Becoming of Great Britain

Leisure trends

The most common leisure activities among people in Britain are home-based, or social, such as visiting relatives or friends.

Watching television is by far the most popular leisure pastime. Nearly every household has a television set, and average viewing time is over 25 hours a week. The majority of households also have a video recorder.

Other regular pastimes include listening to the radio and to recorder music. About 70 per cent of the population listen to local and national radio on an average day. There has been a dramatic rise in the sale of compact discs in recent years. The number of households with a home computer has increased to over one-quarter.

Many people in their spare time enjoy reading (over 50 per cent belong to a library), gardening, do-it-yourself home improvements, undertaking voluntary work, going out for a meal or drink or to the cinema. More daily newspapers, national and regional, are sold for every person in Britain than in most other developed countries. On an average day 56 per cent of people over the age of 15 read a national morning paper; 70 per cent read a Sunday newspaper.

The British are renowned as animal lovers, and about half of all household have a pet, most commonly dogs and cats.

Holidays

In 1997,57 million holidays of four or more nights away from home were taken by British residents, 30 million of them within Britain. The most popular destinations for summer holidays in Britain are the West Country, Scotland and Wales. August is the most popular month for taking holidays.

Of the major free seaside attractions, the most frequented were Blackpool Pleasure Beach in Lancashire (with an estimated 7.8 million visitors), the Place Pier in Brighton and the Pleasure Beach at Great Yarmouth.

The most popular destinations for overseas holidays by British residents are France (23 per cent), Spain (26 per cent) and the United States (6.7 per cent). In all, British residents take about 29 million holidays overseas, of which 57 per cent involve 'package' arrangements (covering both transport and accommodation). About 80 per cent of all holidays abroad are taken in Europe.

Eating and drinking habits

Although some traditional meals in Britain, like roast beef and Yorkshire pudding or fish and chips, remain popular, there has been a significant shift in eating habits among the population over the last decade or so. This is in part due to a greater emphasis on health and convenience considerations.

Consumption of several items, such as packet sugar, eggs, potatoes and fresh green vegetables, has declined substantially. An increase in the consumption of rice and pasta may be partly responsible for the decline in that of potatoes. Consumption of meat - with the exception of that of poultry which is now at a record level - has also fallen. Skimmed milk now constitutes more than half of the total household consumption of liquid milk. There has been a decline in the total consumption of cooking and spreading fats, with large falls in butter and lard usage being offset by rapid rises in the consumption of vegetable and salad oils and reduced fat spreads. A switch in fish consumption away from fresh white fish towards canned fish and shellfish has been evident. There has been a small increase in the intake of fibre.

Britain has a wide range of restaurants, offering cuisine from virtually every country. Chinese, Indian, Italian and Greek restaurants are among the most popular.

There has been an increase in recent years in the amount of alcohol that people drink, particularly among women. Beer, including lager, is the most popular drink among male drinkers. The largest consumers of alcohol are in the 18 to 24 age range. Table wine has become more popular, although there has been little change in the consumption of stronger wines such as sherry and port.

QUESTIONS

What languages are spoken in Britain? Which of the languages of Celtic origin is the strongest?

What is the demographic situations in Britain today? What are the statistics for birth rates, life expectancy, age and sex structure? What are the latest trends in family life?

What is the population of Britain and its major cities? Which are Britain^,s largest ethnic minority groups? What is the evidence for discrimination against ethnic minorities in employment, the armed services, housing, education, etc.?

In what ways are women still disadvantaged in Britain? How does the position of women in Britain compare with that in Belarus?

How do you explain the popularity of the different types of dwelling in Britain?

What are the typical leisure trends?

V. BRITISH POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS

Political history

Constitutional framework

The Monarchy

The Privy Council

Parliament

General Elections

The Party Political System

Parliamentary Procedure

Legislative Proceedings

The Government. The Civil Service

Local Government

Political Institution

The history of British politics over the past 800 years has been largely one of breaking down the monarch's former power, and vesting that authority in Parliament as the sovereign legal voice of the people. This struggle has produced bitter conflicts on governmental, social and religious levels, as well as slowly evolving political institutions. The original structures were inevitably monarchical, aristocratic and non-democratic. These have been gradually adapted to the requirements of parliamentary democracy, changing social conditions and the mass franchise of today.

However, the roles of the political institutions are still vigorously debated in contemporary Britain. Governments are frequently accused of being too secretive, too centralized, too party-political, and insufficiently responsive to the wider needs of the country. It is also argued that Parliament has lost its controlling and restraining influence over the Cabinet-led executive. It is felt that political power has shifted overwhelmingly to the sitting government, and to the Prime Minister within the Cabinet. This view suggests that the real authority in the British governmental and political system now rests with the Prime Minister, as it had once belonged predominantly to the monarch.

