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Title: Lecture Overview


1
Lecture Overview
  • What is Western Europe?
  • Impressions
  • Why Study it?
  • Themes and Challenges
  • Country vs. Comparative
  • Conflict vs. Cooperation
  • Parliamentary vs. Presidential
  • Integration vs. Disintegration

2
What is Western Europe?
  • now many former Soviet satellite states have
    accession agreements with the European Union
  • Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary,
    Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak
    Republic, and Slovenia are set to join on 1st May
    2004

3
What is Western Europe?
  • Traditional definition
  • all countries - about 2 dozen to 30 states that
    were located west of the iron curtain
  • all countries of the first world - that is,
    advanced industrial and often liberal democracies
  • Since 1990
  • fall of Berlin wall, decomposition of the former
    Soviet empire diminished the importance of the
    traditional distinction b/w East and West Europe

4
Defining Western Europe
  • For now, though, it makes some sense to adhere to
    the traditional definition of Western Europe
  • the common experience with capitalist development
  • in most cases, the longer experience with liberal
    democratic institutions

5
What is Western Europe?
  • - two dozen countries and city states
  • counting Andorra, Lichenstein, Vatican City, San
    Marino
  • some outside the geography of Western Europe
  • (egs Cyprus, Iceland, Finland, Greece)

6
Democracies, but
  • those states in Europe which did not come under
    Soviet control/influence
  • first world states
  • some dictatorships until very recently (Portugal
    until 1974 Spain until 1975-77 Greece until
    1975)

7
Why Study Western Europe?
  • Three broad reasons
  • cultural/philosophical significance of the region
    over history
  • geopolitics - esp. during Cold War
  • Europe a battleground for Superpower
    confrontation
  • comparative political laboratory
  • despite shared heritage, geography
  • wide variations in political conditions and
    institutional structures

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11
Main variations in Political Regimes
  • Countries fall into three broad types based on
    role of political authority in the economy
  • a) pluralist
  • e.g., UK and the EU
  • State involvement primarily via regulation
  • b) étatist (statist)
  • More interventionist industrial policy state
    ownership control
  • e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy
  • c) democratic corporatist
  • e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

12
Themes and Challenges
  • Country versus Comparative approach
  • integral nature of the components of the
    political systems
  • appreciate the evolution of political life and
    institutions, and the historical rootedness of
    contemporary practices
  • common framework of text facilitates comparison
    across systems

13
Themes and Challenges
  • Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe
  • a troubled continent
  • two world wars in the past 100 years
  • battleground during Cold War

14
A Common Future?
  • Emergent supranationalism in EU
  • broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX,
    Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member
    states in 1995
  • 13 more states lined up for membership, with
    prospects of more to come!

15
Themes and Challenges
  • Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems
  • most European states are parliamentary
    democracies
  • A fusion of executive legislative power
  • France, however, an interesting hybrid system
  • encourage you to make comparisons with the more
    familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the
    US
  • Powers separated w/ checks balances
  • do different configurations of executive/legislati
    ve relations matter?

16
Themes and Challenges
  • Integrationversus Disintegration
  • some see it as paradoxical that West European
    state sovereignty being simultaneously eroded
    from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist
    movements)
  • UK
  • Scottish and Welsh parliaments Northern
    Irelands Assembly
  • France
  • Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements
  • Italy
  • Lombardy League, etc.
  • Spain
  • Catalan Basque nationalism

17
Hancock et al. (2003)
  • Third edition
  • Country by country organization (and EU)
  • Only materials on countries covered included on
    exams
  • You are not responsible for materials on Sweden
    Russia in the text

18
Second Lecture Overview
  • Themes and Challenges in Study of Western Europe
  • Country vs. Comparative
  • Conflict vs. Cooperation
  • Parliamentary vs. Presidential
  • Integration vs. Disintegration
  • State-Building in Western Europe
  • The United Kingdom
  • State-building
  • The Unwritten Constitution
  • Sources of constitution
  • Parliamentary supremacy

19
Main variations in Political Regimes
  • Countries fall into three broad types based on
    role of political authority in the economy
  • a) pluralist
  • e.g., UK and the EU
  • State involvement primarily via regulation
  • b) étatist (statist)
  • More interventionist industrial policy state
    ownership control
  • e.g., France and to a much lesser extent Italy
  • dirigisme state led development
  • c) democratic corporatist
  • e.g., Sweden and to a more limited extent Germany

20
Themes and Challenges
  • Conflict versus Cooperation in West Europe
  • a troubled continent
  • two world wars in the past 100 years
  • battleground during Cold War

21
A Common Future?
  • Emergent supra-nationalism in EU
  • broadening from original 6 states (BENELUX,
    Italy, France, West Germany) in 1957 to 15 member
    states in 1995
  • 13 more states lined up for membership, with
    prospects of more to come!

