英美国家概况（英国部分）Un分it 3 Political system.ppt

英美国家概况,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,Unit 3,Political system,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,Think about these questions before we start: 1. What are the main functions of Parliament? 2. What is the role of the Monarchy in the British government? 3. What is a constitutional monarchy? When did it begin in Britain? 4. How did the Labor Party come into being? 5. Why and how did the English Parliament come into being?,Warming-up Activities,Monarchy Parliament Government Cabinet Political Parties General Election,Contents,The King or Queen is the personification of the State.,1. Constitutional Monarchy,Britain doesnt have a constitution written down in a single document. The constitution flows from 6 sources: 1) The Royal Prerogatives 2) Statute Laws 3) Common Laws 4) Conventions 5) Authoritative Opinions 6) European Union Laws,The Constitution,Basic Structure of UK Central Government,Theres actually no separation of power between the executive, the legislature, and the judiciary. This principle of dividing the functions of government is meant to ensure that theres no excessive use or abuse of power by any small group of people.,Separation of Power, British Style,The PM is an active member of the legislative, yet also the leading member of the executive. The Lord Chancellor is a member of the cabinet and therefore of the executive as well as being head of the judiciary.,The House of Lords also has a right to vote on bills so theyre part of the legislative but the Lords also contains the Law Lords who are an important part of the judiciary. As with the PM, the members of the Cabinet are also members of the legislative who have the right, as an MP, to vote on issues.,Separation of Power,Separation of Power,Legislature,Judiciary,Executive,Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the UK the institution responsible for making and repealing (废止) all the UK laws. Its also known as the Legislature. Function: Make all the UK laws; Scrutinize (审查) government policy （The House of Lords) Debate the major issues of the day.,Legislature = Parliament,Parliament consists of 3 constituent parts: Crown (Official Head) House of Lords (the Upper House) House of Commons (the Lower House) Whats the meaning of “parliament”? (A place for argument and debate) Which part is the most dominant one in the parliament?,The English parliament developed out of the Kings council of the 13th century. The House of Lords is the oldest part of Parliament. In the 14th century, parliament was formally divided into 2 parts: Lords and Commons. Until the 17th century, parliament was ruled by the King. The Glorious Revolution in 1688 marked the decisive shift in power from monarchy to Parliament. Since 1832, the year of the first Reform Act, the House of Commons has become more important,When was the parliamentary system instituted in Britain? (in the 13th century),Palace of Westminster (Houses of Parliament),House of Lords Red Chamber 红厅,House of Commons Green Chamber,The life of parliament is divided into periods called “sessions” (A session lasts for 1 year). The beginning of a new session, called the “State Opening of Parliament” , takes place in the House of Lords. Its a tradition for the monarch to open Parliament in person. On the day, the Queen travels from Buckingham Palace to Parliament in the State Coach , a golden carriage. Once the Queen arrives at Parliament, the Union Flag is lowered and replaced by the Royal Standard.,The Monarch - Official Head of Parliament,Golden State Coach,From Buckingham to Westminster,The Throne in the Upper House,Black Rod,Knock 3 times,The Queen will then read out the Queens Speech, a document about 1,000 words in length prepared by the government. What is the speech about? In the document the government outlines its planned programmes and the policies it intends to follow. When the one-week debates on the Queens speech are finished, Parliament is ready to begin the actual work of the new session.,The Queens Speech,It exercises the supreme judicial power. It has over 1000 non-elected members: 1. Lords Spiritual : 2 archbishops and 24 diocesan bishops. Their eligibility to sit ends on retirement. 2. Law Lords: 12 Chief Judges 3. Hereditary Peers : Duke, Marquis, Earl, Viscount, Baron (royal descendants) 4. Life Peers : The life peer is given a title by the Crown during his/her lifetime, in honor of his or her professional achievements. The title is NOT hereditary.,The House of Lords,The most powerful and important element in UK. Three main functions: 1) Make laws; 2) Control and criticize the executive government; 3) Control the raising and spending of money,The House of Commons,Leader of his party in the House of Commons Head of the government Chief spokesman for the government He has the right to select his cabinet, hand out departmental positions, decide the agenda for cabinet meetings which he also chairs. He directs and controls policy for the government. He keeps the Queen informed of government decisions. (weekly meeting with the Queen),The Prime Minister,The PM selects his own Cabinet and he will select those people who: Have ability Have demonstrated good party loyalty Have clearly demonstrated loyalty to the PM himself,W,Making New Laws This is what happens in the chamber, but in fact theres much happening elsewhere in the Commons which has hundreds of rooms. Therere committee rooms, offices and a library, a barbers shop, post office and restaurants. MPs meet in committees, or do their office work or meet visitors.,What Goes on in the House of Commons?,Many hours are spent debating issues of national and international importance. Most often a motion is proposed by one or two of the Governments front benchers & then the same number of persons from the Opposition front benches oppose it. The Speaker decides who is allowed to speak & he/she must ensure that each side is given equal opportunity and time to