AS Unit 2 Politics Definitions Flashcards
Parliament
The legislature – comprised of the HoC, the HoL and the Monarch. Debates things. Also, there is a fusion of powers as the executive is part of the legislature.
Parliamentary Government
Fusion of powers – executive is part of the legislature and the PM commands the most support in the House of Commons. The government is part of the commons. Means it is representative and accountable for its actions.
Presidential Government
Separation of powers and personnel. Thus the President is separately elected from both Houses.
Bicameralism
Legislature with two chambers. USA is full, UK is partial (as the HoL is not elected)
Legislature
The body that makes laws. HoC in UK.
Representative government
Government that speaks for and represents the views of the people
Responsible government
Embodies the principles of accountability – governments are accountable to Parliament; primarily the lower house, but also the upper house to some extent.
MP
Member of Parliament, either a Peer or a elected member of the Commons
Peer
Member of House of Lords
House of Commons
Elected Primary Chamber of Parliament
House of Lords
Unelected Secondary Chamber of Parliament. Acts as a revising chamber
Bill / Act
Bill is a legislative proposal that becomes an Act (law) when it is passed by Parliament.
Life Peer
Member of the HoL that is appointed by the government and is entitled to sit in the chamber for their whole life.
Hereditary Peer
Members of the HoL that inherit their positions from their parents. Since 1999 there have only been 92 of these.
Lords Spiritual
Top 26 bishops of the UK
Question Time
Ministers are asked questions orally by MPs. Occurs once a week. PMQs occur on a Wednesday.
Select Committee
Parliamentary committee that scrutinises certain areas of government actions. Select committee chairs have been elected since 2010 E.g. PAC which scrutinises government actions
Backbencher/Frontbencher
Frontbencher – member of government or shadow cabinet minister. Backbencher – no ministerial responsibilities but act on behalf of constituents.
Money Bill
Bill proposing financial measures – Finance Act 2011 that introduced austerity
PMB
Private Members Bills – proposed by backbenchers on any topic, can be controversial, but needs government support to pass. Abortion Act 1967.
Party Unity
Ability of whips to get all MPs to vote the way they want to. E.g. Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005
Backbench Revolt
Backbenchers voting against the wishes of their party – e.g. Syria and House of Lords Reform.
Executive
The part of government that has sole authority and responsibility for the daily administration of the country
PM
Prime Minister – has to be able to call on the majority of MPs to vote for policies, so is usually the leader of the largest party in the commons.
Cabinet
The committee of leading ministers which is empowered to make government decisions. PM decides when and where they meet, and for how long. Thus TB’s cabinet meetings were very short (around 30 minutes, some as short as 10), and JM’s were long.
Minister
Member of government with departmental responsibilities
Cabinet Government
Principle that:
1) Cabinet fuses executive and legislative branches of government
2) Cabinet decisions made democratically by voting. PM is “primus inter pares” (first amongst equals).
E.g. JM
Prime ministerial government
Principle that:
1) Executive and legislative branches of government fused through PM
2) PM dominates decision making – cabinet is subordinate
E.g. TB
Presidentialism
Michael Foley’s theory that PMs are acting more like presidents with spatial leadership and popular outreach. Personal campaigns. E.g. MT and TB.
Collective Ministerial Responsibility
Constitutional convention that a) confidence of government rests on Parliament (1979 – MT’s win in a VONC) and b) all ministers much support government policy or resign (Angie Bray – HoL reform)
Individual Ministerial Responsibility
Convention that a) if department makes a mistake minister must resign and b) if minister makes a blunder they must resign. E.g. Chris Huhne, Liam Fox
Core Executive Model
Informal network of bodies and actors that play a key role in policy making – SPADs, press barons, politicians, journalists.
“Kitchen Cabinet”
Informal group of policy advisors consulted by PM – SPADs, ministers, officials. Alistair Campbell.
Cabinet Collegiality
All in it together. If lose a major vote and VONC in the Commons all must resign. Solidarity amongst cabinet members that they stand or fall together. This means that they all have to know cabinet policy – so the defence minister has to know and defend health policies.
Cabinet Committee
Sub-committee of full cabinet to consider a certain aspect of policy. E.g. the Flooding Cabinet Committee, Coalition Committee, Banking Reform Committee
Patronage
PM appoints who he wants. Granting of favours or privileges in return for support. But, Lyndon Johnson (36th President of USA said) “It’s probably better to have him inside the tent pissing out, than outside the tent pissing in.”
Leadership Style
Strategies or patterns through which a leader seeks to achieve his goals. It affects his charismatic authority.
Transactional Leadership
Compromises and has to be based on more traditional ideologies
Transformational Leadership
Move party to new ground, large majority, personality politics, presidential
Law
A set of public and enforceable rules that apply within a state.