22
Themes and Challenges
  • Parliamentary versus Presidential Systems
  • most European states are parliamentary
    democracies
  • A fusion of executive legislative power
  • France, however, an interesting hybrid system
  • encourage you to make comparisons with the more
    familiar Presidential model as epitomized by the
    US
  • Powers separated w/ checks balances
  • do different configurations of executive/legislati
    ve relations matter?

23
Themes and Challenges
  • Integration versus Disintegration
  • some see it as paradoxical that West European
    state sovereignty being simultaneously eroded
    from above (EU) and below (regional autonomist
    movements)
  • UK
  • Scottish and Welsh parliaments Northern
    Irelands Assembly
  • France
  • Breton, Basque, Corsican separatist movements
  • Italy
  • Lombardy League, etc.
  • Spain
  • Catalan Basque nationalism

24
Emergence of States in Europe
  • Geopolitical map of Europe made and remade
    continuously over past 2000 years
  • Empires
  • Egs., Rome Austria-Hungary Napoleon
  • Mini-states/principalities
  • Modern sovereign territorial state normally
    dated from Treaty of Westphalia, 1648

25
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27
The State-building Process
  • State-building essentially involves consolidation
    of control over territory by a political
    force/system
  • Extraction of resources by political authorities
    (taxation)
  • Establishment of legitimacy against rivals (e.g.,
    Church)
  • successfully claim a monopoly of the legitimate
    use of force (Weber)
  • War makes the state, and states make war.
    (Charles Tilly)
  • Establish uniform legal codes, measurement
    systems that make transactions and exchange
    easier
  • In some cases, cultural penetration/standardizatio
    n (France)
  • conducive to market-based capitalist development

28
Emergence of States in Europe
  • Establish uniform legal codes, measurement
    systems that make transactions and exchange
    easier
  • conducive to market-based capitalist development
  • 1700-1800s emergence of nationalism to legitimize
    the new state formations
  • political ideology in which nations should govern
    themselves the boundaries of the nation should
    be congruent with the boundaries of the state

29
The Mother of Parliaments The United Kingdom
  • first country to industrialize
  • Coal mining, iron steel, railways canals,
    weaving, all ushered in the Industrial Revolution
  • by early 1800s, Britain the workshop of the
    world
  • A pattern state (Hans Daalder)
  • Gradual democratization over centuries
  • Naval versus army bases of state power
  • expanded as worlds leading imperial power
  • by 1900, 25 of all worlds population lived
    under the British empire

30
The British Empire
31
British State-building
  • England unified under Roman occupation
  • Julius Caesar invades 55 BC
  • "All the Britons paint themselves with woad,
    which gives their skin a bluish color and makes
    them look very dreadful in battle."

32
Roman Britain (55BC 400AD)
  • A lasting legacy
  • Cities/Forts
  • Roads

33
Anglo-Saxon/Norman England
  • After Romans left, return to regional kingdoms
  • Core expansion out of Wessex (Hampshire)
  • Norman invasion (1066)
  • William the Conqueror

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35
Patterns in State-Building
  • United Kingdom comprised of four components
  • England the Celtic Fringe
  • Each has its own history of independent statehood
  • Each has its own distinctive form of integration
    within the UK state

36
Component Parts of the UK
  • Core/Center
  • forms by gradual expansion of this core,
    eventually to encompass entire UK
  • Prior advantages in economy fertile ground

37
Constituent Parts of the UK
  • Wales
  • Unified in 950 developed an elaborate
    governmental/legal system
  • Centuries of conflict w/ kings of England
  • 1301 English king made eldest son Prince of
    Wales
  • Tradition continues today
  • 1536 - conquest institutional (though not
    cultural) assimilation
  • First act of union in 1536 announced the
    English intention "henceforth . . .to utterly
    extirpate all and singular the sinister usage and
    customs differing from the same nglish laws."

