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Freedom House Monthly Newsletter

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Freedom House Monthly Newsletter FREEDOM IN THE WORLD 2021 United Kingdom 93 FREE /100 Political Rights 39 /40 Civil Liberties 54 /60 LAST YEAR'S SCORE & STATUS 94 /100 Free Global freedom statuses are calculated on a weighted scale. See the methodology. Overview The United Kingdom (UK)—which includes the constituent countries of England, Scotland, and Wales along with the territory of Northern Ireland—is a stable democracy that regularly holds free elections and is home to a vibrant media sector. While the government enforces robust protections for political rights and civil liberties, recent years have seen concerns about increased government surveillance of residents, as well as rising Islamophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment. In a 2016 referendum, UK voters narrowly voted to leave the European Union (EU), through a process known colloquially as “Brexit,” which will have political and economic reverberations both domestically and across Europe in the coming years. Key Developments in 2020 • In January, the regional government of Northern Ireland resumed after a hiatus of nearly three years, in a wide-ranging deal backed by the UK and Irish governments. • In December, the UK and the EU finalized an agreement to govern their future relationship and finalize the UK’s departure from the bloc. Under its terms, UK travelers to EU member states will need visas in more circumstances, while EU citizens in the UK are required to seek settled status with the authorities. • The government instituted a nationwide COVID-19-related lockdown in March before loosening some restrictions in May, though another lockdown was reimposed in England in late October and stricter restrictions were instituted throughout Great Britain in December. Police forces were criticized for using new and existing powers to disproportionately target racial and ethnic minorities throughout the crisis. The World Health Organization recorded 2.4 million cases and nearly 72,600 deaths at year’s end. Political Rights A. Electoral Process A1 0-4 pts Was the current head of government or other chief national authority elected through free and fair elections? 4 / 4 Executive power rests with the prime minister and cabinet, which must have the support of the House of Commons. The leader of the majority party or coalition usually becomes prime minister, and appoints the cabinet. A snap general election was held in December 2019, where a majority Conservative government, led by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, was elected. A2 0-4 pts Were the current national legislative representatives elected through free and fair elections? 4 / 4 The UK has a bicameral Parliament. The more powerful lower chamber, the House of Commons, has 650 members directly elected to serve five-year terms. Members of the unelected House of Lords are appointed by the monarch. There were 793 members in December 2020. The body largely plays an oversight role in reviewing legislation passed by the House of Commons. A general election was not due until 2022, but Prime Minister Johnson, who led a minority government after winning the premiership in July 2019, secured a new election from Parliament. The Conservatives, who focused their campaign on their intention to stop further delays to the Brexit process, won 365 seats in the December election, up from 318 in the last Parliament, and secured an 81-seat majority. The opposition Labour Party won 203 seats, down from 262 in the last Parliament. The Scottish National Party, which campaigned to remain in the EU and advocates for Scottish independence from the UK, remained the third-largest party in the House of Commons, gaining 13 seats over its 2017 result and winning 48 of Scotland’s 59 parliamentary seats. The Liberal Democrats, the fourth-largest party, won 11 seats nationwide. Elections for some local councils, police commissioners, and mayoralties in parts of England and Wales were scheduled for May 2020, but were delayed to May 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A3 0-4 pts Are the electoral laws and framework fair, and are they implemented impartially by the relevant election management bodies? 4 / 4 The UK’s electoral framework is robust and well implemented, though a limited Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe mission that observed the 2017 election urged lawmakers to boost transparency surrounding campaign financing. Despite this recommendation, no individual donation caps currently exist. In September 2020, the Electoral Reform Society (ERS), a nongovernmental organization (NGO), called for the regulation of internet-based campaign and financing activities. Parliament maintains a direct role in electoral management, notably through its involvement in the seat boundary drawing process. The Parliamentary Constituencies Act 2020, which was enacted in December, will limit its future involvement. The Fixed- term Parliaments Act 2011, meanwhile, limits a prime minister’s ability to force a snap election, but the government introduced a bill to repeal it in December 2020. Conservative governments have moved towards requiring voters to produce identification in order to vote. In August 2019, the ERS noted that 2,000 prospective voters living in English authorities participating in a pilot voter identification scheme were turned away from polling stations in that May’s local elections, and that a permanent requirement would disproportionately impact Black, Asian, and minority ethnic (BAME) voters. The UK’s electoral infrastructure has contended with Russian interference dating back to the 2016 referendum on EU membership. In July 2020, a parliamentary intelligence committee criticized the government’s inability to investigate potential Russian interference in the referendum. B. Political Pluralism and Participation B1 0-4 pts Do the people have the right to organize in different political parties or other competitive political groupings of their choice, and is the system free of undue obstacles to the rise and fall of these competing parties or 4 / 4 groupings? Parties do not face undue restrictions on registration or operation. The Conservative and Labour parties have dominated politics for decades, though other parties regularly win seats. B2 0-4 pts Is there a realistic opportunity for the opposition to increase its support or gain power through elections? 4 / 4 Opposition parties operate freely, and have a realistic opportunity to increase their support and gain power through elections. B3 0-4 pts Are the people’s political choices free from domination by forces that are external to the political sphere, or by political forces that employ 4 / 4 extrapolitical means? People’s political choices are generally free from domination by groups using extrapolitical means. B4 0-4 pts Do various segments of the population (including ethnic, racial, religious, gender, LGBT+, and other relevant groups) have full political rights and 4 / 4 electoral opportunities? Under the UK’s system of devolution, Parliament has granted different degrees of legislative power to the Northern Ireland Assembly, the Welsh Assembly, and the Scottish Parliament, augmenting the political representation of regional populations. Women, LGBT+ people, and members of racial and ethnic minority groups are active in UK politics. After the December 2019 general election, a record 220 members of Parliament (MPs), representing 34 percent of the lower house, are female. LGBT+ and BAME representation also improved. C. Functioning of Government C1 0-4 pts Do the freely elected head of government and national legislative representatives determine the policies of the government? 4 / 4 Freely elected officials can generally make and implement national policy without significant influence from actors who are not democratically accountable. Parliament approved the Coronavirus Act 2020, which includes a two-year sunset clause and is subject to parliamentary review, to initiate a COVID-19 lockdown in March 2020. Elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly took place in March 2017, but legislators did not form a functioning government for a record-breaking 1,045 days after that poll. An agreement, which was facilitated by the UK and Ireland, was finalized in January 2020. Score Change: The score improved from 3 to 4 because Northern Irish legislators agreed on the formation of a regional government in January after a deadlock lasting nearly three years. C2 0-4 pts Are safeguards against official corruption strong and effective? 3 / 4 Large-scale official corruption is not historically pervasive, and anticorruption bodies are generally effective. However, the UK government issued numerous COVID-19- related tenders to politically connected recipients or to firms without relevant experience according to a December 2020 New York Times report examining $22 billion worth of contracts. A National Audit Office report issued in November highlighted conflict-of-interest and bias concerns in the tender process. Politically connected firms also received tenders for other purposes; in March 2020, a firm connected to Conservative minister Michael Gove and then staffer Dominic Cummings received £840,000 ($1.04 million) to conduct Brexit-related focus group research without a public bidding process. The UK faces scrutiny for the ways in which its banking and financial sectors, property market, and offshore services in overseas territories enable money laundering and facilitate corruption globally. Score Change: The score declined from 4 to 3 due to reports of firms and individuals connected to the governing Conservative Party receiving
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