The Political System of the United Kingdom Essay Example for Free

The Political System of the United Kingdom Essay The United Kingdom has enjoyed a relatively strong government in the entire course of its history. A major part of this could be attributed to its unique but very effective political system. There are at least five aspects that had been major contributory factors in its political stability, namely: Transparency and Accountability of Government, Consensus building on major issues, Reforms on a gradual and necessary basis, Absence of threat from coups and armed overthrow of government, and the Check and Balance of powers in its three branches. England is the land of Kings and Queens. Down the years the monarchy had played a crucial role in the political system of the nation. The reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II remains the constitutional and Ceremonial Head of State. She continues to exercise discretionary powers like the Royal Assent for Bills from Parliament and Royal Prerogatives like appointments of Ministers, formal consent to the declaration of war by the Prime Minister and his Cabinet, and the suggestion for the dissolution of the Parliament. The last discretionary power has never been resorted to anytime in the history of the United Kingdom. The Armed Forces swear allegiance to the Queen and that makes her their Commander-in-Chief. This is also the reason why a military-backed revolt to overthrow the government would be extremely difficult in England. In both instances, dissolution of the Parliament and unconstitutional change of government, the Crown had always been very circumspect in averting constitutional crisis. The Prime Minister is the Head of Government in the United Kingdom. He is appointed by the Monarch from the Members of Parliament of the largest majority party in the House of Commons. The current Prime Minister is Gordon Brown from the Labour Party. Coming from the largest majority of Parliament, the Prime Minister possesses the ability to form a government and push for important legislation. The Prime Minister and other senior ministers, each in charge of a government department, make up the Cabinet and together they function as the Executive Branch or Government. The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are all from Parliament but they are accountable to it. There are three Ministers in each department. They are the Head or Secretary of State, the second in rank is the Minister of State and the third in rank is the Undersecretary of State. They report to Parliament regarding their work and a committee in the House of Commons oversees their work. The Prime Minister reports to the Parliament every Wednesday for the Prime Minister’s Question Time broadcasted live in radio and television and covered by the broadsheet press. This is a democratic process of Government Transparency and Accountability. Since the Bill of Rights of 1689, sovereignty resides in the Parliament or the legislature. Like most of the world’s democracies, the United Kingdom has a bicameral legislative body. The Parliament is composed of two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The population is proportionally divided into constituencies who elect their Members of Parliament to the House of Commons. The largest majority in the House of Commons is commissioned by the Queen to form a government. This means that a government is not voted upon by the House of Commons but it does get to exercise its vote of confidence when the legislative agenda is laid out on the Speech from the Throne. The House of Lords, on the other hand is not an elected body. It used to be hereditary among aristocratic families. Presently, the House of Lords is composed of hereditary/aristocratic members, bishops or Lords Spirituals of the Church of England, and those who have made valuable contributions to England and whose memberships were approved by the Queen but are limited to their lifetime and can not be inherited by kin down the line. Both Houses do legislative work while the House of Lords are limited in powers such as in the reviews of, proposing amendments to, or veto of Bills, except of those bills related to Monetary and Finances. The Members of Parliament have no fixed term of office. There will be a General Election when the Prime Minister calls for it, but which should not be more than five years since the last one was held. There are three major parties such as the Labour, Conservative and the Liberal Democrat, each with dramatically opposing political stand on issues. In the British Parliament, however, they build on consensus with regards to issues on national order and security, economy, health and foreign policies. Interestingly, the House of Lords acts as a Court of Appeals that decides on cases with finality. The Law Lords, which is a part of the House of Lords, is the one which hears and tries cases for judgment. A review is being made to study the possibility of replacing it with a Supreme Court, in accordance with the Constitutional Reform Act of 2005. The Lord Chancellor is the Head of the Judiciary in England and Wales for 1,400 years. Today it has been replaced by the Department of Constitutional Affairs. This is a case when changes in the system is initiated whenever Parliament sees a need for it. Such ensures that the change is necessary and called for, instead of a measure that is in place but without substantial value and significance at all. The United Kingdom has a political system with features that are common with some of the world’s leading democracies, and yet, it is for the large part distinctly different. Where in some countries there is a separation of powers among their branches of government in the United Kingdom it is not the case. Government Ministers are Members of Parliament. The Law Lords are members of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister is from the Parliament’s largest majority party. Despite the overlapping functions, the checks and balance of powers are in place. The Monarch commissions the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister consults with the Monarch, the Prime Minister calls a General Election for Members of Parliament and the Prime Minister and his Cabinet report to Parliament regularly. The best thing about the political system of the United Kingdom is that it had stood the test of time. It had worked for more than a thousand years, it could work for another thousand. But like an evolving parliamentary democracy, it is still a work in progress. References Darlington, R. (2007). A Short Guide to the British Political System. Retrieved October 1, 2008 from http://www. rogerdarlington. co. uk/Britishpoliticalsystem. html. NRI Online Pty. Ltd. (2008, October 1). Political System in the UK. Retrieved October 1, 2008, from http://www. nriol. com/welcome2uk/politics-in-uk. asp.