GOVERNMENT
The United
Kingdom does not have a written constitution. The equivalent body
of law is based on statute, common law, and "traditional
rights." Changes may come about formally through new acts
of Parliament, informally through the acceptance of new practices
and usage, or by judicial precedents. Although Parliament has
the theoretical power to make or repeal any law, in actual practice
the weight of 700 years of tradition restrains arbitrary actions.
Executive
power rests nominally with the monarch but actually is exercised
by a committee of ministers (cabinet) traditionally selected from
among the members of the House of Commons and, to a lesser extent,
the House of Lords. The prime minister is normally the leader
of the largest party in the Commons, and the government is dependent
on its support.
Parliament
represents the entire country and can legislate for the whole
or for any constituent part or combination of parts. The maximum
parliamentary term is 5 years, but the prime minister may ask
the monarch to dissolve Parliament and call a general election
at any time. The focus of legislative power is the 646-member
House of Commons, which has sole jurisdiction over finance. The
House of Lords, although shorn of most of its powers, can still
review, amend, or delay temporarily any bills except those relating
to the budget. The House of Lords has more time than the House
of Commons to pursue one of its more important functions--debating
public issues. In 1999, the government removed the automatic right
of hereditary peers to hold seats in the House of Lords. The current
house consists of appointed life peers who hold their seats for
life and 92 hereditary peers who will hold their seats only until
final reforms have been agreed upon and implemented. The judiciary
is independent of the legislative and executive branches but cannot
review the constitutionality of legislation.
The separate
identities of each of the United Kingdom's constituent parts are
also reflected in their respective governmental structures. Up
until the recent devolution of power to Scotland and Wales, a
cabinet minister (the Secretary of State for Wales) handled Welsh
affairs at the national level with the advice of a broadly representative
council for Wales. Scotland maintains, as it did before union
with England, different systems of law (Roman-French), education,
local government, judiciary, and national church (the Church of
Scotland instead of the Church of England). In addition, separate
departments grouped under a Secretary of State for Scotland, who
also is a cabinet member, handled most domestic matters. In late
1997, however, following approval of referenda by Scottish and
Welsh voters (though only narrowly in Wales), the British Government
introduced legislation to establish a Scottish Parliament and
a Welsh Assembly. The first elections for the two bodies were
held May 6, 1999. The Welsh Assembly opened on May 26, and the
Scottish Parliament opened on July 1, 1999. The devolved legislatures
have largely taken over most of the functions previously performed
by the Scottish and Welsh offices.
Northern
Ireland had its own Parliament and prime minister from 1921 to
1973, when the British Government imposed direct rule in order
to deal with the deteriorating political and security situation.
From 1973, the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, based
in London, was responsible for the region, including efforts to
resolve the issues that lay behind the "the troubles."
By the
mid-1990s, gestures toward peace encouraged by successive British
governments and by President Clinton began to open the door for
restored local government in Northern Ireland. An Irish Republican
Army (IRA) cease-fire and nearly 2 years of multiparty negotiations,
led by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, resulted in the Good
Friday Agreement of April 10, 1998, which was subsequently approved
by majorities in both Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.
Key elements of the agreement include devolved government, a commitment
of the parties to work toward "total disarmament of all paramilitary
organizations," police reform, and enhanced mechanisms to
guarantee human rights and equal opportunity. The Good Friday
Agreement also called for formal cooperation between the Northern
Ireland institutions and the Government of the Republic of Ireland,
and it established the British-Irish Council, which includes representatives
of the British and Irish Governments as well as the devolved Governments
of Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. Devolved government
was reestablished in Northern Ireland in December 1999.
The Good Friday Agreement provides for a 108-member elected Assembly, overseen by a 12-minister Executive Committee (cabinet) in which unionists and nationalists share leadership responsibility. Northern Ireland elects 18 representatives to the Westminster Parliament in London. However, the five Sinn Fein Members of Parliament (MPs), who won seats in the last election, have refused to claim their seats. Progress has been made on each of the key elements of the Good Friday Agreement. Most notably, a new police force has been instituted; the IRA has undertaken two acts of decommissioning of its weapons, and some measures to normalize the security situation in Northern Ireland have been taken. Disagreements over the implementation of elements of the agreement and allegations about the IRA's continued engagement in paramilitary activity, however, have troubled the peace process for several years. In October 2002, Northern Ireland's devolved institutions were suspended amid allegations of IRA intelligence gathering at Stormont, the seat of Northern Ireland's government. Assembly elections scheduled for May 2003 were postponed. Elections were held in November 2003, but the Assembly remained suspended. Finally, in 2007, the parties signed the St. Andrews Agreement, which paved the way for the Northern Ireland Government to stand up and for the devolution of powers to Belfast to occur. Responsibility for police and justice issues in Northern Ireland remains the last component of devolution to take place. The parties reached agreement on the mechanism for administration of police and justice issues in 2008, and legislation to legally transfer this authority is now before the Parliament in London. The United States remains firmly committed to the peace process in Northern Ireland and to the Good Friday Agreement, which it views as the best means to ensure lasting peace. The United States has condemned all acts of terrorism and violence, perpetrated by any group.
The United States also is committed to Northern Ireland's economic development and to date has given or pledged contributions of more than $300 million to the International Fund for Ireland. The fund provides grants and loans to businesses to improve the economy, redress inequalities of employment opportunity, and improve cross-border business and community ties.
POLITICAL
CONDITIONS
Tony Blair became the first Labour Prime Minister ever to win a third consecutive term when he was re-elected on May 5, 2005. Labour has a 67-seat majority in the House of Commons. The Conservative (Tory) Party and Liberal-Democrats (LibDems) form the major opposition parties. Blair stepped down as Prime Minister in June 2007. Labour Party leader Gordon Brown succeeded him. The main British parties support a strong transatlantic link, but are increasingly absorbed by European issues as Britain's economic and political ties to the continent grow in the post-Cold War world. Prime Minister Brown has continued Blair’s policy of having the United Kingdom play a leading role in Europe even as the United Kingdom maintains its strong bilateral relationship with the United States.
Principal
Government Officials
Head of State--Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
Prime Minister (Head of Government)--The Rt. Hon. Gordon Brown, MP
Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs--The Rt. Hon. David Miliband, MP
Ambassador to the U.S.--Sir Nigel Sheinwald
Ambassador to the UN--Sir John Sawers
The United Kingdom maintains an embassy in the United States
at 3100 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, DC 20008 (tel. 202-588-6500;
fax 202-588-7870).
Type: Constitutional monarchy.
Constitution: Unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice.
Branches: Executive--monarch (head of state), prime minister (head of government), cabinet. Legislative--bicameral Parliament: House of Commons, House of Lords; Scottish Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and Northern Ireland Assembly. Judicial--magistrates' courts, county courts, high courts, appellate courts, House of Lords.
Subdivisions: Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland (municipalities, counties, and parliamentary constituencies).
Political parties: Great Britain--Conservative, Labour, Liberal Democrats; also, in Scotland--Scottish National Party. Wales--Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales). Northern Ireland--Ulster Unionist Party, Social Democratic and Labour Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Sinn Fein, Alliance Party, and other smaller parties.
Suffrage: British subjects and citizens of other Commonwealth countries and the Irish Republic resident in the U.K., at 18.
