Lecture Overview

• What is Western Europe?• Impressions• Why Study it?• Themes and Challenges

• Country vs. Comparative

• Conflict vs. Cooperation

• Parliamentary vs. Presidential

• Integration vs. Disintegration

What is Western Europe?

• now many former Soviet satellite states have accession agreements with the European Union

• Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak Republic, and Slovenia are set to join on 1st May 2004

What is Western Europe?

• Traditional definition• all countries - about 2 dozen to 30 states that were

located west of the “iron curtain”

• all countries of the ‘first world’ - that is, advanced industrial and often liberal democracies

• Since 1990 • fall of Berlin wall, decomposition of the former Soviet

empire diminished the importance of the traditional distinction b/w East and West Europe

Defining Western Europe

• For now, though, it makes some sense to adhere to the traditional definition of Western Europe

• the common experience with capitalist development

• in most cases, the longer experience with liberal democratic institutions

What is Western Europe?

• - two dozen countries and city states

• counting Andorra, Lichenstein, Vatican City, San Marino

• some ‘outside’ the geography of Western Europe

• (egs Cyprus, Iceland, Finland, Greece)

Democracies, but…

• those states in Europe which did not come under Soviet control/influence

• first world states

• some dictatorships until very recently (Portugal until 1974; Spain until 1975-77; Greece until 1975)

Why Study Western Europe?

• Three broad reasons:• cultural/philosophical significance

of the region over history

• geopolitics - esp. during Cold War • Europe a battleground for

Superpower confrontation

• comparative political laboratory• despite shared heritage,

geography

• wide variations in political conditions and institutional structures

Main variations in Political Regimes

• Countries fall into three broad types based on role of political authority in the economy:– a) pluralist

– e.g., UK and the EU

– State involvement primarily via regulation

– b) étatist (‘statist’)– More interventionist – industrial policy; state ownership & contr

ol

– e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy

– c) democratic corporatist– e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

Themes and Challenges

• Country versus Comparative approach• integral nature of the components of the political sys

tems

• appreciate the evolution of political life and institutions, and the historical rootedness of contemporary practices

• common framework of text facilitates comparison across systems

Themes and Challenges

• Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe

• a troubled continent• two world wars in the past 100 years

• battleground during Cold War

A Common Future?

• Emergent supranationalism in EU

• broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX, Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member states in 1995

• 13 more states lined up for membership, with prospects of more to come!

Themes and Challenges

• Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems• most European states are parliamentary democracies

– A fusion of executive & legislative power

• France, however, an interesting ‘hybrid’ system• encourage you to make comparisons with the more

familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the US– Powers separated w/ checks & balances

• do different configurations of executive/legislative relations matter?

Themes and Challenges

• Integrationversus Disintegration• some see it as paradoxical that West European state sovereignty

being simultaneously eroded from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist movements)

• UK• Scottish and Welsh parliaments; Northern Ireland’s Assembl

y

• France • Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements

• Italy • Lombardy League, etc.

• Spain• Catalan & Basque nationalism

Hancock et al. (2003)

Third edition

Country – by – country organization (and EU)

Only materials on countries covered included on exams

You are not responsible for materials on Sweden & Russia in the text

Second Lecture Overview

• Themes and Challenges in Study of Western Europe• Country vs. Comparative• Conflict vs. Cooperation• Parliamentary vs. Presidential• Integration vs. Disintegration

• State-Building in Western Europe• The United Kingdom

• State-building• The Unwritten Constitution

– Sources of constitution– Parliamentary supremacy

Main variations in Political Regimes

• Countries fall into three broad types based on role of political authority in the economy:– a) pluralist

– e.g., UK and the EU– State involvement primarily via regulation

– b) étatist (‘statist’)– More interventionist – industrial policy; state ownership & contr

ol– e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy– “dirigisme” – “state led” development

– c) democratic corporatist– e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

Themes and Challenges

• Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe

• a troubled continent• two world wars in

the past 100 years

• battleground during Cold War

A Common Future?

• Emergent supra-nationalism in EU

• broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX, Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member states in 1995

• 13 more states lined up for membership, with prospects of more to come!

Themes and Challenges

• Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems

• most European states are parliamentary democracies

– A fusion of executive & legislative power

• France, however, an interesting ‘hybrid’ system

• encourage you to make comparisons with the more familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the US

– Powers separated w/ checks & balances

• do different configurations of executive/legislative relations matter?

Themes and Challenges

• Integration versus Disintegration• some see it as paradoxical that West European state sovereignty

being simultaneously eroded from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist movements)

• UK• Scottish and Welsh parliaments; Northern Ireland’s

Assembly

• France • Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements

• Italy • Lombardy League, etc.

• Spain• Catalan & Basque nationalism

Emergence of States in Europe

• Geopolitical map of Europe made and remade continuously over past 2000 years– Empires

– Egs., Rome; Austria-Hungary; Napoleon

– Mini-states/principalities– “Modern” sovereign territorial state normally d

ated from Treaty of Westphalia, 1648

The State-building Process

• State-building essentially involves consolidation of control over territory by a political force/system– Extraction of resources by political authorities (taxation)– Establishment of legitimacy against rivals (e.g., Church)– ‘successfully claim a monopoly of the legitimate use of force’ (We

ber)• “War makes the state, and states make war.” (Charles Tilly

)• Establish uniform legal codes, measurement systems that

make transactions and exchange easier– In some cases, cultural penetration/standardization (France)– conducive to market-based capitalist development

Emergence of States in Europe

– Establish uniform legal codes, measurement systems that make transactions and exchange easier

• conducive to market-based capitalist development

– 1700-1800s emergence of nationalism to legitimize the new state formations

– political ideology in which nations should govern themselves; the boundaries of the nation should be congruent with the boundaries of the state

The ‘Mother of Parliaments’ – The United Kingdom

– first country to industrialize • Coal mining, iron & steel, railways & canals, weaving, all ushered in

the Industrial Revolution

• by early 1800s, Britain the ‘workshop of the world’

– A “pattern state” (Hans Daalder)• Gradual democratization over centuries

• Naval versus army bases of state power

– expanded as world’s leading imperial power• by 1900, 25% of all world’s population lived under the British empir

e

The British Empire

British State-building

• England ‘unified’ under Roman occupation– Julius Caesar invades 55 BC

• "All the Britons paint themselves with woad, which gives their skin a bluish color and makes them look very dreadful in battle."

