HISTORY OF PARLIAMENT (Baclig)

 ANGLO-SAXON TIMES- Origin of the British Parliament

2 FEATURES OF ANGLO-SAXON GOVERNMENT
*WITANS- the wise men
-used to be called to advise the King
*Moot-regular meetings for the ordeal of cases affecting their community
 William the Conqueror-the first Norman King of England
 Magnum Concilium- also known as the great council
-composed of the larger groups of nobles, archbishops. Bishops and
abbots, earls,thegns and knights.
 System of land Tenure- instituted by William the Conqueror
-first loyalty of every landholder was to the king and not to the local
Lord.
 Henry II- Great grandson of William the Conqueror
-his reign followed a period of anarchy and marked the great advance in English
Government.
 John- the governmental authority that was established became limited in his time
-his leadership marked the early limitations in royal authority.
-restraint on political authority that give essence on constitutionalism.
 Magna Charta- Great Charter
-the 1st document being put into writing stating the principle that the king and
his government is not above the law and that government abuses may be resisted.
 Edward I- model parliament( where the representation of 2 knights from each country and
2 burgesses from each town became normal in each parliament.
*3 ESTATES OF PARLIAMENT
>NOBILITY
>CLERGY
>COMMONERS
 14TH CENTURY- system of two chambers in parliament took place
-(house of commons and house of Lords)
 15 century- it is when the system that the proposal for grants of money should originate in
th

the house of commons and wins the approval of the Lords took place and that the
parliament acquired legislative powers.
 Wars of Roses- struggles between the factions of the nobility
 Tudor Dynasty- a line of energetic monarchs who gave the country the firm and orderly
government it wanted.
*FIVE MONARCHS UNDER TUDOR DYNASTY
>HENRY VII-ultimate victor in the Wars of roses
-parliament in his time was a servant of the king rather than an independent
force
 -the real center of governmental activities is PRIVY COUNCIL( a group of
advisers chosen by the king who came from middle classes)

>HENRY VIII-Reformation of parliament (asserted supreme authority or sovereignty of

parliament in making statute and made way in passing the legislation completing the breach
of the Church of Rome and making the king the supreme head of the Church of England.

>EDWARD VI
>MARY I
>ELIZABETH I-reestablished the Anglican church of her father
-her government was firm and orderly and commanded the overwhelming
support of public opinion
-House of commons took pride in their growing political influence
*PETER WENTWORTH- member of Elizabeth’s Parliament
-the indicator of the importance of the House of Commons
 JAMES I- believed in the absolute power of monarchy
-ruled without parliament

 CHARLES I- dissolved his first 2 parliaments in rapid succession and resorted to highly
unpopular forced loans in the absence of financial grants from parliament.
 CIVIL WAR- reflected the social, political and religious cleavage

 OLIVER CROMWELL- the leader of the victorious armies after the civil war
-assumed the title Lord Protector

 CHARLES II-Restored Monarchy

-accepted the supremacy of Parliament

 BILL OF RIGHTS OF 1689- assured the legislative authority of parliament and forbids the
king to levy tax without parliament’s consent and certain individual liberties were
specifically confirmed.

 ACT OF SETTLEMENT-established the authority of the parliament over the crown
-changed the order of succession to the throne

 ROBERT WARLPOLE- first Lord of Treasury and chancellor of the exchequer

-firstbritish prime minister
GREAT BRITAIN GENERAL INFORMATION (Agot)

1. Benjamin Disraeli - The first to have officially used the title Prime Minister who signed the
Treaty of Berlin in 1878

2. Great Britain – an island situated off the north west coast of Europe

3. British Isles – a collection of over 6,000 islands of which Great Britain is the Largest

4. Church of England - the established church of England

5. Four countries that comprises the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Island

 England
 Northern Island
 Scotland
 Wales
6. The English Channel- the body of water that separates southern England from northern
France and links the southern part of the North Sea to the Atlantic Ocean.

