英国概况第三章政治制度教案

Part One An Introduction to the United Kingdom

Chapter 3 British Political System

【教学目的与要求】

通过学习，使学生掌握英国政体的性质、组织形式，政府的基本构成，英国的两大政党（保守党和劳动党）、大选、司法制度等。 【教学重点】

1. The Monarchy 2. Parliament 3. Government 4. Political Parties 5. Judicial System 【教学难点】 1. Parliament 2. Judicial System

【计划课时】 4 periods 【主要内容】

Lesson 4 Political System: Parliament and Government

1. Constitutional Monarchy

A constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a monarch acts as head of state within the parameters of a written (i.e., codified), unwritten (i.e., uncodified) or blended constitution. It differs from absolute monarchy in that an absolute monarch serves as the sole source of political power in the state and is not legally bound by any constitution. Most constitutional monarchies employ a parliamentary system in which the Monarch may have strictly Ceremonial duties or may have Reserve Powers, depending on the constitution, have a directly or indirectly elected prime minister who is the head of government and exercises effective political power. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy)

Major contemporary constitutional monarchies include Britain, Belgium, Cambodia, Jordan, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain, Sweden, and Thailand. Britain is a constitutional monarchy, a monarchy in which the sovereign has mainly advisory and ceremonial responsibilities. The constitutional position of the Monarchy is summed up in the famous phrase “The Sovereign reigns but does not rule\Her Majesty?s Government 1) The Monarchy

1 The Present Sovereign ○

The Queen is Head of State of the UK and 15 other Commonwealth realms. The elder daughter of King George VI and Queen Elizabeth, she was born in 1926 and became Queen at the age of 25, and has reigned through more than five decades of enormous social change and development. The Queen is married to Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh and has four children and eight grandchildren. Her oldest son-Prince Charles- is the heir to the throne. He will not become the king until his mother abdicates (give up the throne), retires of dies.

2 The Power of the Queen ○

? In theory,

? She is the head of the government and gives effect to all laws; ? She may pardon criminal offenses and cancel punishments;

? She is the commander-in-chief of the armed forces and the temporal head of the Church

of England;

? She also confers all titles of rank and appoints judges, officers of the armed forces,

governors, bishops and diplomats;

? She has the power to conclude treaties, to declare war upon and make peace with other

nations. ? In reality,

? Almost all the acts are performed only on the advice of the ministers.

? She does not personally take part in the process in which decisions are made. ? Though she has the power of veto in legislation, the power has never been used. 3 The Importance of the Monarchy and Royal Duties ○

? The importance of the monarchy

? It is used to represent the continuity and adaptability of the whole political system;

? It is used as a symbol of the unity of the whole country, an acceptable bound among the

peoples who retain regional and cultural differences.

? People are convinced that the Queen has no bias towards any nation and exists to preserve

the people?s rights, the right to personal property and the right not to be imprisoned without a trial. ? Royal duties

? Visiting many parts of Britain each year to inaugurate scientific, industrial, artistic and

charitable works of national importance; ? Paying state visits to foreign countries;

? Undertaking tours of other countries in the Commonwealth. 4 Advantages of Monarchy ○

? The queen personifies the state.

? The hereditary principle ensures that there is always a recognized legal sovereign. The

sovereign is the person on whom the crown is conferred and “the crown “ is therefore always in being.

? The monarch is traditionally above politics and is therefore able to express a view not

generally regarded as politically motivated.

? In the case of a long reign, e.g. Queen Victoria?s, the monarch provides continuity and

may develop a perspective unattainable to the politician.

5 Disadvantages of Monarchy ○

? Hereditary rulers are not necessarily best fitted to rule; indeed the European monarchs of

the 18th and 19th centuries, by restricting royal marriages to a small circle, ran the risk of in-breeding(同系繁殖, 近亲繁殖).

2) The Constitution

? The Constitution of United Kingdom is usually described as unwritten. What is meant by

“unwritten” is that it is not written down in one single document as “the British

Constitution”. The Constitution of United Kingdom is made up of three main parts: Statute (成文法) or Acts of Parliament, Common Law习惯法 and conventions.

? Statutory law is the most important and takes precedence over the others if there is a clash.

Statutes are those that have actually been passed by Parliament. Common law has never been precisely defined. It is deduced from custom or legal precedents and interpreted in court cases by judges. Conventions are rules and practices which do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the working of government. The Constitution can be altered or amended by normal parliamentary process.

2. Parliament

? Parliament meets in one of the most famous buildings in London, the Palace of

Westminster. Its clock-tower, housing Big Ben, is known throughout the world.

