United Kingdom

House of Commons

Background Guide

EagleMUNC Chair: Website: www.EagleMUNC.org Boston College Model John Colpoys

United Nations [email protected] Conference March 17-19 2017

United Kingdom House of Commons

Letters from the Secretariat Delegates, It is my distinct pleasure to welcome you to EagleMUNC V! My name is Kerianne DiBattista, and I am the Secretary-General of EagleMUNC V. I am a senior at Boston College in the Morrissey College of Arts and Sciences majoring in International Studies with a concentration in Economics. I am originally from Long Island, NY, and I have been participating in Model UN conferences since I was in tenth grade, rising to become Head Delegate and Secretary-General of my high school conference. At BC, I travelled to several conferences with our MUN team and I have participated EagleMUNC since my freshman year. As you begin your EagleMUNC V experience, I implore you to explore the conference theme, "The Interplay of Power and Ethics," and make your EagleMUNC experience the best it can be! Thank you, and I'll see you at EagleMUNC!

Best Regards, Kerianne DiBattista Secretary-General, EagleMUNC V

Dear Delegates, It is my great pleasure to welcome you to EagleMUNC V! My name is Jack Massih and I am the Under Secretary-General of Political Affairs. I am a senior at Boston College studying Political Science and Economics. I began participating in MUN my sophomore year of high school and have been hooked ever since. I joined the EagleMUNC team as a freshman for the first year we moved off BC’s campus and into Boston, and it has been a joy to witness the conference continuously grow and evolve since then. The Political Affairs team has been working incredibly hard to prepare for the most innovative and exciting conference in EagleMUNC history. I am looking forward to seeing all of your creative and thoughtful responses to the diplomatic predicaments and crises you confront over the weekend.

Best, Jack Massih Under Secretary-General Political Affairs, EagleMUNC V United Kingdom House of Commons

Letter from the Chair

Greetings Delegates, It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the United Kingdom House of Commons! I am thoroughly excited to be chairing this novel committee, and look forward to seeing your passion for politics play out over the course of the weekend. I am currently a senior at Boston College, majoring in Political Science and minoring in International Studies. I am also a native of Scituate, MA and a graduate from Boston College High School. This will be my eight year of involvement with MUN, having started my freshman year of high school, and my fifth EagleMUNC – one as a delegate, and four as a staffer! Outside of Model UN, I play trumpet in several ensembles at Boston College, including the Boston College “Screaming Eagles” Marching Band, the Pep Band, and the Symphonic Band. This past spring I spent an enjoyable semester studying abroad in Paris, and welcome any delegate to speak French with me! The UK House of Commons committee at EagleMUNC has been a pet project of mine for several years, and I am excited to see how this idea becomes a reality. The Rules for this committee are one-of-a-kind (more on that later) and will seek to simulate the energy and format of the debates in the real life House of Commons. I am sure you will enjoy this open style of discourse and the multi-layered relationship between the Government and Opposition, as well as backbenchers with frontbench leadership. I look forward to meeting you all this March. Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to email me. Best of luck!

Yours sincerely, John Colpoys Speaker, UK House of Commons

United Kingdom House of Commons

Introduction to the House of Commons:

This guide is meant for all delegates as a brief overview of the three topics we hope to discuss during EagleMUNC. It is our hope that this guide serves as a “launching pad” for each delegate’s further research into the topic as it pertains to their Member of

Parliament (MP).

Delegates will represent MP’s from the four largest parties in the House of

Commons, which at the time of the committee are the Conservatives, Labour, the

Scottish National Party (SNP), and the Liberal Democrats (Lib-Dems). Each party’s ideology as it pertains to the committee’s topics is described below.

Brief Introduction to the Rules of Procedure:

The Rules for this committee will be unlike any other Model UN committee you have experienced before. These Rules will be discussed in further detail in a separate

Addendum. The goal of these rule changes is to accurately simulate the realities of

British politics within the realm of EagleMUNC. This will include an unequal but important balance between the party leadership and its backbench supporters, voting by division on bills (“voting with your feet”), and the ability to “intervene” or vocalize your support or dissent with what a current speaker is saying. This format should allow delegates to learn about the workings of the House of Commons in a fun and educational environment.

