The House of Lords also has a right to vote on bills so they’re part of the legislative but the Lords also contains the Law Lords who are an important part of the judiciary.
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.
Legislature Executive Judiciary
Legislature = Parliament
Parliament is the highest legislative authority in the UK – the institution responsible for making and repealing (废止) all the UK laws. It’s also known as the Legislature.
The beginning of a new session, called the “State Opening of Parliament” , takes place in the House of Lords.
It’s a tradition for the monarch to open Parliament in person.
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 Queen’s Speech, a document about 1,000 words in length prepared by the government.
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.
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?
Contents
1. Monarchy 2. Parliament 3. Government 4. Cabinet 5. Political Parties 6. General Election
1. Constitutional Monarchy
The King or Queen is the personification of the State.
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
The House of Commons
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
Basic Structure of UK Central Government
Monarch (non-political)
Legislature -- Parliament
Executive
Judiciary
(non-political)
House of Commons (political)
Which part is the most dominant one in the parliament?
When was the parliamentary system
instituted in Britain? (in the 13th century)
The English parliament developed out of the King’s 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
There’s 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 there’s no excessive use or abuse of power by any small group of people.
Parliament consists of 3 constituent parts: Crown (Official Head) House of Lords (the Upper House) House of Commons (the Lower House)
What’s the meaning of “parliament”? (A place for argument and debate)
Function:
Make all the UK laws; Scrutinize (审查) government policy & administration; Hear appeals (上诉) in the highest Court of Appeal in Britain;（The House of Lords) Debate the major issues of the day.
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 Queen’s speech are finished, Parliament is ready to begin the actual work of the new session.
House of Lords (semi-political)
Prime Minister &
Cabinet (political)
House of Lords
Ministers &
Civil service (non-political)
Court of Appeal
Separation of Power, British Style
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Unit 3
Political system
Warming-up Activities
The Constitution
Britain doesn’t 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