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UW-Madison POLISCI 106 - The United Kingdom II

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POLI SCI 106 1st Edition Lecture 8 Outline of Last Lecture 1. The Constitution2. Sources of United Kingdom Constitution3. Main Principles of Westminster System4. Parliament: Westminster5. The Prime Minister6. PM's Power ResourcesOutline of Current Lecture 1. The Cabinet 2. Liberal Democrats3. Political Responsibility4. Individual Responsibility 5. Law-Making6. Parliamentary Opposition7. Opposition8. Accountability and ResponsibilityCurrent Lecture - The United Kingdom IIThe Cabinet - - at top: cabinet = senior government ministers- below: committees-senior career civil servant (permanent secretary) with operational duties (for each committee)-minister and permanent secretary work in tandem-advantage: hold onto policies because same people in office-disadvantage: same policy - makers can create friction (prime minister stays)-despite certain level of mutual mistrust and incomprehension, must work closely together- Main Functions - -reaching or endorsing final decisions on major issues-settling disputes between government departments-determining government business in Parliament- Members - from both Conservative Party and Liberal Democrats-unusual in the UK to have a coalition government-policy and personnel are both issuesLiberal Democrats - - Collective responsibility - -convention that ministers are jointly responsible for government partyThese notes represent a detailed interpretation of the professor’s lecture. GradeBuddy is best used as a supplement to your own notes, not as a substitute.-all members expected to back political decisions publicly whether or not he agrees with the decision-should resign if they cannot support a key element of it- Individual Responsibility - -convention that ministers are responsible to parliament-for policy of their departments-for officials in these departments-for their own personal conduct-even if someone below them does something wrong, it is conventional for the minister to resign because they are thought to not have control of their departmentLaw-Making - - in theory: Parliament = free hang in passing legislation- in practice: executive and legislature "fused"-strong cabinet government with majoritarian control in parliament- UK legislature - "policy-influencing" -executive makes policy, legislative majority "rubberstamps"/legitimizes it (most of the time...)- Cohesive parties/party discipline = key element of parliamentary system-can make promises to achieve votes on legislation -voting against government = "nuclear option"Parliamentary Opposition - - largest party that is not included in the government- leader paid additional salary- important to keep a check on party in power- very institutionalized - show what the alternative would be to government policy- "shadow" cabinet - who would be holding office if that party were in power is public knowledge- dissenting position is "institutionalized," crucial element of democracy- government opposition dynamic shapes political process (almost always: majority party supportsgovernment policy, opposition opposes it)Opposition -- main opposition party ("official opposition" = Labour Party)- Edward Miliband leader of partyAccountability and Responsibility - - Accountability - extent to which voters can reward or punish representatives for their behavior in office - Clarity of Responsibility - extent to which voters can identify exactly who is responsible for a government's policies-opposition leader is not responsible because they have no power in the


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