Roman Britain (55BC ~ 400AD)

• A lasting legacy – Cities/Forts

– Roads

Anglo-Saxon/Norman England

• After Romans left, return to regional kingdoms • Core expansion out of Wessex (Hampshire)

• Norman invasion (1066)• William the Conqueror

Patterns in State-Building

• United Kingdom comprised of four components • England & the “Celtic Fringe”

– Each has its own history of independent statehood

– Each has its own distinctive form of integration within the UK state

Component Parts of the UK

• Core/Center– forms by gradual

expansion of this core, eventually to encompass entire UK

– Prior advantages in economy – fertile ground

Constituent Parts of the UK– Wales

– Unified in 950; developed an elaborate governmental/legal system

– Centuries of conflict w/ kings of England

• 1301 – English king made eldest son “Prince of Wales”

• Tradition continues today

– 1536 - conquest & institutional (though not cultural) assimilation

– First “act of union” in 1536 announced the English intention "[henceforth] . . .to utterly extirpate all and singular the sinister usage and customs differing from the same nglish laws]."

Scotland• Wars of independence – 13th-14th centuries

• “Declaration of Arbroath”- 1320 - one of the earliest expressions of nationalism

• "It is not for honour nor riches, nor glory that we fight but for liberty alone, which no true man lays down except with his life."

• Scotland – 1603 – “Union of Crowns”– 1707 -- “Act of Union”– elite accommodation and considerable Scottish autonomy– separate Church; Bank (currency); educational system; and

legal system

Ireland

– English armies invaded Ireland for centuries– Elizabeth I – Protestants sent to colonize

Ulster – 1600s– Union -1801-1921 – integrated into UK

• Ireland given 100 seats in Commons and 32 in Lords

– Protestant minority, with British backing, discriminated against Catholics; spawned Irish nationalism

– Easter 1916 uprising

– Partition (1921)– Eventually 26 counties in south given

independence in 1922; 6 counties in north (Ulster) remain with UK as “Northern Ireland”

Regional Differences 1980s – (UK = 100)

England Scotland Wales NorthernIreland

Urbanization 102 93 92 72

GDP (per capita)

102 97 90 78

Home ownership

104 61 112 96

Population born in region

100 102 91 101

Middle class 107 87 89 101

Public expenditure (per capita)

96 120 111 141

Third Lecture Overview

• British Constitutionalism• The Unwritten Constitution

– Sources of constitution

– Parliamentary supremacy

The Unwritten UK Constitution

• “In England (sic) the Parliament has an acknowledged right to modify the constitution; as, therefore, the constitution may undergo perpetual changes, it does not, in reality, exist. The Parliament is at once a legislative and a constituent assembly.”

• Alexis de Toqueville (1805)

Sources of UK Constitution

• Four main ones:• Statutory law

• passed by Parliament in normal legislative process

• e.g., 1679 - Act of Habeus Corpus

• Common law• judicial interpretations of laws become precedents

• ‘stare decisis’ -”let the decision stand”

• Convention/tradition• e.g., that Monarchs give consent to laws

• last royal veto in 1707

• Works of Authority • academic commentaries on constitution (e.g., Wheare, Jennings)

Constitutional Principles- 1• Bicameral parliament

• House of Commons

• House of Lords

• Bills need to be approved by both houses

• Development of “asymmetrical bicameralism”

• House of Commons ascends; House of Lords descends in importance.

Parliamentary supremacy

• Parliamentary sovereignty (or parliamentary supremacy)

• A.V. Dicey - 19th Century constitutional lawyer and author of several ‘works of authority’

• “…the right to make or unmake any law whatever; and, further, that no person or body is recognized by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside legislation of Parliament.”

• NO meaningful JUDICIAL REVIEW!

• In reality, however, there are some checks on parliamentary power

Constraints on Parliamentary Supremacy

• Norms, traditions, liberal democratic values

• Party organizations (esp. traditional Labour Party)

• Bureaucratic power

• European Union law / institutions• emergence of ‘qualified majority voting’ (QMV) in Council

of Ministers

• European law takes precedence over domestic for all member states

• Referenda• European Union membership in 1975“

• “Devolution” in 1979 and again in 1997

Pro Welsh devolution poster, 1997

Constitutional Principles- 2

• Constitutionalism• ‘rule of law’

– judicial independence

• government not arbitrary but follows rules

• respect for civil rights – (but no written ‘Bill o

f Rights’)

Charter 88 (excerpt)

• “You don’t have the right to a fair trial.• “You don’t have the right to be treated equally wha

tever your race, religion, or sexuality. You don’t have the right to privacy, the right to protest, or the right to an education.

• “We’re talking about Britain.• “Your rights have no protection.• “We have no positive legal rights in this country.

We only have the permission to do what the law doesn’t expressly forbid. So any government can pass laws that whittle away at fundamental rights we thought were secure.”