speak.,Debates,After the debate the MPs vote for or against the motion. The House first votes by voice vote. MPs vote by going into lobbies , corridors outside the chamber, one for yes and one for no votes where they are counted. The MPs vote is recorded so that anybody can know which way an MP voted on any particular issue. After the votes are counted the results are announced in the chamber.,Vote,Four times a week Government ministers have to give short, oral answers to questions put to them in the House of Commons by MPs. Many questions are answered during each question time which lasts for 55 minutes. The PM also has a question time of 30 minutes once a week.,Question Time,The PM answers questions from MPs in the Commons for half an hour every Wednesday from 12 at noon. Question Time is an opportunity for MPs to ask the PM questions known as “oral questions”. Are those oral questions merely from the PMs opposition parties or out-parties? Anyone can ask him some questions. In theory, the PM wont know what questions will be asked. However, hell be extensively briefed by government departments in anticipation of likely subjects he could be asked about.,Prime Ministers Question Time,What does the British Government refer to? Technically, the Central Government refers to the Cabinet headed by the Prime Minister. The Cabinet is the nucleus of the government. All its members are chosen among the MPs. This makes the British government known as the Parliamentary government or Cabinet government.,Executive The Government,Prime Minister Ministers (Heads of all important departments) Treasury Ministry of Defense Ministry of Agriculture Foreign and Commonwealth Office Department of Education and Science Department of Health and Social Security,British Government,What is the Cabinet composed of? (Its composed of the chiefs of the most important ministries and departments.) Who are always included in the Cabinet? (Secretary of State for Defense, the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer) Cabinet meets weekly at No. 10 Downing Street.,The Oppositions have a Shadow Cabinet: criticize the Governments policy; expose its weak points; suggest amendments; draw attention to other matters the Government might otherwise ignore.,Shadow Cabinet,10 Downing Street,The civil servants are politically neutral. They are paid with public money. They are career officials serving the elected political government of the day. They themselves arent elected. Theyre officials who remain in office despite changes in government. They are well-educated elite, dominated by Oxbridge (75%). To enter at the higher levels of the civil service you have to pass a rigorous civil service exam.,The Civil Service,3 layers: county councils district councils community or parish councils County councilors make important decisions on local issues that affect peoples everyday lives, such as education, social care, transport, the environment and future developments. District councilors work to improve the quality of life for people in their wards (区) and make decisions about local issues. Parish town or community Councils have limited powers. They can provide certain facilities such as recreational facilities, public conveniences and cemeteries.,Local Government,Devolution is where power is transferred from a superior governmental body (such as central power) to an inferior one (such as at regional level). Since Tony Blairs constitutional reforms at the end of the 20th century, more power has been devolved from Westminster to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Scottish Parliament - 1998 The Welsh Assembly - 1998 The Northern Ireland Assembly - 1998,The Devolution,Judiciary is headed by Lord Chancellor, a leading Law Lord appointed by the Prime Minister. House of Lords is the highest court which will be replaced by the Supreme Court and there wont be Lord Chancellor in the near future, and all this is part of the Constitutional Reform promised by Labour government.,Judiciary,The Court System,Civil Branch Criminal Branch,County Court,Magistrates Court,Crown Court,High Court,Court of Appeal,Court of Appeal,House of Lords,the Conservative Party - in power the Labour Party - in opposition the Liberal Democrats,Political Parties,The Labour Party - party of underprivileged - party of reformists - aims at nationalization of big enterprises - more democratic and looser in organization Conservative Party - developed from the Tory Party in 1830s - party of rich and privileged - opposed to nationalization - favor monopoly capitalists,The Liberal Democratic Party - mixed economy with state-owned & private- owned enterprises - opposes isolationism - Advocates policies based on freedom of the individual and support for the adoption of Propositional Representation at elections,- every 5 years - any citizen over 18 years old There are 635 constituencies, each of which returns one MP. 650 elected MPs will make up the House of Commons. UK now is adopting the winner-take-all system. The leader of the party that wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons will become the PM and form a new Cabinet.,General Election,Internal reforms, e.g., some reduction in trade union power. John Smiths death in 1994 allowed creation of New Labour by the more modernising Blair. Principles and acceptance of market economics, low inflation and interest rates, cuts in taxation, spending and welfare. New, radical proposals for constitutional reform.,Why did Labour win 1997 Election?,Conservative Health will not discourage use of private facilities Education less government control on education Law & Order will increase number of police Labour Health will provide more nurses & doctors Education 50% of young people attending university in 10 years； Will ensure every middle school develops distinctive mission Law & Order tougher on crime, tougher on the causes of crime,Comparison of Manifestos 1997,Thank You !,英美国家概况,The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland,