ENGLISH C1: United Kingdom

UK SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT
The UK’s political system is a constitutional monarchy, a parliamentary democracy headed by a
monarch, but monarch’s powers as Head of State are mainly ceremonial.

Executive: the Government that runs the country and proposes news laws

Legislature (legislative): elected body that passes news laws (chamber of the Parliament)

Judiciary

1. The Crown/Monarch (from Elizabeth II to Charles III)

 Monarch: Head of State
UK is a constitutional country so the ability to make and pass legislation
resides with an elected Parliament (with the odd thing about House of Lords)
 Role played by UK monarch is mainly ceremonial
- The title is King/Queen of England
- The monarch has constitutional and representational duties
- The monarch ha to remain neutral in respected to political matters. The
monarch is unable to vote or to stand for election.
- The monarch has a close relationship with Parliament.
 Appoint Prime Minister
The Prime Minister is usually leader of the party with most seats at House of
Commons after general elections.
 Summon new Parliament and appoint its ministers on the advice of the
Government
 Opening and closing/dissolving each session of the Parliament
- State opening marks beginning of the Parliamentary year, this a very
traditional event
- Deliver King/Queen’s speech: she/he outlines the main issues of this
Government the next year. The speech is delivered in the House of Lords
and before the Lords and Commons. The speech is written by the
Government
 Give audiences to PM (Prime Minister) and ministers
- Formal rules with relation to devolved assemblies (each country of UK has
devolved assemblies): the control education, national health…
- Granting Royal Asset to legislation (after bill has been passed in both
chambers; no one Royal Asset has been rejected since 1707. There was a
case in point: Royal Asset on B.Johnson’s shutdown of Parliament in
September 2019)
 Head of the Church: Church of England
Catholic and Protestant or Catholic with Protestants ideas. It upholds customs
of the Roman Catholic Church and fundamental ideas from Protestants
Reformation
 Head of the Commonwealth
Position established in 1949 in London Declaration (recognised King George VI
as Head of the Commonwealth)
 - King Henry VIII
16th century and he broke with Pope
o 1553: Mary (Bloody Mary)
o 1558: Elizabeth, the Church of England is revived
o Act of Settlement (1701): establishes that the monarch and the monarch’s
spouse cannot be Catholic
o 2015: primogeniture principals abolished (baby girl can become queen even if
she has a younger brother)
o Monarch can marry a Catholic but not be one
o The main representative of the Church within the religious context is the
Archbishop of Canterbury

2. Parliament: Westminster/Houses of Parliament

It is a bicameral system

- Lower chamber
House of Commons: 650 Members of Parliament (MPs). 650 constituencies.
- Upper chamber
House of Lords: 700 Members, called peers/ unelected buy the people, knighthood

Layout of Houses of Parliament

The House of Commons is under the Big Ben, in the middle, it has located the House of Lords,
and in the right is the Royal Gallery. Once they are lords they cannot be representatives in the
House of Commons

- Main functions of Parliament (both Houses and the Crown)

 Make and change laws (legislation): pass laws
 Check and challenge the work of Government: proven a fact in October 2019
with Supreme Court’s decision
 Check and approve Government spending (budget/taxes)
 Protecting the individual: each Member of Parliament represents a
constituency
 Debate the important issues of the day (debating): as of late, almost all is
Brexit and COVID measures
- Decisions made in one House have to be approved by the other

House of Commons (lower and green)

437 people sitting, no mans land (between the red line), gold mace

- Elections every five years (usually)

- Members of Parliament serve for the lifetime of the Parliament (5 years), they can
stand for re-election
- Prime Minister decides when the new election is to be called
- The Speaker of the House controls proceedings in the Commons: the Speaker is a
Member of Parliament chosen by all other Members of Parliament to chair debates in
an even-handed way. Once chosen, they no longer represent a party
- Members of Parliament consider and propose new laws, the House scrutinises
government policies by asking ministers questions on current issues
 Actors in the House

- The Speaker: Member of Parliament elected by others Members of Parliament

- Deputy speaker: there are three elected by Members of Parliament to assist the
Speaker in chairing debates in the House. They retain party affiliation but must
withdraw from active political role. They have to be politically impartial
- Chairman of Ways and Means: principal Deputy Speaker. One of their duties is chairing
committees of the whole House
- Serjeant of Arms: responsible for order and security of the House, including keeping
order in the Chamber, galleries and committee rooms. They also have ceremonial
duties, like carrying the mace in the Speaker’s procession each day. It is the only
person in the House allowed to carry a sword
- Clerks: senior officials in the House. This person gives advice on the process and rules
during debates

Distribution of the House

- Governing party: leader of party becomes Prime Minister (Government: Primer

Minister + Cabinet)
- Official opposition: second largest in general election; the leader becomes leader of
the opposition (Shadow Cabinet)
- Other parties: all are opposition parties (some may support the governing party and
ideas of the governing party): Green party, Scottish party, Welsh party, Irish party

 Members of Parliament seat

- Ministers and Prime Minister sit on the front bench right-hand side of the Speaker. The
party in power sits to the right of the Speaker
- The official opposition party to the left of the Speaker. Minority or smaller parties sit
on the benches below the gangway on the left

Prayers: each sitting in both Houses begins with prayers that follow Christian faith

Session: the division of a parliamentary year

Sitting: la sesión del día en las cámaras

House of Lords 
It’s the second debating chamber of Parliament. It is the upper chamber with the peers
(lores).  
 Members of the House of Lords are not publicly elected. Most are appointed by being
created life peers: some 600 out of ca. 700 members.  
 They are appointed by the Queen (now King) on the advice of the Prime Minister;
some members are recommended by an independent body, the House of Lords
Appointments Commission  
 92 are hereditary peers (inherited title): this was changed due to the House of Lords
Act in 1999 
 House independent from, and complements the work of, the House of Commons 
 Peers are not paid; can opt to receive a pay day attendance allowance

  
Three main tasks:  
 Question and challenge the work of government (asking them on their actions and
decisions); important way to hold the government to account 
 Help shape laws 
 Investigate issue through committees and debates 

Actors in the house  

 Lords Spiritual: members of Church of England (26 between Archbishops and Bishops)  
 Lords Temporal: collective name for peers who are not Lords Spiritual.  
 Life peers: appointed for their lifetime; any British or Commonwealth citizen residing
in the UK and taxpayer over 21 is eligible to be nominated.  
 Hereditary peers: the house of Lords Act 1999 ended the right of most hereditary
peers to sit and vote in the House; 92 remain 
 Independence of thought: a significant part of the membership is non-party-political
(e.g., crossbenchers and bishops). 
* Crossbencher: a member of the Parliament, Commons and Lords, who does not belong to
Government or opposition; they sit on seats at one end of the chamber at right angles to the
main benches of Government and opposition