4.2 Devolved national administrations

4.2.1Scottish Government

The Scottish Government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly reserved to the United Kingdom Parliament at Westminster, by the Scotland Act; including NHS Scotland, education, justice, rural affairs, and transport. It manages an annual budget of more than £25 billion. The government is led by the First Minister, assisted by various Ministers with individual portfolios and remits. The Scottish Parliament nominates a Member to be appointed as First Minister by the Queen. The First Minister then appoints his Ministers (now known as Cabinet Secretaries) and junior Ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament. The First Minister, the Ministers (but not junior ministers), the Lord Advocate and Solicitor General are the Members of the 'Scottish Executive', as set out in the Scotland Act 1998. They are collectively known as "the Scottish Ministers".

4.2.2 Welsh Government

The Welsh Government and the National Assembly for Wales have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland, although following the passing of the Government of Wales Act 2006 and the Welsh devolution referendum, 2011, the Assembly can now legislate in some areas through an Act of the National Assembly for Wales. Following the 2011 election, Welsh Labour held exactly half of the seats in the Assembly, falling just short of an overall majority. A Welsh Labour Government was subsequently formed headed by Carwyn Jones.

4.2.3Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly have powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a diarchy, currently First Minister Peter Robinson (Democratic Unionist Party) and deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness (Sinn Féin).

5.Legislatures

5.1 Uk Parliament

The UK Parliament is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there is parliamentary sovereignty), and Government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is bicameral, consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There is also a devolved Scottish Parliament and devolved Assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority.

In 1865 John Bright described England as “the mother of Parliaments”. Until the late eighteenth century no other country had succeeded in developing such an institution; indeed, many looked to England to learn and, to a certain extent, to copy.

In the nineteenth century Parliament reached maturity with the huge increase in reforming legislation and the fine oratorical skills of many politicians. The fame of the English Parliament lay particularly in its resistance to the monarchy in the century from 1580s to 1680s. In the later years of Elizabeth I and in the reigns of Charles I and James II Parliament voiced its hostility to what Mps considered the dangers of excessive royal power. In the 1640s this hostility led even to civil war and the execution of the king.

Nowadays the main functions of Parliament are to pass laws regulating the life of the country and to scrutinize government policy and administration. Most of this work is carried on through various kinds of debates in both Houses. Also, Parliament is normally consulted before all important international treaties and agreements are ratified.

House of Commons

House of Lords

Royal Assent

Bill

Law

Bill and Law. In the British Parliament a Bill is usually produced by the Government, and discussed in the House of Commons. Then it goes to the House of lords. Finally, it receives the Royal Assent( it is signed by the Queen)and becomes law.

How a bill becomes a law.

After both Houses have reached agreement, the bill is sent to the Queen for her signature (or Royal Assent) at which point it becomes an Act of Parliament. The Royal Assent is a Formality: no sovereign has refused a bill since 1707.

The bill is sent to the House of Lords where it goes through the same stages. (If the Lords make new amendments, these will be considered by the Commons).

Report stage. The House considers the amendments.

Third reading. The amended bill is debated as a whole.

Committee stage. A committee of Mps examines the details of the bill and votes on amendments to its parts.

Second reading. The House debates general principles of the bill and, in most cases, takes a vote.

First reading. This is a formal announcement only, with no debate.

5.1.1 House of Commons

The Countries of the United Kingdom are divided into parliamentary constituencies of broadly equal population by the four Boundary Commissions. Each constituency elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to the House of Commons at General Elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of 2010 there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's general election. Of the 650 MPs, all but one - Lady Sylvia Hermon - belong to a political party.

In modern times, all Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition have been drawn from the Commons, not the Lords. Alec Douglas-Home resigned from his peerages days after becoming Prime Minister in 1963, and the last Prime Minister before him from the Lords left in 1902 (the Marquess of Salisbury).

