the UK Flashcards
the case + development democracy
- one of the oldest (majoritarian) democracies
- Westminster-Whitehall model (exported to new democracies + former british colonies)
UK known for gradual democratization (the spike = general suffrage for most subjects)
in general moderate country: biggest parties are both center
culture and nation
The British Isles -> UK is not contiguous: not one stretch of country, areas are separated
islands -> strong transatlantic relations + naval army
- British Isles: England + Scotland + Northern Ireland + Wales -> UK
cultural cleavages: strong British identity but cleavages:
- Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland see themselves as diff from England/UK
- e.g. olympics: each cultural group had own team (was allowed bc diff group influential in history soccer) = tough negotiations -> this year everyone fought together under the UK
England (st. George)
84% population
center in the center-periphery conflict : this is what other groups see themselves distinct from
Scotland (st. Andrew)
Northern Ireland (st. Patrick)
Wales
~5% population
Historical developments
*rewatch lecture bc it sucked
king was out of money -> had to ask for money for war -> Magna Carta = establishment of a council of barons to advise the king and ensure he adhered to the charter
- still, e.g. king James absolutist tendencies -> civil war -> 1649 establishment Cromwell Republic
Cromwell republic turned into a dictatorship
Bill of Rights = more power to parliament (glorious revolution)
Treaty of Union = brought Scotland in
Acts of Union = brought Ireland in
reform act (led by parliament) = increase suffrage
empire and loss of empire: UK not known for starkest violence in anticolonial efforts (unlike France)
- UK remains attached to the colonies: Commonwealth games
Commonwealth
modern monarchy of the UK is still formal/ceremonial monarchy of the commonwealth realms
cleavages: religion
= not a dominant cleavage, but growing with migration now
- historically: not big cleavage bc Henry VIII created the Anglican church -> church controlled by the state
exception: religion important in Northern Ireland = catholic-protestant divide
- catholic minority (indigenous population before protestant colonizers) = poor = overlapping cleavages
- irredentism: Northern Ireland wanted to join the rest of Ireland
- inequalities protestants and catholics reduced over time, but still tensions (brexit stirs it up)
- cleavage overlaps with class + pro-irish/pro-british + region
- protestants remained dominant: gerrymandering
- violence -> UK came in with power sharing agreement
class cleavage
= central cleavage
politically relevant after the extension of suffrage (1918+1928)
- conservatives = pro-monarchy
- liberal = anti-monarchy
- labour = workers party
this cleavage somewhat weakened with dev welfare state
rural urban cleavage
not that big: marriage between them
centre-periphery cleavage
only region that doesn’t want more regional autonomy is England
Wales and Northern Ireland are poorer than the center + diff cultural identity -> want more autonomy
areas that are richer also want more autonomy sometimes (politicians: we are wealthy: we could be viable as an independent state + don’t want to pay for other regions)
devolution of power especially under labour governments (conservatives are usually against)
- conservatives = slippery slope argument: if you give them regional autonomy, they will start wanting more, eventually the system will collapse
- liberals = nah won’t happen
Westminster-Whitehall model
majority rule and parliamentary sovereignty
*UK: no constitution: there is jurisprudence -> gov. can make any decision with simple majority (no matter how constitution al the issue may seem)
de jure = no unicameralism: house of lords has over time seen its power diminished
changes last 30 years (labor govs) = devolution of power -> quasi-federal system
2009 supreme court -> judicial review: can judge if a proposal is not constitutional (bc proposals can’t go against international laws, which have the same value as constitutions)
parliament
we often call the UK unicameral bc its higher chamber is not powerful
House of Commons
- 650 members
- 5y terms
- sit opposite each other
- practice of politics = strong party loyalty: whips tell you what you need to vote for
fixed terms in parliament act (2011) = elections no longer called by prime ministers, but occur every 5y (exceptions: vote of no confidence OR 2/3 majority wants reelection)
House of Lords
- 800 members
- hereditary spots + appointments by Monarch
- can delay legislation + used to be house of appeal + can ask questions
government and prime minister
cabinet often one party
- exceptions: Lib-Lab pact 1978-179, 2010-2015 conservative libdem + 2017-2019 conservative minority with DUP support
- Libdem 2011= liberals wanted referendum about electoral reform (didn’t end up being the full PR reform they wanted, plus the public voted no)
now: labour party gov + prime minister Starmer
- cabinet depedns on parliamentary confidence (vote of no confidence)
- collective responsibility, but prime minister very dominant
- cabinet members remain members Lower House
Iraq war = example prime minister can ban parliament when they want to: Tony Blair threatened to call a referendum and threatened to call reelections if he lost
judiciary
supreme court = often seen in countries with liberal democratic principles, wanting to protect minorities from majority in gov.
