Добавил:
Upload Опубликованный материал нарушает ваши авторские права? Сообщите нам.
Вуз: Предмет: Файл:
Minchenkov_A._Glimpses_Of_Britain_Ucheb.a4.pdf
Скачиваний:
205
Добавлен:
17.05.2015
Размер:
8.21 Mб
Скачать

А. Г. Минченков. «Glimpses of Britain. Учебное пособие»

Government

In the United Kingdom’s parliamentary system the executive is not separate from the legislature, since Cabinet members are drawn from Parliament.

‘Her Majesty’s Government’ governs in the name of the Queen, and its centre, 10 Downing Street, the residence of the Prime Minister, lies in Whitehall, a short walk from Westminster. According to custom, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet (which he or she heads) are responsible for their actions to Parliament, of which they are members. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair (of the Labour Party), who has been in office since 1997.

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Sovereign, who is bound by constitutional convention to choose the individual most likely to command the support of the House of Commons (normally, the leader of the party with a majority in that body). Should the Prime Minister lose the confidence of the House of Commons (when, for example, a no confidence motion has been passed), he or she is morally obliged by similar conventions either to resign (in which case the Sovereign can try to find another Prime Minister who has the House’s confidence) or to request the monarch to call a general election.

By convention, the Prime Minister also holds the office of First Lord of the Treasury. Some have held yet more offices; for example, Tony Blair is both First Lord and Minister for the Civil Service.

The Prime Minister’s chief duty is to “form a Government”, that is to say, to create a Cabinet or Ministry which will sustain the support of the House of Commons. Unless the Government is a coalition, it is drawn solely from one political party. The Prime Minister generally co-ordinates the policies and activities of the Cabinet and the various Government departments, acting as the “face” of Her Majesty’s Government. The Prime Minister also has a wide range of powers of appointment. In most cases, the actual appointments are made by the Sovereign, but the selection and recommendation is made by the Prime Minister. Ministers, ambassadors and senior civil servants, senior military officers, members of important committees and commissions, and several other officials are selected, and in some cases may be removed, by the Prime Minister. Furthermore, peerages, knighthoods, and other honours are bestowed by the Sovereign only on the advice of the Prime Minister. He/she also formally advises the Queen on the appointment of Archbishops and Bishops of the Church of England. The appointment of senior judges, while on the advice of the Prime Minister for constitutional reasons, is now on the basis of recommendations from independent bodies. The only important British honours over which the Prime Minister does not have control are the Orders of the Garter, Thistle, and Merit, and the Royal Victorian Order, which are all within the “personal gift” of the Sovereign. The extent of the Sovereign’s ability to influence the nature of the Prime Ministerial advice is unknown, but probably varies depending upon the personal relationship between the Sovereign and the Prime Minister of the day.

There exist several limits on the powers of the Prime Minister. Firstly, he or she is (theoretically at least) only a first among equals in the Cabinet. The extent of a Prime Minister’s power over the Cabinet may vary. In some cases, the Prime Minister may be a mere figurehead, with actual power being wielded by one or more other individuals. Weak or titular Prime Ministers were more common prior to the twentieth century. At the opposite extreme, however, Prime Ministers may dominate the Cabinet so much that they become “Semi-Presidents.” Examples of dominant Prime Ministers include Gladstone, Sir Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. In modern times, Prime Ministers are never merely titular; dominant or somewhat dominant personalities are the norm.

The Prime Minister’s powers are also limited by the House of Commons, whose support the Government is obliged to maintain. The House of Commons checks the powers of the

168

А. Г. Минченков. «Glimpses of Britain. Учебное пособие»

Prime Minister through committee hearings and through Question Time. In practice, however, a Government with a strong majority need rarely fear “backbench rebellions.” Members of Parliament may hold ministerial offices and may fear removal for failing to support the Prime Minister. Party discipline, furthermore, is very strong; a Member of Parliament may be expelled from his or her party for failing to support the Government on important issues, and although this will not mean he or she must resign as an MP, it would make re-election difficult for most. Restraints imposed by the House of Commons grow even weaker when the Government’s party enjoys a large majority in that House. In general, the Prime Minister and his or her colleagues may secure the House’s support for almost any bill.

The Prime Minister draws his or her salary not as Prime Minister, but as First Lord of the Treasury. At present, he receives Ј121,437, in addition to his salary as a Member of Parliament (Ј57,485). Although the Prime Minister is undoubtedly the most powerful figure in British government, his or her compensation is not the highest among ministers: that distinction goes to the Lord Chancellor.

The Prime Minister traditionally resides at 10 Downing Street in London, which George II offered to Sir Robert Walpole as a personal gift. It should be noted that the Prime Minister only resides at 10 Downing Street in his or her capacity as First Lord; the few nineteenth century Prime Ministers who were not First Lords were forced to live elsewhere. The Prime Minister is also entitled to use the country house of Chequers in Buckinghamshire.