Political history

Between 1066 and 1199 English monarchs had great power, but generally accepted advice and some limitations on their authority. However later kings, such as King John, often ignored these restrictions and the French-Norman barons eventually united against his dictatorial rule. They forced him to sign Magna Carta in 1215. Although this document was initially intended to protect the aristocracy and not the ordinary citizen, it came in time to be regarded as a cornerstone of British liberties, and is one of the oldest written constitutional papers. Among other things, it restricted the monarch's powers; forced him to take advice; promoted an aristocratic influence in national affairs; and stipulated that no citizen could be punished or kept in prison without a fair trial. Later monarchs tried to ignore Magna Carta, but could not succeed initially against the military strength of the barons.

These developments encouraged the establishment of basic parliamentary structures against royal power. In 1265 Simon de Montfort called England's first parliament, which was composed of nobles and minor aristocrats. This was followed in 1295 by the Model Parliament, which was to serve as an example for future structures. Its two sections consisted of the Lords and Bishops, who were chosen by the monarch, and the Commons, which comprised elected male representatives. These two units gradually moved further apart over time, and eventually evolved into the present parliamentary division between the House of Lords and the House of Commons. However, in the thirteenth century, the combined Parliament of aristocrats and commoners was too large to rule the country effectively. A Privy Council was subsequently created, which was an expansion of the traditional small circle of advisers at the royal court. In succeeding centuries, this body was to become the dominant royal government outside Parliament, until it also gave way to the present structures in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Although these early development did give Parliament some limited powers against the monarch, there was a return to royal dominance in Tudor England from 1485. The nobility had been weakened by wars and internal conflicts, and the Tudor monarchs deliberately chose minor aristocratic landed gentry as members of their Privy Councils. The nobility were often excluded from policy-making, and the gentry inevitably became dependent upon royal patronage. Consequently, Tudor monarchs controlled Parliament and summoned it only when they needed to raise money.

Parliament began to show more resistance to the monarchy under the Stuart succession from 1603 by using its gradually acquired weapon of financial control. It was influenced by the gentry, who had now become more independent of royal patronage, had expanded economically in the country, and had a majority in the House of Commons. Parliament began to refuse royal requests for money. It eventually forced Charles I to sign the Petition of Rights in 1628, which further restricted the monarch's powers and was intended to prevent him from raising taxes without Parliament's consent. Charles tried to ignore these political developments, until he was obliged to summon Parliament for finance. Parliament again refused the request.

Realising that he could not control Parliament, Charles next failed in his attempt to arrest Parliamentary leaders in the House of Commons itself. Because of this episode, the monarch was in future prohibited from entering the Commons. Today Black Rod, who is a royal ceremonial appointment, is a reminder of these constitutional changes. He knocks on the door of the Commons after it has been closed against him, in order to summon members of the Commons to the State Opening of Parliament. This is normally performed each autumn by the monarch in the House of Lords.

Charles's rejection of developing political ideals provoked anger against the Crown, and eventually a Civil War broke out in 1642. The mainly Protestant Parliamentarians under Oliver Cromwell won the military struggle against the largely Catholic Royalists. Charles I was beheaded in 1649, the monarchy was abolished, and England was made a republic under the Cromwells (1649-59). During this republican period, Parliament consisted only of the House of Commons, which met every three years.

However, Cromwellian military rule was harsh and increasingly unpopular, so that most people wanted the restoration of the monarchy. The two Houses of Parliament were re-established, and in 1660 they restored the Stuart CharIes II to the throne. Initially Charles co-operated with Parliament, but eventually his financial needs, his belief in the divine right of kings to rule without opposition, and his support of the Catholic cause lost him popular and parliamentary backing. Parliament then ended his expensive wars; forced him to sign the Test Act of 1673, which excluded Catholics and Protestant dissenters from holding public office; and passed the Habeas Corpus Act in 1769, which stipulated that no citizen could be imprisoned without a fair and speedy trial.

In addition to this growing power of Parliament against the monarch, the seventeenth century also saw the beginning of more organized political parties. These derived largely from the ideological and religious conflicts of the Civil War. Two groups became dominant, and this feature was to characterize future British two-party politics, in which political power has shifted between two main parties. The Whigs were mainly Cromwellian Protestants and gentry, who refused to accept the Catholic James II as successor to Charles II, and who wanted religious freedom for all Protestants. The Tries generally supported royalist beliefs, and helped Charles II to secure James's right to succeed him.

But James's subsequent behaviour resulted in a further reduction of royal influence. He attempted to rule without Parliament, ignored its laws, and tried to repeal the Test Act. His manipulations eventually forced the Tories to join the Whigs in inviting the Protestant William of Orange to intervene. Supported by Dutch military help, William arrived in England in 1688, James fled to France, and William succeeded to the throne. Since no force was involved, this event has been called the Bloodless or Glorious Revolution. The 1688 changes considerably affected the British constitution and politics. William III became Britain's first constitutional monarch and, because of conditions imposed upon him, it was in future practically impossible for the monarch to reign without the consent of Parliament.

A series of Acts at this time laid the foundations for later political and constitutional developments. The Declaration of Rights in 1689 tried to establish basic civil liberties, and prevented the monarch from making laws or raising an army without Parliament's approval. The Act of Settlement in 1701 gave religious freedom to all Protestants, and stipulated that all future English monarchs had to be Protestant. A Triennial Act established that Parliament was to be called every three years.

The Glorious Revolution effectively abolished the monarch's claim to divine right. It also attempted to arrange a division of powers between an executive branch (the monarch through the government of the Privy Council); a legislative branch (both Houses of Parliament and formally the monarch); and the judiciary (a legal body independent of monarch and Parliament). This division, in which the legislature was supposed to control the executive, evolved slowly into its modern counterparts.

Parliamentary power continued to grow gradually in the early eighteenth century, initially because the German-born George I lacked interest in English affairs of state. He also mistrusted the Tories with their Catholic sympathies, and appointed Whig ministers such as Robert Walpole to his Privy Council. Eventually Walpole became Chief Minister, Leader of the Whig Party and head of the Whig majority in the House of Commons, which was now mainly composed of wealthy land and property owners. Walpole's resulting control of political power enabled him to increase parliamentary influence, and he has been called Britain's first Prime Minister. But such parliamentary authority was by no means absolute, and later monarchs sought a return to royal dominance. However, George III eventually lost much of his own and royal authority after the loss of the American colonies with their Revolution against Britain in 1775. He was obliged to appoint William Pitt the Younger as his Tory Chief Minister, and it was under Pitt that the office of Prime Minister really developed.

But although parliamentary control continued to grow in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, there was still no widespread democracy in Britain. Political authority was now in the hands of landowners and merchants in Parliament, and the vast majority of the people did not possess the vote. Bribery and corruption were common in this political atmosphere, with the buying of those votes which did exist and the giving away or sale of public offices. The Tories were against electoral reform, as were the Whigs initially. But the country was now rapidly increasing its population and developing industrially and economically, so that pressures for political reform became irresistible. The Whigs extended voting rights to the expanding middle class in the First Reform Act of 1832. The Tory Disraeli later gave the vote to men with property and a certain income. However, the large majority of the working class were still unrepresented in Parliament because they had no votes. It was only in 1884 that the Whig Gladstone gave the franchise to all male adults. But most women had to wait until 1928 for full voting rights to be established in Britain.

The main elements of modern British government developed somewhat haphazardly in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, and were based on the 1688 revolution and its division of powers. Government ministers gradually became responsible to the House of Commons rather than to the monarch, and were mainly members of the Commons. A growing collective responsibility meant that they all shared joint responsibility for the policies and acts of government, in addition to their individual responsibility owed to Parliament for the organization of their ministries. The prime ministership developed from the monarch's Chief Minister to 'first among equals' and eventually to the leadership of all ministers. The central force of government was now the parliamentary Cabinet of senior ministers, which had grown out of the Privy Council and the monarch's Cabinet. The ministers and the government belonged to the majority party in the House of Commons. The largest minority party became the Official Opposition, striving by its party manifesto and its performance in the Commons and the country to become the next government chosen by the people.

Such constitutional developments were aided by the growth of more sophisticated and organized political parties, in the nineteenth century, which were conditioned by changing social and economic factors. These produced the modern struggle between opposing ideologies as represented by the various political parties. The Tories, who also became known as the Conservatives I around 1830, had been a dominant force in British politics since the eighteenth century. They believed in established values and the preservation of traditions; supported business and commerce; had strong links with the Church of England and the professions; and were opposed to what they saw as radical ideas. The Whigs, however, were developing into a more progressive force. They wanted social reform and economic freedom without government restrictions. In the period following the parliamentary reforms of 1832, the Whigs were changing into what later became the Liberal Party. They were to create an enlightened programme of liberalism in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The Liberal Party was a mixture of people and ideas, often held together by the principle of utilitarian reform (or the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people).

