Policy of the United Kingdom

The political of the United Kingdom is based on a unit State and a parliamentary Monarchie and democratic. The system of government, known under the name of System of Westminster, directly inspired the institutions of other countries like the Canada, the India, the Australia, and the Jamaica.

It is the oldest monarchy of the world (since 1066)

The British Constitution is not codified, and a part is not written: it consists of constitutional conventions, and various elements resulting from habits and the Common law, together which one often indicates under the denomination of constitutional law British.

The Head of the State and ultimate source of being able theoretical in the United Kingdom is the British monarch, which is currently the queen Elisabeth II. Actually, the queen has a primarily ceremonial role, and its exercise of the capacity is restricted by convention and the public opinion, although the monarch makes use of three rights: right to be consulted, right to advise and right to inform. The governments and the Prime Minister hold confidential work meetings each week with the monarch. More this last reign, more it acquires experiment and knowledge, and more these meetings are useful. In the facts, the political leader of the United Kingdom is the Prime Minister, which must have the support of the House of Commons. It is Gordon Brown which occupies this station since the June 27th 2007

Government

The government, officially called Gouvernement of Its Majesty ( His/Her Majesty' S Governement , HMG) ensures the Executive power the United Kingdom. The monarch names a Prime Minister on the basis of strict convention, which stipulates that the Prime Minister must be a member of the House of Commons likely to be able to form a government with the support of the latter. The Prime Minister chooses then the other ministers who will compose his government, and who will direct the various ministries and departments. Approximately 20 of the oldest Ministers for the government form the ministerial Cabinet.

The government is resulting from the Parliament and is responsible in front of him: a Motion of censure can be voted if one of the legislative proposals of the government is rejected by the House of Commons, and the adoption of this motion would have as a consequence the resignation of the Prime Minister or the dissolution of the Parliament, and thus the convocation of new general elections. In practice, the members of the Parliament resulting from the political principal parties are strictly controlled by the presidents of the groups of deputies, which make sure of the conformity of their vote with the line of the party. If the government has a vast majority at the Parliament, the risks to lose votes are very weak. Governments having a narrow majority, or the governments resulting from a coalition are more vulnerable, and take sometimes extreme measures such as resorting to sick members of Parliament to obtain the majority necessary.

Margaret Thatcher in 1979 and Tony Blair in 1997, for example, had a so comfortable parliamentary majority that the dissidence of some of would not have compromised anything their victory quasi-policy-holder with each vote of the Parliament, which enabled them besides to apply radical and ambitious programs of reform. Contrary, the Prime Ministers like John Major, who had only one narrow majority, could easily lose their polls so some their parliamentary supports disavowed their president of group and voted against the proposals of the government.

The majority poll with a turn and two-party system

the House of Commons is elected since 1928 by the universal direct suffrage by all the major British subjects (the age of the majority was lowered by 21 to 18 years in 1969) and enjoying their civic rights, according to the principle of the majority poll to a turn which summarizes the proverb “ the first past the post ”. Each district sends the candidate made at the head at the Parliament. As showed it Maurice Duverger, the direct consequence of this mode of election is the two-party system. The victorious party is surreprésenté whereas in same time, the third-party is marginalized. Thus with the legislative elections of May 2005, the workers party obtained 356 seats for 35% of the voices, the Conservative party, 197 seats by adding up however 32% of the votes and the democratic liberal party, 62 seats for 22% of the voices; that is to say hardly a tenth of the seats for more than one fifth of the votes. For this reason for more than 160 years, the British life partisane has rested on the Bipartisme. Confrontations of Whigs and Tories at the 19th century, conservatives against liberals thereafter, then since the post-war period, conservatives against members of the Labor Party. Another consequence of this mode of election is according to Olivier Duhamel, the implicit introduction of a firstly-ministerial election, the chief of the majority party becoming Prime Minister.

Notons however that this system can give place to some bizarreries: it happens that a party is majority in seats while being minority in voice. For example, in 1951, the Workers party obtained 295 seats with 13.948.605 votes whereas the conservatives raflaient 321 seats with only 13.717.580 votes.

The British political parties

There exists a constant in the British life partisane, less personalization of the parties. Thus, the conservative party did not have any scruple to get rid of Margaret Thatcher which had been its charismatic chief. More recently the workers party showed than it could do without Tony Blair which brought however back the Ploughing to the businesses after the hegemony of the conservatives and gained three elections.

Left

the Workers party (in English The Ploughing Party , (cf), directed by Gordon Brown since June 24th, 2007. It replaces Tony Blair with the head of the party.

Liberal democrats (in English Liberal Democrats , usually called Lib Dems , (cf) (liberal progressive; Lib Dems are regarded traditionally as a party of the center or center-left but the alignment of the policy of the Ploughing on center positions made, according to some people, of Lib Dems the true party of the left), directed by Menzies Campbell.

RESPECT, coalition of the left altermondialist directed by the deputy George Galloway. This pacifist party carried out a small opening with the local elections of 2007.

Green Party left ecologist center left.

the British Communist party which is a political party preaching peace and social justice directed by Robert Griffiths

Right-hand side

the Conservative party (in English The Conservative Party , (cf), the Tories in the language running, also used in French), directed by David Cameron.
the Left for independence the United Kingdom and a party Eurosceptic, which militates for the withdrawal of the United Kingdom of the European Union. Its current leader is Nigel Farage, one of the ten deputies representing England of South-east in the European Parliament.

Nationalist parties

the National Scottish Party, Left national Scot.
the Plaid Cymru, (in English Party off Wales , in French Left Wales )

Parties of Northern Ireland

UUP : unionistic Party of Ulster. Unionistic party (protesting).
DUP: Democratic Party off Ulster. Unionistic party (protesting).
Alliance: Centrist party.

SDLP : social democrat Party and member of the Labor Party. Nationalist party (catholic).
Sinn Féin : Ourself . Republican party (catholic).

See too

Internal bonds

External bonds

the United Kingdom of Tony Blair by the review Capacities.
the policy in the United Kingdom

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