? The British Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of

Commons. The 2 houses meet separately. Nowadays, the House of Commons is the most powerful part. Government?s policies must be approved by both houses to become laws. ? The main functions of the Parliament are: debating, making laws and supervising the

government and finance. In theory, the most important function of Parliament is to legislate, that is, to create, abolish or amend new laws for the entire nation. But, in practice, it normally passes bills that are often proposed by the government. In addition, Parliament also votes the taxation and expenditures of the government; examines government policies and administration; and debates major political issues of the day. ? UK is a unitary, not a federal state. However, in the past decade, it seemed to be moving

toward federalism.

1）The House of Lords

? It is composed of two kinds of Lords: the Lords Spiritual上议院神职议员 (the two Archbishops of Canterbury and York plus 24 senior bishops of the Church of England) and the Lords Temporal上议院世俗议员 (all the hereditary peers世袭贵族and peeresses, and all the life peers(爵位不能世袭的)终身贵族 ) At present, there are 779 members of the Lords. ( http://www.parliament.uk/mps-lords-and-offices/lords)

? The Lord Chancellor is the President of the House of Lords. ? The Lords have the right to attend the debates, vote and propose bills and ask questions of government ministers, but not many of them actually use their power. The House of Lords meets on three or four afternoons each week during the session of Parliament. Usually the peers are not enthusiastic about debates, in spite that their debated and discussions are usually of a higher level than those in the Lower House.

? Theoretically and in form, a bill passed by the House of Commons has to be approved by the House of Lords before it is handed to the Queen for royal assent.

? Because its members are not democratically elected, the power of the House of Lords has been much reduced today.

? Peers get no parliamentary salary, but they are entitled to a small allowance for each day of attendance.

? In addition, the House of Lords serves as the highest court of appeal in the United Kingdom, hearing appeals with the exception of criminal cases in Scotland.

2） The House of Commons

? House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.

? The Commons consists of 651 members, who are known as “Members of Parliament” or MPs. Britain is divided into 651 districts and each district (a constituency [k?n'stitju?nsi]) elects one Members of Parliament. The general election of MPs is held once every five years.

? The party which wins a majority of seats in the House of Commons at a general election is asked to form the government by the Queen. The leader of the party with the majority of seats becomes the Prime Minister. The party itself becomes known as the Government (Party). The party that wins the second largest number of seats becomes known as the Opposition (Party).

? The members meet in a Chamber, sometimes called St. Stephen?s Chapel. They sit on two sides of the Chamber, one side for the Government and the other for the Opposition. Between them sits “The Speaker”, the chairperson of the House of Commons who is elected at the beginning of each new parliament to preside over the House and enforce rules. The Speaker must be impartial: he cannot debate or vote on a measure and he sees that all points of view have a fair hearing. He ranks only next to the Prime Minister.

? The Commons meet on four afternoons and one morning each week. ? Members of the House of Commons began to receive salaries from 1911. They have their own secretaries and offices in Parliament buildings.

3. Government

1) Central Government

? The British government, called Her Majesty?s Government, refers to the various

departments and their agencies under the leadership of the Prime Minister.

? The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the party that holds the most seats in the House

of Commons. It?s the Prime Minister who appoints the heads of departments and who has the right to remove them through face-saving resignations. At present, the Prime Minister is David Cameron, who is the leader of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats is his deputy.

? All the ministers must be members of Parliament, either the House of Commons or the

House of Lords.

? The most senior ministers constitute the Cabinet, which meets regularly under the

chairmanship of the Prime Minister to decide government policy on major issues.

1 Departments ○

? Principal government departments ? Titles of heads ? Some old offices

2 Civil Service (non-political) ○

? The staff are forbidden to be candidates for Parliament or to give public support to any

political party, though they may vote.

? Changes of government do not involve changes in departmental staff. They are recruited

mainly by open competition.

? The UK government offices are centered on Whitehall in London. 3 The Cabinet ○

? The nucleus of the Government is known as the Cabinet which is composed of the Prime

Minister and heads of the most important department. The Prime Minister decides which ministers will be included. But the Minister of Defense国防大臣 , the Foreign Secretary外交部长 and the Chancellor of the Exchequer [iks't?ek?]财政大臣 are always included.

? The Cabinet meets regularly, usually once a week, in one of the rooms in the Prime

Minister?s official residence, No. 10 Downing Street.

? The Cabinet and all its committees work in great secrecy and collected with the principle

of collective responsibility.

4 The Prime Minister ○

? The head of the government ? The head of the Parliament

? The leader of the majority party in the House of Commons 5 Privy Council枢密院 ○

? Her Majesty's Most Honorable Privy Council is a body of advisors to the British

Sovereign.

