Constitutional monarchy is a form of government in which a king or queen acts as Head of State, while the ability to make and pass legislation resides with an elected Parliament.
The Sovereign governs according to the constitution - that is, according to rules, rather than according to his or her own free will. Although the United Kingdom does not have a written constitution which sets out the rights and duties of the Sovereign, they are established by conventions. (agreements)
The origins of constitutional monarchy in Britain go back a long way. With the signing of the Magna Carta in 1215, for example, the leading noblemen of England succeeded in forcing King John to accept that they and other freemen had rights against the Crown.
Until the end of the seventeenth century, British monarchs were executive monarchs, which means that they had the right to make and pass legislation. But even in early times there were occasions when the Sovereign had to act in accordance with the law and take into account the will of his people.
In the seventeenth century, the Stuart kings propagated/ spread the theory of the divine right of kings, claiming that the Sovereign was subject only to God and not to the law. Widespread unrest against their rule led to civil war in the second half of the seventeenth century. In 1688-9 Parliamentarians drew up a Bill of Rights, which established basic principals such as the supremacy of Parliament. It was the Bill of Rights Act of 1689 set out the foundations of constitutional monarchy. Rights obtained by Parliament included: Freedom from Royal interference with the law; Freedom from taxation by Royal prerogative; Freedom to petition the King; Freedom to elect members of Parliament without interference from the Sovereign
The constitutional monarchy we know today really developed in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as day-to-day power came to be exercised by Ministers in Cabinet, and by Parliaments elected by a steadily-widening electorate.
The appearance
The position of the monarch in Britain is a perfect illustration of the contradictory nature of the constitution. From the evidence of written law only, the Queen has almost absolute power, and it all seems very undemocratic. The American constitution talks about 'government of the people for the people by the people'. There is no law in Britain which says anything like that. In fact, there is no legal concept of ‘ the people’ at all.
Every autumn, at the state opening of Parliament, Elizabeth II, who became Queen in 1952, makes a speech. In it, she says what 'my government' intends to do in the coming year. And indeed, it is her government, not the people's. As far as the law is concerned, she can choose anybody she likes to run the government for her. There are no restrictions on whom she picks as her Prime Minister. It does not have to be somebody who has been elected! She could choose me; she could even choose you. The same is true for her choices of people to fill other ministerial positions. And if she gets fed up with her ministers, she can just dismiss them. Officially speaking, they are all 'servants of the Crown' (not servants of anything like 'the country' or 'the people'). She also appears to have great power over Parliament. It is she who summons a Parliament, and she who dissolves it before a general election. Nothing that Parliament has decided can become law until she has agreed to it.
Similarly, it is the Queen, and not any other figure of authority, who embodies the law in the courts. In the USA, when the police take someone to court to accuse them of a crime, the court records show that 'the people' have accused that person. In other countries it might be 'the state' that makes the accusation. But in Britain it is 'the Crown'. This is because of the legal authority of the monarch. And when an accused person is found guilty of a crime, he or she might be sent to one of 'Her Majesty's' prisons. Other countries have 'citizens'. But in Britain people are legally described as 'subjects' - subjects of Her Majesty the Queen. Moreover, there is a principle of English law that the monarch can do nothing that is legally wrong. In other words, Queen Elizabeth is above the law.
The reality
In practice, of course, the reality is very different. In fact, the Queen cannot choose anyone she likes to be Prime Minister. She has to choose someone who has the support of the majority of MPs in the House of Commons (the elected chamber of the two Houses of Parliament). This is because the law says that 'her' government can only collect taxes with the agreement of the Commons, so if she did not choose such a person, the government would stop functioning. In practice the person she chooses is the leader of the strongest parity in the House of Commons. Similarly, it is really the Prime Minister who decides who the other government ministers are going to be (although officially the Prime Minister simply 'advises' the monarch who to choose).
It is the same story with Parliament. Again, the Prime Minister will talk about 'requesting' a dissolution of Parliament when he or she wants to hold an election, but it would normally be impossible for the monarch to refuse this 'request'. Similarly, while, in theory, the Queen could refuse the royal assent to a bill passed by Parliament - and so stop it becoming law - no monarch has actually done so since the year 1708. Indeed, the royal assent is so automatic that the Queen doesn't even bother to give it in person. Somebody else signs the documents for her. In reality the Queen has almost no power at all. When she opens Parliament each year the speech she makes has been written for her. She makes no secret of this fact. She very obviously reads out the script that has been prepared for her, word for word. If she strongly disagrees with one of the policies of the government, she might ask the government ministers to change the wording in the speech a little beforehand, but that is all. She cannot actually stop the government going ahead with any of its policies.