Within this debate structure, three distinct roles should be defined, as delegates will better understand where their position is in relation to other MP’s: United Kingdom House of Commons

− The party leader is the individual

who heads the organization of that

party’s members in the House of

Commons. The Prime Minister is

the party leader of the majority

party, or plurality party in the case David Cameron, current (September 2015) Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and head of the Conservative Party of a coalition government. These

MP’s are charged to be the chief speaker on behalf of their party’s manifestoes

and ide ology, and are called upon to exhibit particular leadership and str ength.

− The frontbenchers are the ministers tasked with a certain portfolio within either

Her Majesty’s (HM) Government (the ) or in opposition (called Shadow

Cabinets). These MP’s often serve at the pleasure of the party leader, and can be

reappointed as necessary. While they may personally disagree with a policy, it is

expected by custom that the front bench appear united ideologically. Each

frontbencher is charged to be an expert in their respective portfolios and be

prepared to either defend or scrutinize the policies of the ruling Government.

o Please note: For the purposes of EagleMUNC, while a number of

delegates may represent a frontbench MP, as it relates to the topics of

debate, only the following portfolios will be considered as frontbenchers:

Chancellor/Finance, Chief Whip, Defence, Deputy Leader, Foreign,

Health, and Home. United Kingdom House of Commons

− The backbenchers are all other MP’s of a given party. Their role is to represent

the interests of their constituents, their conscience, and above all their party.

For the majority party, this support is vital to ensure that it can enact its policies

and plans. The Chief Whip is tasked with ensuring that backbenchers are both in

step with party votes and that backbencher needs and requests are best

addressed.

A Note on the Timeline of the Committee:

This committee will take place in the recent past to discuss a number of modern issues. The start date for this committee will be September 12, 2015, when Jeremy

Corbyn became leader of the Labour party and Leader of the Opposition. This background guide has been researched and written from the perspective of this date in history. Any event or information which occurred before that date is considered as having occurred according to actual history. However, any event which occurred on or after that date has not occurred, and opens the possibility for the committee to change the course of history.

Topic 1: The Role of the United Kingdom in the :

Historical Background1

The United Kingdom has long been sceptical of its European neighbours. By its very geographical nature as an island nation, the United Kingdom has maintained an

1 Sam Wilson, “Britain and the EU: A long and rocky relationship.” BBC News, 1 April 2014. United Kingdom House of Commons ideological independence from Europe. This separation, both physical and political, has forged a complicated relationship between Britons and Europeans, in certain cases escalating to military conflict.

The origins of the modern British identity stem from its involvement in the

Second World War. By 1941, Great Britain stood largely isolated from Europe in the wake of German occupation of the continent, and was forced to carry on the fight against Nazi fascism on behalf of democratic Europe. With victory in 1945, the United

Kingdom and other European nations sought to unite Europe politically so as to prevent future military conflict. Prime Minister Winston Churchill, in an address in Zurich on 19

September 1946, called for “a structure under which [Europe] can dwell in peace, in safety and in freedom…a kind of United States of Europe.”

Despite the positive acclamations of Churchill, the United Kingdom was initially reluctant to join the early European coalitions, including the European Coal and Steel

Community (ECSC) founded in 1952, and the European Economic Community (EEC), founded in 1957 with the Treaty of Rome. Later, in 1975, Conservative Prime Minister

Edward Heath advocated for a British referendum on joining the EEC, with a resounding 67% vote in favour.

Joining the EEC did not end the debate on Britain’s role in Europe, however.