But a significant feature of the early inter-war years after 1918 was the decline of the Liberal Party, from which it was unable to recover. The new Labour Party, formed in 1906, gradually became the main opposition party to the Conservatives, and continued the traditional two-party system in British politics. It grew rapidly and was supported by the trade unions, the majority of the working class, and some middle-class voters. The first Labour government was formed in 1924 under Ramsay MacDonald, but only achieved real majority power in 1945 under Clement Attlee. It then embarked on a radical programme of social and economic reforms, which were to lay the foundations of the modern corporate and welfare state.

Meanwhile, in this lengthy period of changing political fortunes and the triumph of the House of Commons in the parliamentary sytem, gradual reforms had been made to the House of Lords. The Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, eventually removed much of the Lords' political authority, leaving them with only a slight delaying and amending power over parliamentary bills. They could no longer interfere with financial legislation. These reforms finally demonstrated that political and taxation matters were now decided by the members of the Commons as elected representatives of the people. Other subsequent Acts have allowed the creation of non-hereditary titles, which supplement the old arrangement in which most peerages were hereditary.

A new challenge to parliamentary sovereignty and the political tradition in Britain has arisen due to membership of the European Community (1973). Some legal powers have already been lost to Community institutions, so that Parliament is no longer the sole legislative body in Britain. Further functions will probably be transferred to the Community as it becomes more economically and politically integrated.

The constitutional framework

There have been no revolutionary upheavals in the British system of government over the centuries, despite the Civil War and the 1688 changes. Rather, existing institutions have been pragmatically adapted to new conditions. There has likewise been no deliberate attempt to establish a rigidly defined constitution, so that Britain, unlike many other countries, has no written constitution contained in any one document. Instead, the British employ a mixture of statute law (Acts of Parliament); common law (ancient judge-made law); and conventions (or principles and practices of government which, although not legally binding, are generally accepted as having the force of law).

Since Parliament is for most purposes still the supreme legislative authority, save for some European Community legislation law and institutions can be created or changed by a simple Act of Parliament relatively quickly. The common law can be extended by the judges in the legal process, and conventions can be altered, formed or abolished by general agreement. Once a problem has been solved satisfactorily in the British system, that solution tends to be used again in similar situations, and becomes a precedent to govern future actions. Precedents are vital devices in the operation of Parliament, the administrative bodies and the courts of law. These elements, which together with some ancient documents make up the British constitutional framework, arc said to be flexible and simple enough to respond quickly to new conditions should that be necessary.

This somewhat haphazard constitutional system, which is largely dependent upon conventions and observing the rules of the game, has been admired in the past. The arrangements were said to combine stability and adaptability, so that a successful balance of authority and toleration was achieved. Most British governments tended to govern pragmatically when in power, in spite of very ideological party manifestos at election time. The emphasis was on whether a particular policy worked and was generally acceptable. Governments were conscious of how far they could go before displeasing their own followers and the electorate, to whom they were accountable at the next general election.

But the system has been increasingly criticized in recent years. Governments have become more radical in their policies, and have been able to implement them because of strong majorities in the Commons. There has been concern at the apparent absence of constitutional safeguards for the individual citizen against state power, especially since there are few legal definitions of civil liberties in Britain. There also appear to be few effective parliamentary restraints upon a strong government which is intent upon carrying out its policies.

The lack of adequate constitutional definitions in the British system has been seen as potentially dangerous, particularly when governments and their administrative bodies have a reputation for being too secretive. There have consequently been campaigns for more effective civil protection in the forms of a bill of rights; a written constitution; greater judicial scrutiny of the merits of parliamentary legislation; a Freedom of Information Act; and the incorporation of the European Convention on Human Rights into British domestic law. But none of these suggested reforms has been achieved, and there is considerable opposition to the various proposals.

Some critics argue that the British political system no longer works satisfactorily. They maintain that its institutions are too centralized, and that the traditional bases are no longer adequate for the organization of a complex, mass society. It is felt that political policies have become too conditioned by party politics at the expense of consensus. Questions have consequently been raised about the democratic and representative basis of national programmes. It is argued that there must be a fundamental reform of the existing political institutions if they are to reflect a contemporary diversity. However, changes do continue to be made to the present apparatus, and it may be that the old evolutionary principles will be successfully adapted to new demands and conditions.

The governmental model that operates in Britain today is usually described as a constitutional monarchy, or parliamentary system. While the monarch still has a role to play on some executive and legislative levels, it is Parliament which possesses the essential legislative power, and the government of the day which governs by initiating and controlling political policy and legislation. The correct constitutional definition of Parliament is the 'Queen-in-Parliament', and all state and governmental business is therefore carried out in the name of the monarch by the politicians and officials of the system. In constitutional theory, the British people hold the political sovereignty to choose their government, while Parliament, consisting partly of their elected representatives in the Commons, possesses the legal sovereignty to make laws.

