Chapter 2- The UK political system Flashcards
Define the Westminster model ?
A form of government exemplified by the British political system in which parliament is sovereign, the executive and legislative bracnches are fused and political power is centralised.
what are the key features of the Westminster model /
- Constitution is uncodified and easily amendable
- The doctrine of parliamentary sovereignty concentrates authority in the centre
- The executive and legislative are fused and the former is dominant
- Government ministers are bound by collective responsibility and party discipline is imposed in parliament
- An independent judiciary upholds the rule of law but cannot strike laws down
- Subnational government is largely absent and local government weak
- Single party government is the norm
- the system of representative democracy means that the government is held accountable through elections
The uncodified nature of the constitution has What important implications for British Politics?
- The constitution doesn’t have the status of fundamental or higher law it has the same status as other laws made by the legislature
- There are no special procedures for amending the constitution it can be amended by Acts of parliament in the same way as other laws
- Parliament rather than a constitutional court determines what is permissible under the constitution- there are no definitive criteria for determining what is unconstitutional
Parliaments legislative supremacy is constructed around three prepositions:
- Parliament can legislate on any subject of its choosing
- Legislation cannot be overturned by any higher authority
- No parliament can bind its successors
What developments have challenged parliamentary sovereignty?
The Human Rights Act 1998 - all-new legislation must be compatible with these rights and the UK courts decide cases
Courts cannot automatically strike down laws if they find legislation to be incompatible
Devolution - devolved assemblies have primary legislative authority on devolved matters such as education and health. Westminster has sole authority over reserved matters however
Increased use of referendum marks a shift to popular sovereignty. The legitmacy of parliament would be damaged if it ignored referendum results
What are the key features of The parliamentary system ?
- The executive and legislature branches are fused
- The legislature can dismiss the executive, and parliament can use a vote of confidence. The government can dissolve parliament by calling a general election
- Parliamentary elections decide the government
- Collective government, the executive branch is led by a PM who chairs a cabinet, collective responsibility requires ministers to support government policy once it has been agreed
- Separate head of state
What does the Prime Minster’s role entail?
- Political leadership, decides political direction, setting its priorities and determines policy on key issues
- National leadership, the PM is the communicator-in-chief who provides national L at times of crisis
- Appointing the government, appointing and dismissing ministers
- Chairing the cabinet, the PM chairs the cabinet and steers its decisions, creates cabinet committees and holds bilateral meetings
- Managing the executive, PM can restructure government departments and the civil service
Distinguish between Parliamentary government and presidential governemnt
Presidential government :
- clear separation of powers
- the legislature cannot dismiss the president except in special circumstances and the executive cannot dissolve the legislature
- Executive power is concentrated in the office of the President
- President is directly elected y the people
- President is also the head of stae
what does the power of the PM also depend on?
Their leadership skills, wider political context, policy success, popularity, a majority in parliament
Key elements of the primacy of the commons include:
- Legitimacy - directly elected and accountable to voters
- Exclusive powers - Commons has the right to insist on its legislation- Lords can only delay bill by 1 year and cannot delay money bills
- Conventions-Lords should not oppose bills implementing manifesto commitments (Salisbury doctrine) or unduly delay government business or reject secondary legislation
What various institutional advantages does the executive have compared to the legislature?
- Control of the legislative agenda- most bills are proposed by the gov and it controls the legislature timetable. Most government bills become law
- Secondary legislation- gives ministers the power to amend some existing legislation without requiring another Act of Parliament
- Prerogative powers -powers exercised on behalf of the crown do not require parliament’s approval. They include making and ratifying treaties and deploying the armed forces
How has Parliament become more effective in rebalancing the executive legislature relationship?
- Select Committees departmental select committees scrutinise the policy and administration of government departments
- The backbench business committee, allows non-government MPs to select issues for a debate increase the use of urgent questions to ministers has weakened control over the timetable
- Backbench rebellions, Backbench MPs more likely to rebel and forced governments to withdraw or amend policy proposals
- Weakening of prerogative powers, convention UK does not engage in armed conflict overseas without the consent of parliament and parliament decides whether there should be an early general election
- An assertive House of Lord’s removal of hereditary peers and no party majority
Prior to 2009 what happened before the creation of the Supreme Court
The Law Lords in the House of Lords had acted as the highest court of appeal. The lord chancellor was a law lord, speaker of the House of Lords and a government minister
How else has judicial power become more significant ?
The HRA 1998, can issue a declaration of compatibility
Extension of judicial review, HRA power of courts to determine whether the government and public authorities have operated beyond the bounds of their authority
what is a unitary state?
A homogeneous state in which power is concentrated at the political centre and all parts of the state are governed in the same way