Opposition in the 1980’s came chiefly from the Labour party. Leader of the Opposition

Michael Foot included in the party’s 1983 manifesto its desire to leave the EEC. Labour would ultimately lose to the majority Conservatives under , though the sentiment of European hostility remained. United Kingdom House of Commons

It would be under Thatcher’s premiership that the relationship between the UK and the EEC (now simply the European Commission, or EC) became increasingly contentious. In 1985, French socialist Jacques Delors became President of the European

Commission, and began to advocate for further centralization of the community’s politics, including the creation of a single European currency. Thatcher rejected this federal enlargement, calling it “a European super-state exercising a new dominance from Brussels.” Despite this passionate opposition from Thatcher, her successor John

Major would oversee Britain’s adoption of the Maastricht Treaty in 1992, which established the modern evolution of the European Union (EU) as well as the usage of the euro across Europe, though this and other social provisions were not enacted by the

United Kingdom.

In 1997, Britain under Labour Prime Minister would adopt the social provisions of the treaty as well. Included in Blair’s vision for a more integrated UK in

Europe was the ultimate adoption of the euro; this provision, however, met staunch opposition, led primarily by Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown, who cited fears of economic downfall for Britain. “Indeed,” wrote Brown, “I was ready to resign as

Chancellor if I was unable to persuade my colleagues of the grave risks of taking us immediately into euro membership.” Brown was able to persuade the Blair government not to adopt the euro, a decision which has stood to the present time. Brown would succeed Blair as leader of the Labour party – and thus Prime Minister – in 2007.

Through this period of European embrace, opposition Conservative party members developed a Eurosceptic position that would spread to the population at United Kingdom House of Commons

large. In the 2010 general election, the Conservative party won a plurality of seats and,

after negotiations with the Liberal Democrats, formed a coalition government headed

by Prime Minister David Cameron. In keeping with his party’s undercurrent of

Euroscepticism, Cameron vetoed an EU treaty in 2011 that would have established new

budget rules for members. This decision can arguably mark the beginning of the

present status of relations between the United Kingdom and Europe, as it returned to

the forefront the difficulties between Britain and the continent that have pervaded its

history for centuries.

Present Situation2

Over the past several years, Europe has undergone an ideological shift whereby

nationalist, populist, and right-wing political parties and groups have grown in number

and in influence. For the United Kingdom, this shift was most evident in the 2014

European elections, where the United

Kingdom Independent Party (UKIP) won the

most UK seats in the Parliament. Among other

policies, UKIP’s primary mission has been anti-

European and has called on the United Kingdom

to leave the European Union. Along with other

British Eurosceptics, UKIP has argued that a

Current (September 2015) member nations of the British exit from the EU – colloquially known as European Union are in blue. The U.K. is highlighted in yellow.

2 Katie Allen et al, “ – what would happen if Britain left the EU?” The Guardian, 14 May 2015. United Kingdom House of Commons

“Brexit” – would benefit the UK threefold: first, that the country could refocus its economy towards more favourably British policies; second, that immigration could be more properly regulated by an independent Britain; third, that the UK could free itself politically from the binding policies and control of the EU in Brussels.

With the economic impact, experts are divided over their ability to accurately predict the hypothetical outcome of a British withdrawal from the EU. According to a

2012 study, the United Kingdom paid a net £9.6bn to the European Union, or 0.6% of

Britain’s nominal GDP. Critics of Brexit argue that the closure of European markets to the UK – however limited – would weaken the British economy and, in a worst-case scenario, could plunge Britain and possibly the world economy into a second recession in less than a decade. Further, for some pro-EU advocates, the benefits received from

Brussels, such as agricultural subsidies, would be difficult to acquire domestically and could damage a number of British industries. Supporters of Brexit counter these theories with the argument that the freedom of the British economy from European regulations would allow for its economy to become independently prosperous by investing in emerging markets such as Brazil and India.

With immigration, just as with the economy, experts seemed split on how much control the UK would lose or gain as a result of leaving the EU. A 2014 study found that, of the 624,000 immigrants to the UK that year, 251,000 – about 40% - came from EU countries. Members of UKIP and other pro-Brexit advocates argue that Europe’s open border policy – within which the UK does not fully participate – has allowed for an influx of refugees and other persons to Europe and ultimately to the UK, and that United Kingdom House of Commons independence from the EU would allow Britain to secure its own border and remove itself from refugee obligation. Other experts have argued that for Britain to maintain access to European markets, leaders on the Continent may require the UK to maintain its limited open-border policy. Likewise, Britons would face stricter policies were they to attempt to gain access to the European mainland. Another issue that has been raised surrounds the United Kingdom’s only land border with the , which is also a member of the European Union; to implement stricter policies along this border may inflame age-old divides between the two countries.