• Source: http://www.gn.apc.org/charter88/politics/bill.html

Fourth Lecture Overview

• British Constitutionalism• Democratization in Britain

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government– The Westminster Model

– Dual Executive

– House of Lords

19th Century Democratic Transitions

– 2 routes for gradual democratization

• Democratizing the Commons

• Reform of the House of Lords

Democratizing the Commons - Electoral Reform

• Entered the 19th century dominated by wealthy individuals from rural England

• by 1830, large cities created by the Industrial Revolution (lLeeds, Manchester, Liverpool, Sheffield, Birmingham, etc.) had NO representatives in H of C

• “rotten boroughs” - seats in Commons for places with next to no population

• “Old Sarum” – near Stonehenge, 2 MPs and no population!

Extending the Franchise• Seven acts that each expanded the rights to

vote and participate in political life

• 1832 - “The Great Reform Act”• increased electorate’s size by about 50% by

granting middle class land owners (£10 property owners) right to vote

• 1867 & 1884 Reform Acts• gradual removals of property restrictions

• each act roughly doubled the size of the electorate

Extending the Franchise

• 1918 - universal suffrage for males over 21 yrs. and females over 28 yrs.

• 1928 - eliminated the gender differential• 1948 - eliminated ‘university constituencies t

hat gave graduates 2 votes, one in constituency of residence and one in university

• 1969 - lowered voting age to 18

The Westminster Model

Dual Executive

• Head of State - The Monarchy• The “Dignified” Part of the British Constitution

according to Walter Bagehot (The English Constitution, 1867)

• Symbolic role • non-partisanship at the top• continuity/tradition

• no real “power” • Bagehot argued in 1867 that Britain had becom

e a ‘disguised republic’ and that power had passed - almost unnoticed by the public - to the efficient parts of the constitution, which in the case of the political executive means Prime Minister and Cabinet

Bicameral Parliament

• House of Lords - “upper house”• power declines as Britain democratizes

– in Bagehot’s terms, moved from the efficient to the dignified parts of the British constitution

• Recently reformed - Fall 1999• attempt to increase its legitimacy and efficacy, and reduce

the role of ‘hereditary peers’• reduce partisan advantage to Conservative party an impor

tant motivation• pre-2000 had been about 1,200 peers - most hereditary an

d large majority Conservative

Reforming the Lords• House of Lords

• until 1911 the Lords could veto any legislation passed by the Commons

• as age of democracy progressed, the body’s (legitimacy declined

• Parliament Act 1911)• limited Lords’ veto power

– could now only delay financial matters for 30 days and normal non-financial legislation for 2 years

– further limited powers in 1949

• Recent Reforms (1999->)• Abolition the objective of Blair Government• Agreed to allow 92 seats to remain for ‘hereditary

peers’ to gain Conservative support for rapid passage of reform

http://www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hlords.htm

Wakeham Commission Recommendations (1999)

• 550 members, – a minority of them elected from the regions – most of the rest chosen by a powerful Appointments Commission w

hich would have massive powers to determine the make-up of the second chamber.

• Commission would be responsible for ensuring that around 20 per cent of the new House are independent crossbenchers and that the second chamber, of which the clear majority would be unelected, should proportionately reflect votes cast at the previous general election.

• Otherwise, let the institution evolve!

Composition of Lords (1/2000)

Party LifePeers

HereditaryPeers

Bishops/Others

Total

Conservatives 180 52 232

Labour 177 4 181

LiberalDemocrats

49 5 54

CrossBenchers

131 31 162

Bishops etc 33 33

T0TAL 537 92 33 662

Sixth Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government– The Westminster Model

– House of Commons

– Passage of Legislation

– MPs Roles

House of Commons –Composition

– 659 Members of Parliament (MPs)– each elected from electoral districts u

sing the Single Member Plurality (SMP) electoral system

• one member from each district• elected by a ‘plurality’ formula

• winner has more votes than any other candidate

• well-known distortion associated with SMP systems

• more shortly on this

MPs

• Must win local party association’s nomination (and be acceptable to party leader)

– Not necessary to live in your constituency (or “riding”)

• Paid £56,358 per year (4/2003)– Up to a maximum of £120,000 in expenses for staff support & office

, London living expenses, plus travel allowance

– Enough for 2-3 full-time assistants, in constituency and/or London

• Average constituency served has about 67,000 electors

• MPs overwhelmingly “WASP”– Since 1918, 4,531 individuals have served as MPs

– 252 have been women (6% of all MPs)

• 64% of women MPs have been Labour members

– 118 women elected in 2001 (18% of 659)

Commons as of July 2002 (2001 election)

Labour 410 Conservative 164 Liberal Democrat 53 Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9 (SNP 5/PC 4)

Ulster Unionist 6 Democratic Unionist 5 Sinn Fein 4 (Have not taken their seats) Social Democratic & Labour 3 Independent 1 Speaker & 3 Deputies 4 (Do not normally vote)

Total 659 Government majority 165

330 MPs needed to form a majority government

Four Primary Functions of House of Commons

• Educating the public• ‘mobilizing consent’

• legitimation

• Improve legislation• ‘policy refinement’ if not policy making

• Recruitment of executive• Executive accountability

• Question period

• Select committees

Passing Laws

– To become law, bill must pass House of Commons, House of Lords*, and receive Royal Assent

– Party Cohesion / Party Discipline

– Not “government by parliament” but “government throughthrough parliament”

Legislation

• Government Bills – – introduced by Prime Minister or Cabinet Minister

– about 90% pass each session!– Relatively few

• average of Thatcher/Major under 50 per session– Very few actually ‘defeated’– about 10% are withdrawn by the government

• Private Members’ Bills– lottery to select among all proposed

• 20 drawn from about 400 proposed– debated only on about a dozen Fridays– very few pass

• total of 256 passed of more than 2,000 introduced b/w 1983-2002

The Commons’ Legislative Process

– First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister;– no debate permitted; published in Hansard