? The Privy Council goes back to the earliest days of the Monarchy, when it comprised

those appointed by the King or Queen to advise on matters of state. In the past, Privy Council was the chief governing body and fulfilled the role that the Cabinet performs today. As the constitution developed into today's constitutional monarchy, under which the Sovereign acts on the advice of Ministers, so the Privy Council adapted.

? Privy Councilors are members of the 'Privy Council'. There are about 500 members who

have reached high public office. Membership includes all members of the Cabinet, past and present, the Speaker, the leaders of all major political parties, Archbishops and various senior judges as well as other senior public figures. Membership of the Privy Council brings with it the right to be called \

? The Lord President of the Council is a member of the cabinet and is in charge of the

Office of the Privy Council. In recent years the role of Lord President of the Council has been linked with the role of Leader of the House of Commons.

? The Privy Council has the formal power形式上的 to make certain executive power

and proclamation. Councils are held by The Queen and are attended by Ministers and the Clerk of the Council. At each meeting the Council will seek Her Majesty's formal approval to a number of Orders which have already been discussed and approved by Ministers, much as Acts of Parliament become law through the giving of the Royal Assent after having been debated in Parliament.

2) Local Government

? England: 45 counties, about 6 districts each county ? Wales: 8 counties and 37 districts ? Scotland: 12 regions

? Northern Ireland: 26 districts

? County council: councilors elected every 3 years

? District council: an election every year, only one-third of the seats are filled

? Presiding officer: Chairman or Chairperson (county or district); Mayor or Lord

Mayor(borough or city)

? All local councils work through committees.

Lesson 5 Political System: Party Politics and Judiciary

1. Political parties

After WWII, 2 main parties dominate the political scene: Conservative party (Tory)托利党 and Labor party. The leader of the party who wins the most seats in the election is invited to Buckingham Palace by the Monarch and asked to form a government. They are both bourgeois in nature, representing the interests of the big bourgeois and the big land-owning classes.

The 3rd party is the Liberal Democratic Party, better known as the Liberal Democrats.

Before WWI, the Conservative and the Liberal (Whig) were two principal parties, taking turns in office. After 1922 the Labor Party took the place of the Liberal Party as one of the two main parties.

Other parties include: Communist Parties, Nationalist Parties, and the recently founded (1974) Ecology Party.

1) The Conservative Party

? The Conservatives are mainly from the middle class and they are called the “Right”

because of their conservative tendency. It supports private enterprise and is generally opposed to nationalization and extending social services.

? The Conservative Party Developed out of the Tory Party (founded in 1678, the supporters

of James II) and changed its name into the Conservative Party in 1834. ? It was the “Empire Party” during the 19th century.

? Now it has about 2 million members and currently hold 307 seats in the House of

Commons.

? Conservative belief:

? Human nature is imperfect. Man needs to be constrained. No such thing as an ideal

society is possible. We should be pragmatic and cautious.

? Central control and strong legal system are necessary for there to be an area of freedom

where individuals can realize their potential.

? “Society” is a complex interdependent structure in which each different part has a role

to play. Any change should be gradual and cautious.

2) The Labor Party

? The Labor Party is not a proletarian party. Traditionally, it is called the “Left” and it

represents the interests of the middle class and lower-middle class. It practices social democracy or bourgeois reformism.

? It was founded in 1900 by a union between the Trade Unions, the Independent Labor

Party and the Fabian Society.

? It became the main opposition party after the First World War, and won the majority in the

House of Commons in 1945 under Attlee. Labor was also in government from 1964 to 1970 under Harold Wilson and from 1974 to 1979, first under Wilson and then James Callaghant. The Labour Party was last in government between 1997 and 2010 under Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.

? If the economic situation is gloomy and many people want changes as a way out, the

Labor Party would stand a good chance of winning the election.

3) The Liberal Democrats

? The Liberal Democrats, often shortened to Lib Dems, are a centre to centre-left social

liberal political party in the United Kingdom. The party was formed in 1988 by a merger of the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The two parties had formed the electoral SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years before then. The current leader of the party is Nick Clegg. At the 2010 general election, 57 Lib Dem MPs were elected, making them the third-largest party in the House of Commons, behind the Conservative Party with 307 and the Labor Party with 258. The Liberal Democrats formed a coalition government with the Conservative Party, with Nick Clegg as Deputy Prime Minister and other Liberal Democrats in the cabinet.

? The Liberal Party (deriving from the Whig Party, founded in 1680s, as opponents of

James II, from the passing of the Reform Bill in 1832 became increasingly known as Liberals ) was one of the two major British political parties from the mid 19th century until the rise of the Labor Party in the 1920s, and a third party of varying strength and importance up to 1988, when it merged with the Social Democratic Party (the SDP) to form a new party which would become known as the Liberal Democrats.

