1、the UK politics,showtime now,Composition,legislative process,political parties,legislative process,Perhaps the most fundamental difference between the American and British political systems is the constitution - or the lack of one.The essence of English common law is that it is made by judges sittin
2、g in courts , applying their common sense and knowledge of legal precedent ( stare decisis ) to the facts before them.,legislative process,In the British political system, almost all legislation is proposed by the Government and much of it comes from promises made in the manifesto of the relevant po
3、litical party at the last election. At the beginning of each annual session of the Parliament, the main Bills to be considered are announced by the Queen in a speech opening that years session of Parliament. All legislation has to be approved by both Houses of Parliament.,legislative process,In each
4、 House of Parliament, a proposed piece of legislation called a Bill goes through the following stages: 1,First Reading the Bill is introduced with simply a reading by a Minister of the long title of the Bill 2,Second Reading the general principles of the Bill are debated by all the members of the Ho
5、use and a formal vote is taken. 3,Committee Stage each clause and schedule of the Bill, plus amendments to them and any new clauses or schedules, is examined in detail, in the Commons by a small, specially chosen group of members meeting as Public Bill Committee, in the Lords by the members as a who
6、le on the floor of the House.,legislative process,4,Report Stage the changes made to the Bill in the Committee are reported to and debated by the whole House which is invited to consider the Bill as a whole, approve the changes by the Committee, and consider any further proposed changes that might b
7、e suggested. 5,Third Reading the final version of the Bill is considered by the whole House in a short debate (in the Commons without the facility for further amendments) 6,Royal Assent - the Crown gives assent to the Bill which then becomes an Act, the provisions becoming law either immediately or
8、at a date specified in the Act or at a date specified by what is called a Commencement Order,legislative process,Several points are worth noting about the legislative process: Under normal circumstances, all these stages must be completed in both Houses in one session of Parliament; otherwise the pr
9、ocess must begin all over again. As well almost all legislation coming from the Government, almost all successful amendments originate from the Government. The House of Lords has much more limited legislative powers than the House of Commons. Furthermore there is a convention - called the Salisbury
10、Convention - that the Lords does not block legislature in fulfillment of the election manifesto of the elected Government.,political parties,Prior to the mid-19th century politics in the U.K was dominated by the Whigs and the Tories. These were not political parties in the modern sense but somewhat
11、loose alliances of interests and individuals.,The whigs were generally regarded as the party of the wealthy, the party of the big bankers and businessmen , and at that time they representative the interests of the industrial bourgeoisie.,The Tories were associatedwith the landed gentry , the Church
12、of England and the Church of Scotland. ,and they were reluctant to remove kings.,political parties,By the mid 19th century the Tories had evolved into the Conservative Party , and the Whigs had evolved into the Liberal Party.In the late 19th century the Liberal Party began to pursue more left wing p
13、olicies, and many of the heirs of the Whig tradition became Liberal Unionists and moved closer to the Conservatives on many ofthe key issues of the time.The Liberal and Conservatives dominated the political scene until the 1920s, when the Liberal Party declined inpopularity and suffered a long strea
14、m of resignations.It was replaced as the main anti-Tory oppositionparty by the newly-emerging Labour Party , who represented an alliance between the labourmovement , organised trades unions and various socialist societies,political parties,Today there are three major political parties in the British
15、 system of politics: The Labour Party (often called New Labour) the centre-Left party currently led by Ed Miliband The Conservative Party (frequently called the Tories) the centre-Right party currently led by David Cameron The Liberal Democrat Party (known as the Lib Dems) the centrist, libertarian
16、party currently led by Nick Clegg,political parties,Political parties are an all-important feature of the British political system because: 1,The three main political parties in the UK have existed for a century or more and have a strong and stable brand image. 2,It is virtually impossible for someo
17、ne to be elected to the House of Commons without being a member of an established political party. 3,All political parties strongly whip their elected members which means that, on the vast majority of issues, Members of Parliament of the same party vote as a block,political parties,In the British po
18、litical system, there is a broad consensus between the major parties on: the rule of law the free market economy the national health service UK membership of European Union and NATO(北约),political parties,The main differences between the political parties concern： how to tackle poverty and inequality the levels and forms of taxation the extent of state intervention in the economy the balance between collective rights and individual rights,Byebye,
