Chapter 6: Political life ‘The first thing you have to know about the Sritishis to never discuss either religion or paitics. Never trust politician’ € said by area British person. Poltcans do nothave a good reputation with the British people. To describe someone as“a poltcan’ isto crtidze him or her, suggesting a lack of trustworthiness. They don't hate them, they're not overly fond of them either. They just regard them ‘with suspicion, People are not really shocked when the governmentis caughtiving. On the other hand, they would be very shocked indeed fit was discovered! that the government was doing anything definitly egal. The first rule of polticsis ‘Never Believe Anything Until Its Been Officially Denied’ in Britain, itisgenerally accepted that politics isa dirty business. But, nevertheless, the British HATE/LOATHE coalitions. A hung parliament, something we basicaly have inthe Netherlands (abways ‘There is the government and the parliament. The governmentruns the country. Has responsibilty for developing and implanting policy and for drafting las tis also known as the executive. The parligmentis the highest legislative authority in the UK. Ithasrespon sbiity of governmentand ‘examining debating and approving new laws. Also known as the legislature, The three main parts of the Parliament House of Commons All the MiPsare elected by the Uk citizens 4 or 8 years}in the {general election. Each represents their own constituency. | House of Lords— Allof the poers. They are unelected. They are nominated expertsin their folds. The Prime minister has alarge say in who becomes a Poet The Monarch — the king or queen atthe time. They have less povier now but stilhave the sign-off on laws and on Peerages. The Whigs and The Tories “The Whigs and Tories were British Political parties that developed in the later part ofthe 17th century, The constitution Britain s.a constitutional monarchy. Iisa country governed by aking or queen iho accepts the advice of a parliament, Therefore, itis also a parliamentary democracy (a country whose government is controled by a parliament elected by the people) it doesnothave a constitution. Ithas rules, regulations, principles and procedures of running the counties, but there iso single vaitton document vvhich can be appealed to asthe highest law ofthe and. Nobody can refer to artide1 or something hike that. Instead, the principles and procedures come from a number of different sources, They have been bulltup over the centuries, Some of them are written down in las agreed by Parliament, some have been spoken and then written down and some have never been written down at al, There ism \aritten law about who can be Prime Minister or what the powers ofthat are, even though he or she isprobabiy the most powerful person in the country. Instead, these have been established and are constantly being modified, by custom and practice. Constitutional Monarch, limited monarchy ¢ manarchy governed according to@ constitution that limits and defines the powers of the sovereign. Why does Britain not have a written constitution? Does It need one? Essentially bocau se the country has been too stable for too long. The governing elites of many European nations, such as France and Germany, have been forced to crave up constitutionsin response to popular revolt or war.Great Britain, by contrast, eemained free of the revolutionary fervour that swept much of the Continentin the 19th contury. AS aresult, this country's democracy hasbeen reformed incrementally ‘over centuriesrather than in one big bang. Dothey need one? Yes. Britain's arcane hotchpotch of freedoms and rights cannot be defended in the 21 t century could help citizens dlarify their rightsand protect themselves against the state Most flourishing democracies base their institu ions on a written constitution be, The system should not be tampered with asit has served Britain well for centuries ‘The practical problems over what to include and leave out would be a logistical nightmare It could undermine the power of Parliament to serutinise ministers on behalf of the public Offic secrets ‘The official secrets. The act that prevents disclosure of state secrets, official policies being leaked to the police Pairing system a system whereby two members of parliament from opposing political parties may agree to abstain there one member is unable to vote, due to other commitments, illness Frealoaders are people in polities who benefit From their positions by getting lots free stuff, perks and luxury. Party system Britain has a two-party system, The conservative party and the Labour party {the Toriesand the wigs), ‘The swingometer isa device u sed by television presenters on election night. Itindicates the percentage change of support from one party to another since the previous election, also known as. the swing. ‘Whitehall is an area, name of the street of Trafalgar Square (where the Wellington Statue is) near palace of Westminster, All offices of the government are located there. ‘What is the North-South divide? ‘The term North-South divide refers tothe economic and cultural differences between Southern England and the rest of Great Britain. ‘What are Parishes? A parishisa territorial unithistorically under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of one parish priest ‘What is The Freedom of Information Act? sives you the right to ask any publicbod for all the information they have on any subject you ‘choose. Unless there's a good reason, the organisation must provide the information within 20 working days Nowadays the UK has mostly 2 party system, the conservatives and the labour party. A.whistleblower is someone who drawsattention to a mistake or corruption by informing the press ‘or the PM,