7. Albion/Insula Albionum – The earliest known name for Great Britain

8. Elites – The wealthiest and most privileged group

9. Technical Middle Class - They prefer emerging culture, such as social media, and mix mainly
among themselves.

10. Traditional Working Class - This group has the oldest average age, and they're likely to own
their own home.
BRITISH GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE (Molino)

 It is called a CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY governed by a king or queen who accepts the advice
of a parliament.
 It is also called a PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY because it is a government controlled by a
parliament which has been elected by the people.

The Parliament
 Divided into two houses – House of Commons and House of Lords.
HOUSE OF COMMONS HOUSE OF LORDS

 650 Members of Parliament  No fixed members

 Each MP represents one of the 650  Members can be divided into the Lords
constituencies Spiritual, Higher Bishops of the Church of
England, and the Lords Temporal.

 Maximum term of 5 years

 Their function is to delay bills from becoming a
 A general election shall be called after each law.
term
 The Speaker of the House of Lords called the
 The house is chaired by a Speaker, but the post Lord Chancellor – he is a member of the
is non-political Cabinet.

 The Law Lords sit as the highest court of

appeal.

 They were members of the aristocracy, and

the right to sit has passed through the family
from generation to generation.

 This is the upper chamber but the one with

less authority.
THE PRIME MINISTER

 The Prime Minister is a member of the dominant party.

 He/She is the Head of the Government.
 He/She has more power than the monarch.
 He/She oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies
 He/She appoint members of the government
 He/She is the principal government figure in the House of Commons


THE CABINET

 All the members of the cabinet or government ministers shall be coming from the Parliament.
 The members of the cabinet are chosen by the Prime Minister.
 They are assigned to their respective agencies and departments to put the government policy
into practice.
 Every week, they meet to discuss the most important issues for the government.

THE CONSTITUTION

 They have no written constitution, their laws are based on the following:
 Statue law is Acts of the Parliament.
 Common law is the body of traditional, unwritten laws of England, based on judges’ decisions
and custom.
 Conventions are basically rules that have developed during the centuries or may have come into
existence only recently.

FOREIGN POLICY – (Dela Cruz)

• The conduct of foreign policy is in the hands of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
TWO DEPARTMENTS OF FOREIGN OFFICE

 The Foreign Office to the Treasury

 Foreign Secretary

Foreign Secretary

- Keeps in close touch with the Prime Minister, who may be called upon to answer
parliamentary questions dealing with foreign affairs.
- Assisted by three ministers of state and three parliamentary under-secretaries
POST WAR PRIME MINISTERS

 EDEN
 HEATH
 THATCHER

PRIME MINISTER

- He has only a minimal staff at 10 Downing Street

- until 1982 was entirely dependent on Foreign Office staff for advice and assistance in
regard to diplomatic affairs.
ISSUES IN DEFENSE POLICY

- IT has proved to be the most controversial aspect of British foreign policy since the last
war.
NATO

- North Atlantic Treaty Organization

- British forces are committed

British Military Training

- is shaped by the belief that the next war, if there is one, will be against the Soviet Union

BRITISH JUDICIARY (Devocion)

 The judiciary of the United Kingdom is the separate judiciaries of the three legal systems
in England and Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland. However, the judges of the Supreme
Court of the United Kingdom, the Special Immigration Appeals Commission, Employment
Tribunals, Employment Appeal Tribunal and the UK tribunals system do have a United Kingdom-
wide jurisdiction.

SUPREME COURT

 The Supreme Court is a relatively new Court being established in October 2009 following the
Constitutional Reform Act of 2005. Formerly, the Highest Court of Appeal in the United Kingdom
was the House of Lords Appellate Committee made up of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, also
known as Law Lords, which with other Lord Justices now form the Supreme Court. Such Law
Lords were allowed to sit in the House of Lords and were members for life.

 The Supreme Court is headed by the President and Deputy President of the Supreme Court and
is composed of a further ten Justices of the Supreme Court.
  The Justices do not wear any gowns or wigs in court, but on ceremonial occasions they wear
black damask gowns with gold lace without a wig.

JUDICIAL AUTONOMY

 Most constitutional theories require that the judiciary is separate from and independent of the
government, in order to ensure the rule of law - that is, to ensure that the law is enforced
impartially and consistently no matter who is in power, and without undue influence from any
other source.