The role of the monarch
What, then, is the monarch's role? Many opinions are offered by political and legal experts. Three roles are often mentioned. First, the monarch is the personal embodiment of the government of the country. This means that people can be as critical as they like about the real government, and can argue that it should be thrown out, without being accused of being unpatriotic. Because of the clear separation between the symbol of government (the Queen) and the actual government (the ministers, who are also MPs), changing the government does not threaten the stability of the country as a whole. Other countries without a monarch have to use something else as the symbol of the country. In the USA, for example, one of these is its flag, and to damage the flag in any way is actually a criminal offence. Second, it is argued that the monarch could act as a final check on a government that was becoming dictatorial. If the government ever managed to pass a bill through Parliament which was obviously terribly bad and very unpopular, the monarch could refuse die royal assent and the bill would not become law. Similarly, it is possible that if a Prime Minister who had been defeated at a general election (and so no longer commanded a majority in the House of Commons) were-to ask immediately for another dissolution of Parliament (so that another election could take place), the monarch could refuse the request and dismiss the Prime Minister.
Third, the monarch has a very practical role to play. By being a figurehead and representing the country, Queen Elizabeth II can perform the ceremonial duties which heads of state often have to spend their time on. Thisway, the real government has more time to get on with the actual job of running the country.
The British monarchy is probably more important to the economy of the country than it is to the system of government. Apart from this, the monarchy is very popular with the majority of the British people. The monarchy gives British people a symbol of continuity, and a outlet for the expression of national pride.
As a system of government, constitutional monarchy has many strengths. One is that it separates out the ceremonial and official duties of the Head of State from party politics. Another is that it provides stability, continuity and a national focus, since the Head of State remains the same even as governments come and go.
The Sovereign had three rights: "the right to be consulted, the right to encourage, the right to warn". A Sovereign would, over the course of a long reign, accumulate far more knowledge and experience than any minister.
The future of the monarchy
The British monarchy as an institution has not been a burning issue in British politics for several hundred years. There was almost no debate about the existence of the monarchy itself. But during the last two decades of the twentieth century, there has been a general cooling of enthusiasm. The Queen herself remains popular. But the various problems in her family have lowered the prestige of royalty in many people's eyes.
Should they stay or should they go? It is the question that has surrounded the British monarchy for years. The issue tends to raise its head during events of major royal significance.
The British public still have a high regard for Queen Elizabeth II but over the years trust in the royal family has been diminished by her children.
But hundreds of thousands of expectant well-wishers lined London’s Mall to catch a glimpse of the Royal newlyweds Prince William and Kate Middleton, who will now be known as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. The event attracted a huge worldwide TV audience, estimated at around 2 billion viewers, as the British people set high hopes on the couple, as the future monarchs of the country. When Kate and William do take up their roles they will encourage new interest in the Royal family. One thing is for sure, the wedding will spark a new era for the royal family.
Moreover, pompous celebrations of the Queen’s 60th (diamond) jubilee on the throne, demonstrated the degree of affection the British people have not only to the Queen, but to the whole institution of monarchy.
UK Parliament
Parliament in the UK is based on the principle that the people of the country hold ultimate power. They can exercise this power at least every five years, by voting for the person that they want to represent them in parliament, and by voting in a Government. The Government is made up of around 100 people from the ruling party, chosen by the Prime Minister. The most senior members of the Government are called the Cabinet.
The Government - the elected party - makes all important decisions about how the country is run. However, these decisions have to be approved by parliament, which has the power to force the Government to change its mind when necessary.
While the job of Government is to run the country, the job of Parliament is to check Government is carrying out its role properly and effectively. To do this, Parliament has powers to limit the Government and prevent it from becoming too powerful. Government is accountable to Parliament for all of its actions.
Parliament is made up of three institutions: the House of Commons, which has 651 elected representatives called Members of Parliament (or MPs); the House of Lords, which is an unelected second chamber; and the monarchy: the King or Queen.
Every Member of Parliament, no matter what political party he or she belongs to, has to examine the work of the Government. The opposition, which consists of all those parties which are not part of the Government, plays the leading part in this.
What is the House of Commons?
The House of Commons is made up of 651 Members of Parliament (MPs) who are elected by the voters (the electorate) to each represent an area of the UK which is known as a constituency. The British people all live in constituencies and have an MP to represent them in the House of Commons. MPs represent all of the people who live in their constituency, whether or not they voted for him or her.
