GOVERNMENTS OF EUROPEAN AND
AMERICAN COUNTRIES against British rule. The most famous of these was
UNITED KINGDOM
How Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland
became parts of the UK: A Background
WALES
 was added through conquest in the 14th
century
SCOTLAND
1603 - English and Scottish crowns were united
when King James I, a Scottish king, became the first
Stuart King of England
1707 - the parliaments of the two countries were
joined by the Act of Union
1715 and 1755 - Scottish uprisings that resulted in
English occupation of Scotland
NORTHERN IRELAND
1170 - English armies started to invade Ireland
1603 - When Ireland was finally conquered and
was formally joined with Great Britain to establish
the United Kingdom
1800 - formally joined with Great Britain to
establish the United Kingdom
According to Hancock et al. (2003), "The
unity created was more legal than actual, and
Irish Home Rule was a persistent political issue
during the second half of the nineteenth century.
Political arguments were accompanied by
increasing violence and then by armed uprisings
the Easter Uprising in 1916, which constituted the
beginning of years of serious violence. Following a
long period of negotiation, the twenty-six southern
counties of Ireland were granted independence in
1922 as the Irish Free State (later the Republic of
Ireland), while six northern counties in Ulster
remained a part of the United Kingdom."
The GOOD FRIDAY agreement of 1998
 signed by Prime Minister Tony Blair, the
Irish prime minister, and the leaders of Sinn
Fein (the political arm of the IRA) and the
Ulster
Unionists.
 election of a new assembly for Northern
Ireland
 establishment of an executive formed from
both communities, and forming a joint
consultative body between
Dublin and Belfast to address issues that affect
all of the island of Ireland
 more significantly, a much greater measure
of self-government was to be returned to the
province.
 A referendum on the agreement passed
overwhelmingly in Northern
Ireland and even more so in a simultaneous vote
in the Republic of Ireland.
Reference: Hancock et al (2003) Politics in Europe:
An Introduction to the Politics of the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia,
and the European Union.
THE PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
PARLIAMENTARY GOVERNMENT
 links executive powers directly to legislative
powers.
 the executive of a parliamentary is elected
by the legislature.
  the parliamentary of the United Kingdom
has been described by Arend Lijphart as
"majoritarian" (cited by Hancock, et al).
"The operative tradition is that there must
always be at least a majority of members of the
lower house supporting the government. Failing
that, a government can nonetheless remain in power
if a majority of MPs do not disavow it in a vote of
no confidence. There is little or no acceptance of
minority governments, which have been successful
in many other European countries.
Further, the effectively two-party nature of
politics for most of the modern era has meant that a
British government generally has been composed of
members of a single political party" (Hancock, et
al., 2003).
What happens when the majority of the
members of the Parliament no longer want the
current government to continue?
They can remove it by a vote of no confidence, or
by impeding a major government legislative
proposal.
DOCTRINE OF COLLECTIVE
RESPONSIBILITY
 makes the government as a whole
responsible for its actions.
 requires the government as a whole to
resign.
 policy, administrative, or personal failures of
individual ministers would force them out
from office.
 decisions must be collective and supported
by the cabinet.
PRINCIPLE OF GOVERNMENT AND
OPPOSITION
 It is the role of the Opposition to oppose the
government.
 " Even if the Opposition should agree with
the basic tenets of the government’s policy,
it still must present constructive
 alternatives to that policy if it is to do its job
appropriately. It is assumed that better
policies will emerge, and that the voters will
be given alternative conceptions of the
common good from which to choose at the
next election. The major exception to this
principle is in times of war or crisis, but
even then the Opposition is expected to
question the means by which goals are
pursued."
British parliamentary government is also party
government
"Parties are expected to be responsible, to stand for
certain policies and programs, and to attempt to
carry out those programs if elected. There are
always necessary compromises once elected to
office, but parties are expected to attempt to
implement their programs or to have a reasonable
justification for failure to do so."
British parliamentary government is sovereign.
 no legal limitations on the powers of
Parliament.
 no means by which a citizen can challenge
an act of Parliament as unconstitutional,
although some actions may be found to go
beyond the powers of a particular minister.
 there are, of course, very real political
limitations on the activities of Parliament,
but its actions, once taken, are law until
Parliament acts again.
