Great Britain Government. Subtitle

Transcription

1 Great Britain Government Subtitle

2 Key Terms Parliamentary Members of Parliament (MPS) Bicameral Single Member District (SMD) First Past the Post Proportional Representation (PR) Right-Leaning Noblesse Oblique Thatcherite Euroskeptical Sovereignty Socialist Fixed Term Parliament Constituencies Plurality Coalition Government Official Head of Government Functional Head of Government

3 Key People/Institutions Margret Thatcher John Major Queen Elizabeth II European Union Irish Republican Army (IRA) Tony Blair Gordan Brown David Cameron

4 Just the Facts Topic Geographical Distribution of Power Relationship between Legislature and Executive Executive Executive Election System Legislature Legislative Election System Party System Judiciary Great Britain Unitary State, with devolved powers to regional Parliaments Parliamentary Prime Minister, leader of the majority in House of Commons, Elected every 5 years Chosen by MPS in the House of Commons Bicameral; House of Commons (Lower House); House of Lords (Upper House) SMD First-Past-the-post in National Elections; PR in regional and supranational elections Two Party System (Conservative and Labour) Supreme Court of the United Kingdom

5 Political Parties Conservative Labour Liberal Democrats

6 British Political Parties

7 Conservative Party Known as the Tories Founded 1834 Mostly known as rightleaning Multiple philosophies within the Party

8 Conservative Party Noblesse Oblige-The upper class has a responsibility to care for the lower classes Thatcherite-belief to roll back to the welfare state, reducing government controls and regulations Euroskeptical-European integration is a threat to the British sovereignty

9 Labour Party Created in 1906 Defender of the British middle class Draw support from manufacturing areas/towns Known to historically lean towards socialist ideas

10 Liberal Democrats Former dominant party but passed up by Labour Party Rebranded themselves in 1989 as the Lib-Dems For a 3 rd party they hold usually under 10% of the seats

11 State Institutions

12 Elections Elections in Great Britain are considered fair and transparent The most important elections at the national level are the Members of Parliament (MP s). Within these elections a majority is found, a prime minister and the cabinet Prior to 2011 elections could be called at the discretion of the Prime minister. Starting in 2015 GB has Fixed Term Parliaments. Elections are set for every 5 years unless a vote of no confidence is called for by 2/3 of Parliament

13 Elections The United Kingdom has 650 constituencies which elect 1 MP to represent them in Parliament This is called a single member district system The winner of each district needs only to win the most votes. A plurality does not have to be over 50% just the most voters This system is also referred to as a first-past-the post (FPTP) system since there is no run off to guarantee a majority

14 Elections A majority of seats (326) is needed to control the Parliament If no party can gain a majority then a coalition government is created as it happened in 2010

15 EUROPEAN UNION ELECTIONS (EU) Every 5 years direct elections are held to send representatives to the EU. These seats are based on proportional representation (PR) rather than SMD. The UK has 73 seats available amongst all of there political parties

16 The Monarchy Throughout the history of Great Britain the power of the King/Queen has diminished Today the monarch presides over the opening of parliament Elizabeth II has been the Queen since 1952

17 The Parliament House of Lords House of Commons

18 House of Commons 650 members Called MP s (Members of Parliament) Directly elected by members of a district Candidates are assigned the district they represent by Party leaders Dominant House of Britain

19 House of Commons The party with the majority of seats may form a government If a tie occurs a coalition government is created with the monarch appointing a leader the form a government House of Commons chooses the Prime Minister and the government ministers (Cabinet) Once a week the Prime minister is obligated to participate in a weekly event, Prime Minister s Questions. Which is live television event Policymaking is not involved however it demonstrates transparency

20 House of Commons Insert video

21 House of Lords Known as the Upper House Used to be the only and dominant house of Great Britain Not a fixed number but currently at 788 members House of Lords is limited to debate legislation from House of Commons May amend a bill, but can be overruled by House of Commons Insert Video

22 The Prime Minister Margret Thatcher ( ) John Major ( ) Tony Blair ( ) Gordan Brown ( ) David Cameron ( ) Theresa May (2016- Conservative Conservative Labour Labour Conservative Conservative

23 The Prime Minister Functional head of government Prime Minister holds the loyalty of the party and mostly can have legislation passed by the Houses The monarch is considered the official head of government but the prime minister is the functional head of government

24 David Cameron Resigns

25 The Cabinet Comprises of 22 ministers Typically party leaders elected as MP s in the House of Commons All members of the cabinet support the policy of the government because they bear collective responsibility If a member can t support the policy of the PM, they are expected to resign or be sacked. Most members of the cabinet will help shape policy and the PM looks to them for support

26 Judiciary The United Kingdom is a common-law legal system compared to a code-law system Common law relies on tradition and past precedent Code-law relies on strict interpretation Courts in Great Britain traditionally do not practice judicial review However Great Britain is being forced to follow more rules set by the European Union

27 British Seat of Government Whitehall London, England

28 British Seat of Government: 10 Downing Street. Home of the Prime Minister