4 PART 1: POLITICAL LIFE: THE PARLIAMENT AND ELECTIONS

THE PARLIAMENT

- It works in the Palace of Westminster= House of Parliament

- Among the different areas that we can encounter in the H. of Parliament, we find:
• The House of Commons (where the Commons meet)→ only its members
referred as members of Parliament
• The House of Lords (where the Lords meet)

PALACE OF WESTMINSTER= HOUSE OF PARLIAMENT

THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The Commons is an elected body consisting of 650 members known as members of Parliament
(MPs). MPs are elected to represent constituencies by the first-past-the-post system and hold
their seats until Parliament is dissolved

Traditionally, members of parliament were ordinary people (not specialists) that gathered and
represented the people. As they belonged to different social classes, they shared their
personal experiences

At the beginning of the 20th cent the members of parliament began to be paid

The Commons are publicly elected by UK citizens and it is the party with most representation
in the House of Commons the one that forms government

The Commons debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws. Laws and
bills are passed to the Lords, but in reality, the Lords cannot prevent these laws from being
passed

The Current Chamber was rebuilt after a bombing campaign (the Blitz) in an austere style
(contrasting the ornamental chamber of the House of Lords)

Despite its large membership, the chamber of the House of Commons seats only 427 out of
650 persons, preventing some members from entering. After it was destroyed in a bombing
campaign (the Blitz) in the World War II, there was a discussion about enlarging the chamber
and replacing its traditional rectangular structure with a semicircular design. However, the
chamber was rebuilt in its original size and shape.

Seats in the House of Commons are not really seats but benches and there are no tables too
look more informal. The government sits on the left benches, while the opposition sits facing
them, on the right benches. Benches are separated by a walkway known as the gangway

The speaker is the chief officer and the highest authority of the House of Commons who sits in
the chair in the middle of the benches. He is the one who moderates the talk and makes sure
that the rules are followed. He is expected to be neutral and leave his believes aside so he
does not vote or take part in the debate.

Traditionally, this figure was in charge of telling the monarch the decisions of the parliament,
but nowadays, it is the prime minister the person in charge of the task.

Since the position in which the disputes were not pleasant and no one wanted to be a speaker,
people had to be seated in the chair by force. Currently it safer but the tradition of dragging
the speaker to the chair remains
Question time is an opportunity for MPs to question government ministers about matters
which they are responsible. These questions are asked at the start of a business and are known
as “oral questions” and take place for an hour. The questions and the answers have to be
tabled at least 2 days in advance in order to let prepare the answers carefully and avoid
embarrassed. A supplementary question can also be asked. This question has not been tabled
and it is a way to catch the minister unprepared and make him reveal whatever he does not
want to reveal. (It is unprepared and spontaneous)

Division is a parliamentary term which refers to the act of voting. When a division is called,
members of parliament have to vote going physically into the “division lobbies”. One of them
represents the “Ayes” (the yes, agreement with the proposal) and the other the “Noes” (the
no, against the proposal) After a debate, the speaker ask how many “Ayes” or “No” are there.
If the speaker considers there is no clear answer, he/she calls for a division by yelling “Division!
Clear the lobbies”

The process of voting is known as “dividing the House”

Members do not have to participate in a debate to be able to vote and may be elsewhere in
the Parliamentary estate. To notify Members that a division is taken place, division bells
(located all around Westminster) display that a division is taking pace and ever since it sounds,
members have 8 mins to vote before the doors to the division lobbies are locked.

As they pass through the lobbies, the Members have their names recorded by clerks and are
counted by tellers (whips). Once the lobbies are empty the speaker announces the result of
the division. (Whole process—about 15 mins)

The whips are Members of the Parliament appointed by each party in Parliament to help
organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. They are the responsible of
making sure that the maximum number of their party member vote, and vote the way their
party wants. The whips are also links between the members who sit in the front and back
benches, making sure everybody knows how to vote.

