Comparative politics

Semester –III(Political Science Hons. )

Constitution of Britain
Concept
Unitary System
The Federal Constitution sets out that each state has autonomy, whereas in
Britain each region (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland) has regional power
that is derived from London. This power can be taken away by London
because Britain is a unitary state.
Legislature
The British legislature, or Parliament, has three elements: the House of Lords, the House of
Commons, and the monarch. The presence of the monarch as a formal member of each of
the two chambers of the legislature indicates that in form the institutions have remained the
same. the monarch has little or no power and the position is almost entirely ceremonial. The
position remains but the power has been totally changed. In the House of Lords, there are
three parts. The first is constituted of persons who are members on the basis of heredity:
those who were born into an aristocratic family are entitled to a seat.
These titles are passed down from generation to generation. Up until November of 1999,
those who were members of the House of Lords by virtue of birth numbered more than 700.
Therefore, they were the majority of the House of Lords. However, a process of
constitutional reform has been taking place and in the last three to four years this has
changed drastically in that after November 1999 all but 90 of the hereditary positions were
abolished from membership in the House of Lords.

The second part of the House of Lords is appointed by the prime minister. The prime minister in
the United Kingdom has the power to appoint persons to membership in the House of Lords by
giving them titles. For example, Margaret Thatcher, after removal from office as prime minister,
was given a title – Lady Margaret Thatcher – and, by virtue of being given a title by the prime
minister who succeeded her, she sits in the House of Lords.

The third part is made up of persons who sit by virtue of the official positions they occupy ,
mainly in the church and in the judiciary. For example, all the leading bishops of the
Anglican Church in the United Kingdom are members of the House of Lords.
Powers of House of Lords
• Before 1911, House Of Lords was more powerful than the House of Commons ,
which was not justifiable as it was not the elected house of the legislature , Hence
British parliament at the will of the people started the parliamentary reforms in
1911 as passed the Parliamentary Reforms Act– 1911 and 1949 and reduced the
power of House of Lords .
• Currently house of Lords only has delaying powers , it can delay an ordinary Bill by
1 year and Money Bill by 2 months , it does not have the power to amend or
reject the bills .
 House of Commons
The House of Commons, the second chamber in the British Legislature, is the elected house and it
has 659 members. Each member represents a particular constituency and is elected for a
maximum of five years. It should be noted that the date of elections, in particular to the House of
Commons, is not fixed and can and does vary within the five-year term. The date on which the
election is held is determined by the prime minister. The ability of the prime minister to determine
the date of the election and to set that date at any point within the five years .
 Executive
In the British parliamentary system, the executive is collective, not singular,
and is called the Cabinet. It is usually made up of 20 to 21 members,
the ministers of government, headed by a prime minister. The Cabinet has
the responsibility for the overall administration of national affairs, to initiate
policies and coordinate the system of government.

The British Cabinet is chosen from among the members of Parliament,

mainly from the elected House of Commons, with a few members from
the House of Lords. The prime minister in Britain is that person who
after an election is best able to command the support of the majority of
members of the House of Commons. Usually that person is the leader
of the party that has won the majority of seats in the House of Commons.
The prime minister appoints the Cabinet, which is usually made up
of the senior members of the majority party. Note that the prime minister
in Britain and in other countries with a parliamentary system is able to
choose the members o f the Cabinet and does not need to seek approval.
The relationship between the executive (the Cabinet) and the House of Commons is
structured on the basis of two principles:
1. The principle of collective responsibility. Each member of the Cabinet is obliged to support
publicly any policies that the Cabinet has agreed on, even though he or she may disagree or
may have argued against the decision within the Cabinet. If a member of the Cabinet is not
willing to support a decision, the
principle of collective responsibility means that person is expected to leave the government,
either by resigning or being fired if the matter is particularly important.

2. The principle of individual responsibility. Each minister is both answerable for his own
conduct and accountable for the conduct of officials falling within his or her portfolio. The
application of this principle has resulted in many resignations, primarily because of personal
misconduct. When a minister creates a public scandal or issues are raised in the House of
Commons for which there are no acceptable explanations, resignation follows.
the British prime minister and the Cabinet can b e removed from office during the
five-year term if they lose the support of the majority in the House of Commons on
an important issue. This can take place in one of two ways.
1 No confidence Motion .

2. Decision by ruling party itself .

 Judiciary
Until 2009 , the highest court in the United Kingdom is not an independent institution. It is
part of the House of Lords (the upper house of the legislature). This judicial function was
exercised by 18 or 19 judges appointed to the House of Lords by the prime minister to be
the final court of appeal. The judges are called the “law lords”, and they make the final
determination on any judicial decision in the United Kingdom. By convention, the prime
minister appoints judges on the basis of their professionalism and not on the basis of their
political partisanship. The “law lords”, similar to the US Supreme Court justices, serve for
life.

Up until October 2, 2000, the British “law lords” had no authority to question or to overrule
any act of the British Parliament that had been properly debated and passed. In other
words, they did not have the power of judicial review .The reason for this is the doctrine, in
the British Constitution, of “Parliamentary Sovereignty”, which simply means that
Parliament has supreme authority.
Liberal-Democrats
Democratic Unionist Party