The various branches of this political system, although easily distinguishable from each other, are not entirely separate. The monarch is formally head of the executive, the legislature and the judiciary. A Member of Parliament (MP) in the House of Commons and a member of the House of Lords may both be in the government of the day. A Law Lord in the House of Lords also serves the House of Lords as the highest appeal court.

The legislature, which consists of both Houses of Parliament and formally the monarch, is for most purposes the supreme law-making body. The executive comprises the sitting government and its Cabinet, together with government ministries or departments headed by ministers or secretaries of state, who all act formally in the name of the monarch. The judiciary is composed mainly of the judges of the higher courts, who determine the common law and interpret Acts of Parliament. The judiciary is supposed to be independent of the legislative and executive branches of government.

The monarchy

The continuity of the English monarchy has been interrupted only by the Cromwell republic of 1649-59 although there have been different lines of descent, such as the Stuarts, the Tudors and the Hanoverians. The Crown, as distinct from any particular monarch, is thus one of the oldest secular institutions in Britain. Succession to the throne is still hereditary, but only for Protestants in the direct line of descent.

The monarch has a number of roles, and serves formally as head of state head of the executive head of the judiciary head of the legislature commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and supreme governor of the Church of England. It follows that all ministers and officials of the central government are the monarch's servants, and judges, military officers, peers, and bishops of the Church of England swear allegiance to the Crown. In holding these and other positions, the monarch is said to personify the British state.

In spite of these roles, there are difficulties in defining the precise powers of the monarch, who is supposed to reign but not rule. The monarch is also expected to be politically neutral, and should not be seen to be making political decisions. In order to avoid potential constitutional crises, proposals have often been made that rules concerning the real powers of the monarch should be established. Ideally they would clarify the uncertain elements in the monarch's position, and avoid the dangers of involving the Crown in political controversy.

However, for all practical purposes and since the old executive royal authority has been virtually abolished, the monarch acts only on the advice of political ministers, which cannot be ignored. The monarch cannot make laws, impose taxes, spend public money or act unilaterally. In this sense, contemporary Britain is governed by Her Majesty's Government in the name of the Queen.

Nevertheless, the monarch still performs some important executive and legislative duties, which are essential to the smooth running of government. These include the summoning, opening, Proroguing (or adjourning), and dissolving of Parliament; giving the Royal Assent (or signature) to bills which have been passed by both Houses of Parliament; appointing government ministers and other public figures; granting honours; holding audiences with the Prime Ministers; convening meetings of the Privy Council; giving pardons to some convicted criminals; and fulfilling international duties as head of state. In practice, most of these functions are performed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister or other ministers.

But central power still possessed by the monarch is the choice and appointment of the Prime Minister. Normally and by convention, this person would be the leader of the political party which has a majority in the House of Commons. However, if there is no clear majority or if the political situation is unclear, the monarch could in theory make a free choice. In practice, it appears that advice would be given by the monarch's advisers and leading politicians in order to present a suitable candidate who would be generally acceptable.

The constitutional conventions stipulate that the monarch has the right to be informed of and advised on all aspects of national life by receiving government documents and meeting with the Prime Minister. The monarch also has the right to encourage, warn and advise ministers. This latter role could be a source of potential power not only in Britain, but also in the Commonwealth of which the monarch is head. It is difficult to know to what extent monarchical advice on formal and informal levels is influential. Some critics suggest that it could be substantial.

The monarch is a permanent fixture in the British political system, unlike temporary politicians, and often has a greater knowledge of domestic and international politics. It seems that the monarchy still has a considerable part to play in the operation of government at various levels. Its practical and constitutional importance is stressed by provisions for the appointment of counsellors of state (or a regent in exceptional cases) to perform royal duties, should the monarch be absent from Britain or unable to carry out public tasks.

Most of the costs of the royal family's official duties are met from public funds. This finance is granted from the Civil List - money which previously had to be debated and approved by Parliament each year, but which from 1990 has been frozen at current levels for a 10-year period. The monarch's private expenses as sovereign come from the Privy Purse - finance which is gathered from the revenues of some royal estates. Any other costs incurred by the monarch as a private individual must come from the Crown's own resources, which are very considerable.