The leader of the political party with the most seats (MPs) in the House of Commons (the governing party) becomes Prime Minister. He or she chooses a number of senior members of their party to become ministers.
Ministers sit on the front bench in the House of Commons, so are known as frontbenchers. They lead debates and answer questions about their departments (from the despatch box). The party which has the second largest number of seats in the House of Commons is known as the Official Opposition. Its leader is known as the Leader of the Opposition and will also choose senior members of his or her party to be shadow ministers. They sit on the front bench opposite the Government so are known as Opposition or Shadow front-benchers. (ключевой министр, "переднескамеечник") All of the other smaller parties are known as Opposition parties even though some may support the Government. All of the MPs who are not either ministers or Shadow ministers are known as back-benchers (рядовой член парламента, "заднескамеечник")
The House of Commons meets in a building called the Houses of Parliament in Westminster, London, in a specially designed chamber. This chamber was built to hold only 437 of a total of 651 MPs. But the size of the Chamber and its confrontational design contribute to the special nature of debate in the House of Commons, which is lively and often conversational. It is truly a debating chamber, where every Member is free to express his or her own view on a matter, and where opposing arguments can be expressed frankly and passionately. The House of Commons is the main place where legislation and other decisions of government are criticized and assessed. Its work includes the following:
a) legislation: the House spends nearly half its time making laws.
b) controlling finance: before the Government can raise or spend money, it must have permission from the House of Commons.
c)Scrutinizing/examining the Government by asking questions, by holding debates and by committee work.
What is the House of Lords?
There are over 720 members of the House of Lords. They are an unelected group of people who have either inherited their seats or have been given them by the Government. They meet in a chamber with red leather benches, facing each other across a gangway(проход). The Lord Chancellor sits in the middle and supervises debates. He sits on 'the woolsack', a seat which contains wool from all the Commonwealth countries. Members of the House of Lords together have great breadth of expertise and, individually, are characterized by independence of thought.
What types of Lords are there?
Currently there are four types of Lords:
Life peers – who make up the majority of the membership. They are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, who will in turn take advice from others. Life peers are often appointed for services to the country and will have expertise in many different fields. They are appointed for the duration of their life-time and their title ceases on death.
Law Lords – up to 12 Lords of Appeal in Ordinary are appointed to hear appeals from the lower courts. They are paid a salary and can continue to hear appeals until they are 70 although they can continue to sit in the House of Lords as life peers after this age.
Bishops – the 26 most senior archbishops and bishops of the Church of England are entitled to sit in the House of Lords because the Church of England is the ‘established’ Church of the State. They cease to be Members of the Lords when they retire.
Hereditary peers – those Members who have inherited their titles from their family. Until the House of Lords Act 1999 all had the right to sit and vote in the Lords. This was reduced to 92 hereditary peers who were able to remain until the next stage of reform was implemented. These consisted of: 15 ‘office-holders’ who were elected by the whole House; two who hold royal appointments; and 75 Members elected by their own party group.
A major task of the House of Lords is to examine and pass legislation. The House plays a key role in revising legislation sent from the Commons. It also initiates legislation, and so shares the burden of the legislative load.
Another important function is to act as a check on government by scrutinising its activities. The House does this by asking questions, debating policy and, through its select committees, taking evidence from ministers and others.
The House also has an important judicial role as the highest Court of Appeal in the land. The Lords complement the work of the elected House of Commons, which reflects political and constituency interests.
This second chamber (the House of Lords) is not as powerful as the House of Commons. It can suggest changes in laws, but is restricted to laws that have nothing to do with the finances of the country (for example, it cannot suggest any changes to the Budget, the annual statement of the Government's financial plans). The House of Lords cannot reject laws that the House of Commons wants to pass, though it can amend them or put them off. Even then, the Commons can reject these amendments.
Why do the British need Parliament?
They live in a democratic country, which means that they can all have a say in how the country is run. They do this by electing MPs to represent our views in the House of Commons; the part of Parliament which has the greatest political power. The expertise and independence of members of the House of Lords complement the work of the House of Commons.
To give the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland more say over what happens in their own countries, the UK Parliament has devolved (передавать (права, полномочия) (given away) some of its powers to other national and regional bodies. In Scotland, for example, there is the Scottish Parliament which has elected members who make some decisions for Scotland. Wales and Northern Ireland also have their own Assemblies. A Greater London Assembly has also been established.
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