38
Scotland
  • Wars of independence 13th-14th centuries
  • Declaration of Arbroath- 1320 - one of the
    earliest expressions of nationalism
  • "It is not for honour nor riches, nor glory that
    we fight but for liberty alone, which no true man
    lays down except with his life."
  • Scotland
  • 1603 Union of Crowns
  • 1707 -- Act of Union
  • elite accommodation and considerable Scottish
    autonomy
  • separate Church Bank (currency) educational
    system and legal system

39
Ireland
  • English armies invaded Ireland for centuries
  • Elizabeth I Protestants sent to colonize Ulster
    1600s
  • Union -1801-1921 integrated into UK
  • Ireland given 100 seats in Commons and 32 in
    Lords
  • Protestant minority, with British backing,
    discriminated against Catholics spawned Irish
    nationalism
  • Easter 1916 uprising
  • Partition (1921)
  • Eventually 26 counties in south given
    independence in 1922 6 counties in north
    (Ulster) remain with UK as Northern Ireland

40
Regional Differences 1980s (UK 100)
41
Third Lecture Overview
  • British Constitutionalism
  • The Unwritten Constitution
  • Sources of constitution
  • Parliamentary supremacy

42
The Unwritten UK Constitution
  • In England (sic) the Parliament has an
    acknowledged right to modify the constitution
    as, therefore, the constitution may undergo
    perpetual changes, it does not, in reality,
    exist. The Parliament is at once a legislative
    and a constituent assembly.
  • Alexis de Toqueville (1805)

43
Sources of UK Constitution
  • Four main ones
  • Statutory law
  • passed by Parliament in normal legislative
    process
  • e.g., 1679 - Act of Habeus Corpus
  • Common law
  • judicial interpretations of laws become
    precedents
  • stare decisis -let the decision stand
  • Convention/tradition
  • e.g., that Monarchs give consent to laws
  • last royal veto in 1707
  • Works of Authority
  • academic commentaries on constitution (e.g.,
    Wheare, Jennings)

44
Constitutional Principles- 1
  • Bicameral parliament
  • House of Commons
  • House of Lords
  • Bills need to be approved by both houses
  • Development of asymmetrical bicameralism
  • House of Commons ascends House of Lords descends
    in importance.

45
Parliamentary supremacy
  • Parliamentary sovereignty (or parliamentary
    supremacy)
  • A.V. Dicey - 19th Century constitutional lawyer
    and author of several works of authority
  • the right to make or unmake any law whatever
    and, further, that no person or body is
    recognized by the law of England as having a
    right to override or set aside legislation of
    Parliament.
  • NO meaningful JUDICIAL REVIEW!
  • In reality, however, there are some checks on
    parliamentary power

46
Constraints on Parliamentary Supremacy
  • Norms, traditions, liberal democratic values
  • Party organizations (esp. traditional Labour
    Party)
  • Bureaucratic power
  • European Union law / institutions
  • emergence of qualified majority voting (QMV) in
    Council of Ministers
  • European law takes precedence over domestic for
    all member states
  • Referenda
  • European Union membership in 1975
  • Devolution in 1979 and again in 1997

Pro Welsh devolution poster, 1997
47
Constitutional Principles- 2
  • Constitutionalism
  • rule of law
  • judicial independence
  • government not arbitrary but follows rules
  • respect for civil rights
  • (but no written Bill of Rights)

48
Charter 88 (excerpt)
  • You dont have the right to a fair trial.
  • You dont have the right to be treated equally
    whatever your race, religion, or sexuality. You
    dont have the right to privacy, the right to
    protest, or the right to an education.
  • Were talking about Britain.
  • Your rights have no protection.
  • We have no positive legal rights in this
    country. We only have the permission to do what
    the law doesnt expressly forbid. So any
    government can pass laws that whittle away at
    fundamental rights we thought were secure.
  • Source http//www.gn.apc.org/charter88/politics/
    bill.html

49
Fourth Lecture Overview
  • British Constitutionalism
  • Democratization in Britain
  • Institutions of Parliamentary Government
  • The Westminster Model
  • Dual Executive
  • House of Lords

50
19th Century Democratic Transitions
  • 2 routes for gradual democratization
  • Democratizing the Commons
  • Reform of the House of Lords

51
Democratizing the Commons - Electoral Reform
  • Entered the 19th century dominated by wealthy
    individuals from rural England
  • by 1830, large cities created by the Industrial
    Revolution (lLeeds, Manchester, Liverpool,
    Sheffield, Birmingham, etc.) had NO
    representatives in H of C
  • rotten boroughs - seats in Commons for places
    with next to no population
  • Old Sarum near Stonehenge, 2 MPs and no
    population!

