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Politics and monarchy in Great Britian - Referat
Electoral system in Britain:
- general election every 4-5 years; exact date is up tot he Prime Minister (as long as it is no more than 5 years after the previous one  freedom to all an election at a time that is advantageous to their party)
- voting system at general elections: „first-past-the-post“
--> candidates with the largest number of votes in eah constituency wins the seat
--> it is almost impossible for small parties to win seats/gain representation in Parliament, British politics are dominated by a few large parties
Devolution:
- seperate parliaments for Scotland/Wales/Northern Ireland since end of 1990s  have powers to deal with certain political matters on a more regional level
- England ist he only country in the UK that does not have a parliament that deals only with ist own affairs
--> Scottish Parliament: opened in July 1999; deals with education/health/agriculture/environment/food standards/sport/the arts/transport/tourism etc.; can pass new laws + set the level of taxt o be paid in Scottland
--> National Assembly for Wales: opened for business in 1999; makes decisions about education/health/economic development etc.
--> Northern Ireland Assembly: established in 1998; deals with education/health/the environment/the arts; has been suspended 4 times (disagreements between the 2 main unionist parties)
Role of the monarch in Britain:
- Head of State, represents her country at home + abroad
- official head of the Curch of England
- officially opens Parliament each year after the summer recess
- signs all bills before they become law (could prevent a law from being passed by refusing to sign it --> extremely unlikely)
- officially appoints the Prime Minister after a general election
- meets with the Prime Minister once a week to discuss current issues/give advise
- visits her subjects (show support after a disaster etc.)
- „Queen´s Speech“ is broadcasted every Christmas Day in the afternoon --> personal message
Pros of the monarchy:
- less corruption
- faster decisions
- the monarchy results in more savings for the government
- less political polarization
- the future rulers are trained from birth
- they act on the interest of every subject
- long-term goalsare more easily met
Contras of the monarchy:
- can lead to poor governance and the public can do nothing against it
- a single person has all of the power
- no checks or balances
- no elections or democracy
- position through inhibitance --> no guaranteed competency
- it promotes wealth inequality
- responsibility may not be taken serious enough
- the public can do little to stop the monarch´s power
- class system within the society
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