With regards to political influence in Europe, further division exists in attempting to predict the future on a British withdrawal. Critics argue that the UK would lose significant influence over the political affairs of Europe, and could ultimately decline as a major European and global power. Such people have cited the relationships of Norway and Switzerland with the EU, whereby these countries participate limitedly in the European system but without significant say in the policies the Union enacts.

Pro-Brexit ideologues counter that freedom from the regulatory and pedantic policies of the EU would allow Britain to wiled political clout and independent influence over the continent, as it has done in the past as a global leader.

Under Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty – one of a number of governing documents for the European Union – member states may decide to leave the Union at any time. Should that happen, “the Union shall negotiate and conclude an agreement with that State, setting out the arrangements for its withdrawal, taking account of the framework for its future relationship with the Union.” That state is then officially United Kingdom House of Commons withdrawn from the Union either at the conclusion of these negotiations or, failing that, two years from the declaration of intent to withdraw.

In an effort to maintain his party’s control of the House of Commons, Prime

Minister David Cameron pledged to hold an In-Out referendum among the British people on this question of European Union membership. Cameron and the

Conservative party won a narrow majority in May of this year, and the question of this referendum – and British-European relations at large – are now under discussion by

MP’s in Parliament and the country at large.

Bloc Positions3

Conservatives: The Conservative party has formally declared neutrality in the debate, allowing its members to campaign for either side. Members of the Remain camp, including Prime Minister David Cameron, contend that the financial and political benefits of remaining in the EU far outweigh the potential gains of an independent

Britain, and worse the possible downfall of the British economy. Eurosceptic conservatives, including former London mayor Boris Johnston, argue that Britain is not reaching its full capacity as a nation under the EU, and should declare “independence” and in so doing bring political control back to London and the UK.

Labour: The Labour party has declared itself part of the “Remain” campaign. While the party supports an in-out referendum, it also wants to legislatively ensure that no

3 “Policy guide: Where the parties stand,” BBC News, 2015 (URL: http://www.bbc.com/news/election/2015/manifesto-guide) United Kingdom House of Commons transfer of power should occur from the UK to the EU without such a referendum. In addition, Labour would like to see Britain return to a “leadership role” in a reformed

Europe, and secure for it certain changes to policies such as immigration, welfare, and agriculture.

Scottish National: SNP has also declared itself as part of the “Remain” bloc. The party is strongly opposed to a referendum on EU membership, and believe that the question should only be determined if all four of the constituent country of the United Kingdom

(England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland) vote to leave the European Union.

SNP would also like to see an increased role for the constituent countries in the EU’s

Council of Ministers.

Liberal Democrats: Lib Dems are strongly in favour of the “Remain” side. The party members insist that remaining part of the single European market is essential for

British wealth and jobs. According to its party manifesto, the Liberal Democrats support an in-out referendum so long as a plan for “material transfer of sovereignty” from the United Kingdom is in place.

Questions to Consider

1. What role does Britain play in the future of Europe?

2. Should the Conservative Party fulfil its promise of a referendum, or should

Parliament decide EU membership by other means? United Kingdom House of Commons

3. What terms can the UK negotiate with the European Union to ensure a balance

of cooperation and sovereignty?

Topic 2: The Threat of ISIL to the United Kingdom:

Historical Background

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) initially rampaged through Iraq and Syria on a blitzkrieg campaign of offensive brutality that the regional powers and international community had not anticipated or prepared for. The combat soldiers of the Islamic State committed innumerable war crimes throughout their quasi-theater of war in the Northwestern parts of the region, leaving mass graves of innocent civilians in their wake, along with destroying cultural landmarks dear to the history of the local populations.