 The doctrine of the "separation of powers" has traditionally proposed that the state is divided
into the separate and distinct arms of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, whereby each arm
acts as a "check and balance" on the others.

 However, until recently this doctrine was not observed in the UK, with the Executive (the
Government) drawn exclusively from members of the Legislature (Parliament), while in the
office of the Lord Chancellor the three arms were fused: the Lord Chancellor was a Cabinet
Minister, a member of the House of Lords and head of the Judiciary.

 Most constitutional theories require that the judiciary is separate from and independent of the
government, in order to ensure the rule of law - that is, to ensure that the law is enforced
impartially and consistently no matter who is in power, and without undue influence from any
other source.
 The doctrine of the "separation of powers" has traditionally proposed that the state is divided
into the separate and distinct arms of Executive, Legislature and Judiciary, whereby each arm
acts as a "check and balance" on the others.

 However, until recently this doctrine was not observed in the UK, with the Executive (the
Government) drawn exclusively from members of the Legislature (Parliament), while in the
office of the Lord Chancellor the three arms were fused: the Lord Chancellor was a Cabinet
Minister, a member of the House of Lords and head of the Judiciary.

LOCAL GOVERNMENT

Local government in England operates under either a one tier system - unitary authorities, or a two tier
system - county or district councils. There are five types of local authority in England: county councils,
district councils, unitary authorities, metropolitan districts and London boroughs.

County Council

 County councils cover the whole of the county and provide the majority of public services in
their particular area.
County councils are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, passenger
transport, social care, libraries, waste disposal and strategic planning.
DISTRICT COUNCIL

 Each county is divided into several districts. District councils, which may also be called borough
councils or city councils if the district has borough or city status, cover a much smaller area and
provide more local services.
District Councils are responsible for housing, leisure and recreation, environmental health,
waste collection, planning applications and local taxation collections.

UNITARY AUTHORITIES

 Many large towns and cities and some small counties are unitary authorities; i.e. they have only
one tier of local government. Unitary authorities can be city councils, borough councils, county
councils, or district councils.
Unitary authorities are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, passenger
transport, social care, housing, libraries, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste
collection, waste disposal, planning applications, strategic planning and local taxation collection.

METROPOLITAN DISTRICTS

 Metropolitan districts are unitary authorities; they can be called metropolitan district councils,
metropolitan borough councils or metropolitan city councils.
Metropolitan districts are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, passenger
transport, social care, housing, libraries, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste
collection, waste disposal, planning applications, strategic planning and local taxation collection.

LONDON BOROUGHS

 Each London borough is a unitary authority. However, the Greater London Authority (GLA)
provides London-wide government and shares responsibility for certain services.
London boroughs are responsible for: education, highways, transport planning, social care,
housing, libraries, leisure and recreation, environmental health, waste collection, waste
disposal, planning applications, strategic planning, local taxation collection.
The GLA is responsible for highways, transport planning, passenger transport and strategic
planning.

TOWN AND PARISH COUNCILS

 Some parts of England have a third tier of local government. Town and parish councils are
responsible for smaller local services such as parks, community centres, allotments and war
memorials. In both Wales and Scotland there is a single tier system of local government
providing all local government services. In Northern Ireland there are elected local borough, city
and district councils which provide services such as waste disposal, street cleaning and
recreation; however the majority of services are the responsibility of other organisations.
Five types of local authority in England:

 County councils
 District councils
 Unitary authorities
 Metropolitan districts and
 London boroughs.
QUALIFICATIONS IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS (Dimalibot)

AGE - No person may sit in the House of Lords if under the age of 21.

CITIZENSHIP - Only United Kingdom, Irish and Commonwealth citizens may sit in the House of
Lords

NATIONALITY - Act of Settlement 1701, and prior to the British Nationality Act 1948, only
natural-born subjects qualified.

BANKRUPTCY - A person may not sit in the House of Lords if he or she is the subject of a
Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he or she is
adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in Scotland).

WOMEN – Women were excluded from the House of Lords (until the Life Peerages Act
1958, passed to address the declining number of active members, made possible the creation
of peerages for life. Women were immediately eligible and four were among the first life peers
appointed.)