52
Extending the Franchise
  • Seven acts that each expanded the rights to vote
    and participate in political life
  • 1832 - The Great Reform Act
  • increased electorates size by about 50 by
    granting middle class land owners (10 property
    owners) right to vote
  • 1867 1884 Reform Acts
  • gradual removals of property restrictions
  • each act roughly doubled the size of the
    electorate

53
Extending the Franchise
  • 1918 - universal suffrage for males over 21 yrs.
    and females over 28 yrs.
  • 1928 - eliminated the gender differential
  • 1948 - eliminated university constituencies that
    gave graduates 2 votes, one in constituency of
    residence and one in university
  • 1969 - lowered voting age to 18

54
The Westminster Model
55
Dual Executive
  • Head of State - The Monarchy
  • The Dignified Part of the British Constitution
    according to Walter Bagehot (The English
    Constitution, 1867)
  • Symbolic role
  • non-partisanship at the top
  • continuity/tradition
  • no real power
  • Bagehot argued in 1867 that Britain had become a
    disguised republic and that power had passed -
    almost unnoticed by the public - to the efficient
    parts of the constitution, which in the case of
    the political executive means Prime Minister and
    Cabinet

56
Bicameral Parliament
  • House of Lords - upper house
  • power declines as Britain democratizes
  • in Bagehots terms, moved from the efficient to
    the dignified parts of the British constitution
  • Recently reformed - Fall 1999
  • attempt to increase its legitimacy and efficacy,
    and reduce the role of hereditary peers
  • reduce partisan advantage to Conservative party
    an important motivation
  • pre-2000 had been about 1,200 peers - most
    hereditary and large majority Conservative

57
Reforming the Lords
  • House of Lords
  • until 1911 the Lords could veto any legislation
    passed by the Commons
  • as age of democracy progressed, the bodys
    (legitimacy declined
  • Parliament Act 1911)
  • limited Lords veto power
  • could now only delay financial matters for 30
    days and normal non-financial legislation for 2
    years
  • further limited powers in 1949
  • Recent Reforms (1999-gt)
  • Abolition the objective of Blair Government
  • Agreed to allow 92 seats to remain for
    hereditary peers to gain Conservative support
    for rapid passage of reform

http//www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hlords.htm
58
Wakeham Commission Recommendations (1999)
  • 550 members,
  • a minority of them elected from the regions
  • most of the rest chosen by a powerful
    Appointments Commission which would have massive
    powers to determine the make-up of the second
    chamber.
  • Commission would be responsible for ensuring that
    around 20 per cent of the new House are
    independent crossbenchers and that the second
    chamber, of which the clear majority would be
    unelected, should proportionately reflect votes
    cast at the previous general election.
  • Otherwise, let the institution evolve!

59
Composition of Lords (1/2000)
60
Sixth Lecture Overview
  • Institutions of Parliamentary Government
  • The Westminster Model
  • House of Commons
  • Passage of Legislation
  • MPs Roles

61
House of Commons Composition
  • 659 Members of Parliament (MPs)
  • each elected from electoral districts using the
    Single Member Plurality (SMP) electoral system
  • one member from each district
  • elected by a plurality formula
  • winner has more votes than any other candidate
  • well-known distortion associated with SMP systems
  • more shortly on this

62
MPs
  • Must win local party associations nomination
    (and be acceptable to party leader)
  • Not necessary to live in your constituency (or
    riding)
  • Paid 56,358 per year (4/2003)
  • Up to a maximum of 120,000 in expenses for staff
    support office, London living expenses, plus
    travel allowance
  • Enough for 2-3 full-time assistants, in
    constituency and/or London
  • Average constituency served has about 67,000
    electors
  • MPs overwhelmingly WASP
  • Since 1918, 4,531 individuals have served as MPs
  • 252 have been women (6 of all MPs)
  • 64 of women MPs have been Labour members
  • 118 women elected in 2001 (18 of 659)

63
Commons as of July 2002 (2001 election)
  • Labour 410
  • Conservative 164
  • Liberal Democrat 53
  • Scottish National Party/
  • Plaid Cymru 9 (SNP 5/PC
    4)
  • Ulster Unionist 6
  • Democratic Unionist 5
  • Sinn Fein 4 (Have not
    taken their seats)
  • Social Democratic Labour 3
  • Independent 1
  • Speaker 3 Deputies 4 (Do not normally
    vote)
  • Total 659
  • Government majority 165
  • 330 MPs needed to form a majority government

64
Four Primary Functions of House of Commons
  • Educating the public
  • mobilizing consent
  • legitimation
  • Improve legislation
  • policy refinement if not policy making
  • Recruitment of executive
  • Executive accountability
  • Question period
  • Select committees

65
Passing Laws
  • To become law, bill must pass House of Commons,
    House of Lords, and receive Royal Assent
  • Party Cohesion / Party Discipline
  • Not government by parliament but government
    through parliament

66
Legislation
  • Government Bills
  • introduced by Prime Minister or Cabinet Minister
  • about 90 pass each session!
  • Relatively few
  • average of Thatcher/Major under 50 per session
  • Very few actually defeated
  • about 10 are withdrawn by the government
  • Private Members Bills
  • lottery to select among all proposed
  • 20 drawn from about 400 proposed
  • debated only on about a dozen Fridays
  • very few pass
  • total of 256 passed of more than 2,000 introduced
    b/w 1983-2002

