2 central cleavages
class and region
least important cleavage
religion
Political institution
parliamentary majoritarianism (majority rule + parliamentary sovereignty)
|—> Prototypal case;
|—> Originated the “Westminster(-Whitehall)” model;
|—> Single-member electoral districts ——leads to——> 2 party systems;
|—> Single party cabinets;
|—> Cabinet dominance;
|—> Unicameralism (de facto);
|—> Unitary government (de jure/by law);
|—> No written constitution and (for long time) no judicial review;
constitutional monarchy
ceremonial role
- Paid civil servants (the government allocates a budget to cover the royal family’s expenses,
and the queen/king spends much of her time signing papers, dedicating public works, and
performing diplomatic functions);
- Although they select the head of government, the choice must always be the leader of
majority party in the lower house of parliament;
- Bill in 2011 abolishing male precedence in royal succession
- Support from the population until nowadays;
House of commons (parliament)
650 districts, power is concentrated here.
- Represents individual districts;
- Maximum of 5 years in power;
- Political parties matters more than individuals in the elections;
- Debate issues;
- Participate in legislative committees (though these are less powerful than their U.S.
counterparts);
- Vote on legislation proposed by the government;
- Power to propose measures;
- Power to remove the prime minister and the cabinet through a vote of no confidence.
- Is one of the most powerful parliaments in current democracies (doesn’t have much checks
and its laws are constitutional);
House of lords
- Over 800 members;
- Life peers (appointed by the crown on advice from the government);
- Hereditary peers (right to seat from generation to generation) - recently reformed to only 92
hereditary peers, elected by the totality of extant hereditary lords; - The effective power of this house has been limited over the years due to its undemocratic
system; - Oversees and can ask for changes in proposals from the House of Commons but not veto
them;
Prime minister and cabinet (government)
- Head of government;
- Can stay in power for a maximum of 5 years;
- Must be elected as MP and is the head of the larger party in the lower house;
- Must appear in the legislature weekly for a televised question period, during which they must
defend government policies and answer questions from MPs;
judiciary
common law tradition, no codified laws, verdicts of judges become laws, no checks by judiciary.
- Supreme Court was created in 2009;
- The judges in the Supreme Court are appointed by the crown and accepted by the
government for lifetime;
- The judges were appointed by the crown;
Supreme court
Institution that checks if new laws are in line with constitution (turning point in history), members are also members of the house of lords
Electoral system
Single member districts/First past the post -> Winner takes all
Regional elections
MMP in Scotland and Wales, STV in Northern Ireland
Conservatives (year and direction)
Founded in 1834, moderate right/pragmatic conservatism
Conservatives (ideology)
Free market liberalism, law and order, traditional values, unionist(opposing devolution) and EU skepticism
Labour (year and direction)
1990, moderate socialism or social democracy(Fabianism)
Labour (ideology)
Welfare state, state onwership industry, internationalism, post material issues, multiculturalism
Liberal democrats(Year and direction)
1988, merger between liberal party and social democratic party
Liberal democrats (ideology)
Economic liberalism, Individual freedom, welfare state, Pro EU, democratic reforms(electoral system), anti interventionists(Iraq war)
Brexit and UK politics
Geographic insularity, majoritarian democracy, regional cleavage, transnational cleavage.
Most brits regret Brexit, more polarization
Voorkennis
The UK is an island country - which throughout history as served as a shield, since it makes it
harder for its opponents to attack or invade the country.
Major political developments
I. Magna Charta - foundation of rule of law (1215);
II. Independent (Anglican) Church of England (1534);
III. Bill of Rights - parliamentary sovereignty (1689);
IV. Expansion of the Empire - Colonisation (17th century);
V. First prime-minister (1721);
VI. First wave of decolonisation (Post WW1);
VII. Women suffrage (1928);
VIII.Second wave of decolonisation (Post WW2);
IX. Joining the European Economic Community (1973);
X. Supreme Court (2009);
XI. Brexit referedum (2016);
Religious cleavage
- Henry VII created the Anglican Church, which was controlled by the state (1534);
- Religion plays a very weak role in contemporary politics of the UK (besides the Catholic
(lower class) VS. Protestant (higher class) divide in Northern
Ireland);
Class cleavage
- Central cleavage in British politics;
- Product of the Industrial Revolution (started in 1750);
- Politically relevant after the extension of suffrage (1885 and 1928);
- Its relevancy was reduced with the welfare state;
- Partial overlapping with a regional/centre-periphery cleavage (which highlights the
differences of the 4 nations that compose the UK);
Government - cabinet
- Appointed by the prime-minister but is dependent on parliamentary confidence
(parliamentarism); - Composed by 20 members that were elected MPs for the lower or upper house (usually from
the lower); - Remain MPs;
- Collective responsibility (even when individual cabinet ministers oppose a given policy, the
entire cabinet must appear unified and take responsibility for the policy); - Tradition of single-party, bare majority cabinets;
|
|—>Exceptions:
1978-1979: Liberal - Labor pact;
2010-2015: Conservative - Liberal Democratic coalition;
2017-2019: Conservative minority government with DUP support;
Local government
- May be considered a unitary state in which no formal powers are constitutionally reserved
for regional or local government.