Most governments consist of about a hundred ministers, but the esential core is the Cabinet. The Cabinet is a formal body comprised of about twenty senior government ministers chosen by the Prime Minister. These ministers are mainly heads of government departments with the title

‘Secretary of State’. The Cabinet is the key formal decision making body of the executive.

In recent history, the composition of the Cabinet has been made up overwhelmingly of members of the House of Commons, with few members of the Lords. Today, apart from the Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords, offices that are always filled by a member of the House of Lords, no cabinet minister is drawn from the Lords. Besides the Prime Minister, the most important members of the Cabinet are:

Deputy Prime Minister and First Secretary of State

Chancellor of the Exchequer (his department is called the Treasury)

Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth affairs (Foreign and Commonwealth

Office)

Secretary of State for Work and Pensions (Department for Work and Pensions)

Secretary of State for the Home Department (Home Office)

Secretary of State for Health (Department of Health)

Secretary of State for Education and Skills (Department for Education and Skills)

Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural affairs (Department for Environment, Food and Rural affairs)

Secretary of State for Defence (Ministry of Defence)

Secretary of State for International Development (Department for International Development)

Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport (Department for Culture, Media and Sport)

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Wales (Northern Ireland Office and Wales

Office)

Secretary of State for Constitutional affairs and Lord Chancellor (Department of Constitutional Affairs)

Attorney General

169

А. Г. Минченков. «Glimpses of Britain. Учебное пособие»

The Cabinet meets on a regular basis, usually weekly on a Thursday morning, to discuss the most important issues of government policy, and to make decisions. The length of meetings varies according to the style of the Prime Minister and political conditions, but today meetings can last as little as 30 minutes. The Cabinet has numerous sub-committees which cover particular policy areas, especially those which cut across several ministerial responsibilities, and therefore need coordination. These may be permanent committees or those set up for a short duration to look at particular issues (“adhoc committees”). Junior ministers are also often members of these committees, in addition to Secretaries of State. The transaction of government business through meetings of the Cabinet and its many committees is administered by a small secretariat within the Cabinet Office. In practice, and increasingly in recent years, weekly meetings of the full Cabinet have tended to be more concerned with the exchange of information and general discussion of day to day political issues; with major decisions being taken by Cabinet Committees or in informal groups, often during talks between the Prime Minister and an individual minister. Many, or even all major decisions have been said to be made before cabinet meetings. In Tony Blair’s government many sources such as former ministers have suggested that decision making is centered around him and Gordon Brown, and Cabinet is no longer used for decision making. Former ministers such as Clare Short have talked of the total lack of decision making in Cabinet. On her resignation, Short denounced “the centralisation of power into the hands of the Prime Minister and an increasingly small number of advisers”.

There are two key constitutional conventions regarding the accountability of the Cabinet to Parliament: collective cabinet responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility. These are derived from the fact that the members of the Cabinet are members of Parliament, and therefore accountable to it, because Parliament is sovereign. Cabinet collective responsibility means that members of the Cabinet make decisions collectively, and are therefore responsible for the consquences of these decisions collectively. Therefore, when a vote of no confidence is passed in Parliament, every minister and government official drawn from Parliament automatically resign in their role as the executive. Cabinet ministers that disagree with major decisions are expected to resign, as for example, Robin Cook did over the decision to attack Iraq in 2003. Changing the membership of the Cabinet is called a reshuffle.

Individual ministerial responsibility is the convention that as head of department a minister is responsible for the actions, and therefore the failings too, of their department. Since the civil service is permanent and anonymous, under circumstances of gross incompetence in their department, a minister ‘must’ resign. The circumstances under which this convention is followed are of course not possible to strictly define, and depend on many other factors. If a minister’s reputation is seen to be tarnished by a personal scandal they very often resign, often as the result of a short period of intense media and opposition pressure for them to do so.

Questions can be tabled for Cabinet ministers in either houses of Parliament. Cabinet ministers must answer them, either themselves or through a deputy. Written answers, which are usually more specific and detailed than oral questions are usually written by a civil servant. Parliament cannot dismiss individual ministers (though members may of course call for their resignation), but the House of Commons is able to determine the fate of the entire Government.

The official opposition party (the party with the second largest number of elected members of Parliament) is headed by a similar group called the Shadow Cabinet (the Conservative Party is the current official opposition). In recent years the third largest party (currently the Liberal Democratic Party) has also referred to its key figures as a Shadow Cabinet.