The threat of ISIL has progressed from its burst forward into international news in 2013. The extremist group commonly referred to today as IS or the Islamic State, has garnered the attention of and inspired the fear within many powerful countries in the

European Union, including Great Britain. The threat to the British people is tangibly seen in the carnage that the terrorist group has wreaked upon neighboring EU countries such as France, Denmark, and Brussels. The self-proclaimed caliphate has demonstrated its ability to coordinate massive strikes against the crowded city populations of key European cities.

Throughout the world, another equally significant threat lies within the prospect of independent radicalization of national citizens or persons around the world. ISIL United Kingdom House of Commons propaganda pierces the Internet into the viewing of susceptible young, disenchanted, or hopeless individuals looking for a radical cause to fight and die for. The Islamic State’s message twists the message of the Quran to fill this void in people, and their violent rhetoric spurs acts of terrorism throughout the world.4 Estimates of national origin of foreign fighters for ISIS originating from non- Muslim majority countries. Note the number coming from the U.K.4

Present Situation

The Islamic State has yet to conduct an independent formal strike against the

British population on any British soil, but the threat remains alive and imminent. The

British population is currently dealing with a massive immigration crisis from places that the Islamic State has ravaged, such as Syria and places in Northern Africa like Tu nisia. Many of these fleeing refugees are Muslim themselves, and frightened citizens of the EU regard them as dangerous, and sometimes synonymous with terrorism.

In order to prevent the spread of propaganda within the United Kingdom of

Great Britain, some people favor a curtailment of civil liberties such as free speech and

4 Global Terrorism Index. Publication. 2015 ed. New York: Institute for Economics & Peace, 2015. Print. United Kingdom House of Commons freedom of expression. This trend is currently tracking within the EU and around the globe, as governments grapple with the struggle to secure their populations without infringing upon their rights.

In order to increase the security of Great Britain, people have advocated a complete split from the European Union because many people feel that the mutual defense lines put the UK at a disadvantage. Others such as Prime Minister David

Cameron feel that the security lies within a united EU against outside threats, but the populations around the country are largely divided.

Bloc Positions

Conservatives: The Conservative party supports a plan which strengthens police and intelligence resources to monitor and prevent terrorist plots in the United Kingdom.

They also wish to enact a plan which would make it difficult for Britons to leave the country to fight for ISIL, including the forfeiture of passports in extreme cases. HM

Government under the Conservatives also supports the growing international coalition’s efforts to use air and drone power to attack ISIL in Iraq and Syria.

Labour: The Labour party supported the coalition airstrikes in Iraq against ISIL in

September 2014. While they support limited military action, however, the long-term solution to the crisis of terrorism is a “multinational political strategy, with regional actors playing a central role.” Labour also believes in exhausting all diplomatic options before resorting to military force. United Kingdom House of Commons

SNP: The Scottish National Party has no formal stance against ISIL in their 2015 manifesto, though the party is committed the strengthening of British defense for the safety of Scottish citizens. This policy includes a reform of the Defense office to include more transparency of function.

Liberal Democrats: The Liberal Democrats are determined to provide for the security of the British people as it relates to terrorism, without exacerbating the dialogue surrounding it. Among its proposals are to provide better resources to police and intelligence agencies to meet the threats posed to Great Britain, engage with religious communities to prevent an anti-Muslim stigma surrounding terrorism, and maintain current counter-terrorism and defense programs.

Questions to Consider

1. How can the United Kingdom best protect against terrorist attacks and

activities?

2. What punishment, if any, should be given to Britons who fight for ISIL or

otherwise commit terrorist activities?

3. Should the United Kingdom take military action against ISIL?

4. Does a terrorist act committed against an ally constitute an attack on the

United Kingdom?