The pairing system consist in an agreement between

two MPs of opposing parties to not vote in a
particular division. This permits an MP to be absent
without affecting the result of the vote as they cancel
each other out (prevents the lobbies being over
crowded)

Frontbenchers are members of parliament who sit in

the front seats. Those are the leaders of the party
and the most remarkable people

Backbenches are those who sit in the back seats as

they are the less important people (ex: most recent
members)

The Hansard is the official report of all Parliamentary

debates.
 THE HOUSE OF LORDS

The House of Lords is the 2nd chamber of the UK parliament that plays a crucial role in
examining bills, questioning government action and investigating public policy.

The House of Lords was initially the more powerful of the two houses, but over the centuries
its power gradually diminished. They have a consultative role; they cannot make a law or pass
a bill but add things. When the parliament wants to pass a bill, it is negotiated between the
members of H. Commons and H. Lords before becoming a law. Lords cannot stop a bill from
being past, they can only delay it for maximum 2 years

The House of Lords also have benches, but the appearance of the chamber is wealthier than
the one from the House of Commons, which is more austere. The place where the Speaker
seats is actually a throne.

The name of the house suggest that the members of the chamber originally were aristocrats,
but with passing of the time, the system has change. Currently, only a small proportion comes
from nobility

The title of Lord is hereditary, there is a hereditary right. That is why it seems as undemocratic.

The Lords are not elected by people like Commons. They are elected either by appointment by
the monarch on advice of the prime minister, because of official function or because of
inheritance.

Currently there are 783 Lords in the House and among them we can find Lords Spiritual and
Lords Temporal.

The Lords Spiritual are members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of their ecclesiastical
offices. The chamber is formed by the 24 more senior bishops from the Church of England and
the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York (a total of 26 Lords Spiritual)

Most Lords Temporal are secular members of the H. of Lords who are either life peers, those
who have a non-hereditary position and are not aristocratic, or hereditary peers, who are
members of British nobility. Since 1999 there are only 92 members. Life peers are appointed
by the monarch on advice of the Prime Minister. However, the Prime Minister is the one who
is making the decision. They also receive life peerage, a title that expires when the person dies.

A 3rd type of Lords existed until 2009, the Lords of Appeal, who were in charge of reviewing the
decisions of the Inferior Court.

In the House of Lords there is also a speaker, the Lord Speaker, who has a similar role to the
one from the commons

Since the Lords do not belong to any specific party there is less debate and discussion than in
the House of Commons
The State Opening of Parliament is an event which formally marks the beginning of a session of
the Parliament. It includes a speech from the throne known as the Queen’s Speech. The event
takes place in the House of Lords chamber on the 1st day of a new parliament government or
after a general election

The ceremony begins with a procession from Buckingham Palace (where she resides) to
Westminster. When she arrives, she enters the Lords’ chamber with the Imperial State Crown.
The queen does a speech in which she says what the parliament would do during the years,
policies… This is the only regular occasion when the monarch, the Commons and the Lords
meet (all together). When the queen arrives in the House of Lords, the figure of the Black Rod,
a senior member of the lords, is sent to the H. of Commons to summon them (saying that the
queen is going to say the speech). The door is closed in her face, refusing her entrance
(performance).

The government refuses the queen entrance because during the civil war, the king entered
the parliament and arrested its members. Ever since then the monarch cannot enter the H. of
Commons. The performance is also a symbol that the Commons are together and they are
independent from the monarchy.

Instead of letting the monarch enter their chamber, they go to the H. od Lords in pairs, with
members of other parties, and listen the queen’s speech
ELECTION RULES

-For election purposes the UK is divided into constituencies (voting districts) which are done in
terms of number of citizens living in a specific area. Each constituency has from 60.000 to
80.000 people/voters living there. And in each of it, a member of parliament is elected to be
their representative in the Commons. However, as the number of people living in the UK
changes so does the boundaries of constituencies.

-In 2019 there were 650 constituencies meaning that 650 Members of Parliaments were
elected.

-Candidates presenting in the elections of a constituency have to make a deposit of £500 and if
they gain the 5% of the vote, they have their money back.