– Second reading – major debate on principles of proposed legislation 2-3 wks. after first read

ing

– Committee stage - Standing & Select– all committees mirror the House in partisan composition, so government

majority is assured– prior to 1979, a different committee established for each piece of legislati

on called standing committeesstanding committees– May be referred to a select committee, and if so, it will report on the bill– still responsible for the detailed, clause-by-clause scrutiny today

• Amendments possible– under reasonably tight gov’t party control– new members for each committee/piece of legislation

Seventh Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government– The Westminster Model

– Passage of Legislation

– Adversarial Politics

– MPs Roles

The Commons’ Legislative Process

– First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister;– no debate permitted; published in Hansard

– Second reading – major debate on principles of proposed legislation 2-3 wks. after first read

ing

– Committee stage - Standing & Select– all committees mirror the House in partisan composition, so government

majority is assured– prior to 1979, a different committee established for each piece of legislati

on called standing committeesstanding committees– May be referred to a select committee, and if so, it will report on the bill– still responsible for the detailed, clause-by-clause scrutiny today

• Amendments possible– under reasonably tight gov’t party control– new members for each committee/piece of legislation

House of Commons- Legislative Stages (cont.)

• Report stage – back to the House, further amendments considered

• Third reading (no amendments, short debate) and vote– Normally, voice vote sufficient

– Divisions – MPs file out to the lobby and are counted as they re-enter through doors marked “Aye” or “Nay”

Budget procedures

– Chancellor of the Exchequer presents budget• An annual appraisal of the economy

• Outline the government’s economic plan– Describe tax implications and changes

• Normally, Finance Bill introduced the same day– Since 1968, most controversial matters in the Finance Bill

taken up by a ‘committee of the whole’ (i.e., the entire H of C, with no speaker in the chair)

– Rest sent to a (slightly larger than normal) standing committee

Adversarial Politics• The operative principle of parliamentary syste

ms is the ‘fusion of executive and legislative power’– Government leader (Prime Minister) and Executive

(cabinet) sit in House of Commons– effective government by a majority party or coalition

(Her Majesty’s Government)

– continually opposed by a vigorous, vigilant opposition (Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition)

– Worth noting that this is also the basis of the British legal system that we inherited

http://www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hcomms.htm

http://www.parliamentlive.tv/

The Speaker

– The ‘referee’ for parliamentary procedure & debates

– An MP• After 2001, will be elected by MPs

– Successive ballots until one person has a majority

• Impartial – Resign from party upon selection

– Normally do not vote in divisions of the House, but occupant of the chair can cast the decisive ballot in the event of a tie

– Normally runs unopposed in elections

• Salary same as a cabinet member (£128,000 – 4/2003)

Party Discipline

– MPs actually told how to vote by their parties on everything

• party whips– one, two, and three line ‘whips’ on the order paper

• but ‘free votes’ or “early day motions” (EDMS)

• have more freedom to contribute to legislation in Committee work

• but, the Commons cannot be seen as a particularly important policy-making policy-making body

• so, what is its role?

http://www.stats.bris.ac.uk/%7Eguy/Research/Politics/Welcome.html

Eighth Lecture Overview

• Institutions of Parliamentary Government– The Westminster Model

– Adversarial Politics

– MPs Roles

Parliamentary Questions

• 40,000 on average each year– About 3,000 answered

• 2 types – Oral –

• Drawn randomly from those submitted each morning• One hour, Mondays through Thursdays• MP submitting question reads it, allowed one supplemental • Minister answers both orally• Roster of departments established• Normally one major one and 3-4 minor ones per day

– Prime Minister’s Questions normally at noon-12:30 Wednesdays• Practice began in 1961 – growth of prime ministerial power• Attempt to embarrass the PM in the supplementaries

– Written

http://www.britainusa.com/PMQs/

Select Committees

– 1979 reforms created 14 committees, by broad subject area

• now 18 in number• Eg, Agriculture, Scottish Affairs, Social Security• Science & Technology; Health; Foreign Affairs; etc• 3-6 staff members

– they offer MPs a broader forum for overseeing the executive

• May debate particular pieces of legislation, but not the bulk of their work

• can call witnesses/ask for evidence• Organize their own inquiries

Select Committees

– Limited effectiveness• understaffed;

• government control remains;

• relatively few committee reports (about 5%) get debated in Commons

– 3 days given over to this on the Commons’ schedule

– no formal means of ensuring their recommendations considered or acted upon

– but Members can specialize in subject areas– often good for careers after the Commons

Ninth Lecture Outline

• MP Roles• Prime Minister – An Elected Dictator or ‘primus inter

pares?’• Powers of the Prime Minister• Prime Ministerial Styles• Limits on Prime Ministerial Power

• The Cabinet

MPs’ Perceived Roles

• Donald Searing, Westminster’s World, Harvard University Press, 1994

• based on interviews with 338

backbench MPs, 1972-73

• not all MPs see themselves as

doing the same kinds of things

- Four principle self-identified

role specializations

MP Role Specializations

– Constituency Service 25%

– “Ministerial aspirant” 25%

– Supporting/Attacking Executive 40%

– “Good Parliamentarian” 9%

– SOURCE: Searing, Westminster’s World, Harvard Univ. Press, 1994

What do British voters want from their MP?

• Survey asking people to pick most impt. MP role:

– Ombudsman 19%

– Protect constituency 26%

– Executive oversight 5%

– Information 24%

– Law-making (debates & votes) 11%

– All roles equally important 10%

Prime Minister: ‘primus primus inter paresinter pares’?