- often seen with written constitution, a doc to protect
- UK has collection of docs, no one constitution
supreme court formed by House of Lords, now being replaced by appointed specialists
- powers limited but growing
e.g. protected trias politica when Johnson wanted to block parliament from voting - jurisprudence: judges are guided by decisions of judges in the past (-> increasingly opposition, call for supreme court)
example: UK-Rwanda deal 2022
- asked Rwanda to take up refugees in the UK and give them visa there
- Supreme Court said no bc human rights (you can’t send them to lands where you don’t know if their rights will be protected)
- first extra rules and agreements, Lib gov scrapped the plans
electoral system
- SMD with first past the post = plurality system (although it is often called a majoritarian democracy)
- 650 constituencies
- regional elections diff systems:
Scotland: Mixed Member Proportional
Northern Ireland: STV (you can rank, if one gets enough the rest of the votes get distributed)
winner takes all bc SMD -> disproportional
- 2019 libdem party biggest victim: 11.5% votes, only 11 seats
- regional parties have it easier in SMD
- time in parliament -> more attention -> more votes
- Duverger’s law: it’s hard for other parties to break through : you need to have a spread and enough regional bases in specific regions of the party
2011Alternative Vote referendum (Libdem coalition) failed: did not start using alternative vote system
UK as unitary state
often called quasi-federation: there are moves towards more regional autonomy
Northern Ireland:
- autonomy has certain risk -> the troubles (1960s-90s)
- ended with 1998 Good Friday Agreement between catholics and protestants (Dublin promised no irredentism: protestants should feel safe, UK promised catholic minority should not feel threatened)
- -> executive needs to be made up of representatives of both protestatns and cahtolics = power sharing agreement
- Brexit made this more complicated: border Ireland and Northern Ireland -> Northern Ireland protocol: all islands of Ireland remain in single market + northern Ireland remains part of UK customs regime but collects taxes and tariffs on behalf of the EU (=seems to be resolved)
- no more direct rule from Londen: own parliament + power-sharing executive
Devolution Scotland and Wales:
get own legislations and can make their own policies, powers increased over time
- 1998 Scotland Act + 1998 Wales act -> Wales and Scotland get own legislators
- powers increased over time: 2016 Scotland Act, 2017 Wales act
- 2014 Scotland independence ref lost, Brexit -> talks new referendum (Scotland is pro-EU bc it increases opportunities to become own state)
- Scottish independence party: if we win we will call for new ref, they lost elections
England: doesn’t want own legislature and more autonomy
- West-Lothian question: why does it want no own legislature?
Wales doesn’t want autonomy, Scotland does
parties and gov.
usually conservatives or labour wins
UKIP = UK indpendence party = wants to leave EU, got big in EP elections bc there is plurality (I think proportional was meant) votes
- leader left and started brexit party -> now reform UK
also: regional parties
- sin fein (Northern Ireland) does not take up the seats they win: claim parliament has nothing to say over them
also: green parties
Conservatives
1834
monarchist party (rural elite vs libdems)
pragmatic conservatism / moderate right
ideology:
- free market liberalism, small state
- traditional values
- law and order
- unionist (opposed to devolution)
- EU skepticism (but May and Cameron) advocated for the EU
- Atlanticism
always had diff wings
after ww2: less right wing in eco policy -> collectivist consensus: country needs welfare state
1979-1990 = Thatcher cuts spending on welfare state
- example that domestic politics can influence international politics, the idea of cutting social spending to improve state eco spread internationally -> Washington Consensus -> OPEC crisis, decline eco growth + inflation thirds world countries
- Washington Consensus: devaluating your own money so you can make it easier for people to buy shit from you
- example of how domestic problems can become international issues
Labour
founded in 1900 out of a trade union
moderate socialist ideology = Fabianism (social-democracy)
- didn’t want revo, just wanted change
ideology:
- welfare state
- state-ownership of industry
- post-material issues (shows silent revo)
- internationalism (Europeanism?)
- multiculturalism
during the Thatcher era labour moved further to the left, didn’t work -> Blair more centrist
Blair = known for Third way economics (combi capitalism and social welfare)
Jeremy Corbyn = from left faction, didn’t win 2019 elections, replaced by Starmer
wanted a ref to get back in the EU, not anymore, do want to renegotiate
Libdem
founded in 1998 (merger Liberal Party and Social Democratic Party)
greatest victim of SMD/FPTP system
ideology =
- economic liberalism
- individual freedom
- welfare state
- pro-EU
- democratic reforms (esp. electoral system)
- anti-interventionist (Iraq war)
Conservative-LibDem coalition 2010-2015
center-center party = easy to make coalition with
Brexit
UK liked to blame the EU for shit
Cameron (pro-EU) called for referendum to resolve the matter once and for all, people voted leave -> Cameron resigned
May triggered Article 50 = allows to exit EU
Brexit delays -> May resigns
Brexit and UK politics
- insularity -> more atlantic relations -> Brexit
- majoritarian democracy: referendum key tool
- regional (and age and education) cleavage: some areas more reluctant to leave than others
- transnational cleavage: migration, losing power to higher international institutions
affective polarization
Brexit was a foundational moment, a critical juncture that leads to consequences we still see
Brexit -> new type of polarization not associated with party association = new type of identity beyond party identity
differences are small, but Brexit stronger type of identity than party identity + more negative emotional disposition against the other group in Brexit than people with diff party identity
Brexit today = still polarizing: people think diff about if it was good or not
