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UNITED KINGDOM
INTRODUCTION

Kesselman chooses to start his analysis of the
United Kingdom with a “tough week” for then
Prime Minister Tony Blair (January 2004). What
was he able to illustrate using this example?
Public opinion
 Limitations of Prime Minister (vote of no confidence
would force a resignation of the government and new
elections would take place)
 Democratic Process in Public Policy making
 Transparency in decision making

GEOGRAPHIC SETTING
Great Britain –
England, Wales
and Scotland
 United Kingdom
– Great Britain
and Northern
Ireland

SUMMARY OF BRITAIN’S
SIGNIFICANCE
First country with a limited monarchy
 Early 20th century, undoubtedly the world’s
greatest superpower
 Empire no longer exists, but still retains global
significance and influence
 Part of EU, yet not fully embracing being
“European”

THEMES

UK’s role in the world


Global Economic Influence


Industrial Revolution comparative advantage to today’s
“less is more” laissez-faire approach
Democratic Ideal


World Power to second-tier status
Parliamentary democracy
Collective Identity
Imperial legacy
 Multiracial society

SOVEREIGNTY, AUTHORITY, AND
POWER

Sources

Long, very gradual tradition


Original belief in Divine Right of a family to rule gave
monarchs power over people
Constitutionalism

No written constitution, but a long series of compacts and
acts of Parliament has formed an understood “Constitution
of the Crown”
COMPONENTS OF BRITISH
“CONSTITUTION”

Rational-Legal Authority
Magna Carta (1215) – limited power of the monarch,
guaranteed trial by jury, consent of Parliament to
raise taxes
 The Bill of Rights (1688) – expanded policymaking
power of Parliament relative to the crown
 Combination of Parliamentary acts, common law and
judicial interpretation.

HISTORICAL EVOLUTION OF
POLITICAL TRADITIONS
 The
monarchy – once powerful, then limited,
now powerless and ceremonial
 The Parliament



English Civil War (1640)
Glorious Revolution (1688)
Prime Minister becomes firm Chief Executive in the
18th Century
 Challenges of the Industrial
and 19th Century)
 Diminishing
Century

Revolution (18th
Empire in the 20th and 21st
Strong welfare state became a burden, led to
backlash of “Thatcherism”
INSTITUTIONS
 State

Institutions
Unitary state, power
concentrated in London
No “separation of
powers”
“Fusion of Powers”

DEVOLUTION – GIVING POWER TO LOCAL
AUTHORITIES

1999- Scottish and Welsh
assemblies created when
local referenda’s passed.


Taxation, education and
economic planning
Mayor of London elected
not appointed

Scottish Independence
2013 – voting age lowered
to 16 and 17 yrs old
 National referendum on
independence decided in
Scottish Parliament for
Sept. 18, 2014

ON THE EVE OF THE SCOTTISH VOTE…
JUNE 23 “BREXIT” VOTE 2016
JUNE 23 “BREXIT” VOTE 2016
UK INSTITUTIONS
 Cabinet
and Prime
Minister, The Executive


Cabinet members are MPs
chosen by Prime Minister,
who is “first among equals”
Collective responsibility –
cabinet members all share
policy responsibility, and
members resign if they do
not support decisions of the
PM
HOUSE OF COMMONS
Passes Laws
 Authorizes taxation
 Public administration
and government policy


Parliament, The Legislature
 House of Commons, the “Lower House”
Holds all meaningful power in Britain
 Majority party chooses PM, makes all policy
 Minority becomes “loyal opposition”, sitting directly across the aisle
during debate

Shadow Cabinet – group of minority party MPs
who would be in cabinet if they were the
majority
 Backbenchers – MPs who are less influential sit
further back in Parliament

Backbenchers
Speaker of the
House
Prime
Minister and
Cabinet
Backbenchers
Shadow
Cabinet
Other minority
parties
INSTITUTIONS

Parliament, The Legislature
 House of Commons, the “Lower House”

Vote of “No-Confidence”
If a key issue is brought up for a vote and the
PM and cabinet lose, they resign and call for new
elections immediately by tradition
 Last occurred in 1979 with James Callghan’s
government “Winter of Discontent”


