1.Represents government 2.Symbol of authority and source of advice 3.Providing continuity and stability 4.Constitutional flexibility 5.Embodiment of tradition and object of identification for masses 6.Symbol of unity of the UK ▪ Hereditary head of state ▪ Part of both executive and legislative powers ▪ „the monarch reigns, but does not rule“ ▪ King can do no wrong (1711) 1.UK = parliamentary democracy + a constitutional sovereign as Head of State 2.Not publicly involved in the party politics of government 3.Entitled to be informed and consulted, and to advise, encourage and warn ministers 4.Royal Assent 5.Reserve power to dismiss the PM 6.Reserve power to make a personal choice of successor PM ▪ To appoint a Prime Minister of her [his] own choosing (1963) ▪ To dismiss a Prime Minister and his or her Government on the Monarch's own authority (1834) ▪ To summon and prorogue parliament ▪ To command the Armed Forces ▪ To dismiss and appoint Ministers ▪ To refuse the royal assent (1707/8) ▪ The power to declare War and Peace ▪ The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas ▪ The power to ratify and make treaties ▪ But 2010 Constitutional Reform and Governance Act ▪ codifying the Ponsonby Rule (constitutional convention: most international treaties had to be laid before Parliamet 21 days before ratification ▪ Personal, political and criminal inviolability ▪ Unaccountability ▪ To issue and withdraw passports ▪ To appoint Bishops and Archbishops of the Church of England ▪ To grant honours ▪ Prerogative of Mercy ▪ …. ▪ Annually ▪ Tradition from 1600s ▪ Current ceremony 1852 ▪ Presented in HL ▪ HC members present too ▪ Followed by ▪ 'Humble Address to the Queen ▪ Parliamentary debate on the Speech ▪ 4-5 days ▪ Speech is then approved of by HC ▪ Above-parties ▪ No participation in elections ▪ Co-operate with any cabinet ▪ Avoid controversial statements ▪ „King can do no wrong“, if his steps consulted with the cabinet ▪ Part of the parliament ▪ Royal Assent (no legislative initiative) ▪ Bagehot (1867): „But the Queen has no such veto. She must sign her own death-warrant if the two Houses unanimously send it up to her. It is a fiction of the past to ascribe to her legislative power. She has long ceased to have any.“ ▪ Queen‘s Consent ▪ from 1600s kings do not sign bills in person ▪ Except. 1854 ▪ until 1967 Lords Commissioners ▪ From 1967 Royal Assent Act ▪ „La Reyne le veult“ ▪ Queen‘s approval needed for bills affecting ▪ Royal Prerogative QUEEN‘S ▪ Personal property ▪ Personal interests ▪ Hereditary revenues of the Duchy of Lancaster CONSENT AND or the Duchy of Cornwall (Prince‘s Consent) PRINCE‘S CONSENT (2012) 1. RA after parliamentary voting QUEEN‘S 2. RA all legislation CONSENT X 3. RA always provided (after 1707) 4. RA royal prerogative (constitutional part) ROYAL ASSENT ▪ X QC parliamentary procedure ▪ Traditional right to attend cabinet meetings ▪ Exception ▪ 1781 George III ▪ WW2 George VI ▪ 2012 Elisabeth II 1. Bill of Rights (1689) 2. Act of Settlement (1701) 3. Succession to the Throne Act (2013) ◼ male preference primogeniture ◼ Exclusion of catholics ▪ Also 16 Commonwealth countries ▪ Australia, Canada, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Grenada, Jamaica, New Zealand, … 1. End of male preference primogeniture 2. End of disqualification of persons married to Catholic spouses in the succession to the Crown 3. Monarch is still required to be Protestant 4. Royal Marriages Act 1772 repealed 5. Only the first 6 persons in line to the throne require the Sovereign's approval to marry ▪ Legis = genitive case of lex (law) ▪ Lator = a person, who proposes ▪ House of Commons ▪ House of Lords ▪ Monarch ▪ 700 -1100: Witenagemot ▪ After 1066: Magnum Concilium (Great Council) ▪ → assembly of church leaders and wealthy landowners to discuss the affairs of the country ▪ From 1254 knights as well ◼ 1265 de Montfort Great Council enlarged by towns ◼ → PARLIAMENT ▪ The term „parliament“ used since 1239 ▪ Originally : an act of „discussion“ ▪ Parliament = Great Council‘s debate ▪ Great Council summoned irregularly ▪ Regular meetings after 1327 (Edward III) ▪ Information and communication ▪ Consultative and advisory body ▪ Collect taxes ▪ 1297 – no taxation without representation ▪ 1341 reaffirmed ▪ House of Commons ▪ knights of the shire (representatives of the counties) ▪ burgesses (representatives of the towns) ▪ House of Lords ▪ noblemen ▪ Clergy ▪ Extremely weak bicameralism (Sartori) ▪ Walter Bagehot (1867): ▪ Elective ▪ Expressive ▪ Teaching ▪ Informing ▪ Legislative ▪ Making x providing consent (refusal) of bills ▪ Major function: ▪ Control of cabinet ▪ MPs expected to take care of their voters ▪ Hereditary peers ▪ Life peers ▪ Bishops (Lords Spiritual) Independent or minor party members Non-aligned to any party CROSSBENCHERS Own parliamentary group No whips (only „Convenor) No common positions ▪ Other non-affiliated members ▪ Outside the crossbenecher group: 1. Lord Speaker 2. Lords Spiritual 3. Members with only loose association with parties ▪ Bad reputation ▪ Blocking modernization ▪ Defeat of liberal cabinet ▪ Reform of religious education (1906) ▪ limitations of pubs and drinking hours ▪ „People’s Budget“ (1909) ▪ → Act of Parliament 1911 1. HL lost power to reject money bills 2. Replaced the HL‘s veto over other public bills with the power of delay 3. HC tenure: 7 to 5 years ▪ HL shall not oppose any government legislation promised in its election manifesto ▪ anything else subject to full debate ▪ Clement Attlee (1945) ▪ Declining importance ▪ Lower lords‘ interest in the work of the HL ▪ 1940s: more than 800 members ▪ 100 regular and 60 active ▪ Macmillan‘s cabinet 1. 