British civilisation

Great Britain: England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland
United Kingdom: Great Britain + Southern Ireland (independent republic)


A Monarchy ---> Monarch ---> King/Queen

The queen is Elizabeth II, she took the throne after her father’s death at 18 years old.

Absolute Monarchy ---> leading to ---> Parliamentary democracy(Early 20th century)
(Middle ages)
Absolute monarchy: a political system where the Monarch (the queen) enjoys all the powers ---> she does not share these powers with anyone else
---> She is the law ---> her decisions come from God ---> must be respected without any discussion ---> Abuse of power and tyranny.

The shift from absolute Monarchy to Parliamentary Democracy

Parliamentary Democracy: A representative system of government
When we have a Parliament:
*House of Commons
*House of Lords

That is supposed to function in a democratically responsible way:
* Free and regular general elections (once every 5 years)
* Separation of powers
* Free political parties with free opposition
In Britain we have a two-party system:
-one in power : the labor party headed by Tony Blair who is the actual Prime Minister
-one in the opposition : the conservative party
*Free press

*Magna Carta 1215 : ( 61 clauses set a clear expression of community’s rights.)
Was the first form of the British Bill of Rights, set off rules to limit the power of the king especially with regard to taxation.
---> “NO” taxation without representation
---> People refused to pay taxes without their consent
The situation rather worsted especially under king Charles I who was very unpopular and simply refused to cooperate with Parliament (other time the main function of Parliament was to discuss the budget and there was no idea of control of government)

*Petition of rights 1628:
Dissatisfied Landowners issued a petition asking for “No taxation without representation” and other political demands.
The ultimate aim is to limit the power of the king and share power with him. This conflict between king and Parliament led to the bloody Civil War 1649-1660 (Oliver Cromwell abolished Monarchy and set up a republican government)
The civil war raised 2 important issues:
- Who is Sovereign?
-What is the nature of the political system to be set up?

*The Glorious revolution of 1688: answered the first issue
“Parliament’s Sovereignty” “the Bloodless revolution of 1688”

*The Bill of rights of 1689: answered the second issue
power should be shared between the king and the parliament and Parliament attempt to protect itself against the abuses of the king.

*The Reform Act of 1832: (or extension of the Franchise 1832)
Extending the rights to vote to a new category of people.
There were many extensions of the Franchise leading to:
- universal suffrage: Men and women over 18 have the right to vote
- Rise or Mass political parties
- Free and regular elections
Contributing to strength of British Parliamentary Democracy