How can you introduce monarchy ?
- constitutional monarchy
- today : Elisabeth 2 (since 2/02/1952) it’s the longest reign.
- in 2012 : diamond jubilee (60 years)
- monarch is a non partisan figure with ceremonial, representational and diplomatic functions.
- head of the UK
- head of the commonwealth (15 countries)
- head of the armed forces
- head of the church
Relationships with the executive branch
- executive power is exercised in her name
- appoints the Prime minister (the leader of the party who won the House of Commons)
- every week she meets the Pm and she can warns and advises him
- she can dismiss at pleasure ministers on the advice of the PM
RQ : twice in her life she has to exercise a discretionary role in the appointment of her PM : in 1964 (because he has a cancer) and in 1974
Relationships with Parliament
- Crown in Parliament : monarch’s powers are exercised with the advice and consent of Parliament.
- Queen appoints members of the HL with consent of the PM
- opens Parliament on the first day of a new session or just after a new general election : she delivers the Speech from the throne (written by the PM) presenting the policy for the whole session.
- she has to approve bills to become an Act of Parliament and if she withholds her royal assent, she vetoes the bill.
- she appoints life peers
Role in the judiciary
- Justice is rendered in her name.
- prerogative of mercy (grant free or conditional pardons) albeit on the advice of her government
- according to the Crown’s Proceedings Act, civil actions can be brought against the monarch.
Acts of Union
Union of GB and Ireland creating the UK of GB and Ireland
Appointment
The action or process of giving someone an official position/job
Crown Estate
Property of the crown
Dignified/efficient
Terms used by Walter Bagehot, in The English Constitution published in 1867, to describe the role of the monarch as opposed to that of the PM. He asserted that a constitution needed two parts, one to excite and preserve the reverence of the population, and the other to employ that homage in the work of government. The first he called dignified and the second efficient. The monarch was the prime example of dignity in this sens and the cabinet of efficiency.
Polls of 2011
60% for monarchy
17% against
