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INFORMATION | A Guide to British Politics


  •  Who regulates power?

Following on from the Glorious Revolution the monarch has a lesser role in government. The Prime Minister ultimately controls the government. If the government does something unconstitutional the courts have no power except to advise the government to change their actions. In the U.K parliament sovereignty is in place. This means that the legislative body (parliament) has supreme power and has more power than the executive and judicial branches laid out in the constitution. The UK parliament operates under a bicameral system meaning there are two houses of parliament. These two houses are the commons and the lords. The House of Commons are tasked with approving new laws as well as reviewing taxes. They are also responsible for holding the government to account although this usually falls into the list of The Opposition responsibilities. The Commons will also debate the day's issues. The role of the Lords differs in that they can challenge work undertaken by the government as they are independent and often work to complement the House of Commons. 


  • The Constitution 

A constitution is a collection of principles that a state or country is governed by. Typically a constitution is developed through established precedents and contributes to how laws are developed and dictates who is permitted to make laws. Constitutions are implemented mainly to control government influence and regulate the relationship between the executive, the judiciary and legislature as well as the institutions operating within those branches. A key purpose of a constitution is to develop and enforce the broad spectrum of individual rights. The British constitution is different due to the fact that it is uncodified thus meaning that there is no one written document stipulating the features of the British constitution unlike the American or Russian constitutions. Only the UK, Saudi Arabia, Israel, New Zealand and Canada are uncodified. New Zealand and Canada are uncodified due to being previous colonies of Britain their political system is modelled on the British.

The British constitution is made up of four main sources;  

Statute Law 

This is considered the most important influence to the British constitution as it regulates power.

Statute Law are acts passed by parliament however only acts that affect parliament or the judiciary as well as the function of the state or the individual's relationship with the state become constitutional. An example of how statute law affects the constitution in Britain is the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 which created the Supreme Court.  

Common Law 

Common law applies to the whole population equally, but statutes can be made to favour one section of society over another (for instance granting the disabled rights to preferential parking spaces)


Works of Authority 

The English Constitution 

The Magna Carta states that whoever ruled England could not do as they pleased and ensured whoever was in power was acting in the best interests of the country.

Introduction to the Study of the Law and The Constitution

The Cabinet Manual but compared to the other works of authority has a limited impact on the British constitution. 

Works of authority as a whole are not legally binding but hold weight on the development of the constitution.


Conventions 

Conventions are defined as rules of constitutional practice that are not regarded as binding in operation but in law. For example the Salisbury Convention; Lords cannot block bills that were set out in a party’s manifesto.

There are some key characteristics of the British constitution that affect the general running of politics in the UK. For example regardless of whether some parts of the constitution are written, it is still considered uncodified which creates more flexibility within parliament but it also creates disputes about constitutional practice. The British constitution also creates a constitutional monarchy which alleviates some dangers of a coup but does not offer an assurance on the quality of government as by design the monarch may remain apolitical. Another key characteristic of the British constitution is devolution which is considered as the central government located in Westminster transferring power to a lower local level. The implications of devolution is that it may oversee Britain moving away from being a unity state to a federal government system as seen in the United States. 


  • What are the political parties in the UK?

Parliament is made up of elected members representing a constituency and each member belongs to a political party. 

- Conservative party founded in 1834 represents the centre right and some of their key ideologies include conservatism which promoted traditionalism and the preservation of British culture and civilization. They also promote British unionism and economic liberalism. Their leader is Boris Johnson and currently have 364 members in the House of Commons. The conservative party currently leads HM Government.

- The Labour Party represents the centre left and was founded in 1900. They adopt the ideologies of social democracy and democratic socialism. The party is led by Keir Starmer and they have 202 members in the House of Commons. As the second largest majority they lead HM Opposition. 

- The Scottish National Party was founded in 1934 and is led currently by Nicola Sturgeon. They have a Big tent political position and hold ideologies including Scottish nationalism, Scottish independence, regionalism, social democracy and pro Europeanism. Currently they have 48 members sitting in the House of Commons. 

- The Liberal Democrats, formally the Liberal Party between 1859 and 1988, adopt a centre political position and support liberalism, social liberalism and pro Europeanism. There leader is Ed Davey and in the House of Commons they have 11 sitting members

- The Democratic Unionist Party is a right wing Irish political party which was founded in 1971 who promote ideas such as British unionism and nationalism, conservatism, national conservatism, right wing populism, social conservatism and hard Euroscepticism. They are led by Arlene Foster and have 8 members in the House of Commons.

- Sinn Fein is another Irish political party which was founded in its current phase in 1970. They are centre left to left wing and believe in ideas such as Irish republicanism, left wing nationalism and democratic socialism. Their leader is Mary Lou McDonald and currently have 7 members in the House of Commons.

- Plaid Cymru is a left welsh party formed in 1925. Their ideologies include welsh nationalism and independence, civic nationalism, regionalism, democratic socialism, social democracy and environmentalism. Adam Price leads the party and they have 3 members in the house of commons 

- The Social Democratic and Labour party is a left Irish party founded in 1970. As a party they have adopted the ideologies of social democracy, Irish nationalism and reunification. They have 2 members in the House of Commons and are led by Colum Eastwood.