The Six Major Institutions of British National
Government
 Monarch
 Prime Minister
 Cabinet and Government
 Parliament
 Courts
 Civil Service
Reference: Hancock et al (2003) Politics in Europe:
An Introduction to the Politics of the United
Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, Russia,
and the European Union
THE MONARCH
The United Kingdom adheres to Constitutional
Monarchy. This means that the powers of the
Monarch is limited by law or convention.
Some Powers of the Monarch
 Declaration of War
 Making Treaties
 Granting Peerages
 Granting Clemency
(Remember: These powers are exercised only on
the advice of the Prime Minister and other
ministers)
Could the Monarch possibly influence policy or
politics?
  Yes, it can be done through the selection of  Power to appoint and dismiss
Prime Minister. Nevertheless, independent government ministers,
judgment of the monarch in this case is not particularly at cabinet level,
possible if one major party wins a clear provides a crucial advantage
majority. over colleagues.
 Likewise, the monarch is "empowered to  The conservative party gives
dissolve a sitting Parliament, and the its leader a free hand in
decision to do so could (in theory at least) be appointing cabinet ministers.
made independently if the government did  In theory, the prime minister
not resign and call for elections after a vote can create a cabinet in their
of no confidence or if it lost on a major own image, rewarding
issue. " supporters and penalizing
 On the other hand, "a monarch could refuse disloyal MPs. The 2010
to dissolve a Parliament when asked by the coalition agreement required
prime minister, if she believed that it was David Cameron to appoint
not in the national interest to do so. These five liberal democrats to his
powers would, however, be exercised at cabinet, including Nick
some peril for the monarch, as any such Clegg.
direct intervention into the political life of  When there is an
the country might threaten the legitimacy of existing coalition the
the institution of the monarchy." power of appointment
of the Prime Minister
THE PRIME MINISTER
is limited.
The Prime Minister is considered to be the head of o Cabinet Reshuffles
the government and the Chief Executive.  Prime ministers can also
reshuffle cabinet portfolios.
The Powers of the Prime Minister
 Some ministers might be
 Prime Minister has more powers than other moved to another post and
cabinet minister. The resources available to other dismissed entirely.
the prime minister are subject to important  This allow the prime minister
constraints and vary according to to promote successful
circumstances. ministers, demote those who
 Main powers available to the Prime Minister have underachieved.
are:  The prime minister decides
o Patronage the timing of a cabinet
 The power of an individual to reshuffle, but a sudden
appoint someone to an resignation might force an
important position. unwanted one.
 Most significant power is the o Authority in the Cabinet System
power to appoint government  With the post of the prime
ministers. Other patronage minister comes the specific
powers have been curtailed in authority within the core
recent years. executive.
 Judicial and ecclesiastical  The prime minister:
appointments – the Prime  Chairs cabinet
ministers role in appointing meetings
judges and senior member of  Manages the agenda
the church of England was of cabinet meetings
reduced by the Brown  Directs and sums up
Government. cabinet decisions
 Gordon Brown  Creates cabinet
 The Honours System – the committees and
Prime Ministers role in the appoints their
honor system has also been members.
reduced.  Holds bilateral
o Authority within the Cabinet System meetings
  Appoints senior civil  Has unique access to the
servants media. PMs press office
 Organizing structure holds a key position.
of government  There is a danger that, in
terms of public perception the
“first among equals” Prime Minister is perceived
o Authority within the Cabinet System as a head of state, thereby
 The prime minister can eclipsing the monarchy.
determine the agenda of o Policy-making role
cabinet by: o Prime ministers office
 Controlling the
THE CABINET
information presenter
to ministers by  The traditional constitutional view is that
determining which executive power in the UK is vested in a
issues and papers cabinet whose members exercise collective
should be brought responsibility.
before cabinet.  Importance of the cabinet decreased in the
 Keeping potentially modern era
difficult issues off the  Cabinet: The meeting of senior ministers
cabinet agenda. and heads of government departments. It is
 Deciding the chair, formally the key of government
membership and remit departments. It is formally the key decision-
of cabinet making body in British government.
committees, where
Current Cabinet:
much detailed policy
work occurs.  Boris Johnson MP – Prime Minister,
o Party Leadership First Lord of the treasury
 Leader of the largest party in  Sajid Javid MP – Chancellor of the
the House of Commons. A Exchequer
working majority in  Dominic Raab MP – Secretary of State
parliament strengthens the for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs
position of the prime  Priti Patel MP – Secretary of State for
minister, as it means that he the Home department
or she is more likely to enjoy  Michael Gove MP – Chancellor of the
the confidence of the Duchy of Lancaster
Commons and be able to  Matt Hancock MP – Secretary of State
enact laws. for Health and Social care
 Party leadership strengthens
 Steve Barclay MP – Secretary of State
the authority of the prime
for exiting the European Union.
minister. Labour and
conservative leaders are Cabinet Meetings
elected by their MPs and
 The frequency and length of cabinet
party members.
meetings have fallen steadily since the
 Legitimizes their position
1950’s.
