civilization of the british isles - 3

8/7/2019 Civilization of the British Isles - 3

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Christophe TournuProfesseur, LSHA Universit de Strasbourg, 2011


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Outline of the course

This course will fall into 6 parts:1 A physical geography of the British Isles,together with some political elements

2 A Short History of Britain3 The Constitution, the UK Parliament,and the Government

4 A Survey of the British People5 UK Economy, Welfare and Social Evils6 British Life and Culture


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Course #3 29 mars 2011


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I The UK Constitution


In the UK there is no written constitution contraryto France or the US, for example. Yet the majority of theBritish constitution does exist in the written form of statutes, court judgments, and treaties.


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I The UK ConstitutionAs you can see on the above graph, Britain's constitution has developed in

haphazard fashion, building on common law, case law, historicaldocuments, Acts of Parliament and European legislation. It is not set outclearly in any one document.

Why is there no written constitution in Britain? It is because the countryhas remained stable for a long period of time. There was no popular revoltor war even the English Revolution, which led to the abolition of kingshipand the establishment of the Commonwealth, was run by a minority group(The Independents), not by the people.

As a result, the British democracy has been reformed incrementally overcenturies rather than in one big bang.


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I The UK ConstitutionIn the 19th century, A.V. Dicey , a highly influential constitutionalscholar and lawyer, wrote of the "twin pillars" of theBritish constitution in his classic work An Introduction to theStudy of the Law of the Constitution (1885). These pillars are, first, theprinciple of Parliamentary sovereignty(Parliament is the supreme law-making body of the UK); and, second, the

rule of law (All laws and government actions conform to certainfundamental and unchanging principles).Unlock Democracy (incorporating Charter 88) is theUKs leading campaign for democracy, rights and freedoms.


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I The UK ConstitutionIt is a grassroots movement ,which campaign for:

Fair, Open and Honest Elections

Rights, Freedoms and a Written Constitution

Stronger Parliament and Accountable GovernmentBringing Power Closer to the People

A Culture of Informed Political Interestand Responsibility

In particular, UnlockDemcracy is campaigning for An UnspokenConstitution >>


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II The UK ParliamentThe UK Parliament is made up of 3 parts :

The QueenThe House of LordsAnd the House of Commons

Indeed, Her Majesty is part of Parliamentbecause Parliament cannot enact any law

of its own without the Queens consent ;before they are signed into law, Acts (FR. :lois) are only bills (FR. : projets de loi).


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II The UK ParliamentEven before the UK and political parties came into existence, theWestminster Parliament was supposed to be the ideal system of government. Why? As Charles I st himself wrote in 1642, Parliamentwas a balanced mixture of all three possible sorts of constitution , asystem of government extolled by Aristotle:

Monarchy represented by the QueenAristocracy represented by the LordsDemocracy represented by the Commons

Well, the House of Lords, just as the Queen and the House of Commons, is a main ingredient of British democracy (It wasabolished from 1649 to 1660). Together, the three forms of constitution could not degenerate.


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II The UK ParliamentWhat is the difference between Parliament and Government?

The government runs the country. It has responsibility fordeveloping and implementing policy and for drafting laws. It is alsoknown as the Executive.

Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the UK. It hasresponsibility for checking the work of government and examining,debating and approving new laws. It is also known as theLegislature.

PLAY VIDEO *** (Parliament and Government: An Overview) >>

(http://www.parliament.uk/education/online-resources/videos/ygtp-parliamentoverview.htm )


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II The UK ParliamentThe Queen

Elizabeth II became queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britainand Northern Ireland in 1952 upon the death of her father.

She is also head of state of 16 independent countries(Commonwealth realms), including Canada and Australia.


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II The UK ParliamentThe Queen (ctd.)

What is her role?

The Queen is Head of State in theUnited Kingdom. As a constitutional monarch, HerMajesty does not 'rule' the country, but fulfils importantceremonial and formal roles with respect to Government. Sheis also Fount of Justice, Head of the Armed

Forces and has important relationships withthe established Churches of England andScotland.


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As a constitutional monarch (Cf. What is constitutional monarchy? >>), her role in the legislative process is largely ceremonial. What shehas to do, so far as Parliament is concerned, is to sign bills into law.

As a matter of fact, by convention, shecannot oppose any

Parliamentary bill, i.e. theroyal assent is automatic.


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Secondly, even if she appoints the PM, the latter is the leader of theparty in Parliament. She cannot appoint anyone else.

Thirdly, even if she holds meetings with the PM every week, she

cannot discuss politics. It would raise a scandal if she did.

Lastly, even if she delivers the Queens Speech every year to openevery Parliamentary session, her speech is written by the PM in

office.


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The Queen also represents Britain to the rest of the world.

