THE MONARCHY
1) Definition Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The monarch rules
only with the consent (agreement) of Parliament. It is a system where the
monarch has formal and ceremonial roles. In fact, the King reigns but does
not rule
2) The powers of the Monarch
He is head of state and commander-in-chief of the armed forces and head
of the three branches, he is the supreme head of the Church of England
and appoints its members, and he plays a diplomatic role. "He represents
his country and defends its interests. "He receives foreign visitors in the
Royal Palace. He appoints and dismisses the Prime Minister. He also
appoints all government members. He is responsible for the opening and
dissolution of Parliament. The first takes place at the beginning of the
Parliamentary year; he gives a formal speech and announces the opening
session of Parliament. The second takes place after each general election.
Finally, the King signs bills approved by Parliament. No bill can become an
act of Parliament and executed by the government if it is not signed by
the Monarch.
3) The limitation of the Monarch's powers
All the powers of the Monarch are purely formal. He is head of state but
decides nothing. He is head of the army but does not control it He cannot
wage a war. His executive functions are also formal The appointment of
the prime minister is systematic. by convention the leader of the winning
party after each election becomes Prime Minister. Also members of the
government are chosen by the Prime Minister on the behalf of the
Monarch The same can be said on his legislative functions, the opening
and dissolution of Parliament are ceremonial acts. The speech of the
opening session of Parliament is written by the Prime Minister. As far as
the signature of bills, the Monarch has no other choice He cannot spent
public money raise taxes or support one party at the expense of another.
He must remain neutral. In short he reigns but does not rule.
4) Attitudes to the monarchy
The monarchy is respected and has the right to be informed of all aspects
of national life by meeting the Prime Minister every week. In fact, the
monarchy is very popular today. It is a symbol of prestige and greatness. It
is also a symbol of stability, continuity and national unity. The neutrality is
a positive factor in the eyes of the British people. Finally, because of its
stability, the monarchy has become an important source of tourism.
However, opinions are deeply divided. An important part of British people
still believe that the monarchy is old fashioned in comparison with modern
republican-system. The ceremonial side
of the monarchy is very expensive and many purpose to replace it with
cheaper republican
system. Important sums of money are spent every year on purely
ceremonial activities. At the same time, the monarchy is seen as the
upper class and so, it does not represent people in Britain. It is not
democratic, because the Monarch is not elected by the people and so, he
cannot be representative of the wishes of the citizens. Moreover, it
symbolizes the domination of the other component of the UK.
THE GOVERNMENT
1) Definition The government is the executive branch. It rules the country,
proposes laws and executes them. It represents the people. It is composed
of the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and other junior ministers
2) The Prime Minister
He is the most powerful person in the British political landscape. He
assumes the biggest responsibilities within the government. He is head of
the government. He appoints and dismisses ministers at any time (in
behalf the Monarch). He is responsible for the security of citizens and the
real head of the army and can declare war. The Prime Minister determines
the agenda of the Cabinet and declares the sense of army meeting. This
does not mean that the Prime Minster can act as a dictator. He cannot all
the time dismiss ministers because it could weaken his position in the
eyes of the opposition, the media and public opinion.
3) Cabinet
The Cabinet is composed of about 20 members who assume a big
responsibility within the government. They are known as secretaries of
state and they hold the most important department like defense, foreign
affairs, economic, education, justice etc. Most of them are members of the
House of Commons, others, belong to the House of Lords.
There is no constitutional definition of the Cabinet. In fact, it is the main
and active section of the government. It meets once a week in the office
of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet makes the main decisions about
government policy and is responsible for the security of British citizens.
Solidarity between members of government is required; they must be
prepared to defend Cabinet decisions.
No minister is allowed to disagree with any aspect of governmental policy.
If any minister disagrees he must hide his disagreement and support
publically the government or resign Naturally, ministers do not want to
resign and this puts the Prime Minister in a position of force. On the other
hand, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Cabinet
controversial. Some believe that the Prime Minister is the strongest
member of the gove and that all Cabinet members depend on him/her.