67
The Commons Legislative Process
  • First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister
  • no debate permitted published in Hansard
  • Second reading
  • major debate on principles of proposed
    legislation 2-3 wks. after first reading
  • Committee stage - Standing Select
  • all committees mirror the House in partisan
    composition, so government majority is assured
  • prior to 1979, a different committee established
    for each piece of legislation called standing
    committees
  • May be referred to a select committee, and if so,
    it will report on the bill
  • still responsible for the detailed,
    clause-by-clause scrutiny today
  • Amendments possible
  • under reasonably tight govt party control
  • new members for each committee/piece of
    legislation

68
Seventh Lecture Overview
  • Institutions of Parliamentary Government
  • The Westminster Model
  • Passage of Legislation
  • Adversarial Politics
  • MPs Roles

69
The Commons Legislative Process
  • First reading - normally by a Cabinet Minister
  • no debate permitted published in Hansard
  • Second reading
  • major debate on principles of proposed
    legislation 2-3 wks. after first reading
  • Committee stage - Standing Select
  • all committees mirror the House in partisan
    composition, so government majority is assured
  • prior to 1979, a different committee established
    for each piece of legislation called standing
    committees
  • May be referred to a select committee, and if so,
    it will report on the bill
  • still responsible for the detailed,
    clause-by-clause scrutiny today
  • Amendments possible
  • under reasonably tight govt party control
  • new members for each committee/piece of
    legislation

70
House of Commons- Legislative Stages (cont.)
  • Report stage back to the House, further
    amendments considered
  • Third reading (no amendments, short debate) and
    vote
  • Normally, voice vote sufficient
  • Divisions MPs file out to the lobby and are
    counted as they re-enter through doors marked
    Aye or Nay

71
Budget procedures
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer presents budget
  • An annual appraisal of the economy
  • Outline the governments economic plan
  • Describe tax implications and changes
  • Normally, Finance Bill introduced the same day
  • Since 1968, most controversial matters in the
    Finance Bill taken up by a committee of the
    whole (i.e., the entire H of C, with no speaker
    in the chair)
  • Rest sent to a (slightly larger than normal)
    standing committee

72
Adversarial Politics
  • The operative principle of parliamentary systems
    is the fusion of executive and legislative
    power
  • Government leader (Prime Minister) and Executive
    (cabinet) sit in House of Commons
  • effective government by a majority party or
    coalition (Her Majestys Government)
  • continually opposed by a vigorous, vigilant
    opposition (Her Majestys Loyal Opposition)
  • Worth noting that this is also the basis of the
    British legal system that we inherited


73
http//www.parliamentlive.tv/
http//www.parliament.uk/panoramas/hcomms.htm
74
The Speaker
  • The referee for parliamentary procedure
    debates
  • An MP
  • After 2001, will be elected by MPs
  • Successive ballots until one person has a
    majority
  • Impartial
  • Resign from party upon selection
  • Normally do not vote in divisions of the House,
    but occupant of the chair can cast the decisive
    ballot in the event of a tie
  • Normally runs unopposed in elections
  • Salary same as a cabinet member (128,000
    4/2003)

75
Party Discipline
  • MPs actually told how to vote by their parties on
    everything
  • party whips
  • one, two, and three line whips on the order
    paper
  • but free votes or early day motions (EDMS)
  • have more freedom to contribute to legislation in
    Committee work
  • but, the Commons cannot be seen as a particularly
    important policy-making body
  • so, what is its role?

http//www.stats.bris.ac.uk/7Eguy/Research/Politi
cs/Welcome.html
76
Eighth Lecture Overview
  • Institutions of Parliamentary Government
  • The Westminster Model
  • Adversarial Politics
  • MPs Roles

77
Parliamentary Questions
  • 40,000 on average each year
  • About 3,000 answered
  • 2 types
  • Oral
  • Drawn randomly from those submitted each morning
  • One hour, Mondays through Thursdays
  • MP submitting question reads it, allowed one
    supplemental
  • Minister answers both orally
  • Roster of departments established
  • Normally one major one and 3-4 minor ones per day
  • Prime Ministers Questions normally at noon-1230
    Wednesdays
  • Practice began in 1961 growth of prime
    ministerial power
  • Attempt to embarrass the PM in the
    supplementaries
  • Written

http//www.britainusa.com/PMQs/
78
Select Committees
  • 1979 reforms created 14 committees, by broad
    subject area
  • now 18 in number
  • Eg, Agriculture, Scottish Affairs, Social
    Security
  • Science Technology Health Foreign Affairs
    etc
  • 3-6 staff members
  • they offer MPs a broader forum for overseeing the
    executive
  • May debate particular pieces of legislation, but
    not the bulk of their work
  • can call witnesses/ask for evidence
  • Organize their own inquiries