– Sir Robert Walpole – 1721 – first prime minister

• Had won confidence of both King & Parliament

– ‘first among equals’ the traditional depiction– PM is still an MP

– Extensive formal and informal powers

– some argue that these have increased and the office has been ‘presidentialized’

• Richard Crossman’s ‘introduction’ to Bagehot’s The English Constitution (1963)

Prime Ministerial Powers– leader of the party

• large staff of personal advisers at Downing Street

– selector of cabinet ministers and party leadership positions (about 80-90 parliamentary posts)

• chairs & ‘takes the sense of’ cabinet meetings– provider of patronage

• peerages; QUANGOS; etc– leader in parliament

• can DISSOLVE parliament– International negotiator/European Council– highly visible public figure

• media (esp. television) personalizes politics • chief campaigner during elections

http://www.pm.gov.uk/output/page19.asp

PM statement on reshuffle - 18 June 2003

R.H. Crossman - Prime Ministerial Government

• “The post-war epoch has seen the final transformation of Cabinet Government into Prime Ministerial Government…Even in Bagehot’s time it was probably a misnomer to describe the Premier as chairman and primus inter paresprimus inter pares. His right to select his own Cabinet and dismiss them at will; his power to decide the Cabinet’s agenda and announce the decisions reached without taking a vote; his control, through the Chief Whip, over patronage - all this had already before 1867 given him near-Presidential powers. Since then, his powers have been steadily increased, first by the centralisation of the party machine under his personal rule, and secondly by the growth of a centralised bureaucracy, so vast that it could no longer be managed by a Cabinet behaving like the board of directors of an old-fashioned company.” (pp. 51-52)

Tenth Lecture Outline

• Prime Minister – An Elected Dictator or ‘primus inter pares?’

• Prime Ministerial Styles• Limits on Prime Ministerial Power

• The Cabinet

Margaret Thatcher on Selecting a Cabinet

• “One way is to have in it people who represent all the different viewpoints within the party, within the broad [i.e. conservative) philosophy. The other way is to have in it only the people who want to go in the direction in which the PM wants to go.”

• her choice?– “It must be a conviction government.”

• (from an interview with Thatcher prior to the 1979 election)

The Road to Downing Street:The Rt Hon Tony Blair, MP

• born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh;• entered Parliament in June 1983 at the age of 30

as MP for Sedgefield (Durham, in NE of England)– Promoted to the Treasury front bench team (1985);

Spokesman on Trade and Industry; – Elected to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary

of State for Energy (1988); Shadow Secretary of State for Employment (1989); Shadow Home Secretary (1992);

• elected Leader of the Labour Party on 21 July 1994;• became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997 when the Labour

Government was elected with a majority of 179. Re-elected June 2001.

Blair on the Prime Minister’s Role

• “You’re either a weak Prime Minister, in which case they’ll knock you for that, or if you appear to have a clear sense of direction, and know what you want to do, then you are a quasi-dictator. And all this President Blair rubbish, it’s absolute rubbish.”

– Tony Blair, The Observer, 5 Sept. 1999

• “They have got to know I’m running the show.”– Tony Blair, quoted in The Sunday Times, 26 April, 1988

Limits on PM Power?

• Some journalists have likened the PM to an ‘elected dictator’

• some respects, a popular PM can resemble this

• but,– can be defeated

• in a general election

• or by their own party (e.g., Margaret Thatcher in 1990)

• limited by their limited amount of time

The British Cabinet-Origins

• Arose centuries ago as advisors (Ministers) to the Crown (monarch)

– Appointed by the Queen as “Privy Councillors”

• Membership in Privy Council includes all members of the Cabinet, past and present, the Speaker, the leaders of all major political parties, Archbishops and various senior judges as well as other senior public figures.

– During debates in the Commons MPs who are Privy Councillors are referred to by their colleagues as `The Right Honourable'.

– 1832 – Reform Act emphasized that it needed to have the confidence of the House of Commons as well as the Crown

Lord Irvine,Blair’s Lord Chancellor until June 2003

The British Cabinet- Basics

• about 20 members of “cabinet” proper– most senior advisers to the PM

– most have title of ‘Secretary of State’ and represent the largest and/or most prestigious departments (‘portfolios’) of the civil service

– also includes ‘parliamentary secretary to the Treasury (better known as the ‘chief whip’) and the Lord Chancellor (chief adviser for law matters; a Lord); and Chancellor of the Exchequer (Treasury)

• serve at the PM’s pleasure – may be ‘shuffled’ to another ‘portfolio’

Cabinet Meetings

• Normally held Thursday mornings

• meet in private• no minutes recorded; PM chai

rs meetings• decision by consensus - not b

y voting;– PM ‘takes the sense of the

meeting’

• meetings supported by Cabinet Office (secretariat)

• sub-cabinet committees – coordinate cabinet activities

; set prioritiesThe Cabinet Room,

No. 10 Downing Street

The British Cabinet

• “…a hyphen which joins, a buckle which fastens, the legislative part of the State to the executive part of the state”

– Bagehot, The English Constitution, 1867, p. 68

Blair’s Cabinet (9/2003)

• me Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Hon Tony Blair MP

• Deputy Prime MinisterThe Rt Hon John Prescott MP

• Chancellor of the Exchequer The Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP

• Secretary of State for the Home Department The Rt Hon David Blunkett MP

• Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP

• Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary • of State for Scotland

The Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP• Secretary of State for Health

The Rt Hon Dr John Reid MP• Secretary of State for Northern Ireland

The Rt Hon Paul Murphy MP• Secretary of State for Defence

The Rt Hon Geoff Hoon MP • Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

The Rt Hon Andrew Smith MP• Leader of the House of Lords

The Rt Hon The Lord Williams of Mostyn QC

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and Minister for WomenThe Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MPParliamentary Secretary, Treasury and Chief Whip The Rt Hon Hilary Armstrong MP Secretary of State for Education and SkillsThe Rt Hon Charles Clarke MPChief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon Paul Boateng MPLeader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State for WalesThe Rt Hon Peter Hain MPMinister without Portfolio and Party ChairThe Rt Hon Ian McCartney MPSecretary of State for International Development The Rt Hon Baroness AmosSecretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor for the transitional periodThe Rt Hon Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC

Sub-Cabinet Members of Government

• Ministers • occasionally some ‘without portfolio’

• Ministers of State • - lower rank, not in cabinet, less important or pre

stigious civil service departments

• junior ministers • assistants to a Minister

• parliamentary secretaries • liason b/w executive and House of Commons

• in all, PM makes b/w 80-90 governmental appointments

Roles of a Cabinet Minister

• Head of Civil Service Department• often large organizations• about 500,000 employed in ‘central administration’ in Brit

ain– not including teachers or military personnel– since 1979 about 260,000 civil servants transferred to agenci

es, ‘quangos’, local authorities, or privatized

• Member of Parliament• Constituency & party pressures

• Member of Cabinet

Operating Principles of Cabinet Government

• Collective Responsibility• cabinet solidarity in public

– underpins the cohesion of the party in the House of Commons, necessary for party discipline

• entire cabinet resigns if the government falls

• Individual Ministerial Responsibility• minister must resign if there is serious maladministration

or other difficulty in her/his civil service department• no longer seriously applied, but minister must ‘answer’ f

or her/his department’s actions

Eleventh Lecture Outline

• The “SMP” Electoral System– Chief Characteristics– Strengths and Weaknesses– Electoral Reform?

• The Jenkins Commission• Alternative Vote (plus) system”

The Electoral System

– Electoral systems have 2 defining features• District Magnitude (DM)

• Allocation Formula (AF)

– “Single Member (DM) Plurality (AF)”• “first past the post”

• SMP

Advantages of SMP System

• Delivers ‘strong majority governments’• by manufacturing majorities of seats from less than majoriti

es of votes• discourages minor parties - avoid splintering the legislature

• Simple - Quick• most votes wins; winner known generally on election night

• Encourages personal ties b/w MP and electorate

Dysfunctions of SMP

• Perverse results• on 2 occasions since 1945 (of 15 elections) party winning majorit

y of seats won fewerfewer votes than main rival (1951 and Feb. 1974)

• Wasted votes • disincentives for minority preference holders to vote

• Safe seat apathy• Sometimes disincentives for majority preference holders to vote

• Disproportionality • 1997 - Labour wins 64% of seats on 43% vote• 2001 – Labour wins 413 seats (62.7%) on 40.7% of vote

• (or, taking turnout rate in 2001 of 59.4% into account, only 24.1% of the eligible electorate supported Blair’s party)

Liberals/Liberal Democrats

ELECTION % Vote % Seats 1974 (O) 18.3 2.1

1979 13.8 1.7 1983 25.4 3.5 1987 22.6 3.4 1992 17.9 3.1 1997 16.8 7.0 2001 18.3 7.9

Duverger’s “law”

– electoral system & party system• SMP

– = two party system

• Strong majority governments; penalties for (most) minor parties

• Proportional Representation– = multiparty system

Jenkins Commission Proposals

- Labour committed to referendum on electoral reform in 1993 - After coming to power in 1997, appointed Right Honorable Roy J

enkins – former Labour cabinet minister and co-founder of the Social Democratic Party in the early 1980s – to an “independent commission on election reform- Reported in 1998

-recommended a mixed system – • Alternative Vote (+) system

– 80-85% elected by Alternative Vote in individual constituencies– 15-20% ‘top up’ Members from party lists– voters given 2 ballots, one for constituency and containing preference orderi

ng of parties/candidates, one for party lists top-up candidates assigned by region

Alternative Vote systems

• a majoritarian system. – Winning candidates secure the support of over half the voters in constit

uency.

• Voters record preferences for all candidates on the ballot paper. • If no candidate receives more than half of the votes cast on the first

count of first preference votes, the candidate who received the fewest first preference votes is eliminated and his/her second preferences are distributed between the other candidates.

• This process continues until one candidate has achieved an overall

majority.

PSC 340 Essay Writing Tips

Essay Tips – Finding a Good Topic

– Often the most difficult part!– Best to work from what you know

• i.e., your own interests– What would you write on if you had to do a paper on some aspect of US

politics?• “How effective is gun control at reducing violent crime in Europe?”

– What country/area of Europe is of most interest?

– Can compare political systems if you wish• E.g., “how threatening is the extreme right in Western Europe?”

– “where and why is the environmental movement strongest in Western Europe?”

– or focus on a sub-region of one or more countries– Or focus on one country in particular that is of particular interest

ESSAY TIPS

• Organization– Work from an outline– I will review an outline, but not read a draft of a paper

• Clarity of writing/exposition– Proofreading essential

• Quality of argument– Pose your question in the title; answer it by the time you

conclude

• Appropriateness of evidence – Quality/diversity of sources consulted

• Internet alone NOT sufficient– Must consult scholarly journals (many available online)

Scholarly Journals dealing with Europe in Lockwood Library

• Political Studies (UK PSA)• British Journal of Political Science• European Journal of Political Research• Scandinavian Journal of Political Studies• West European Politics• Journal of Common Market Studies• Online access to MANY more

– INGENTA - http://www.ingenta.com/– Article First - http://newfirstsearch.oclc.org/WebZ/FSPrefs?entityjsdetect

=:javascript=true:screensize=large:sessionid=sp03sw13-38918-dkyfxxq2-2fxtp4:entitypagenum=1:0

– JSTOR - http://www.jstor.org/– Lexis/Nexis - http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/

Twelfth Lecture Outline

• The British Party System– Responsible Party Government model– The British Party System

• Labour Party

Responsible Party Government

– Four basic components– Parties pursue different programmatic goalsdifferent programmatic goals

