Points of comparison between UK and US systems Flashcards
US and UK constitutions - Similarities
1) Both embrace the principles of representative gov - Congress and parliament are both elected legislatures while both account for regular elections through the fixed term parliament Act 2011 and Article II of the Constitution
2) Both provide for a somewhat independent judiciary - UK through the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 and US with a semi-independent judiciary through Article III of the Constitution, with both judiciaries having the power of judicial review although in the US SC judges are appointed by the Pres and ratified by the Senate while in the UK judiciary is completely independent from the other branches
3) Both constitutions seek to protect individual rights of its citizens - the Bill of Rights in the US clearly codifies the rights of individuals while the UK constitution passed an albeit weaker protection of rights through the 1999 Human Rights Act, but still a protection of rights nonetheless
US and UK constitutions - Differences
1) The US constitution is fully entrenched -making it rigid and inflexible whereas the UK constitution is unentrenched and flexible as can be seen by the huge disparity in the ease of making amendments to the Constitution in both countries - a two thirds majority being required in the US while a simple Act of Parliament such as the Freedom of Information Act of 2000 is all that is required in the UK
2) The US constitution is codified - it is derived from one document being the constitution itself while the UK constitution is uncodified in that it is derived from multiple sources such as the 1215 Magna Carta, The 1701 Act of Settlement, and Acts of Parliament such as the 1911 and 1949 Parliament Acts
3) In the US the constitution is sovereign- it is the highest authority of law in the land whereas in the UK this is not the case as it is parliament that is sovereign, or the UK legislature, rather than the UK constitution
US Congress and UK Parliament - Similarities
1) Both institutions represent the supreme law making authority in their respective countries - the concept parliamentary sovereignty in the UK makes it the supreme legislative body while Congress in the US represents the highest level of US law making in the sense that it represents the federal legislature as enshrined in Article 1 of the constitution
2) Both legislatures are bicameral in that they both have two legislative bodies - the UK parliament is divided into the House of Commons as its lower chamber and House of Lords as its upper chamber (in theory) while the US Congress is split into the House of Representatives as its lower chamber and the Senate as its upper chamber
3) Both are representative legislatures (albeit to different degrees) with different parties dominating the legislative process - Congress in the US is fought over by the Reps and the Dems while Parliament in the UK is dominated by Labour and the Conservatives, although there is some small party representation notably with the SNP in Scotland and the LibDems
US Congress and UK Parliament - Differences
1) Because of the nature of the constitution, legislation from Congress in the US can be struck down by the SC if it is unconstitutional - this is because Congress is not sovereign in the US, the constitution is - meanwhile in the UK this is not the case with parliament as it is the ultimate sovereign body in the UK system
2) Unlike the US system the UK system does not have two directly elected chambers - the HoC is elected by the people but members of the HoL are selected rather than democratically elected - in the US meanwhile the House of Reps has always been elected by the people but it wasn’t until the 17th amendment in 1913 that members of the Senate were directly elected as well
3) The power of impeachment in the US system is different to a vote of no confidence from the UK parliament - a vote of no confidence is taken against the government as was done to Boris Johnson’s administration in 2022 - the US Congress’ impeachment is taken against one individual in the form of the executive as was the case with Trump in 2019 and 2021
US Federalism and UK Devolution - Similarities
1) Both systems allow regional institutions to govern policy in certain areas - this can be seen in the reserved powers for the states in the federal system such as running elections, creating marriage laws, and regulating schools -similarly in the UK the devolved bodies have broad powers over local taxation
2) Both similar in that they allow a greater freedom of politics in the regional institutions than otherwise may be possible in the central gov - Dem Pres and Congress has seen progressive legislation passed into law in the US until the 2022 midterms such as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act meanwhile at a regional level there are more conservative policies such as stricter abortion laws and more lenient gun laws in the Southern states - similarly in the UK the Conservative gov has clashed with the more liberally minded regional gov up in Scotland over the issue of Scottish independence and gender recognition in 2022 - there is still freedom of politics in both cases as multiple schools of political thought can coexist
3) Some have even argued that the increase in powers being devolved to the regional institutions in recent years EG those under the 2016 Scotland Act, the UK is moving towards a ‘quasi-federal’ system with both having similar levels of state or devolved autonomy, or at least moving towards that stage
US Federalism and UK Devolution - Differences
1) It can be argued that while similarities exist on the surface, there are much more deep-rooted differences in the systems - the US was established with federalism ingrained to its constitution in 1789, meanwhile the UK has only introduced devolution in 1997 under the Blair gov
2) Another difference is that in the UK, devolved powers are delegated to the devolved bodies and parliament remains sovereign and can technically take back these powers if it so wished as there is no higher entrenched law that can protect the rights of the devolved bodies - by contrast in the US this is not the case as its codified constitution, specifically the 10th amendment, protects the rights of states absolutely by granting the states, or the people, all the reserved powers previously not mentioned in the constitution
3) A final difference is in the amount of powers granted to the states and the devolved bodies - the states have a significant amount of power and autonomy such as the ability to hold primaries or caucuses as they see fit without being forced to do so by the federal gov as well as the fact that there are many conflicts between federal and state law such as those concerning the use of marijuana - the devolved bodies in the UK do not have anywhere near this kind of power
US and UK Checks and Balances - Similarities
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US and UK Checks and Balances - Differences
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US and UK separation of powers - Similarities
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US and UK separation of powers - Differences
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