As 'Head of Nation' , her role is to provide a focus for nationalidentity, unity and pride; give a sense of stability and continuity;recognise success, achievement and excellence; and support serviceto others, particularly through public service and the voluntarysector.The Queen is Defender of the Faith , i.e. she has a specific role toplay in the Churches of England and Scotland. There is noestablished church in Northern Ireland and Wales.

The Queen is nominally the Commander-in-Chief of the ArmedForces (That is, she is the only person to declare war and peace), butde facto authority is exercised by the PM.


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To sum up, the Queen's role is to- Perform the ceremonial and official duties of Head of State,including representing Britain to the rest of the world;- Provide a focus for national identity and unity;- Provide stability and continuity in times of change;- Recognise achievement and excellence;- Encourage public and voluntary service.

More information about the Queen >>


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II The UK ParliamentThe House of Lords

It is the Parliaments second chamber, also called the Upper House.

As of 4 January 2010, the House of Lords has 735 members.

Members of the House of Lords inherited their seats. They were known ashereditary peers. The House of Lords Act 1999 ( >>) excluded hereditarymembers from the Upper House:No-one shall be a member of the House of Lords by virtue of a hereditarypeerage.

Yet, there was a compromise: 92 hereditaries were allowed to remain in the

House on an interim basis.The Act nearly halved the membership of the House, from 1,330 (13 October1999 >>) the highest figure ever recorded to just 669 (31 March 2000 >>).

As another result of the Act, the overwhelming majority of the Lords were

life peers.


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II The UK Parliament

By Type Men Women Total

Archbishops and bishops 26 0 26

Life Peers under the Appellate JurisdictionAct 1876

22 1 23

Life Peers under the Life Peerages Act 1958 450 144 594

Peers under House of Lords Act 1999 90 2 92

TOTAL 588 147 735


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II The UK ParliamentThe House of Lords (ctd.)

What is the role of the House of Lords?

Its main job is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and willwork.

The House of Lords can only delay a new law initiated in the commons.

It can do this because bills must go through both Houses before theybecome 'Acts' (laws).


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The House of Lords was part of the legislative as well as head of the judiciary as the highest court in the UK until last year.

The judicial role of the House of Lords as the highest appeal court in the UKended on 30 July 2009. See judiciary organization chart >>

On 1 October 2009, The Supreme Court replaced the Appellate Committeeof the House of Lords (i.e. the 12 Law Lords) as the highest court in theUnited Kingdom.

It is the final court of appeal in the UK for civil cases. It is the highest

jurisdiction for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland (butnot in Scotland). It hears cases of the greatest public or constitutionalimportance affecting the whole population.


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The Supreme Court is situated on Parliament Square, Westminster,opposite the Houses of Parliament and Big Ben.

This new location is highly symbolic of the UKs separation of powers,balancing judiciary and legislature across the open space of Parliament

Square, with the other two sides occupied by the executive (the Treasurybuilding) and the church (Westminster Abbey).

The Supreme Court has been established to achieve a completeseparation between the United Kingdoms senior Judges and the UpperHouse of Parliament , emphasizing the independence of the Law Lords andincreasing the transparency between Parliament and the courts.


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II The UK ParliamentSymbol of the UK Supreme Court of Justice:

The Omega sign represents the highest degree in law / justice, and the threeflowers represent (from left to right) the national flowers of Scotland,England, and Wales (the thistle, the rose, and daffodil).

The Lord President chairs the House of Lords.


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II The UK ParliamentThe House of Commons

It is made up of 646 democratically elected members of Parliament, eachrepresenting an area of the UK known as a constituency.

Every four years, there is a general election, which determines which MPswill be taking a seat. Once they are elected, their job will be to represent the

interests of their constituency while taking power in debates, the passing of laws, and the controlling of government spendings.

The system is the first-past-the-post system (FR. : scrutin uninominal untour ). There is no proportional representation. The party with the largestnumber of members in the Commons forms the government. The majorityparty is currently the Labour party, and its leader, Gordon Brown, is PM. TheOpposition party is the Conservative party. Its leader is David Cameron.

The House of Commons is chaired by a Speaker.


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II The UK ParliamentLabour 349

Conservative 193

Liberal Democrat 63

Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 10 SNP 7/PC 3

Democratic Unionist 9

Sinn Fein 5Have not taken their seats and cannot vote

Social Democratic & Labour Party 3

Independent 5Independent Conservative 1

Independent Labour 1

Ulster Unionist 1

Respect 1

Speaker & 3 Deputies 4 Do not normally vote

Vacant seats(North West Leicestershire)

1

Total no. of seats 646

Current working government majority 62

(349 Labour MPs less 287 of all other parties -excludes Speaker & Deputies and Sinn Fein)


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II The UK ParliamentThe House of Commons (ctd.)

Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the dayand proposals for new laws. It is one of the key places where governmentministers and the principal figures of the main political parties, work.