• Voters offered clear policy alternatives at elections– Party support is related to these programsParty support is related to these programs (voting behavior)

• Not patronage; personal loyalty; charisma– Parties have strong grassroots presencestrong grassroots presence as campaign

organizations in constituencies and a core of active grassroots members

• Opportunities for individuals to become involved in the life of the party (including policy formation)

– Elections provide the accountability mechanismElections provide the accountability mechanism • Within the party renew (or not) the mandates of leaders• In the party system as a whole, voters can renew mandates

for popular governments, or ‘throw the rascals out’

Responsible Party Government

• Strengths• Clear alternatives for voters• Strong governments with “policy mandates”

• Weaknesses• Strong governments can be wrong

– Can do a lot of damage in five years

• Discontinuities in policies– Alternation in government can inhibit smooth

and progressive evolution in policy– E.g.,“stop-go” pattern in economic policy in

1960s

Attitudes to Parties

• “Some people say that political parties are necessary to make our political system work in Britain. Others say that political parties are not needed in Britain. Using this scale where would you place yourself?”

– Necessary 1 43%

• 2 33%

• 3 18%

• 4 3%

– Not necessary 5 2%

– Dk/DNA 1%

From: 1997 British Election Survey

The British Party System

– For much of the past 100 years, essentially a 2 party system – in the 1960s for example, the Labour and Conservative Parties combined

to win over 95% of the vote at elections– Ideological blurring behind the post-war consensus

• like many ‘left’ parties, Labour moved toward the center in its policies over the decades

• Conservatives also learned to live with the ‘welfare state’ and Keynesianism (state intervention in the market)

– by the 1950s, broad consensus on the ‘welfare state’ in Britain– “Butskillism” – similarities b/w Chancellors for the Exchequers for Cons

ervatives & Labour (Butler + Gaitskill)– budgets of successive Labour & Conservative administrations virtually i

dentical – But…

Polarization in the Party System1979-1990

• “We want a society where people are free to make choices, to make mistakes, to be generous and compassionate. This is what we mean by a moral society; not a society where the state is responsible for everything, and no one is responsible for the state.” Margaret Thatcher

– Conservative party came to power in 1979 under Thatcher, stayed in power until 1997

• Conservatives moved to the ideological ‘right’– Labour, in turn, moved to the ideological left after 1979– This creates some space in the center of the ideological spectrum

• Traditional home of the Liberal Party• Social Democratic Party formed by former Labour moderates in early 1980s, c

ame close to “breaking the mould” of British party politics in the 1983 election

• Labour Liberals/SDP Conservatives

• LEFTLEFT CENTRECENTRE RIGH RIGHTT

The Labour Party

– Founded early in 1900s as the ‘Labour Representation Committee’

– not a socialist party; rather, aimed at getting working class individuals elected as MPs

– an outgrowth of the trade union movement

– breakthrough in 1918 and early 1920s– replaced the Liberal party as the main alternative to the Con

servatives

– the “Fabian movement” in the post-First WW period gave the party its ‘socialist’ flavor

– Clause 4 - ‘nationalization of the means of production, communication, etc.)’

Labour’s Origins- Duverger

– Labour is:• an ‘extraparliamentary party’‘extraparliamentary party’

– its origins are in the trade union movement and its attempts to enter the legislature from outside

• a “mass partymass party”– formal membership in the party, not just voters supporting it

– two types of members

• individual members (join through local party association)

• members through affiliated unions

• this combines to give Labour a strong extra-parliamentary organization

Labour’s Organization

– Traditionally, four main components:• Annual conferenceAnnual conference (to be held in Bournemouth, Sept. 28

-Oct. 2nd, 2003)– formally the ‘supreme’ policy body

– this leads Robert McKenzie to argue that Labour’s party constitution is unconstitutional!

– In reality, its decisions have NOT been regarded as binding on Labour’s MPs

• Parliamentary Labour PartyParliamentary Labour Party– elected MPs and leaders

– the dominant decision-making unit of the party

Labour’s Organization (2)

• Constituency Labour Parties Constituency Labour Parties – traditional party activists

– often ‘radical socialists’

• National Executive Council (NEC)National Executive Council (NEC)– attend to the supervision of routine party functions, co

ordinate various sections

Labour’s “organizational dilemma”

• “Since it could not afford, like its opponents, to maintain a large army of party workers, the Labour Party required militants - politically active socialists to do the work of organizing the constituencies. But since these militants tended to be ‘extremists’, a constitution was needed which maintained their enthusiasm by apparently creating a full party democracy while excluding them from effective power. Hence the concession in principle of sovereign power to delegates at the Annual Conference and the removal in practice of most of this sovereignty through the trade union block vote on the other hand and the complete independence of the parliamentary Labour Party on the other.”

• Richard Crossman, quoted in Robert McKenzie, British Political Parties, 1964, p. 641

Thirteenth Lecture Outline

• The British Party System• Labour Party• Conservative Party• Liberals / Social Democratics Liberal Democrats

Paving the Way for Tony Blair

– 1979-1997 period difficult for Labour• Thatcher’s agenda through the 1980s seemed triumphant

• following 1979 defeat of Labour, under leadership of Michael Foot the party lurched to the far left

– Thatcher derides ‘the loony left’

• a succession of disasterous elections – 1979, 1983, 1987, 1992

– early 1990s, Neil Kinnock and John Smith tried to return the party to the center

– Blair continues and perfects this!

Making ‘New Labour’

– With selection of Tony Blair to

Labour Party leadership in 1994,

the push to the right intensified• some liken Blair to Bill Clinton

in terms of his impact in moderating

a ‘left’ party

– most visible manifestation

decision to change “clause four”

Clause Four

• 'To secure for the producers by hand or by brain the full fruits of their industry, and the most equitable distribution thereof that may be possible, upon the basis of the common ownership of the means of production and the best obtainable system of popular administration and control of each industry and service.'