Others believe that both have equal responsibility. A third opinion believes
that they need each other and that they cannot wor.. independently of
one another. More importantly, this relationship depends on the
personality of the Prime Minister. If the Prime Minister has a strong
personality, he/she can dominate the Cabinet. Anyway both of them are
controlled by the opposition, pressure groups, the mediaand the public
opinion.
THE BRITISH «UNWRITTEN >> CONSTITUTION
1) Identification
Britain has no written constitution contained in one single document.
Instead, it's composed of the following:
acts of Parliament a law voted by parliament (Bill of Rights 1689 = a part
of the constitution/ before that Britain was an absolute monarchy "England
is a constitutional monarchy") // (The Act of Settelment 1701 was another
law passed by Parliament = The monarch of Britain must be Protestant) //
(The Parliament Act of 1911 = to limit defenitly the role of the House of
Lodrs) //(1969 = reduce the age of votr from 20 to 18
the common law any decision made by courts or judges, becomes
systematically a constitutional reference.
works of authority these are books recognized as a source for the
interpretation of constitutional rules (A.V.Dicey "An introduction to the
study of the law of the constitution 1885) a book explained how
Parliament should be important, how the power should be separated
conventions These are rules of behavior which have the force of law
(traditions) (In GB, every member can own two offices: executive and
judicial) (in the past: The Prime Minister can decide the election = the day
of elections in 1950/1951/1952/1953 The Prime Minister is free to decide
the day of elections)
2) Attitudes to the constitution:
Opinions are deeply divided about the British constitution.
Those who are for believe it is dynamic, flexible and easy to change. It is a
living constitution and it can be adapted to the changing social attitudes.
Also, there is the Supreme Court which can solve any constitutional
problem. On the other hand, Parliament is sovereign and it can introduce
or reject any law. It can replace the constitution.
Those who are against believe that the powers of the three branches are
not clearly defined. This can lead to ambiguity and possible conflict
between them. At the same time, the flexible nature of an unwritten
constitution means that it can be subject to different interpretations. It
may lead to the concentration of power in the hands of one of the three
branches, particularly, the executive. Finally, a written constitution is
easier to understand.
PARLIAMENT
1) Definition It represents the legislative branch. It has the power to make
or unmake laws. It is composed of the House of Commons, the House of
Lord and formally the Monarch.
2)The House of Commons
It is composed of 650 MPs who are elected from 650 districts/constituency
دائرة ان تخابيةEach district elects one MP to represent it in the House of
Commons. MPs belong to different political parties and are directly elected
by citizens. They are the representatives of the people on Parliament.
They have permanent contact with the electorate. It is also composed of
the Speaker who is chosen by the ruling party, his role is to organize the
debates and the agenda. The House of Commons also includes 2
Frontbenches and 2 Backbenches; the 2 Frontbenches include the Cabinet
and the Shadow Cabinet which is formed by the opposition to criticize and
oppose the government if there is an aid to do so, or in case of power
abuse. The two backbenches include MPs from the ruling party and from
the opposition.
3)The House of Lords
It includes 821 members who are appointed by the Monarch on the advice
of the Prime Minister. Their role consists in checking bills which are
approved by the House of Commons. The House of Lords has the right to
delay bills but it cannot block them. Moreover money bills cannot be
checked by the House of Lords. Once they are approved by the Commons,
they are immediately signed by the Monarch. Today there is a debate in
Britain; more and more people are in favor of an elected House of Lords,
but till now there is no political willingness to provoke changes.
4) Attitudes to Parliament
The House of Commons is the law making today; no bill can become an
act of Parliament if it is not voted by a majority of MPs. The House of
Commons has the right to reject bills proposed by the government. At the
same time, Parliament can act anytime and lose faith in the Prime Minister
or in the whole government and oblige them to resign. However, it is to a
great extent dependent on the government. The Prime Minister knows in
advance that any bill proposed will be voted. Since for most all
governments have a majority of MPs to support them, this is a sign of
weakness of the House of Commons. It is different from the American
system.