One party usually has a majority in Parliament, because of the use of the First Past the Post electoral system, which has been conducive in creating the current two party system. The monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can survive in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a government' with a parliamentary minority which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a coalition government. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to Andrew Bonar Law, and when he declined, to David Lloyd George and in 1940 to Winston Churchill. A government is not formed by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on the Speech from the Throne (the legislative programme proposed by the new government).

The main purpose of the House of Commons is to make laws of the land by passing various Acts (of Parliament), as well as to discuss current political issues. The house sits for five days each week. Each “sitting” starts in the afternoon and may go on throughout the night. The House sits for about 175 days in the year, and has a maximum term of five years.

All speeches in the House of Commons are addressed to the Speaker who is elected at the beginning of each new Parliament to preside over the House and enforce the rules of order.

The Speaker must be a person with a rare mix of qualities: s/he has to be able to cope with the difficult task of conducting debates; be respected for impartiality; possess a sound knowledge of parliamentary procedure; have tact and judgement in handling debates; and have a firmness of command in controlling the house.

The debates take place in accordance with a programme previously arranged. It often concerns a broad issue of foreign or home policy, or it may be the examination of the contents of a bill. During the debates members are called to speak by the Speaker. An MP must stand when speaking and must refer to fellow members by their appropriate titles, for example, “The Honourable Member for…” or, if the Member sits on the same side of the House, “My Honourable Friend”. And no member, on pain of disciplinary action by the speaker, may use “unparliamentary language”. No rude or insulting words can be uttered. At the end of a debate the members express their approval or disapproval of the debated bill by “divisions”, that is voting with the House dividing, those in favour of the bill going through one lobby and those against it through the opposite lobby, their names being recorded by clerks as they pass through.

The strength of the House of Commons is that it possesses the right to argue for or against any proposal, the right to question, to debate and to speak out.

5.1.2 House of Lords

The House of Lords was previously a largely hereditary aristocratic chamber, although including life peers, and Lords Spiritual. It is currently mid-way through extensive reforms, the most recent of these being enacted in the House of Lords Act 1999. The house consists of two very different types of member, the Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house) and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the established Church of England and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees (Canterbury, York, London, Winchester and Durham), and the 21 next-most senior bishops.

The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a suspensive veto. This allows it to delay legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by convention and by the operation of the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: the Lords may not veto the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see Salisbury convention). Persistent use of the veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the Parliament Act 1911. Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full veto in acts which would extend the life of Parliament beyond the 5 year term limit introduced by the Parliament Act 1911.

The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 outlined plans for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to replace the role of the Law Lords.

The House of Lords was replaced as the final court of appeal on civil cases within the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009, by the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.

The work of the House of Lords is largely complementary to that of the House of Commons, and includes examining and revising bills from the Commons, and discussing the important matters which the Commons cannot find time to debate. The House of Lords does not have The same power as The House of Commons. It can:

• Pass Bills sent to it from the House of Commons;

• Amend Bills and sent them back to the Commons for approval;

• Delay Bills for a limited time;

• Start its own Bills, but it must send them to the Commons for approval.

Members of the House of Lords refer to each other as “The Right Honourable Noble Lord…”.

5.1.3 Parliamentary Debates.

Parliament is the place where politicians can speak about public matters, express points of view, argue, try to persuade, support and oppose other members. Indeed, the very word tells us this is its function. What is more, this free exchange of ideas is vital for a democratic form of government. People are bound to differ about political and economic priorities; and wise and just policies are more likely to result from widespread discussion than from decisions made by a few.

Parliamentary debates require two kinds of skill: the ability to argue and to deliver a prepared speech. For argument the speaker needs a good memory stored with relevant information in order to counter factual statements; speed of thought and fluency of speech quickly to express his reaction to the previous speaker. In addition, he needs the qualities which enable him to deliver a speech: audible and clear diction, and an interesting tone of voice. He must be able to judge the mood of The House and adapt his wit or somber style to match the occasion. He must never be dull and always have something of importance to say.