Parliament Comparing Legislatures Westminster Model A democratic

Parliament Comparing Legislatures

Westminster Model A democratic, parliamentary system of government modeled after that of the UK system n Fusion of legislative and executive branches in parliament n Enables a government to be defeated (vote of no confidence) and to be dissolved n

The Houses of Parliament, also known as the Palace of Westminster, in London

Westminster Palace

Prime Minister n n “First among equals” Head of Government, MP, and leader of majority party (Conservative Party now) – Chosen by majority party in Commons n PM chooses cabinet ministers

Prime Minister David Cameron Deputy PM Nick Clegg

Cabinet P. M. and the cabinet are the center of policy-making in the British political system n Ministers are usually leading members of the majority party in the House of Commons rather than policy experts n collective responsibility – all members of the cabinet must publicly support every cabinet decision n

“Chancellor of the Exchequer” n Finance minister

Comparing Executives n Prime Minister of UK – Serves only as long as he/she remains leader of majority party – Elected as MP – Has an excellent chance of getting his/her programs passed in Parliament – Cabinet members are always MPs and leaders of the majority party – Cabinet members not experts in policy areas: rely on bureaucracy to provide expertise n President of the US – Elected every four years by an electoral college based on popular election – Elected as president – Has an excellent chance of ending up in gridlock with Congress – Cabinet members usually don’t come from Congress (although they may) – Some expertise in policy areas; one criteria for their appointment; head vast bureaucracies

Westminster Palace House of Commons

House of Commons 650 MPs in Commons n Party that receives the plurality of the votes becomes the Majority Party in Parliament, the party with the second most votes becomes the “loyal opposition” n n Shadow govt/cabinet

Coalition Government n A cabinet of in which 2 or more political parties cooperate n n Ex. ) Conservatives + Lib Dems Tends to result from fragmented legislature and can be unstable

House of Commons: Set-up House of Commons set-up with long benches facing each other n Prime Minister sits on front bench of majority side, directly in the middle n Directly across from the PM sits the leader of the “opposition” party n Between members of the majority and opposition parties is a long table n Cabinet members sit on the front rows of the majority party side n

Party Discipline n If party members do not support their party leadership, the “government” may fall into crisis – So, voting behavior of MPs is determined by party affiliation n Vote of Confidence: – Vote on a key issue within the party – If the issue is not supported, the cabinet by tradition must resign immediately, and new elections for MPs must be held as soon as possible n Lots of motivation to vote the party line

Example of Vote of Confidence – Greece n http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=g 6 RE 0 Gci. Cjw

Vote of No Confidence n n n Govt. loses confidence of Parliament when it fails to gain a majority in Commons on a key vote Successful votes of no confidence – majority vote in legislature forces resignation of govt. – govt. steps down and new govt. must be formed (new elections) Very rare – Most recent votes of no confidence were 1979 and 1924

Labour’s Vote of No Confidence (1979) Vote on issue of devolution for Scotland n Opposition leader Margaret Thatcher put motion to a vote n Labour lost by one vote (311 -310) n Led to dissolution of government and new general election n Thatcher’s Conservatives won, began 18 year-long hold on government n

Blair’s Vote of Confidence: The Higher Education Bill n n Vote of confidence took place in 2005 Bill squeaked by with an approval vote of 316 to 311 The bill proposed raising university fees, a measure criticized not only by the opposition, but by outspoken MPs from the Labour Party as well The vote narrowly allowed Blair’s government to remain in control of the Commons

Westminster Palace House of Lords

House of Lords n n Only hereditary parliamentary house in existence today – Hereditary peers (90) – Life peers (698) Reforms have changed composition of Lords over past decade

House of Lords: Powers Delay legislation n Add amendments to legislation, but House of Commons may delete their changes by a simple majority vote n Initiate bills n – Lords may not initiate revenue bills n Only House of Commons may do this

Judicial Branch n Parliamentary sovereignty – parliament’s decisions are final – Limited the development of judicial review n n British courts can only determine whether government decisions violate the common law (precedents) or previous acts of Parliament By tradition British courts cannot impose their rulings upon Parliament, the prime minister, or the cabinet

Supreme Court Created in 2009 n Court of last resort in all matters n Has jurisdiction to determine devolution disputes – cases in which laws made by devolved legislatures are questioned n Limited powers of judicial review because of parliamentary sovereignty n