 Blair enjoyed authority
within his party in his first  Then it tended to meet twice per week,
years in office because of two whereas under Blair, Brown, and
landslide election victories. Cameron the cabinet mees once a week
He reformed Labour’s when parliament is in session.
organization so as to enhance  Cabinet meetings under Blair tended to
the position of the leader. last about an hour, with some over in
o Public Standing half that time.
 Main spokesperson for the Role of the Cabinet
nation and in many context
such as international  The ministerial code and the cabinet manual
meetings act on behalf of the set out the role and functions of the cabinet
head of the state.
 and its committees, acting as authoritative
guides to the cabinet system.
 The functions of the cabinet are as follows:
o Registering and ratifying decisions
taken elsewhere in the cabinet
system
o Discussing and deciding on major
issues
o Receiving reports on key
developments and determining
government business in parliament
o Settling disputes between
government departments.
Cabinet Committees
 A considerable proportion of decision
making occurs within cabinet committees.
 These includes:
o Ministerial standing committees
(permanent for the PMs term of
Office)
o Ministerial subcommittees (Reports
to the standing committees)
o Ad Hoc committees (temporary
committees set up to deal with
particular issues)
o Official committees of civil servants
The Inner Cabinet
 PMs periodically hold meetings with small
groups of ministers
 In times of crisis, a select group of ministers
may meet regularly to discuss developments
and formulate policy.
 When this happen, the small group is said to
be the inner cabinet.
 It can also be known as the ‘kitchen cabinet’
 Examples of inner cabinet include…
o Harold Wilson created a short-lived
inner cabinet to deal with the sterling
crisis.
o More famously, during the coalition.
‘The Quad’ was made up of
Cameron, Clegg, Osborne, and
Alexander.
The Cabinet Office
 This was created in 1916 to provide support
for the cabinet system
 The key section is the Cabinet secretariat,
which regulates and coordinates cabinet
business.
 It is also involved in the management and
regulation of the civil service.
 Under Blair, the Cabinet office took a
leading role in policy delivery and public
reform.
THE PARLIAMENT: HOUSE OF LORDS
 The Parliament of the United Kingdom is
composed of the House of Lords and the
House of Commons.
 Both houses are involved in making policy,
but Commons is crucial for forming
governments as well as for setting the public
budget.
"The House of Lords is composed of the lords
spiritual (representing the hierarchy of the Church
of England) and the lords temporal. The lords
temporal comprise hereditary and life peers, along
with the Law Lords appointed because the House of
Lords also serves as the final court of appeal in the
United Kingdom. Hereditary peers (who once made
up an overwhelming majority of members in the
House of Lords) claim their seats based on inherited
titles, whereas the queen appoints life peers (on the
advice of the government) only for their lifetime.
Dating from 1958, the concept of life peers was
designed in part to rectify the partisan and
ideological bias of the hereditary peers against the
Labour Party.
In 1999, the Labour majority in the House of
Commons voted to abolish the privileged status of
the hereditary peers in the House of Lords in favor
of a chamber dominated by life peers. As a result of
the 1999 constitutional reform, all but ninety-two
hereditary peers were removed from the House of
Lords." (Excerpt from Politics in Europe)
It is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It is
independent from, and complements the work of,
the elected House of Commons. The Lords shares
the task of making and shaping laws and checking
and challenging the work of the government.
Three main roles:
 Making Laws
 In-depth consideration of public policy
 Holding government to account
(parliamentuk/business/lords/work-of-the-house-of-
lords/)
The Parliament: House of Commons
The House of Commons is said to be the "publicly
elected chamber of Parliament. Members of the
Commons debate the big political issues of the day
and proposals for new laws.
"(parliament.uk/business/commons/what-the-
commons-does/)