79
Select Committees
  • Limited effectiveness
  • understaffed
  • government control remains
  • relatively few committee reports (about 5) get
    debated in Commons
  • 3 days given over to this on the Commons
    schedule
  • no formal means of ensuring their recommendations
    considered or acted upon
  • but Members can specialize in subject areas
  • often good for careers after the Commons

80
Ninth Lecture Outline
  • MP Roles
  • Prime Minister An Elected Dictator or primus
    inter pares?
  • Powers of the Prime Minister
  • Prime Ministerial Styles
  • Limits on Prime Ministerial Power
  • The Cabinet

81
MPs Perceived Roles
  • Donald Searing, Westminsters World, Harvard
    University Press, 1994
  • based on interviews with 338
  • backbench MPs, 1972-73
  • not all MPs see themselves as
  • doing the same kinds of things
  • - Four principle self-identified
  • role specializations

82
MP Role Specializations
  • Constituency Service 25
  • Ministerial aspirant 25
  • Supporting/Attacking Executive 40
  • Good Parliamentarian 9
  • SOURCE Searing, Westminsters World, Harvard
    Univ. Press, 1994

83
What do British voters want from their MP?
  • Survey asking people to pick most impt. MP role
  • Ombudsman 19
  • Protect constituency 26
  • Executive oversight 5
  • Information 24
  • Law-making (debates votes) 11
  • All roles equally important 10

84
Prime Minister primus inter pares?
  • Sir Robert Walpole 1721 first prime minister
  • Had won confidence of both King Parliament
  • first among equals the traditional depiction
  • PM is still an MP
  • Extensive formal and informal powers
  • some argue that these have increased and the
    office has been presidentialized
  • Richard Crossmans introduction to Bagehots
    The English Constitution (1963)

85
Prime Ministerial Powers
  • leader of the party
  • large staff of personal advisers at Downing
    Street
  • selector of cabinet ministers and party
    leadership positions (about 80-90 parliamentary
    posts)
  • chairs takes the sense of cabinet meetings
  • provider of patronage
  • peerages QUANGOS etc
  • leader in parliament
  • can DISSOLVE parliament
  • International negotiator/European Council
  • highly visible public figure
  • media (esp. television) personalizes politics
  • chief campaigner during elections

PM statement on reshuffle - 18 June 2003
  • http//www.pm.gov.uk/output/page19.asp

86
R.H. Crossman - Prime Ministerial Government
  • The post-war epoch has seen the final
    transformation of Cabinet Government into Prime
    Ministerial GovernmentEven in Bagehots time it
    was probably a misnomer to describe the Premier
    as chairman and primus inter pares. His right to
    select his own Cabinet and dismiss them at will
    his power to decide the Cabinets agenda and
    announce the decisions reached without taking a
    vote his control, through the Chief Whip, over
    patronage - all this had already before 1867
    given him near-Presidential powers. Since then,
    his powers have been steadily increased, first by
    the centralisation of the party machine under his
    personal rule, and secondly by the growth of a
    centralised bureaucracy, so vast that it could no
    longer be managed by a Cabinet behaving like the
    board of directors of an old-fashioned company.
    (pp. 51-52)

87
Tenth Lecture Outline
  • Prime Minister An Elected Dictator or primus
    inter pares?
  • Prime Ministerial Styles
  • Limits on Prime Ministerial Power
  • The Cabinet

88
Margaret Thatcher on Selecting a Cabinet
  • One way is to have in it people who represent
    all the different viewpoints within the party,
    within the broad i.e. conservative) philosophy.
    The other way is to have in it only the people
    who want to go in the direction in which the PM
    wants to go.
  • her choice?
  • It must be a conviction government.
  • (from an interview with Thatcher prior to the
    1979 election)

89
The Road to Downing StreetThe Rt Hon Tony
Blair, MP
  • born on 6 May 1953 in Edinburgh
  • entered Parliament in June 1983 at the age of 30
  • as MP for Sedgefield (Durham, in NE of England)
  • Promoted to the Treasury front bench team (1985)
  • Spokesman on Trade and Industry
  • Elected to Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary
  • of State for Energy (1988) Shadow Secretary of
  • State for Employment (1989) Shadow Home
  • Secretary (1992)
  • elected Leader of the Labour Party on 21 July
    1994
  • became Prime Minister on 2 May 1997 when the
    Labour Government was elected with a majority of
    179. Re-elected June 2001.