- The Green Party of England and Wales was founded in 1990 and are left wing. They support green politics, eco socialism, progressivism, British republicanism and pro Europeanism. The leadership of the party is split between Sain Berry and Jonathan Bartley and they have one 1 member in the House of Commons.

- The Alliance Party of Northern Ireland which was founded in 1970 can be placed in the centre of politics but leans more left on some issues. Ideologies adopted by the party include liberalism, nonsectarianism and pro Europeanism. They have one member in the House of Commons and are led by Naomi Long.


  • System of Election

Currently the British voting system is First Past the Post. How First Past the Post works in General Elections is whichever party wins a majority is then elected to government and for referendums ,whichever choice has the highest percentage is the one that is typically honoured. General Elections are usually called every four years however since 2010 there have been five General Elections. Under usual practice there would have been two. Since 1973 there have been 11 referendums in the United Kingdom and since 2011, there have been 3. The first of which was a referendum on whether or not to change the voting system from first past the post to the alternative vote and the result was no, first past the post will remain the system in which the U.K will elect members of Parliament to the House of Commons. In 2014 there was another referendum in Scotland regarding gaining independence from Britain and the result was that Scotland shall remain part of the United Kingdom. Suggestively, the most historical referendum in terms of the effects on the United Kingdom happened in 2016 as 52% of Britain voted to leave the European Union. The First Past The Post system of voting encourages tactical voting or not voting at all as a large number of people are dissatisfied with the result of elections. In most constituencies most people vote against the winning party than for them but because they got a collective majority they then become an MP. This also means that smaller parties do not gain fair representation in parliament. 


  • Notable politicians and their legacies

Michael O’ Dwyer 

O’Dwyer was the politician indirectly responsible for the Amritsar massacre. He defended the massacre and the Brigadier General Reginald Dyer. As a result, the massacre provided a demonstration of Britain's violent and brutal treatment of the colonies. Furthermore it contributed to the growth of the Indian independence movement.

Winston Churchill

Responsible for the military disaster of the Gallipoli Campaign in World War One. Upon his return to government and becoming chancellor of the exchequer he returned the pound to the gold standard which resulted in deflation, unemployment and 1.7 million workers going on a nine day strike. Churchill is also responsible for the Bengal Famine lasting longer than it needed to as he placed blockaides on shipments of much needed foods. In 1935 Churchill can be cited as being in support of Hitler and his leadership style in Germany but by 1938 Churchill fought a relentless fight against Nazism. 

William Beveridge 

Despite only being an MP for less than a year his legacy is one of the crowning jewels of UK society, the National Health Service. The Beveridge Report identified 5 evil giants which plagued society and laid out solutions to each problem. The report laid the foundations for the NHS and for what the 1945 government called the welfare state.

Clement Atlee

One of the lasting legacies of Atlee is him not only overseeing the introduction of the NHS and the Welfare state but also the independence of the British colonies. 

John Wolfenden 

In 1957 he chaired a committee that produced a report recommending the decriminalisation of homosexuality. 10 years later the government headed the advice and has become a leading nation in promoting gay right in the years since. 

Margaret Thatcher 

As the first female prime minister and first elected leader of a European country, she has gone down in history as one of the most divisive leaders in modern British history. As a politician she promoted free trade, competition and a smaller state. She also went to war with Argentina over the Falklands and significantly reduced the powers of the unions in the UK.

Tony Blair

As supporters of liberal interventionism, the Blair government intervened militarily in many Middle Eastern conflicts, most notably in Iraq. Intervention in Kosovo and in the Irish troubles were interpreted as a relative success however intervention in Iraq was the opposite. The decade of Blair's forign policy is still being felt today. 


  • Structure of Parliament 


There are two houses of parliament, the lords and the commons. In the House of Commons there are 650 seats and during a general election 326 party members must be elected by their local constituencies in order for their party to have a majority and then be instructed by the monarch to form a government.


A government is a body of people who have the authority to preside over a state or country. Currently the UK government is constructed of the Prime Minister and their cabinet ministers. 

The following are roles within the cabinet;


  1. Chancellor of the Exchequer 
  2. Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs 
  3. First Secretary of State 
  4. Secretary of State for the Home Department
  5. Minister for the Cabinet Office
  6. Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
  7. Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice 
  8. Secretary of State for Defence 
  9. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care 
  10. Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 
  11. Secretary of State for International Trade and President of the Board of Trade 
  12. Minister for Women and Equalities 
  13. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
  14. Secretary of State for Education 
  15. Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
  16. Secretary of State Housing, Communities and Local Government 
  17. Secretary of State for Transport 
  18. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland
  19. Secretary of State for Wales 
  20. Secretary of State for Scotland 
  21. Leader of the House of Lords
  22. Lord Privy Seal
  23. Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport 
  24. -Secretary of State for International Development 
  25. Minister without Portfolio


The Leader of the Opposition is also tasked with putting together a shadow cabinet.


  • Government Organisations


HM Revenue and Customs

Department of Health and Social Care

Cabinet Office 

Home Office 

Scottish Government 

Department for Work and Pensions 

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

HM Treasury 

Ministry of Defence 

Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency 

Government Digital Service

Office for National Statistics 

Department for Education 

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Department for International Development 

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Department for Transport 

Information Commissioner’s Office 


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