Unit 3 political system

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (the UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as Head of State.

The UK does not have a written constitution. Instead, it is made up of a combination of Acts of Parliament.

The national flag of the UK, the Union Jack, is made up of three older flags: the St. George’s flag of England, the St. Andrew’s flag of Scotland and the St. Patrick’s flag of Ireland.

Monarchy

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The Monarch (king or ruling queen) is not only Head of the State, but symbol of the unity of the nation, the monarchy is hereditary, the succession passes automatically to the oldest male child, or in absence of males, to the oldest female child. Succession is automatic on the death of monarch, confirmed later by a formal coronation ceremony.

By law the monarch is Head of the Executive and the Judiciary, Head of the Church of England, and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. However, since 1689, the monarch's sovereign pow­ers have been formally limited by the idea that national sovereignty resides in 'the Crown in Parliament' - the idea that the Crown is only sovereign by the will of Parliament.

The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Theoreti­cally, every act of government is done in the Queen's name. The functions of the monarch are to summon and dissolve Parliament, to give royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament; to appoint government ministers, judges, governors, diplomats and bishops of the Church; to confer honours; and finally, to declare war or make peace with an enemy power. In practice, the monarch performs all these functions on the advice of the elected Government and takes no part in the decision-making process.

Nevertheless, the function of the monarch is politically important. The Queen is visited regularly by her Prime Minister to receive an account of Cabinet decisions and to be consulted on matters of na­tional life. Since 1952 the Queen has given audience, as it is called, to 13 Prime ministers and her experience of domestic and international policies gives importance to these meetings. The monarch is the per­sonal embodiment of the government of the country. Because of the separation between the symbol of government (the Queen) and the actual government (the ministers headed by Prime Minister), changing the government does not threaten the stability of the country as a whole. Moreover, the monarchy gives the British people a symbol of continuity and an outlet for the expression of national pride.

Parliament

Parliament is a supreme legislative body of the state. Its func­tions are to pass laws, to give authority for the government to raise money through taxation, to examine government policy and admin­istration, particularly its financial programme, and to debate or discuss important political issues.

Parliament consists of three elements - the Monarchy, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the Monarch have different roles in the government of the country, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three which has true power. It is here that new bills are introduced and debated. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the monarch to be signed. Then it be­comes law. The House of Lords has limited powers, and the mon­arch has not refuses to sign a bill since 1708.

The House of Commons is made up of 651 elected members, known as Members of Parliament- (MPs), each of whom represents an area (constituency) of the United Kingdom. They are elected either at a general election, or at a by-election following the death or retirement of an MP. All citizens may vote, provided they are aged eighteen or over. Voting is not compulsory, and a general election normally attracts about 75 per cent of the electorate. The candidate with the most votes wins the election. Parliamentary elec­tions must be held every five years.

The Speaker is the chairman in the House of Commons, it is the person who chairs and controls discussion in the House, decides which MP is going to speak next and makes sure that the rules of procedure are followed. The Speaker must be impartial and objec­tive. As soon as a speaker is appointed he or she agrees to give up all party policies and remains in the job as long as he or she wishes.

In 1992, for the first time a woman was appointed Speaker of the House. It was Betty Boothroyd.

The upper chamber of Parliament, the House of Lords, consists of four categories of peers, The majority are hereditary peers and peeresses, about 600. Those are men and women who hold titles of nobility which can be passed on their sons or daughters. About 600 are life peers' and 'peeresses'- peerage is given tо distinguished citizens who have rendered political or public services to the nation. They hold their titles only during their own lifetime and cannot pass them to their children. Twenty or so senior judges (called 'legal peers') are also entitled to sit in the Lords. Finally, there are two archbishops and twenty-four senior bishops of the Church of Eng­land (Lords Spiritual).

The House of Lords cannot prevent proposed legislation from becoming law if the House of Commons insists on it, and it has little influence over legislation involving taxation or expenditure.

The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor he is also an automatic member of the Cabinet. The Lord Chancellor is also responsible for the administration of justice.