170

А. Г. Минченков. «Glimpses of Britain. Учебное пособие»

Local Government

Between 1994 and 1998 the system of local government was reformed throughout the United Kingdom. The main goal of the reform was to replace the two-tier system of county and district councils with single-tier authorities. The Local Government Act of 1994 abolished the two-tier structure in Wales and Scotland, replacing it with a single tier of unitary authorities. Currently there are 22 unitary authorities in Wales and 32 council areas in Scotland (including 3 island councils). In England the structure of local government is more complex. The two-tier system was partly preserved: there are now 34 county councils (Cheshire, Devon, Durham, Gloucestershire, Norfolk, Suffolk, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, etc.) that are further subdivided into 238 district (do not have a royal charter) or borough councils (have a mayor and a royal charter). In addition to these there are 45 unitary authorities that mostly cover areas round big cities (unitary councils of Birmingham, Coventry, Liverpool, Leeds, Manchester, Plymouth, York, etc.). In Northern Ireland there are 26 district councils that are single-tier unitary authorities.

Besides, in rural areas with 200 or more electors there are parish councils. Parish councils have at least five members, who receive no allowance.

Generally, councillors serve 4 years, in Scotland they are elected for three years. Every year they elect one of their number as chairman. The chairman of a city council is commonly called Lord Mayor.

In the areas of England that have a two-tier system of local government the functions are divided between county councils and district councils. The former are responsible for education, highways, social services, welfare, libraries, fire service and refuse disposal, the latter – for housing, urban roads and car parks, environmental health, refuse collection, cemeteries and recreation. Unitary councils basically combine all the functions listed above. The parish councils deal with allotments, recreational facilities and various local issues. According to the Police and Magistrates Court Act 1994, police authorities in England and Wales are separate from the local authorities.

Local government is financed from four sources:

the council tax, introduced in 1993 to replace the unpopular poll tax. This is a tax on the owner-occupier or tenant of a dwelling which is their sole or main residence. The tax is calculated depending on the value of the dwelling, and may be different in different parts of the country. Each dwelling is placed in one of eight valuation bands, ranging from A to H, based on the property’s estimated market value. The Standard band is Band D

non-domestic rates – a tax on other kinds of property. Certain types of property are exempt: agricultural land and buildings, places of public religious worship, some charities

government grants

income from fees and charges for services

At the local level the Crown is represented by the Lord Lieutenant of a county. This officer is appointed by the Monarch on the Prime Minister’s advice. The office itself dates from 1557. The duties of the Lord Lieutenant include attending on royalty during official visits to the county, giving honours and grants on behalf of the Crown and recommending the appointment of magistrates. Another officer who attends on royalty during official visits is High Sheriff. The office was created as early as the 10th century, but has been purely civil since the 16th century. High Sheriff also acts as a returning officer during parliamentary elections.

London is divided into 32 borough councils, their status is similar to a metropolitan district council. In March 1998 the government proposed a Greater London Authority (GLA) covering the area of the 32 boroughs and the City of London, which would comprise a directly elected mayor and a 25-member assembly. A referendum was held on 7 May 1998, and 72 percent voted for the GLA.

171

А. Г. Минченков. «Glimpses of Britain. Учебное пособие»

On 4 May 2000 Ken Livingstone was elected as London Mayor, and the Authority assumed its responsibility on 3 July 2000. In the Assembly 14 members represent the 32 boroughs, while the rest of the members are elected on a Londonwise basis. The Authority deals with transport, economic development, strategic planning, culture, health, the environment, police, and fire brigades. The Assembly scrutinises the Mayor’s activities and approves plans and budgets.

The local authority for the City of London is the Corporation of London. The Corporation is governed by the Court of Common Council including the Lord Mayor, 23 aldermen and 130 councillors. The Lord Mayor is nominated annually by the City Guilds and elected by the aldermen.

Three parts of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – have a devolved assembly: the Scottish Parliament, the Welsh Assembly and the Northern Ireland Assembly respectively. These are not considered local, but national (or provincial) government.

The Scottish Parliament was officially opened on 1 July 1999 in Edinburgh. There are 129 members. The Scottish Parliament has the power to introduce primary legislation, raise or lower income tax by up to 3 pence in the pound and legislate on local government. Scotland also has its government called the Scottish Executive, which is responsible for all matters not reserved to Westminster, such as education, health, law and order, agriculture and the environment. The Scottish Executive is headed by the First Minister.

The Welsh Assembly was officially opened on 26 May 1999 in Cardiff. It has 60 members elected for four years, and is headed by a Presiding Officer. The Welsh Assembly can introduce secondary legislation, on the basis of acts passed by Westminster, but has no power to raise or lower income tax. The Welsh Cabinet has responsibility for ministerial functions relating to health, education, local government and the environment. The Cabinet is headed by the First Secretary.

172