Arguments against the monarchy as a continuing institution in British life maintain that it is out-of-date, non-democratic, too expensive, too exclusive and too closely associated with aristocratic privilege and establishment thinking. It is argued that the monarchy's alleged aloofness from ordinary daily life contributes to class divisions in society and sustains a hierarchical structure. It is also suggested that, if the monarch's functions today are merely ceremonial and lack power or essential point, the office should be abolished and replaced by a cheaper figurehead presidency.

Arguments in favour of the monarchy suggest that it has developed and adapted to modern requirements, and is not remote. It is argued that it serves as a symbol or personification of the state; demonstrates stability and continuity; has a higher prestige than politicians; is not subject to political manipulations; plays a worthwhile role in political institutions; possesses a neutrality with which people can feel secure; and performs an important ambassadorial function in Britain and overseas. The monarchy is also said to reflect family values, and has a certain glamour (some would say soap-opera quality) about it, which is attractive to many people. The British public shows considerable affection for the royal family beyond its representative role. Public opinion polls from time to time demonstrate majority support for the institution of monarchy as against a republican alternative. But the polls also suggest that the monarchy should adapt more to changes in society; that less public money should be spent on it; and that its income should be subject to income tax.

The Privy Council

The Privy Council developed from a small group of royal advisers at court into the chief source of executive authority. But its powerful position was weakened in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries as more of its functions were transferred to a developing parliamentary Cabinet. Its work was later devolved to newly created ministries, which were needed to cope with a rapidly changing society.

Today its main role is to advise the monarch on a range of matters, like the resolution of constitutional issues and the approval of Orders in Council, such as the granting of Royal Charters to public bodies. Its members can be appointed to advisory and problem-solving committees and, because of its international membership and continuing constitutional character, it can be influential.

Cabinet ministers automatically become members on taking government office. Life membership of the council is also given by the monarch, on the recommendation of the Prime Minister, to eminent people in Britain and in independent monarchical countries of the Commonwealth. There are about 380 Privy Councillors at present, but the organization tends to work for practical purposes mostly through small groups. A full council is usually only summoned on the death of a monarch; when there are serious constitutional issues at stake; or occasionally when a Commonwealth Heads of State Conference is held in London. In the case of any indisposition of the monarch, counsellors of state or an appointed regent would work partly through the Privy Council.

Apart from its practical duties and its role as a constitutional forum for experienced people, perhaps the most important task of the Privy Council today is performed by its Judicial Committee. This serves as the final court of appeal from those dependencies and Commonwealth countries which have retained this avenue of appeal. It may also be used as an arbiter for a wide range of courts and committees in Britain and overseas, and its rulings can be influential.

Parliament

Parliament is the supreme legislative authority in Britain and, since it is not controlled by a written constitution, it has legal sovereignty in virtually all matters, subject only to some European Community decisions. This means that it can create, abolish or amend laws for all or any part(s) of Britain on any topic. The main functions of Parliament today are to pass laws; to vote on financial bills so that government can carry on its legitimate business; to examine government policies and administration; and to scrutinize European Community legislation.

In pursuing these powers, Parliament is supposed to legislate according to the rule of law, precedent and tradition. Politicians are generally sensitive to these conventions and to public opinion. A set of formal and informal checks and balances - such as party discipline, the OfficiaI Opposition, public reaction and pressure groups - normally ensures that Parliament legislates according to its legal responsibilities. A government with a strong majority in the House of Commons may bow to public pressure, face rebellion from its own MPs and suffer attack by the opposition parties if the proposed laws are not widely accepted.

Parliament consists of the House of Lords, the House of Commons and formally the monarch. It assembles as a unified body only on ceremonial occasions, such as the State Opening of Parliament by the monarch in the House of Lords. Here it listens to the monarch's speech from the throne, which outlines the government's broad legislative programme for the coming session. All three parts of Parliament must normally pass a bill before it can become an Act of Parliament and therefore law. A correctly created Act cannot be challenged in the law courts on its merits.

A Parliament has a maximum duration of five years, but it is often dissolved and a general election called before the end of this term. The maximum has sometimes been prolonged by special parliamentary legislation on occasions of national emergency like the two World Wars. A dissolution of Parliament and the issue of writs for the ensuing general election are ordered by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. If an individual MP dies, resigns or is given a peerage, a by-election is called only for that member's seat, and Parliament as a whole is not dissolved.

The contemporary House of Lords consists of the Lords Temporal and the Lords Spiritual. The Lords Spiritual are the Archbishops of York and Canterbury, together with twenty-four senior diocesan bishops of the Church of England. The Lords Temporal consist of (1) hereditary peers and peeresses who have kept their titles; (2) life peers and peeresses, who have usually been created by political parties; and (3) the Lords of Appeal (Law Lords), who become life peers on their judicial appointments. The latter serve the House of Lords as the ultimate court of appeal for most purposes from most parts of Britain. This appeal court does not consist of the whole House of Lords, but only some nine Law Lords who have held senior judicial office, who are under the chairmanship of the Lord Chancellor, and who form a quorum of three to five when they hear appeal cases.

