英美国家概况第三单元UNIT3The Government of the United Kingdom

In 1832, popular election replaced the monarchy appointing system、The most supporters in the Commons forms government and the leader of the party bacomes prime minister

The Government of the United Kingdom

• ㈠Monarchy
  • Origin
    • Oldest institution
      • rule by the king or queen
    • Saxons
      • who ruled from the 5th century AD until the Norman Couquest in 1066
    • King Egbert
      • United England in 829
    • Elizabeth Ⅱ
      • is directly descended from King Egbert
  • Divine right of the King
    • The sovereign derived his authority from God, not from his subject
  • The 17 century civil war
    • There was a war in England between republican "Roundheads" led by Oliver Cromwell
    • Charles Ⅰ
      • The Roundheads succeeded in ousting the monarch
  • Magna Carta / The Great Charter
    • Was signed in 1215 during King Johns reign and placed some limits on the king′s ability to abuse his royal power
• ㈡Parliament
  • Origin
    • Comes from the verb "to parley" , that is to discuss or talk
    • First used officially in 1236 to describe the gathering of feudal barons and representatives from counties and towns which the King occasionally summoned if he wanted to raise money
  • History
    • The Great Council
      • When the King′s own wealth couldn′t cover royal expenses, he would try to persuade the Great council, a gathering of leading (Wealthy barons which met several times a year )
      • By the 13th century, kings found they could not make ends meet , so to include representatives of counties, cities & towns to get them support his project
    • The structure of The parliament
      • The house of Lords
      • The House of commons
        • Henry Ⅳ （ decreed in 1407 that all money grants should be considered and approved by the commons before being considered by the lords ), is almost the same today
        • law-making power by the 15th century
    • Civil war between the parliament and the monarchy
      • The Roundheads In the 17th century
        • dispute over the power of the king vis-a-vis parliament
        • success, but a restoration to the throne was achieved by Charles Ⅱ in 1660
      • The Glorious Revolution / The Bloodless Revolution
        • James Ⅱ ( king Charles Ⅰ & James Ⅱ)
      • The Bill of Rights in 1689 by parliament
        • The supremacy of parliament
        • which greatly limited Royal power and granted parliament control of finances and the army
• ㈢The Birth of the Prime Ministerand Cabinet
  • Birth of cabinet
    • To ensure good Relations between crown and parliament
  • Birth of prime minister
    • In 1714, King George Ⅰ left the job of chairing cabinet meeting to one of his ministers who later came to be called prime minister
    • In 1832, popular election replaced the monarchy appointing system
      • The modern political system
    • Political parties
    • The most supporters in the Commons forms government and the leader of the party bacomes prime minister
• ㈣The British Government Today
  • Government
    • Britain is both a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy
    • The sovereign is the official head of state
      • Are most traditional and symbolic power
    • National & local level is elected by people and governs according to constitutional principles
    • Other countries are governed according to the principles of Britain
      • Australian, Canada, New Zealand and India
  • The Constitution
    • Israel & Britain are the only two countries without written constitutions of the sort which most countries have
    • The foundations of British Constitution
      • Statute law: laws passed by parliament
      • the common law: which have been written through common practice in the court
      • conventions: rules and practices Which do not exist legally, but are nevertheless regarded as vital to the working of government
  • The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
    • The Prime Minister
      • Choose the member of the cabinet from the House of Commons
      • Responsible for selecting politicians to form a government and directing and coordinating its work
    • The Cabinet
      • The Cabinet is usually consist of 20-23members include the Prime Minister and the mostsenior of the government minsters
      • A Key Discipline
        • Collective cabinet responsibility
      • Shadow Cabinet
        • A senior group of the opposition party
    • The Parliament
      • Funcation
        • passes law
        • Provides the means of carrying on the work of government by voting for taxation
        • scrutinise government policy,administration and expenditure, and to debate the major issue of the day
    • The rules of the Monarchy today
      • Queen Elizabeth II
      • The role
        • Is primarily symbolise the unity of the the British state
        • Under the terms of the Constitution
          • ①the legal head of the executive ②the head of the judiciary ③the commander-in-chief of the armed forces ④the supreme governor of the Church ofEngland
      • every year presides the State Opening of Parliament
• The House of Lords and the House of Commons
  • the House of Lords
    • Composition
      • The Lords Spiritual
      • The Lords Temporal
      • Law Loords
      • do not receive salaries
    • The Life Peerages Act 1958empowered the Crown to create life peers/peerages that can′t be Inherited
    • Reform
      • the House of Lords Act 1999
      • A House of Lords Reform Bill
  • The House of Comons
    • consist of 650 members of parliament(MPs) elected by people
    • MPs are only allowed to sit for lifetime of the government but could be reelected many times
    • political parties
      • Labour
      • Conservatives
      • Liberal
    • the real centre of British political life
      • Elected representatives make
      • Debate policies
      • Approve laws