The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills,

such as proposed new taxes.On both houses:

Summary:

The main roles of the UK Parliament are:

Examining and challenging the work of the government (scrutiny)Debating and passing all laws (legislation)

Enabling the government to raise taxes


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Another thing of interest: each house includes select committees, and thereare also joint select committes.

To go further

What are the different stages of the law-making process? (617) >>

Video: Democracy? You decide *** >>


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Another thing of interest: each house includes select committees, and thereare also joint select committees.

To go further

What are the different stages of the law-making process? (617) >>

Video: Democracy? You decide *** >>


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III The UK governmentThe UK government

The government is also part of Parliament, for 2 main reasons:

Firstly, the Prime Minister is the leader of

the majority party in the Commons.Secondly, when the PM forms a Cabinet,he has to pick up MPs. They will be knownas frontbenchers (as opposed tobackbenchers).See the composition of the current Cabinet on the following page:


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The Cabinet

Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP

Leader of the House of Commons and Lord Privy Seal Rt Hon Harriet Harman QC MP

Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, First Secretary and Lord President of the Council

Rt Hon Lord Mandelson

Chancellor of the Exchequer Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs Rt Hon David Miliband MP

Secretary of State for Justice and Lord Chancellor Rt Hon Jack Straw MP **

Secretary of State for the Home Department Rt Hon Alan Johnson MPSecretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Rt Hon Hilary Benn MP

Secretary of State for International Development Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP

Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government Rt Hon John Denham MP

Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families Rt Hon Ed Balls MP

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change Rt Hon Edward Miliband MP

Secretary of State for Health Rt Hon Andy Burnham MP

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Rt Hon Shaun Woodward MP *

Leader of the House of Lords and Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Rt Hon Baroness Royall of Blaisdon

Minister for the Cabinet Office, and for the Olympics and Paymaster General Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP

Secretary of State for Scotland Rt Hon Jim Murphy MP

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Rt Hon Yvette Cooper MP

Chief Secretary to the Treasury Rt Hon Liam Byrne MP

Secretary of State for Wales Rt Hon Peter Hain MP

Secretary of State for Defence Rt Hon Bob Ainsworth MP

Secretary of State for Transport Rt Hon Lord Adonis

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport Rt Hon Ben Bradshaw MP


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III The UK governmentThe UK government (ctd.)

I have marked in red the most significant positions. E.g., Wales,Scotland, and Northern Ireland but not England are representedby a Secretary of State. The Leaders of both Houses are alsomembers of the Cabinet.

The Cabinet is the supreme decision-making body in government. Itmeets every Tuesday in the Council Chamber.


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IV The Political PartiesThe Political parties

See List of all parties >>

The next general election is to be held in a few weeks.There are two main political parties:

The Labour Party (FR. : parti travailliste ) >>


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IV The Political PartiesWhat the Labour party stands for:

social justice strong community and strong values reward for hard work decency rights matched by responsibilities

The Labour party is proud to have achieved the establishment of theNational Health Service, the enshrining in law of equality of opportunity for all and the creation and maintenance of an

empowering welfare state.

They won a historic landslide victory in 1997. Tony Blair was to bePM at 10 Downing Street for 10 years.


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IV The Political PartiesThe Political parties (ctd.)

The Conservative Party (FR. : parti conservateur ) >>


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What the Conservative Party stands for >>

The CP is made up of 4 key principles:FreedomIt is basically the freedom of the individual to choose his/her ownlife. The CP does not believe a state imposed solution so far asmedical treatment and education are concerned, for example. Onthe other hand, there should also be less intervention from the statein the economy.

EnterpriseThe Conservative Party has always been the Party for theentrepreneur. It means both innovation with the creation of newproducts and communal growth with the creation of new jobs.


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The CP is made up of 4 key principles (ctd.):

ResponsibilityResponsibility is broken into three key areas- It is responsibility for ourselves, our family, and people around us- It is responsibility for your country -- in your right and freedom tovote to control the way in which Britain is governed.- It responsibility to the environment

Patriotism

The Conservative Party strongly believes in the "United Kingdom".


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Another party, the Liberal-Democrats (FR. : lesdmocrates-libraux ), is emerging. Its leader is NickClegg >>


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What the LibDems stand for >>

" The Liberal Democrats exist to build and safeguard a fair, freeand open society, in which we seek to balance the fundamental values of liberty, equality and community, and in which no-oneshall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity. Wechampion the freedom, dignity and well-being of individuals, weacknowledge and respect their right to freedom of conscience and their right to develop their talents to the full. We aim to disperse power, to foster diversity and to nurture creativity. We believe that the role of the

state is to enable all citizens to attain these ideals, to contribute fully to their communities and to take part in the decisions which affect their lives."

civilization of the british isles - 3

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