THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Structure The Monarchy The Parliament The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet The British Government Today 1. The Constitution 2. Parliament 3. The Role of Monarchy Today 4. The House of Lords and the House of Commons

The Monarchy Monarch supreme ruler the king, queen, emperor, or empress. Monarchy state ruled by a monarch

Divine Right of Kings The sovereign derived his authority from God, not from his subjects. A hereditary king or queen An exception

Structure The Monarchy The Parliament The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet The British Government Today 1. The Constitution 2. Parliament 3. The Role of Monarchy Today 4. The House of Lords and the House of Commons

Parliament Derived from the French “parlement”, the action of parler (to speak) A parlement is a talk, a discussion – a meeting, an assembly Originated in 1200’s, during the reign of King John’s grandson-Edward I. The aim – to constrain the power of the monarch.

Model Parliament 1295 - Model Parliament - included members of the clergy and the aristocracy, as well as representatives from the various counties and boroughs. Each county two knights each borough two burgesses each city two citizens

Model Parliament At the time, Parliament‘s legislative authority was limited and its primary role was to levy taxes. Edward’s paramount goal in summoning the parliament was to raise funds for his wars, specifically planned campaigns against the French and the Scots for the upcoming year, and countering an insurgency(叛乱) in Wales. King Edward I

Parliament the Model Parliament was unicameral, summoning 49 lords to sit with 292 representatives of the Commons. In 1341 the Commons met separately from the nobility and clergy for the first time, creating what was effectively an Upper Chamber and a Lower Chamber, with the knights and burgesses sitting in the latter. This Upper Chamber became known as the House of Lords from 1544 onward, and the Lower Chamber became known as the House of Commons, collectively known as the Houses of Parliament.

Parliament In 1407, Henry IV decreed that money grants Should be considered and approved by the Commons Before being considered by the Lords This became a formula almost the same today. The Commons also acquired law-making powers by the 15th century.

Parliament King James I → Charles I Divine right of kings Civil war To reassert the rights of Parliament 1649 1660

Parliament 1688 – the Glorious Revolution In return William of Orange promised the representatives that he would declare governing without parliamentary consent to be illegal.

1689 Bill of Rights passed by Parliament It laid down a number of things that future monarchs could not do. It marked a sharp decline in powers of the Monarch. It marked the beginning of the British Constitutional Monarchy.

Provisions of the act Freedom from royal interference with the law. Though the sovereign remains the fount of justice, he or she cannot unilaterally establish new courts or act as a judge. Freedom from taxation by Royal Prerogative. The agreement of parliament became necessary for the implementation of any new taxes. Freedom to petition the monarch. Freedom from the standing army during a time of peace. The agreement of parliament became necessary before the army could be moved against the populace when not at war. Freedom for Protestants to bear arms for their own defence, as suitable to their class and as allowed by law. Freedom to elect members of parliament without interference from the sovereign. Freedom of speech in parliament. This means that the proceedings of parliament can not be questioned in a court of law or any other body outside of parliament itself; this forms the basis of modern parliamentary privilege. Freedom from cruel and unusual punishment, as well as excessive bail. Freedom from fine and forfeiture without a trial.

国会两院经依法集会于西敏寺宫，为确保英国人民传统之权利与自由而制定本法律。 1．凡未经国会同意，以国王权威停止法律或停止法律实施之僭越权力。 2．近来以国王权威擅自废除法律或法律实施之僭越权力，为非法权力。 3．设立审理宗教事务之钦差法庭之指令，以及一切其他同类指令与法庭，皆为非法而有害 4．凡未经国会准许，借口国王特权，为国王而征收，或供国王使用而征收金钱，超出国会准许之时限或方式者，皆为非法。 5．向国王请愿，乃臣民之权利，一切对此项请愿之判罪或控告，皆为非法。 6．除经国会同意外，平时在本王国内征募或维持常备军，皆属违法。 7．凡臣民系新教徒者，为防卫起见，得酌量情形，并在法律许可范围内，置备武器。 8．国会议员之选举应是自由的。 9．国会内之演说自由、辩论或议事之自由，不应在国会以外之任何法院或任何地方，受到弹劾或讯问。 10．不应要求过多的保释金，亦不应强课过分之罚款，更不应滥施残酷非常之刑罚。 11．陪审官应予正式记名列表并陈报之，凡审理叛国犯案件之陪审官应为自由世袭地领有人。 12．定罪前，特定人的一切让与及对罚金与没收财产所做的一切承诺，皆属非法而无效。 13．为申雪一切诉冤，并为修正、加强与维护法律起见，国会应时常集会。 彼等(即灵俗两界贵族与众议员等)并主张、要求与坚持上述各条为彼等无可置疑之权利与自由；凡上开各条中有损人民之任何宣告、判决、行为或诉讼程序，今后断不应据之以为结论或先例。

Union: the Parliament of Great Britain Following the Treaty of Union in 1707, Acts of Parliament passed in the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland created a new Kingdom of Great Britain and dissolved both parliaments, replacing them with a new Parliament of Great Britain based in the former home of the English parliament. The Parliament of Great Britain would later become the Parliament of the United Kingdom in 1801 when the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was formed through the Act of Union 1800.

The Houses of Parliament

House of Lords House of commons

Structure The Monarchy The Parliament The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet The British Government Today 1. The Constitution 2. Parliament 3. The Role of Monarchy Today 4. The House of Lords and the House of Commons

The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet Important Parliamentarians → the Cabinet the core of leadership of the British government Appointed by the sovereign 1714 – King George I – not interested in politics Thus The Prime Minister

The First Prime Minister Sir Robert Walpole

1832 The House of Commons Appointed by the monarch → By popular election

MPs → political parties → the leader of the party with the most supporters becomes the Prime Minister David William Donald Cameron he won the Conservative leadership election in 2005. In the 2010 general election, the Conservatives gained a plurality of seats in a hung parliament and Cameron was appointed Prime Minister on 11 May 2010

Structure The Monarchy The Parliament The Birth of the Prime Minister and Cabinet The British Government Today 1. The Constitution 2. Parliament 3. The Role of Monarchy Today 4. The House of Lords and the House of Commons

The British Government Today A parliamentary democracy A constitutional monarchy 代议民主制 君主立宪制

The British Government Today Queen - the head of State In practice, the Sovereign reigns, but does not rule: the United Kingdom is governed, in the name of the Sovereign, by His or Her Majesty’s Government

The British Government Today Australia Canada New Zealand India Governor-General

The Constitution No written constitution Statute law laws passed by Parliament The common laws Laws established through common practice in the courts Conventions Rules and practices regarded as vital to the workings of government

Parliament Functions: To pass law; To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; To scrutinise/examine government policy, administration and expenditure; To debate the major issues of the day

Parliament

The Role of the Monarchy Today To symbolise the tradition and unity of the British state. Legally head of the executive An integral part of the legislature Head of the judiciary Commander in chief of the armed forces “supreme governor” of the Church of England

Now To represent Britain at home and abroad To set standards of good citizenship and family life The Queen is a confidante to the Prime Minister. 5 mins to read P42-43

The House of Lords and the House of Commons the Lords Spiritual the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England the Lords Temporal “everyone else” Peers Life peers

The main function of the House of Lords To bring the wide experience of its members into the process of lawmaking More than 1200 members (only 375 on average attend the sittings regularly). No salary.

The House of Commons members elected from the electoral districts of the UK called constituencies MPs sit for the lifetime of the parliament. Duration : 5 years Head of the House of Commons: the Speaker 651 MPs

Main functions Law-making authorizing taxation and public expenditure examining the actions of the Government