90
Blair on the Prime Ministers Role
  • Youre either a weak Prime Minister, in which
    case theyll knock you for that, or if you appear
    to have a clear sense of direction, and know what
    you want to do, then you are a quasi-dictator.
    And all this President Blair rubbish, its
    absolute rubbish.
  • Tony Blair, The Observer, 5 Sept. 1999
  • They have got to know Im running the show.
  • Tony Blair, quoted in The Sunday Times, 26 April,
    1988

91
Limits on PM Power?
  • Some journalists have likened the PM to an
    elected dictator
  • some respects, a popular PM can resemble this
  • but,
  • can be defeated
  • in a general election
  • or by their own party (e.g., Margaret Thatcher in
    1990)
  • limited by their limited amount of time

92
The British Cabinet-Origins
  • Arose centuries ago as advisors (Ministers) to
    the Crown (monarch)
  • Appointed by the Queen as Privy Councillors
  • Membership in Privy Council 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.
  • During debates in the Commons MPs who are Privy
    Councillors are referred to by their colleagues
    as The Right Honourable'.
  • 1832 Reform Act emphasized that it needed to
    have the confidence of the House of Commons as
    well as the Crown

Lord Irvine,Blairs Lord Chancellor until June
2003
93
The British Cabinet- Basics
  • about 20 members of cabinet proper
  • most senior advisers to the PM
  • most have title of Secretary of State and
    represent the largest and/or most prestigious
    departments (portfolios) of the civil service
  • also includes parliamentary secretary to the
    Treasury (better known as the chief whip) and
    the Lord Chancellor (chief adviser for law
    matters a Lord) and Chancellor of the Exchequer
    (Treasury)
  • serve at the PMs pleasure
  • may be shuffled to another portfolio

94
Cabinet Meetings
  • Normally held Thursday mornings
  • meet in private
  • no minutes recorded PM chairs meetings
  • decision by consensus - not by voting
  • PM takes the sense of the meeting
  • meetings supported by Cabinet Office
    (secretariat)
  • sub-cabinet committees
  • coordinate cabinet activities set priorities

The Cabinet Room, No. 10 Downing Street
95
The British Cabinet
  • a hyphen which joins, a buckle which fastens,
    the legislative part of the State to the
    executive part of the state
  • Bagehot, The English Constitution, 1867, p. 68

96
Blairs Cabinet (9/2003)
  • me Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and
    Minister for the Civil Service The Rt Hon Tony
    Blair MP
  • Deputy Prime MinisterThe Rt Hon John Prescott
    MP
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer The Rt Hon Gordon
    Brown MP Secretary of State for Foreign and
    Commonwealth Affairs The Rt Hon Jack Straw MP
  • Secretary of State for the Home Department The
    Rt Hon David Blunkett MP
  • Secretary of State for Environment, Food and
    Rural Affairs The Rt Hon Margaret Beckett MP
  • Secretary of State for Transport and Secretary
  • of State for ScotlandThe Rt Hon Alistair Darling
    MP
  • Secretary of State for HealthThe Rt Hon Dr John
    Reid MP
  • Secretary of State for Northern Ireland The Rt
    Hon Paul Murphy MP
  • Secretary of State for Defence The Rt Hon Geoff
    Hoon MP
  • Secretary of State for Work and Pensions The Rt
    Hon Andrew Smith MP
  • Leader of the House of Lords The Rt Hon The Lord
    Williams of Mostyn QC

Secretary of State for Trade and Industry and
Minister for WomenThe Rt Hon Patricia Hewitt MP
Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport
The Rt Hon Tessa Jowell MP Parliamentary
Secretary, Treasury and Chief Whip The Rt Hon
Hilary Armstrong MP Secretary of State for
Education and SkillsThe Rt Hon Charles Clarke
MP Chief Secretary to the Treasury The Rt Hon
Paul Boateng MP Leader of the House of Commons,
Lord Privy Seal and Secretary of State for
WalesThe Rt Hon Peter Hain MP Minister without
Portfolio and Party ChairThe Rt Hon Ian
McCartney MP Secretary of State for International
Development The Rt Hon Baroness Amos Secretary
of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord
Chancellor for the transitional periodThe Rt Hon
Lord Falconer of Thoroton QC
97
Sub-Cabinet Members of Government
  • Ministers
  • occasionally some without portfolio
  • Ministers of State
  • - lower rank, not in cabinet, less important or
    prestigious civil service departments
  • junior ministers
  • assistants to a Minister
  • parliamentary secretaries
  • liason b/w executive and House of Commons
  • in all, PM makes b/w 80-90 governmental
    appointments

98
Roles of a Cabinet Minister
  • Head of Civil Service Department
  • often large organizations
  • about 500,000 employed in central
    administration in Britain
  • not including teachers or military personnel
  • since 1979 about 260,000 civil servants
    transferred to agencies, quangos, local
    authorities, or privatized
  • Member of Parliament
  • Constituency party pressures
  • Member of Cabinet