There are some 1,200 members of the House of Lords, but the active daily attendance varies from a handful to a few hundred. Peers receive no salary for their parliamentary work, but are eligible for attendance and travelling expenses should they wish to claim them. The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor, who is a political appointee of the sitting government, who sits on the Woolsack (or stuffed woollen sofa) as Speaker (Chairman) of the House, and who controls the procedure and meetings of the House.

There are frequent demands that the unrepresentative, unelected House of Lords should be abolished and replaced by a second democratically elected chamber. The problem consists of which alternative model to adopt, and there is little agreement on this point. Meanwhile, the House of Lords does its job well as an experienced and less partisan corrective to the House of Commons. It retains an important revising, amending and delaying function. This may be used either to block government legislation for a time, or to persuade governments to have a second look at bills. In this sense, it is a safeguard, against over-hasty legislation by the Commons, and fulfils a considerable constitutional role at times when governments may be very powerful. This function is possible because members of the Lords tend to be more independently minded than MPs in the Commons, and do not suffer such rigid party discipline. Indeed, the House has a considerable number of Independents (or crossbenchers) who do not belong to any political party, although there appears to be a nominal Conservative majority in the total membership.

Attempts to reform the House of Lords were made several times in the course of the 20^th century.

The Parliament Act of 1911 removed from the House of Lords the power of veto a bill, except one to prolong the lifetime of a parliament. Instead, the Lords could delay a bill by up to two years. The Parliament Act of 1949 further reduced the Lord's delaying powers to one year.

The Labour government came tp power in 1997 on a manifesto which stated that the House of Lords must be reformed. As an initial, self-contained reform, the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords will be ended by statute. This will be the first stage in process of reform to make the House of Lords more democratic and representative. The legislative powers of the House of Lords will remain unaltered.

The House of Lords Bill to remove the right of hereditary peers to sit and vote in the house was introduced in the 1998-1999 parliamentary session. The amendment allowed that 75 hereditary peers would retain their seats, and be elected by party groups in proportion to their strengths. Responsibility for further reform was given to the Royal Commission on the Reform of House of Lords. The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament (MPs) who arc elected by the adult suffrage of the British people, and who are said to represent the citizen in Parliament. In practice, this means that a government can be elected with a minority of the popular vote and is able to carry out its policies (the mandate theory) because it has achieved a majority of the seats in the House of Commons. The Commons has 650 MPs, of whom under 10 per cent are women. There are 523 parliamentary seats for England, 38 for Wales, 72 for Scotland and 17 for Northern Ireland.

Traditional constitutional theory has suggested that Parliament is supposed to control the government or the executive. This might have been true to some degree in the past. But the contemporary reality seems to be that a strong government with a reasonable overall majority in the Commons should be able to carry its policies through Parliament. This is irrespective of what Parliament as a collective body can do to oppose it. It is government that governs in Britain today. Unless there is a small-majority government or rebellion by government MPs, Parliament appears unable to affect that rule in any substantial way. The opposition parties can only oppose in Parliament in the hope of persuading the electorate to dismiss the sitting government at the next general election. Some critics would like to see stronger parliamentary control over the executive, which has been described as an elective dictatorship. But, given the existing electoral system and the present organization of Parliament, there seems little chance of this without a fundamental reform of the whole apparatus.

The parliamentary electoral system (general elections)

Britain is divided for electoral purposes into constituencies, or geographical areas of the country, usually containing about 60,000 voters, each of which returns one elected MP to the House of Commons. The constituencies are supposed to be frequently changed in size and location in order to ensure fair representation and to reflect population movements. But such aims are not always successfully achieved.

General elections for parliamentary seats are by secret ballot, but voting is not compulsory. British, Commonwealth and Irish Republic citizens may all vote in the elections provided that they are resident in Britain, registered on the annual register of voters for the constituency, are aged 18 or over, and are not subject to any disqualification. People not entitled to vote include members of the House of Lords; certain mentally ill patients who are detained in hospital or prison; and persons who have been recently convicted of corrupt or illegal election practices.

Each elector casts one vote, normally in person, at a polling station set up on election day

He or she will make a cross on a ballot paper against the name of the candidate for whom the vote is cast. However, there are provisions for those who for various reasons are unable to vote in person in their local constituency to register postal or proxy votes. There are also certain voting rights for expatriate Britons.

