The British

system

Jacopo Bettiol
Giovanni Biasin
Vania Camarin
Roberta Cian
Lisa Cillotto
Cristina Cinic
Denis Dalla Valle
Monica De Ros
Michele Forcellini
 Chiara Gabbin
Giorgia Girotto
 Britain is …
 Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a
costitutional monarch.
 The parliament had become the supreme
authority.
 In 1928 the right to vote was extended to all
man and women.
 Britain does not have a written constitution.
 The Monarch
 The Queen is the head of state but she has
no control over the policies of the
government.
 She officially appoints the Ministers who have
been chosen by the people in an election.
 Parliament
 Parliament is responsible for making the laws of the country.

 A government must have the support of Parliament.

 In each constituency the different political parties propose their candidates.

 The people vote and the candidate who wins become MP.

 In the House of Commons the MPs discuss the problems of the country.

 The members of the House of Lords- over 1,000- are not elected by the
people. Some of them are hereditary members.

 Senior bishops of the Church of England and senior judges also sit in the
House of Lords.
 Prime Minister and
Government

 The monarch appoints as Prime Minister the leader of the party with
most MPs in the House of Commons.

 The government remains in power as long as it has the support of a

majority in the Commons.

 After 5 years there must be a new general election but the Prime
Minister has the power to dissolve parliament and call a new election at
any time during those 5 years.

 There is no proportional representation and so it is difficult for small

parties to be represented in parliament.
 Local Government
 Cities and countries have their own local governments, called COUNCILS.
COUNCILS

 The local councils are responsible for administering social services, education,
etc.

 They collect a local tax, called “ council tax”, but their powers are very limited
compared to central government.

 Britain has a very centralized system of government.

 Scotland has always kept its own separate legal and education system.

 Northern Ireland had its own regional parliament in Belfast until 1972 but this
was closed down because of the conflict between the two communities living
there: the Unionists and the Nationalists.
 Political parties
 LABOUR PARTY: developed as a socialist party.
In the 1990 the party modernized its image and policies, and
moved away from left-wing ideology towards the political
centre,
centre making it more attractive to middle-class voters.

 CONSERVATIVE PARTY: is a centre-right party which

traditionally wins support from the middle class and business
interests.
Many Conservatives are opposed to European integration
and joining the Euro.

 LIBERAL DEMOCRATS: are politically in the centre but

are often more radical and “liberal”
“liberal than Labour.
They are enthusiastic supporters of the European Union.
Union
Prime Ministers of the United
Kingdom

 2007 Gordon Brown Labour party

 1997 Tony Blair Labour party
 1990 John Major Conservative party
 1979 Margaret Thatcher Conservative party
 1976 James Callaghan Labour party