? Promoting social liberalism, the Liberal Democrats voice strong support for constitutional

reform, electoral reform, civil liberties, and higher taxes for public services.

2. General Elections

? Held every five years, controlled by two principal parties, the Conservative Party and the

Labor Party

? 651 electoral areas or constituencies, one member per constituency

? Any British aged over 18 is eligible to vote except lunatics, peers in the House of Lords, convicted criminals, churchmen and resident foreign citizens. The UK resident citizens of the Irish Republic may vote.

? A deposit of 500 pounds to stand as an MP

? An independent candidate is unlikely to win the election. ? Election procedure: Returning Officer, simple majority

3. Judicial System

? England and Wales have a single system of law and courts, and Scotland has a system of

its own.

? Central responsibility for the administration of the judicial system lies partly with the

Lord Chancellor and partly with the Home Secretary, the Secretary of State for Scotland and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland.

? Judges are appointed by the Crown, on the advice of the Prime Minister, Lord Chancellor or Secretary of State for Scotland. A judge holds office for life with somewhat guaranteed judicial independence.

? Magistrates(地方法官) are appointed by the Lord Chancellor or Secretary of State for

Scotland on behalf of the Crown.

1） Law

? No civil code(民事法典) or criminal code (刑事法典)

? A large part of the civil law is not contained in statutes at all but is made up of a mass of

precedents, previous court decisions, interpreted in authoritative legal textbooks. ? The Criminal law is contained in statutes. 2) Courts Central courts

? The Central courts include the House of Lords, the Privy Council, the High Court of Justice(高等法院) and the Court of Appeal（上诉法院）. ? The High Court of Justice (England) has 3 divisions:

? The Chancery Division: consisting of the Lord Chancellor and ten judges, dealing with questions of company law, bankruptcy, trusts and administrations of people?s legacy ? The Family Division: dealing with divorce and questions arising out of wills ? The Queen?s Bench Division: consisting of the Lord Chief Justice and 39 other judges, dealing with questions in trade and maritime affairs, etc. ? Crown Courts 巡回法院 ? Jury: 12 local citizen

? The highest civil court of appeal is the House of Lords. Local courts

? England

? The Magistrates? Courts 治安法庭： consisting of from 2 to 7 unpaid “lay” Magistrates

known as “Justices of the Peace” or professional magistrates;

known as “stipendiary” in some large cities

? County courts 郡法院

? The Court of Criminal Appeal 刑事诉讼法庭 ? Scotland

? Sheriff courts 郡法院 (first instance一审) ? Sheriff-substitute courts 郡副法院

? High Court of Justice （苏格兰）高等法院 ? The Criminal Session 刑事庭 ? The Court of Session 民事庭

? The Outer House (the supreme civil court in Scotland) ? The Inner House （hears appeal）

3) Crime and Punishment

? Probation ? Fines

? Imprisonment

? Death penalty of murder (completely abolished in 1969 ) ? For young offenders:

? Borstal institutions 青少年犯管制教养院 ? Juvenile courts

? “approved schools”青少年犯教养感化院 4） The Police

? Local police: ? outside London

? employed and paid by county councils ? The Metropolitan Police(都市警察)： ? in Greater London

? under the direct responsibility of the Home Secretary ? Providing certain national police services

“Scotland Yard”: the Criminal Investigation Department (CID)

【思考题】

1. What power does the Queen have theoretically? Why is it said she has no real power at all in

reality?

2. What a part does the monarch play in the political system of Britain? What are the royal

duties?

3. What is the supreme legislative authority in Britain? What does it consist of? 4. Point out the main functions of Parliament.

5. Describe the organization of British government and its Cabinet.

6. Why is it said that the Prime Minister is the really powerful leader in Britain?

7. Give a brief account of the history and the basic policies of the two principal parties in

Britain.

8. How do the British choose their Prime Ministers in the general election?

9. What officials are responsible for the administration of the judicial system in Britain? 10. What does the British law as a whole consist of? 11. Describe the court system in Britain.

12. Tell what you know about the police regime in Britain.

【参考资料】

(1）《新编英美概况》【最新修订版】 来安方 河南人民出版社 2005年3月 (2)《英美概况》 张奎武 吉林科学技术出版社 2008年9月 (3)《新编英美概况教程（第二版）》周叔麟 C.W. Pollard June Almes 北京大学出版社，

2009年4月

(4) 《英语国家概况（上）》 隋铭才 高等教育出版社 2009年5月 （5）《美国自然人文地理》 常俊跃， 赵秀艳，赵永青 北京大学出版社 2009年7月

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