-To be able to vote, the person must be 15 years old and be on the electoral register

Before the elections there is a process of canvassing (petición de voto) in which members from
local parties make a campaign going from door to door asking people how they are intending
to vote. If the person they ask has things really clear they do not often try to change their
mind. On the other hand, if the voter seems to be undecided the party candidate aiming to
become representative of constituency may go to his house and have a conversation with him.
Transport can be offered to those who affirm would be their supporters. This is a way of party
members to know how well they are doing in the election day

They stand at the polling stations, the palaces where people go to vote, and record weather
the people that have claimed to be supporters have voted or not

-The polling day (general elections) takes place on a Thursday and people still work that day,
there is no public vacations. However, school children are the only who have a break from
their routine due to schools being polling stations that remain open from 7am-10pm.

-After the poll closes, ballots papers (secret votes) are taken in boxes to a certain place in the
constituency where they will be counted

-the electoral system is known as the “First-past-the-post” system, a voting method in which
the candidate who gets the maximum number of votes in the elections wins the race to be
elected to a seat in parliament

Ex: Candidate A wins because that candidate received more votes

than anyone else

-The party that wins the general elections is the one who wins the most
candidatures in the constituencies without the need of a majority.

- A candidate can win a plurality (more votes than anyone) or absolute majority (more than
50%). Even though a candidate can be elected by plurality, for a government to be formed they
need absolute majority. When there is a situation where no political party has a majority, it is
known as a hung parliament, meaning that any government formed is either a coalition or a
minority government

A coalition is where two or more parties, who collectively have enough members of parliament
to command a majority, form a government together
A minority government is where the party does not have a majority and still governs. However,
it needs to rely on other parties to pass legislation

-A parliamentary by-election happens when a seat in the House of Commons becomes vacant
between general elections. This can happen when an MP resigns or die, is declared bankrupt,
is unable to carry out their duties due to mental illness or is convicted. A by-election does not
have to take place if an MP changes political party. Until an election, an MP of the same party
in a neighbouring constituency manages constituency matters

- it is considered wrong for a MP to simply resign because by doing so, he is depriving the
citizens from being represented in parliament. To solve that, he has to apply for the post
known as “Steward of the Chiltern Hundreds” which is an office of profit under the crown
MAIN PARTIES

- Conservative Party: Boris Johnson

- Labour Party: Keir Starmer
- Liberal Democratic Party: Ed Davey
- Nationalist Parties and Parties in Northern Ireland

THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

- A right-of-centre party
- Remarkable Prime Ministers
• Margaret Thatcher (1979- • David Cameron (2010-
1990) 2016)
• John Major (1990-1997) • Theresa May (2016-2019)
• Boris Johnson (2019-…)
- History: This party develops from a group of MPs that centuries back were known as
Tories. Now, sometimes in the press are referred as such
- Significance: in the power for the most time in the UK and between 1979 and 1997
won 4 elections in a row (Thatcher+ Major)
- Believes:
• Traditional social hierarchy
• Supports private enterprises and free market (capitalism)
• Seen as the party of individualism
• Low taxes and reducing expenditures on social welfare
- Supporters:
• Traditionally: The Aristocracy and the Church of England
• Richer sectors of society: Wealthy middle and upper-classes
• A minority of the working classes

THE LABOUR PARTY

- A left-of-centre party
- Remarkable Prime Ministers
• Toni Blair (1997-2007) • Keir Starmer (leader of the
• Gordon Brown (2007-2010) opposition since April
2020)
- History: This party developed from the growing trade unions movement at the end of
the 19th century but it was consolidated in the 20th century
- Believes:
• A more equal distribution of wealth (social justice)
• The government should act as a “redistributive” agent
• More government involvement in the economy
• “New Labour”→ the period of its history under the leadership of Bair and
Brown where they try to loosen ties with the Trade Unions in an attempt to
modernize the party
• Tend to be more in favour to the European Union
- Supporters
• Working class and part of the middle-class
• The Trade Unions
 OTHER PARTIES

THE LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

- A central party
- Emerged in the late 1980s from the union between the liberals that have been Whigs
before and the Social Democrats
- Supporters are scattered all over the country
- Believes
• In favour of greater unification with the European Union
• More emphasis to environmental issues
• Believe in giving greater power to local governments
• A reform to the electoral system
- Current leader: Ed Davey (since August 2020)

SNP (SCOTTISH NATIONAL PARTY)

- Beliefs: Stands for the Scottish independence from the UK and for membership of the
European Union
- Supported by:
- Current leader: Nicola Sturgeon