Judiciary
Branch of government responsible for deciding legal disputes. Responsible for courts. E.g. Supreme court, Crown Court
Separation of Powers
The three key part of government are separate and independent.
Rule of Law
Law applies all conduct and behaviour and covers both private citizens and public officials.
Judicial Independence
Judges should not be influenced by the government. Abu Qatada
Judicial Neutrality
Judges should not be affected by political, social or personal bias. Legal basis only. General Pinochet and Lord Hoffman and Amnesty (liberal bias).
Bill of Rights
Document that specifies the rights and freedoms of the individual against the state. Judiciable.
Judicial Activism
Willingness for judges to engage in political debates - Lord Neuberger on cutting legal aid would “deny justice” in some cases
Ultra Vires Cases
Judges where the government exceeds its powers. Iraq War Activists got £4,000 each in 2013 after protests in 2003 were stopped by the police and they were forcefully stopped from protesting.
Judicial Review
A procedure by which a court can review an administrative action by a public body and secure a declaration, order a reversal of the decision, or award damages / compensation. E.g. Herceptin case where lady was denied drug on NHS that could cure her cancer as it was too expensive
Delegated Legislation
Laws that allow other institutions to make laws – Scotland Act 1998; Government of Wales Act 1998
Administrative Law
Law that governs the administrative agencies of government.
Authoritarianism
Rule from “above” where government imposes laws on citizens without consent.
Human Rights
Rights that belong to every person
Statute of Rights
An act of parliament that guarantees the rights of the individual. E.g. the HRA. It can be overturned by any successive government and whilst it is effectively judiciable (it would be political suicide if they did and judges can issue declarations of incompatibility) it isn’t entrenched.
Entrenched Bill of Rights
A bill of rights is a list of the most important rights that are guaranteed for each individual and require lots of support to pass.
Civil Liberties
Rights and freedoms of the individuals. Creates a “private” realm.
Constitution
Set of rules that primarily set out the duties, powers, and functions of the institutions of government and the relations between them, but also the relationship between the individual and the state and the rules that govern the government.
Codified
Single authoritative document
Uncodified
Many documents – may make it more complex and difficult to establish exactly what the law states.
Unitary
Single body has sovereign power
Federal
Two level of sovereign power: federal (national) and local (state)
Flexible
Constitution that can change over time – due to conventions, traditions and its unwritten nature.
Rigid
Cannot change over time – is fixed at a single point in time – US Bill of Rights written in 1789 and it is much harder to change.
Entrenched
Made to be more difficult to change due to it requiring more support to change it. US constitution needs ⅔ Congress and ¾ all electoral colleges to change it.
Judiciable
Laws can be declared unconstitutional by the supreme court – US declared Health and Social Care Bill unconstitutional until Obama changed the constitution. UK judges can’t do this, only issue declaration of incompatibility.
What kind is the UK Constitution?
Uncodified, unitary, flexible, non-judiciable
Sovereignty
Principle of absolute and unlimited power. Defining feature of state.
Parliamentary Sovereignty
In the UK Parliament is legally and politically sovereign
Elective Dictatorship
Lord Hailsham said that in between elections the government can do as it pleases as it cannot be removed as long as it has a majority, thus in between elections governments can act as dictatorships.
Sources of UK Constitution
Statute Law, Common Law, EU Law, Works of Constitutional Authority and Conventions
Statute Law
Acts made by Parliament
Common Law
Decisions made by judges that are taken as binding by judges in subsequent related cases. This provides consistency in the treatment of the accused (rule of law)
EU Law
Laws passed by the EU Parliament in Brussels and are imposed in Britain to be compliant with the EU. Supreme to UK law – seen in the Factortame case
Works of Constitutional Authority
Help define what is constitutionally “proper” or “correct”. Because the UK has an unwritten and uncodified constitution it could lead to confusion about how general rules should be applied. The works say what it means, a role that would be done by judges in a codified constitution. Only consulted, no legal basis, and so status is subject to debate. Eg. Erskine May (backbenchers) and Bagehot’s The English Constitution (PM and cabinet).
Conventions
Traditions and non-legal rules of conduct or behaviour.
Constitutionalism
Adherence to a constitutional state of government – having a constitution.
Constitutional Monarchy
Where the royal prerogative is limited by the constitution and they are normally exercised by the government
Royal Prerogative
The rights of the monarch. Her body of powers, immunities and privileges that belong to the crown. Usually now exercised by ministers. E.g. declare war and peace.
Limited Government
Government power is subjected to constraints and checks
Checks and Balances
Regulations that stop one body having absolute power
Political Sovereignty
Absolute political power – unrestricted ability to act how one wishes. E.g. naming of those with “super-injunctions” with immunity from prosecution
Legal Sovreignty
Supreme legal authority- can make and unmake any law it wishes
