Slides on the structure of government in the United Kingdom, prepared for a graduate course in Comparative Political Economy that I taught in 2004.

1. B"tain
!e
United Kingdom
of
Great No#hern
Ireland
and

2. Overview
• Fundamental Principles of Politics and Governance
in the United Kingdom
• The British Political System
• Monarch
• Parliament
• Party and Electoral System
• Civil Service
• Significant Characteristics of British Politics
• Some Notes on the British Economy

3. At-a-Glance
• Official Name: United Kingdom of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland (UK)
• Great Britain is composed of England,Wales and
Scotland.
The UK is a constitutional monarchy that practices
majoritarian, parliamentary democracy.
It espouses a unitary government with a bicameral
legislature and plurality elections within a (more or
less) established two-party system.

5. Basic Principles of Gov’t
• The monarchy possesses largely symbolic
government authority.
• Actual policy determination lies with the prime
minister and his/her cabinet.
• Government is formed by the party with a
majority in the House of Commons.
• Supremacy of Legislative power among the powers
of government (with the consent of the governed).
• Doctrine of Collective Responsibility.

6. The Structure of British
Government

7. House
of Lords
House
of Commons
Monarch
Judiciary
Prime Minister
Opposition
Leader
Cabinet
(Majority)
Shadow Cabinet
(Minority)
(Party Whip) (Party Whip)
House
Speaker
Civil Service

8. Implications
• Government power is concentrated among the
“elites” of the established party structures.
• British politics is largely partisan in nature.
• Party unity, discipline and coherence are crucial to
policymaking.
• The adversarial nature of British politics rewards
political acumen over technical skill.
• The bi-partisan nature of British politics also means
that parties must be prepared to assume office at a
drop of a hat.

9. Political Culture
• Ethnically pluralistic, but more or less politically
homogenous (especially within parties).
• Traditionally, the most significant source of
cleavage has been class difference.
• In more recent times, nationalist pressures in
Scotland and Wales have surfaced.
• Strong emphasis on tradition as institutions that
shape political behavior.
• Deference towards political authority prevails.
• Apparent high degree of trust in government.

10. Political Culture
• Pragmatic or Ideological?
• On the surface clear party differences make it
seem that British politics is ideological.
• However, experts opine that pragmatism
underlies much of British politics.
• Examples:
• Eroding differences between political parties.
• Maintenance of political institutions that
“work”.

11. On the Economy
• The modern British economy has a large socialist
orientation: it is a mixed economy.
• The post-war economic policy of the UK was
informed by “Butskellism”.
• Thatcherite economic reforms did scale back and
improve economic performance with mixed
results.
• The debate is not so much if government should
be involved in the economy, but rather how much.
• To date, Britain remains a welfare state.

12. God Save $ Queen!
~ The End ~
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