taxation and public expenditure
examining the actions of the Government