Introduction to UK Politics

HEAD OF STATE – The Queen

PRIME MINISTER – Head of Government – Gordon Brown

House of Commons

House of Lords

Elected MPs (646 members) – of which:

•Labour (356)

•Conservative (198)

•Liberal Democrat (62)

735 members – Hereditary or Life Peers

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8d/2005UKElectionMap.svg

Leader: Gordon Brown MPDeputy: Harriet Harman MP

Leader: David Cameron MP

Leader: Nick Clegg MP

Leader: Lord Pearson of Rannoch

Leader: Caroline Lucas MEP

Leader: Nick Griffin

Spending/Budget:

•Immediate cuts

•No cut to Health. Education, Law & OrderAfghanistan:

•No walk-out

•Gradual hand-over of power

•Troops ‘have adequate equipment’Tax:

•50p for earnings over £150,000

•Gradual hand-over of power

•Troops ‘have adequate equipment’

ID Cards:

•Push ahead with plan but no immediate need to make compulsory

Jobs:

•All under-25s out of work for a year to be offered work or training

•More funding for job centres and sixth-form colleges

Immigration:

•E-borders by 2014

•Clear asylum backlog by 2011

•Tighten entry restrictions

Health:

•Maintain funding

•Find £15bn - £20bn wastage

•Data for performance of doctorsEducation:

•Save £2bn by axing senior staff

•Restructuring of pay

•Improve school discipline

Spending/Budget:

•Immediate cuts

•No cut to Health, International Development

•End to subsidised food and alcohol for MPs and cut to salaries

Afghanistan:

•Restructure withdrawal

•Ensure more helicopters and equipmentTax:

•Keep current system

•Some changes to pensions

•Increase on alcopops and high strength beer/cider

ID Cards:

•Scrap plans

•Restrict storage of DNA

Jobs:

•Scrap RDA and New Deal

•Tax breaks for new and small businesses

Immigration:

•Place annual limit on numbers admitted

•Attract ‘brightest’ and ‘best’ migrants

•New border force

Health:

•Maintain funding with increase by 2012

•Performance tables for every medic

•Over-65’s residential costs paid for with one-off £8000 fee

•Reform dentistry including school checks

Education:

•Encourage privately set up schools

•Failing schools to be taken over

Spending/Budget:

•Immediate cuts to all areas

•Save by scrapping new building schemes, compulsory education to 18Afghanistan:

•Not ruled out walk-out – will follow US strategy

Tax:

•Increase for most wealthy

•Raise threshold to £10,000

•Mansion tax

•Higher road/flying tax

ID Cards:

•Scrap – remove all innocent people from DNA database

•Strengthen data protection

Jobs:

•Guaranteed work or training for all young people out of work for more than 90 days

Immigration:

•Earned citizenship for illegal immigrants

•New border force

•Charge more for work permits and use to retrain British workers

Health:

•Downsize Department of Health

•Ward sisters to take control of budgets

•Tax breaks for living healthy lifestylesEducation:

•Scrap 50% higher ed target

•End selection

•Scrap National Curriculum

Democracy

"Democracy is the most valued and also the vaguest of political terms in the modern world."

(Daniel Robertson, 1986)

Democracy

• Based on the belief that every citizen over a certain age should has the right to vote on political issues and that the majority decision leads to law

Democracy

• Every citizen invited to political meetings and able to take part in free discussion

Democracy

• Also offers the rights to stand for political office

Democracy

• Applies to all regardless of gender, religious belief, race, sexuality, ability etc.

• Prisoners excluded – democratic rights suspended (controversial)