• Original ‘clause four’ – adopted 1918

Revised Clause 4

• ‘The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. It believes that by the strength of our common endeavour we achieve more than we achieve alone, so as to create for each of us the means to realise our true potential and for all of us a community in which power, wealth and opportunity are in the hands of the many, not the few. Where the rights we enjoy reflect the duties we owe. And where we live together, freely, in a spirit of solidarity, tolerance and respect.’

• Labour Party constitution, revised 1995

Labour’s Grassroots Membership

– 1953 1,005,000

– 1960 790,192

– 1974 691,889

– 1983 295,344

– 1992 279,344

– 1998 387,776

Whiteley & Seyd, High-Intensity Participation, 2002: 10

Labour’s New Decision Process

•

From Patrick Seyd, “New Labour, New Party, New Politics?” (1998)

“Blairism” - Central principles

– Economic growth– global competitiveness– government/private sector partnership– balanced budgets– Education

– Social inclusion– Individual responsibility and ending welfare dependenc

y• ‘tough on crime; tough on the causes of crime’

– European involvement– but not in Eurozone (yet)

– Constitutional reform

“The Third Way” A Progress Report

– Royal Commission on Electoral Reform (Jenkins) • reported 1998• (stalled)

– Devolution to Scotland & Wales – 1998 – • (done)• English regional assemblies?

– Lords reform - Fall 1999• Royal Commission on Lords Reform - (Wakeham Report, 2000) • (In second phase)

– Supreme Court – 2003/04 • (in progress)

– Reestablishment of Northern Irish self-government • (in progress)

– Labour Party• (reformed and more in progress)

Conservative Party

– A parliamentary party in Duverger’s terms• emerged, rather than born

• around the 1830s as group of MPs formed regularly to support Sir Robert Peel

• weak extra-parliamentary organization

• leader dominated

– traditionally supported landed (agricultural) interests, the Anglican (Church of England), and the role of tradition

– Britain’s oldest & most successful party– since 1918, it has been in power alone or in coalition for 75% of the t

ime

Conservative Ideology (Burkean)

• Nationalism• society an ‘organism’

• needs to be nurtured, to grow & mature

• radical reforms that do not respect the need for continuity and integration are dangerous

• inequalities natural• different endowments should give rise to different roles for individ

uals

• paternalistic state• state should protect weakest elements of society

Fourteenth Lecture Outline

• The British Party System• Conservative Party• Liberals / Social Democrats Liberal Democrats

• Patterns of Party Choice• Class Voting

Organization

– Weaker organization than Labour; party leader dominates

• prior to 1965, Leader not elected • the ‘old boy’ network• since 1965, elected by the caucus members• Current leader – Ian Duncan Smith

– Annual conference

• “1922 Committee” - Backbench opinion

• when Conservative gov’t in power, ministers attend meetings by invitation onlyby invitation only

Conservative Membership

– 1953 - 2,805,000

– 1974 - 1,500,000

– 1983 - 1,200,000

– 1992 - 500,000

– 1998 - 204,000

• (Whiteley & Seyd, High Intensity Participation, 2002: 10

Contemporary Conservative Party

• Modern conservative principles– Freedom

• Lower taxes (economic freedom)• Minimize ‘state interference’ (classical

liberalism)

– Responsibility• Limit welfare entitlements 1997 Campaign Poster

– Enterprise• Privatization; low taxes

– Nation• Strong defense• Anti-Europe (for many)

Liberal Party

• The ‘half party’ in the 2 & 1/2 party system• Liberal Party formed in 19th century- a ‘parlia

mentary party’ in Duverger’s terms• weak organization; leader dominated

• until ≈ 1918, along with Conservatives, a dominant party

• almost disappeared in 1960s, but reborn in 1970s and 1980s

Traditional Liberal Themes

• Individual freedom and protection of privacy• small government

• ‘the state which governs best is that which governs least’

• federalism • early support of Irish home rule; devolution to Scotland

& Wales

• stand against the adversarial politics of class associated with Labour/Conservatives

Social Democratic Party

• Formed in March, 1981 by 4 disgruntled former Labour cabinet ministers– alarmed at the leftward drift of Labour followin

g the 1979 election defeat– by end of 1981, had 27 MPs and 70,000 membe

rs

• wanted to create a centrist alternative

SDP+ Liberals Liberal Democrats

– Wanted to ‘break the mould’ of class politics

– won about 1/4 of all votes in 1983, but only got a handful of parliamentary seats.

• Penalized by SMP electoral system

• great supporters of electoral reform

– Eventually joined with the Liberals to create “the “Alliance” in 1987

• two parties formally joined to form the Liberal Democratic Party in 1988

– Current leader – Charles Kennedy (since 1999)

Liberal/Liberal DemocratMembership

• 1960 - 243,000

• 1974 - 190,000

• 1983 - 145,258

• 1992 - 100,000

– (Whiteley & Seyd, High Intensity Participation, (2002): p. 10

Voting Behavior– Social Class the traditional cleavage

• Labour - ‘working class’• blue collar workers

• Conservatives - ‘middle class’ • white collar workers

– “…class is the basis of British party politics; all else is embellishment & detail”

– Peter Pulzer, 1966

– Two-party system reflected the dual class nature of British society

The Class Alignment – 1950-70

• Around 90% of voters aligned themselves with a party, mostly (around 80% with Labour or Conservatives)

• 'Millions of British electors remain anchored to one of the parties for very long periods of time. Indeed, many electors have had the same party loyalties from the dawn of their political consciousness'

• (D. Butler & D. Stokes, 1969, Political Change in Britain)

• Around 65% of working class voted Labour and 80% of the middle class voted Conservative.