PLAID CYMRU (= “the party of Welsh” in Welsh)

- A Centre-left to left-wing party

- Stands for the independence of Wales from the UK and defends its language and
culture
- Believes Welsh should enjoy greater internal self-government
- Current leader: Adam Price (since September 2018)

SINN FÉIN (= “ourselves alone” in Irish)

- A centre-left to left-wing party

- Stands for “(We) Ourselves”
- Irish republican party active in the Republic of Ireland as well as Northern Ireland
- Consolidated during the 1970s (during the Troubles) and is associated to the IRA
- Current leader: Mary Lou McDonald

DEMOCRATIC UNIONIST PARTY (DUP)

- A Right-wing party
- They are unionists, want N. Ireland to remain the UK. It is a party in N. Ireland
favouring British identity
- Founded during the Troubles in 1971
- The leading party in N. Ireland
- Current leader: Jeffrey Donaldson
EVOLUTION OF THE ELECTORAL SYSTEM

- 1832→ The Greater Reform Bill is passed and the right to vote is spread. Although
there are differences between urban and rural areas because the right of vote
depends on the value of property owned
- 1867→ the right of vote is extended to include more male town workers through
franchise. All male urban householders and male lodgers paying £10 rent a year for
unfurnished accommodation got the right to vote → 2nd Reform Act
- 1872→ The secret ballot is introduced due to the increase in the number of voters
(until this time, they voted rising their hands up)→ Secret Ballot Act
- 1884→ the franchise is extended to include more male rural workers→ 3rd Reform Act
- 1918→ women over 30 are allowed to vote as a reward of their effort during the 1st
World War
- 1928→ all adults over 21 have the right to vote (including women who are given the
franchise on the same terms as men)
- 1969→ the minimum voting age is established at 18

WHY THE UK VOTED FOR BREXIT? +THE PROCESS—SO FAR

David Cameron called a referendum because since Thatcher, the conservatives were divided
and he was pressured by members of his party to call this referendum

It was a new party, UKIP, in favour of independence which was wining attention, so he decided
to ask to the population

The 23rd f June 2016 the question “should the United Kingdom remain a member of the
European Union?” was asked and as a result, the 48.1% of the votes were in favour of remain
while the other 51.9% wanted to leave

By the time the referendum takes place, very little discussion had been made before
referendum on what leave would actually mean

The majority of those who voted to leave seemed to have thought that:

- The European Union was too undemocratic—sovereignty; it had lords who had not
been chosen by people, but appointed. If they separated, they would not be under the
control of those lords they did not want to obey
- The EU was too bureaucratic (hostility towards this; papers)
- The EU was too expensive (each member has to pay a certain amount of money on the
same proportion of their national income and the Britons considered that they were
paying more budget than the aids they were receiving, although Margaret Thatcher
had negotiated a sale in the 1980s)
- They wanted to have control on EU immigration (they felt overcrowded by the
European immigration and wanted to take control over them+ free movement was still
allowed)
- Anti-establishment/ anti-London liberal elite (their voices could finally be heard, a way
of protest against it)

Most who voted to remain was because they were worried by economy and they thought that
leaving would have economic consequences
THE PROCESS—SO FAR

After the referendum, the decision to leave convinced Prime Minister (David Cameron) to
resign the 24th June 2016

The 13th July 2016, Theresa May became Prime Minister with the slogan “Brexit means Brexit”

On March 2017 the UK asked to follow the Article 50 of trigger and makes a notification to
withdraw (the UK informed the European council their intention of leaving the European
Union)

The 25 November 2018 the withdrawal agreement is in final form (it has already been
negotiated)

A controversy in the UK over this matter is produced. The Agreement was not followed by the
government so further negotiations had to be done with the EU

The 13th December 2018 a vote of no confidence triggered in Theresa May. Members of the
conservative party who opposed Brexit affirmed that Theresa was not fit to run the
government. However, after that, she wins some party backing

Theresa May decided to delay the vote over the Brexit agreement and she eventually resigns
because there were many obstacles for her

After her Boris Johnson became the new leader. He could not convince parliament to withdraw
from the European Union, so he calls for the snap election (2019) a general election which
resulted in an absolute majority

With all that, the Brexit is proclaimed the 31st January 2020