Creation of Thatcher’s Conservative gov’t in 1979
INSTITUTIONS

Linkage Institutions – provide people with a
connection to government and the political process
 Political Parties
 Originally Liberal (Whigs) vs. Conservative
(Tories)
 Emergence of voting rights for commoners gave
rise to Labour vs. Conservative (still Tories)
 Liberal Democrats emerged as a third party to
compromise between Thatcher Conservatives on
the right and Labour on the Left
 Undermined by Blair’s “New Labour” movement
 2010 part of Coalition gov’t with Tories under
David Cameron
 2015 – Conservatives have a majority (324+)
Ed Miliband
David Cameron
Nick Clegg
AFTER 2015 MAY ELECTION…
AFTER 2016 JUNE “BREXIT” ELECTION…
INSTITUTIONS

Elections
 646 constituencies each elect an MP (Member of
Parliament)
 Need 324 seat to control H of C
 Party leaders run in “safe” constituencies, MPs
often aren’t from their district
 Winner-take-all, “First-Past-The-Post” – only
winner gets to take office
 Plurality – no majority necessary
 Party with Parliamentary majority chooses the
Prime Minister, who “forms a government”
2015 ELECTIONS
INSTITUTIONS

Regional Elections
Devolution – Blair policy allowing regional
parliaments to exercise some local
authority
Proportional representation in Northern
Ireland, Scotland, and Wales in their
respective parliaments
Mayor of London is now directly elected
for the first time
INSTITUTIONS
 Interest
Groups
Pluralist system with some patterns
of neo-corporatism
Quangos – gov. agencies act as
interest advocates and policy
advisors in many cases, fusing the
relationship between interest group
and state
INSTITUTIONS
 Media
Available media outlets reflect social class
divisions in readership/viewership
BBC was created during the collectivist
era to educate citizens on politics
Heavily regulated by government (ex. – no
ads can be purchased for parties or
candidates)

INSTITUTIONS

Parliament, The Legislature
 The House of Lords, the “Upper House”
The original parliament, now nearly meaningless
 Can delay legislation, debate technicalities, and add amendments


Amendments may be deleted in Commons by a
majority vote
567 “life peers,” appointed by PM for achievement and service to
Britain
 92 “hereditary peers,” whose seats were passed down through
family connections


Blair and Labour substantially reduced number
of hereditary peerages
The
Sovereign
Supporters
of the
government
Supporters
of the
Opposition
Party
Neutral
Members
INSTITUTIONS

The Bureaucracy
Powerful force in policy formation, implementation
 Bureaucrats are experts, ministers are likely not, so
ministers take direction from top bureaucrats
informally
 Bureaucrats stay in place from government to
government (regime)

INSTITUTIONS

The Judiciary
 Limited in authority compared to U.S.
 Parliamentary sovereignty – principle that
Parliament has the final say
 Courts can strike acts of government that violate
common law or previous acts of Parliament, but
rule very narrowly
 May not impose “judicial review” on Parliament,
PM, or cabinet
 Judges are usually independent, apolitical
 Expected to resign at age 75
 Highest court formerly the Law Lords, but a new
Supreme Court has been created (2009)
3 MAJOR STEPS IN THE BRITISH
JUDICIARY
Supreme Court
Appeals
High Courts
Appeals
District Courts
POLITICAL CULTURE

Geography




Island
Small - Little fertile soil and short growing seasons
Temperate climate, but cold, chilly, and rainy
No major geographical barriers
Nationalism – great deal of pride in being “English”, or
“Scottish”, or “Welsh”
 Insularity – feeling of separation from the rest of
Europe

POLITICAL CULTURE

Cleavages – when national, ethnic, linguistic and
religious divisions affect political allegiances and
policies.
Cumulative – when same people are against each other on
may different issues.
 Cross-Cutting – groups that share a common interest on
one issue are likely to be on the opposite sides on a different
issue


Example: Northern Ireland (Cumulative) and Netherlands (crosscut)
 Class and Religion
POLITICAL CULTURE

Cleavages

Social Class
Not as strong as in the past, but still very significant
 Noblesse Oblige – a term for the upper classes’ willingness to
embrace the welfare state and support the poor
 Formerly duty of lords to care for serfs


Multi-Nationalism

Lots of cultural homogeneity, but there are Scots, English, Welsh,
Irish, Protestant, and Catholic living together and insisting on
some local sovereignty
This photo was taken outside of Lord’s cricket
grounds in 1937, and came to symbolize the class
divide in England
POLITICAL CULTURE

Cleavages

Ethnic Minorities (comprise less than 10% of British
population)
Largely young, increasingly Muslim
 Tight restrictions on immigration imposed by Thatcher kept in
place by Labour Party
 Many reports of unequal treatment by police, most minorities are
disaffected and unemployed
 Poorly integrated into British society