99
Operating Principles of Cabinet Government
  • Collective Responsibility
  • cabinet solidarity in public
  • underpins the cohesion of the party in the House
    of Commons, necessary for party discipline
  • entire cabinet resigns if the government falls
  • Individual Ministerial Responsibility
  • minister must resign if there is serious
    maladministration or other difficulty in her/his
    civil service department
  • no longer seriously applied, but minister must
    answer for her/his departments actions

100
Eleventh Lecture Outline
  • The SMP Electoral System
  • Chief Characteristics
  • Strengths and Weaknesses
  • Electoral Reform?
  • The Jenkins Commission
  • Alternative Vote (plus) system

101
The Electoral System
  • Electoral systems have 2 defining features
  • District Magnitude (DM)
  • Allocation Formula (AF)
  • Single Member (DM) Plurality (AF)
  • first past the post
  • SMP

102
Advantages of SMP System
  • Delivers strong majority governments
  • by manufacturing majorities of seats from less
    than majorities of votes
  • discourages minor parties - avoid splintering the
    legislature
  • Simple - Quick
  • most votes wins winner known generally on
    election night
  • Encourages personal ties b/w MP and electorate

103
Dysfunctions of SMP
  • Perverse results
  • on 2 occasions since 1945 (of 15 elections) party
    winning majority of seats won fewer votes than
    main rival (1951 and Feb. 1974)
  • Wasted votes
  • disincentives for minority preference holders to
    vote
  • Safe seat apathy
  • Sometimes disincentives for majority preference
    holders to vote
  • Disproportionality
  • 1997 - Labour wins 64 of seats on 43 vote
  • 2001 Labour wins 413 seats (62.7) on 40.7 of
    vote
  • (or, taking turnout rate in 2001 of 59.4 into
    account, only 24.1 of the eligible electorate
    supported Blairs party)

104
Liberals/Liberal Democrats
105
Duvergers law
  • electoral system party system
  • SMP
  • two party system
  • Strong majority governments penalties for (most)
    minor parties
  • Proportional Representation
  • multiparty system

106
Jenkins Commission Proposals
  • - Labour committed to referendum on electoral
    reform in 1993
  • After coming to power in 1997, appointed Right
    Honorable Roy Jenkins former Labour cabinet
    minister and co-founder of the Social Democratic
    Party in the early 1980s to an independent
    commission on election reform
  • - Reported in 1998
  • -recommended a mixed system
  • Alternative Vote () system
  • 80-85 elected by Alternative Vote in individual
    constituencies
  • 15-20 top up Members from party lists
  • voters given 2 ballots, one for constituency and
    containing preference ordering of
    parties/candidates, one for party lists top-up
    candidates assigned by region

107
Alternative Vote systems
  • a majoritarian system.
  • Winning candidates secure the support of over
    half the voters in constituency.
  • Voters record preferences for all candidates on
    the ballot paper.
  • If no candidate receives more than half of the
    votes cast on the first count of first preference
    votes, the candidate who received the fewest
    first preference votes is eliminated and his/her
    second preferences are distributed between the
    other candidates.
  • This process continues until one candidate has
    achieved an overall majority.

108
PSC 340 Essay Writing Tips
109
Essay Tips Finding a Good Topic
  • Often the most difficult part!
  • Best to work from what you know
  • i.e., your own interests
  • What would you write on if you had to do a paper
    on some aspect of US politics?
  • How effective is gun control at reducing violent
    crime in Europe?
  • What country/area of Europe is of most interest?
  • Can compare political systems if you wish
  • E.g., how threatening is the extreme right in
    Western Europe?
  • where and why is the environmental movement
    strongest in Western Europe?
  • or focus on a sub-region of one or more countries
  • Or focus on one country in particular that is of
    particular interest

110
ESSAY TIPS
  • Organization
  • Work from an outline
  • I will review an outline, but not read a draft of
    a paper
  • Clarity of writing/exposition
  • Proofreading essential
  • Quality of argument
  • Pose your question in the title answer it by the
    time you conclude
  • Appropriateness of evidence
  • Quality/diversity of sources consulted
  • Internet alone NOT sufficient
  • Must consult scholarly journals (many available
    online)

111
Scholarly Journals dealing with Europe in
Lockwood Library
  • Political Studies (UK PSA)
  • British Journal of Political Science
  • European Journal of Political Research
  • Scandinavian Journal of Political Studies
  • West European Politics
  • Journal of Common Market Studies
  • Online access to MANY more
  • INGENTA - http//www.ingenta.com/
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