The turnout of voters averages over 70 per cent at general elections out of a total electorate of some 42 million people. The candidate who wins the most votes in a constituency is elected MP for that area. This system is known as the simple majority or the 'first past the post' system. There is no voting by proportional representation (PR), except for local elections in Northern Ireland.

There has been much debate about the British electoral system. Many see it as unfair to the smaller parties, and campaigns continue for some form of PR, which would create a wider selection of parties in the House of Commons and cater for minority political interests. But the two major parties (Conservative and Labour) have preferred the existing system. It gives them a greater chance of achieving power, and they have not been prepared to legislate for change, although the Labour Party seems now to be more sympathetic to PR. It is argued that the British people have traditionally preferred the stronger and more certain government which can often, if not always, result from the present arrangements. Defenders of the current system point to the assumed weaknesses of coalition or minority government as practised on the continent, such as frequent breakdown, a lack of firm policies and power-bargaining between different parties in order to achieve government status. But weak and small-majority government can also result from the British system.

The party political system

The electoral system depends to a large extent upon the party political system, which has existed since the seventeenth century. Organized political parties present their policies in the form of manifestos to the electorate for consideration during the intensive few weeks of canvassing and campaigning before General Election Day. A party candidate in a constituency is elected to Parliament on a combination of election manifesto, the personality of the candidate and the attraction of the national party. But party activity continues outside the election period itself, as the politicians battle for power and the ears of the electorate.

Since 1945 there have been seven Labour and eight Conservative governments in Britain. Some have had large majorities in the House of Commons, while others have had small ones. Some, like the Labour governments in the 1970s, have had to rely on the support of smaller parties, such as the Liberals and various nationalist parties, in order to remain in power.

The great majority of the MPs in the House of Commons belong to either the Conservative or the Labour Party, which are the largest political parties. This division emphasizes the continuation of the traditional two-party system in British politics, in which power has alternated between two major parties.

The Labour Party has traditionally gathered its support from the trade unions, the working class and some middle-class backing. Its electoral strongholds have always been in south Wales, Scotland, and the Midland and northern English industrial cities. But, although the 1997 general election continued to reflect this national division, the previous patterns of support are altering as social and job mobility changes. In recent years the Labour Party has embarked on wide-ranging reviews of its policies in order to broaden its appeal, take account of changing economic and social conditions, and remain a major force in British politics.

The Conservative Party has traditionally regarded itself as a national party, which appeals to people across the class barriers. Although it has often criticized what it sees as the dogmatic and ideological fervour of the Labour Party, the Conservative Party has also become more radical in recent years, and has departed from what used to be considered as the consensus view of British politics. The party's support comes mainly from business interests and the middle and upper classes, but a sizeable percentage of skilled and unskilled workers, and women have always voted Conservative. The party's strongholds tend to be in southern England, with scattered support elsewhere in the country, although it has suffered serious setbacks in Scotland.

Smaller political parties also have some representation in the House of Commons. Among these have been the Liberals and Social Democrats; the Scottish National Party; Plaid Cymru (the Welsh National Party); the Protestant Northern Irish parties of the Official Unionists, the Democratic Unionists and the Ulster Popular Unionists; the Social Democratic and Labour Party (moderate Roman Catholic Northern Irish party); and Sinn Fein (Republican Northern Irish party). Other small parties such as the Greens and Communist Party, as well as publicity-seeking fringe groups, may also contest a general election. But a party which does not achieve a certain number of votes in the election loses its deposit - the sum paid when a party registers to fight an election.

An innovation in British party politics during 1982-7 was the emergence of the Alliance as an electoral force. This was formed by the co-operation for electoral purposes of the Liberals and the Social Democratic Party (SDP), which was founded in 1981 by defectors from the Labour Party. The Alliance gained substantial support in public opinion polls, won some dramatic by-elections, and achieved considerable success in local government elections. But it did not make a comparable breakthrough into national politics and the House of Commons. The Liberals and the SDP saw themselves in this period as an alternative political force to the Conservative and Labour Parties, based on the centre or centre-left of British politics. They tried to 'break the mould' of the traditional two-party system, but their performance in the 1987 general election did not achieve this aim. In 1988 a majority of the two parties merged into one party called the Social and Liberal Democratic Party (or SLD or Liberal Democrats for short). But small groups of Liberals and SDP members continued as separate parties, until the SDP ceased to exist as a political party in 1990. At present, the support for the Liberal Democrats has sunk to some 16 per cent, and it seems that the centre ground in British politics has been largely recaptured by the Labour and Conservative Parties. However, the SLD and other smaller parties do allow alternative political parties to be represented in the House of Commons.