United Kingdom House of Commons

Topic 3: National Healthcare Service (NHS) Reform:

Historical Background

The National Healthcare Service (NHS) in the United Kingdom is the largest and oldest single-payer healthcare system in the world. The NHS as a collective term refers to the four Health Service programs in each of the constituent countries of the UK

(England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland). Established under Clement Atlee’s

Labour government in 1948, the NHS was founded on three guiding principles: first, that healthcare meets the needs of everyone in Britain; second, that services be free at the point of delivery; third, that access to these services be based on clinical need, not on one’s ability to pay. The NHS covers a range of services, from routine screenings with general practitioners (GP’s), long-term treatments, transplants, and emergency treatment such as surgery. 1.5 million people are employed through the NHS, and NHS

England alone provides care for 54.3 million Britons.5 The vast majority of British citizens think positively of NHS, and few want to see it abolished. In a 2014 survey, public satisfactions with the NHS reached 65% - the second highest level since 1983.6

Present Situation

While many are satisfied with the NHS overall, certain institutional issues pervade, and the parties in Parliament differ over the best means to solve them. The primary areas of concern include the need to decrease wait times for care access, the

5 Homepage (URL: http://www.nhs.uk/pages/home.aspx) 6 British Social Attitudes survey, 2014 (URL: http://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/public-satisfaction- nhs) United Kingdom House of Commons costs and investments of public funds into the program, and the increase in “health tourism” – non-UK citizens coming to the UK to receive inexpensive or free medical treatment.

A study in April 2015 found that 8.2% of patients (roughly 441,000 people) needing Accident and Emergency services waited longer than 4 hours, a painfully long amount of time for such services. Further, the proportion of inpatients waiting longer than 18 weeks for treatment is at 13%, the highest level since polling for this goal began.7 Costs for medical care are also on the rise. One report argues that, without systemic changes, the NHS could face a £30bn funding gap by 2020.8 Each party has a different plan as to the amount and source of NHS funding, which is laid out in each party’s respective manifesto from the election earlier this year. Lastly, a number of non-UK citizens, particularly members of the EU, have used British medical services but, due to both the nature of UK’s medical payment structure and EU agreements to ensure medical access for citizens, these patients often do not pay for these services.

Some in the UK argue that there needs to be a system in place to curtail “health tourism.”

Bloc Positions

Conservatives: A part of its election manifesto, the Conservative party has pledged to increase spending on NHS in England by at least £8bn from now until 2020. Also by

7 “NHS enters 2015/16 facing biggest challenges in recent history, warns The King’s Fund,” The King’s Fund, 23 April 2015. 8 My Health London, “Today’s NHS – our current challenges”, 8 March 2016. United Kingdom House of Commons

2020, the Conservatives hope to have achieved seven-day access to general

practitioners (GP’s), same-day appointments for people over 75 years of age, and to

integrate the services of health, social care, and mental health.

Labour: In its election manifesto, Labour has set out concrete goals towards reforming

NHS, an institution intimately tied to the history of the party. Among its goals are the

promise that, by 2020, wait times for cancer tests will not exceed one week, a desire to

repeal the Health and Social Care

Act of 2012 – a bill the party argues

is a Conservative guise to privatise

the NHS – and a general effort to

curtail the privatisation of Britain’s

health services.

1Anthony Burnham then Shadow Secretary of Health addresses the audience at the NHS Confederation Conference in 2014

SNP: The Scottish National Party is committed to continuing the tremendous care of

NHS Scotland (recall that the governance of the NHS is devolved to the four

constituent countries of the UK). SNP rejects the authority of Parliament to impose

standards of austerity, privatisation, and charging patients for care outside of NHS

England – all care should be free at the point of need for British citizens.

United Kingdom House of Commons

Liberal Democrats: The Liberal Democrats promised in this past election to deliver

£8bn in funding for the NHS to ensure the service continues to provide for all British citizens. Additionally, the Lib Dems included in their manifesto the prioritization of mental health, and the continued reduction in wait times for patient access to GP’s.

Questions to Consider

1. What factors should determine who has first access to medical treatments?

2. Should action be taken to curtail “health tourism” and other methods of

circumvention?

3. Is a publically-funded National Health Service the best option for the United

Kingdom?