1958 Life Peerages Act ▪ 1980s – average attendance 300 lords ▪ 1979-97: 241 cabinet bills defeated ▪ 1997-2005: 353 defeats ▪ → 1998: more than 1 200 members 2. 1963 Peerage Act ▪ permitted women peers ▪ allowed newly inherited hereditary peerages to disclaim the peerage 1.Abolition of hereditary peers 2.Transient HL 3.HL entirely appointed chamber ▪ Hereditary peers abolished ▪ 700 people lost their seats ▪ The Weatherill Amendment ▪ 2003 failure of another step ▪ „Bermuda Triangle of British politics“ ▪ Support cabinet ▪ Criticize cabinet ▪ Her Majesty‘s Loyal Opposition ▪ (formalized and institutionalized) ▪ Originally irregular ▪ after 1688 parliament summoned once a year for a period of 20 weeks ▪ 1694: 3 years ▪ 1715: 7 years ▪ 1911: flexible 5 years ▪ 2011: fixed 5 years ▪ From 2011 no issue ▪ Before 2011 ▪ Monarch obliged to comply with PM‘s request ▪ But: hung parliament? ▪ 1784 W. Pitt asked monarch to dissolve HC ▪ → constitutional convention ▪ Monarch dissolves HC only on PM‘s request ▪ Law ▪ Constitutional convention ▪ Royal prerogative ▪ Originally – large discretion of PM ▪ Snap elections ▪ 1983 M. Thatcher –„Falkland factor“ ▪ 1950 debate on King‘s planned response to a slight majority of newly elected Labour ▪ → reaction Alan Lascelles ▪Monarch reserves right to refuse, if… ▪Vital, viable, and capable of doing its job ▪New elections – detrimental for national economy ▪Alternative PM capable of commanding majority ▪Fixed term parliament ▪Only 2 exceptions ▪ No-confidence vote, but failure to pass confidence in a new cabinet within 14 days ▪ 2/3 majority in favour for early elections ▪→ Monarch sets the date of new elections (upon PM‘s request) ▪ HC dissolved 17 working days prior elections ▪ PM – right to postpone the elections max by 2 months ▪ Tradition since 1377 ▪ Second most prestigious function ▪ Represents HC to Monarch, HL and other authorities ▪ Chairs the HC Commission ▪ Chairs debates ▪ Sets the program of debates ▪ keeps order and calls MPs to speak 1. directing MP to withdraw remarks if, using abusive language 2. suspending the sitting of HC due to serious disorder 3. suspending MPs who are deliberately disobedient (naming) 4. asking MPs to be quiet ▪ must remain politically impartial at all times ▪ Resigns from party after election ▪ „ the Speaker seeking re-election“ Sir Lindsay Hoyle ▪ Originally – little restrictions on the rules ▪ Any MP could propose a Speaker ▪ mostly behind-the-scenes lobbying and only one candidate ▪ 2000 – 12 candidates - debate lasted all the day ▪ → new system proposed (2007), valid since 2009 ▪ Nomination ▪ 12 members (3 parties) ▪ Absolute majority system John Bercow –2009-19 ▪ Originally weak ▪ After 1688 took upper hand ▪ Middle of the 19th century- golden era ▪ Then gradual decline ▪ 1832 Reform Act ▪ Number of voters increased by 49 % ▪ Aristocratic influence decreased ▪ Still – low number of voters, mass parties unnecessary ▪ → great power of few single independent MPs ▪ → „golden age“ of Parliament ▪ From 1850s – rise of parties ▪ Walter Bagehot (1867) ▪ Lawrence Lowell (1896) ▪ Mainly Lord Bryce (1921) - developed thoughts on the decline of parliament ▪ Parties emerged not as expression of democracy, but as vehicles for managing parliament ▪ Industrialization → growing mass of urban population without suffrage ▪ → pressure to change ▪ → electoral acts ▪ 1832, 1867 and 1884 ▪ Growth of people with voting right by 90 % ▪ → encouraged rise of mass parties ▪ 1884 most working men gained suffrage ▪ → weakening of Parliament ▪ „dignified „version – Parliament is all-powerful ▪ „Efficient „version – Parliament does not play any role ▪ → weakening of HL as well as HC ▪ Lost 2 functions (Bagehot) ▪ Elective (voters) ▪ Legislative (cabinet) ▪ Further impacts of industrialization ▪ Differentiation of the society ▪ Greater complexity and specialization ▪ Growth of interest groups, trade unions… ▪ Rise of cabinet ▪ Legislation – provides mostly only framework ▪ Details of laws left to executive legislation (i.e. Statutory Instruments) ▪ Government increasingly reliant on expertize and information provided by interest groups and professionals ▪ 20th century – most legislative bills initiated by the government ▪ →Parliament does not legislate, but rather legitimates.