British and American political systems

25. British and American political systems

Great Britain

• Is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch (=a head of the state)

• The Queen

  • is impartial, she does not rule, acts on advice of her ministers

  • the country is governed, in her name, by the Government

  • today it’s Queen Elizabeth II., in office since 1953

• The Parliament

  • Consists of the Sovereign (formally) + the House of Lords + the House of Commons

  • The House of Lords

    • Higher, but less powerful, 700 non-elected members

    • Hereditary peers = Lords, or Viscounts, generally those, who’ve inherited their title

    • Life peers = those given the titles for their service in public life, their children do not inherit them

    • Lords spiritual = 2 Archbishops (York, Canterbury) and 24 Bishops

  • The House of Commons

    • Lower, but more powerful, 650 MPs (Members of Parliament)

    • The elections take place at least once in five years

    • Each constituency (a part of Britain) elects one MP

    • The Party, which got the most votes, gets to form the Government (with Prime Minister as its head)

    • 3 main political parties in Britain: the Conservative, the Labour, the Liberal-Democratic

• Scottish Parliament

  • Democratically elected unicameral legislature located in Edinburgh

  • Its 129 Members cannot decide about foreign policy, only some domestic

• National Assembly for Wales

  • Democratically elected devoted assembly of 60 Members

  • Can make legislation in Wales without having to consult with the UK Parliament

• Northern Ireland Assembly

  • Democratically elected unicameral body consisting of 108 Members

  • Has power to legislate in wide area (in such that is not reserved for the UK Parl.)

The USA

• Is a federal republic consisting of 50 states + District of Columbia

• Each state has slightly different laws, education, taxes and government

• Each state government has to keep to the Constitution, it sets the basic form of government – 3 Branches (executive = president, legislative = Congress, judicial = Supr. Court)

• The federal government deals with the Matters concerning the whole USA (foreign affairs, defence, finance)

• The President

  • Head of the federal government

  • Elected every 4 Years – maximally twice – by a system called the electoral college

  • Each state has a number of electoral college votes, according to the number of Senators and Representatives in the state

  • Is asked to agree with a bill, can veto

• The Congress (the seat = Capitol Building)

  • America has developed a two-party system: the Democratic and the Republican

  • The House of Representatives

    • Lower, but more important

    • 435 Representatives (Congressmen/women) elected by their states

    • Number of Congressmen elected by one state depends on its size

    • Can decide whether a bill becomes a law

  • The Senate

    • Higher, but less powerful

    • 100 Senators elected by their states

    • Each state has 2 Senators

    • Has to agree with the lower house on order to pass the law to the President

• The Supreme Court

  • Watches over the President and the Congress – whether they obey the Constitution