Emergence of Democratic State Structures - Great Britain (PDF)

HS 201 World Civilizations and Cultures Emergence of Parliamentary State Structures - Great Britain The Background The origins of democracy can be traced back to the Athen polis wherein the roots was clearly laid out Originally based on the di...

HS 201 World Civilizations and Cultures Emergence of Parliamentary State Structures - Great Britain The Background The origins of democracy can be traced back to the Athen polis wherein the roots was clearly laid out Originally based on the division of the polis into different units, known as deme The British Parliament, an example of parliamentary democracy, is also known as the “Mother of Parliaments” Parliament, with its French equivalent parlement and Latin, parliamentum, represents the original legislative assembly of the countries of England, Scotland and Ireland and later that of Great Britain and United Kingdom The former colonies of British have also parliaments on this model, though some variations are also noticed; e.g. India having its Upper and Lower Houses = Rajya and Lok Sabha respectively British Parliament House of Lords, originated in 11th century House of Commons, originated in 13th century  The Background In 1215, King John had to face stiff resistance from the barons due to rising taxes, and often seizure of lands from the boroughs In this resistance, the Archbishop of Canterbury also assisted and encouraged that the king is not above the Gods The barons raised an army against the king and reached London Having no choice, King John had to talk to them, and the barons presented a document with demands, knowns as Great Charter or Magna Carta Beginning of House of Commons Opened up a new chapter in the history of Britain that the demands of the common people were accepted and recorded as a legal document with the authority of king The Magna Carta enabled the discussions to be held with the barons for advice regarding their demands and grievances in the Great Coulcil  The Origin of Parliament The original meaning of Parliament is ‘to talk’; in the original context refer to the after-dinner discussions between monks in their cloisters The term Parliament was used: In 1239 CE for a meeting at Abbey of St. Palbans between prelates, earls and barons In 1249 CE to a meeting called by Pope Innocent IV in Lyon, France, which led to the excommunication and deposition of Frederick II, the Roman Emperor Origin goes back to 13th century CE Knights were sent to the king by the country sheriffs for extending financial advice in response to assent to new taxation In 13th century CE, King Edward I called joint meetings: The Magnum Councilium or Great Council comprising lay and ecclesiastical magnates Cura Regis or King’s Court, a much smaller body of semiprofessional advisers  The Origin of Parliament In these meetings, Curia Regis or the Councilium Regis in Parliamento (the king’s council in parliament) settled certain judicial issues, that were beyond the scope of ordinary courts of law The scope of the parliament extended until the time of accomplishment of the tasks related to the settling of the judicial issues The first representative parliament or the Model Parliament was called in 1295 CE with the following representation: Two knights from each county Two burgesses from each borough and Two citizens from each city First time the lower orders of the society included During the 14th century CE, this practice continued for debates between: Lords spiritual and temporal in one chamber, or “the house” Knights and burgesses in another  The Origin of Parliament Even though two “houses” were meant for debates, in the real sense, there were three houses King and his council Lords spiritual and temporal and The commoners Early 14th century CE, the assent of King for bills required for becoming acts of Parliament Later, under King Henry VI (1422 – 61), the assent of both the houses was required, the House of Lords, which became mostly hereditary and the House of Commons The Royals were still able to promulgate laws without the Parliament, however, it was considered unpopular, and rarely resorted to Thus, all major political changes were effected by the acts enacted by the Parliament  The Origin of Parliament In 1430, changes in the House of Commons Division of electoral constituencies into counties and boroughs Only males holding freehold properties worth at least 30 shillings could vote in the elections Members of the House of Commons were wealthy Were not paid and required to have an annual income of £ 600 for country seats and £ 300 for borough seats Led to a situation that only a few members could vote in boroughs, and on few instances, only a dozen members were voting and members elected This system was eliminated by Reform Bill of 1862 Parliamentary sessions became more regular between 15th and 17th centuries CE A legislation in 1694 enabled the meeting of Parliament at least once in every three years  Scenario during 17th century CE The regular meetings of parliament enabled the emergence of a set of professional parliamentarians, who were required by the king to secure support for his proposals Those who disagreed with the proposals and measures, would often encourage the Commons to reject them However, an organized “opposition” did not develop During the 17th century, the Parliament became the centre of revolutionary body and resistance to the during the English civil wars (1642-51) Civil War or the Great Rebellion was between the supporters of the monarchy of Charles I and later Charles II and opposing groups in each of the Charles’s kingdoms and also included parliamentarians in England, Scotland (Covenanters) and Ireland (Confederates) Main reason was the raising of an army by Charles I against the wishes of the parliament to deal with a rebellion in Ireland. Charles I Was executed. Ended in 1651, Charles II fled to France  Scenario during 17th century CE Glorious Revolution (1688-89) Revolution of 1688 or Bloodless Revolution, led to the deposition of James II, and rise to the throne by his daughter Mary and her husband William, prince of Orange Due to his overt support to Roman Catholicism, James II became unpopular among the majority population; issued decrees against non-conformists; prosecuted bishops for sedition William of Orange was invited by the eminent persons, bishops and politician for help William accepted the invitation and gained control over London, as James II fled to France William gained control of the government and asked to convene the Parliament The Convention Parliament offered the crown to William and Declaration of Rights to William and Mary jointly The Convention Parliament later changed into a proper Parliament and large parts of the Declaration into a Bill of Rights  Scenario during 17th century CE Glorious Revolution (1688-89) Bill of Rights: Succession to Mary’s sister, Anne Barred Roman Catholics to the throne Abolished the crown’s right to suspend laws Condemned the power of dispensing with laws Declared a standing army illegal in times of peace Government was in the nature of a social contract between the king and his people represented in the parliament The Parliament became the ruling power of Britain due to the Glorious Revolution William selected his ministers from among the political parties in Parliament The full-fledged function of elected body did not evolve at that time, like losing an election leading to demitting the office  Decline of House of Lords Monarchs adjusted with the composition of the ministers as per the availability at that time from the Parliament Later on, the cabinet positions were filled from the elected members of the Parliament The power of the monarchs considerably reduced by the end of the late 17 th century CE, the power also shifted to the House of Commons and House of Lords reduced powerless King George I (1714-27) withdrew his actual role from the governance In 1721, Robert Walpole was appointed as the first unofficial Prime Minister and hence the real head of the government emerged The Prime Minister also remained a Member of the Commons and unlike the previous practices, he did not accept his elevation to the House of the Lords Later instances of resignation of Lord North in 1782 due to non-support of House of the Commons, helped in the reinforcement of the role of the House of the Commons  Decline of House of Lords The Act of Parliament of 1911 and 1949 formalized the interior status of the House of the Lords The Act resulted in the non-approval of people’s budged by the Lords’ Specified that the bills for imposing taxes or spending from public funds can be presented for royal assent after one month, with or without Lords’ assent The period of delay for any legislation by the Lords’ was also reduced from two to one year The power of Lords’ was considerably reduced by several amendments In 1945, through an amendment, the Lords were forbidden from rejecting any bill passed by the Commons 1990s, the hereditary privilege of the Lords were greatly reduced, and later the hereditary rights of all but 92 peers were abolished for voting rights  Present Role of the Monarch Each session of the Parliament used to open with a speech by the Monarch occupying the throne in the House of the Lords in the presence of House of the Commons The speech of the Monarch is written by the Government, handed over to the sovereign by the Lord Chancellor (Lord High Chancellor or Lord Keeper of the Great Seal, official custodian of the royal seal and a cabinet minister) The speech normally includes the list of proposals intended to be introduced by the government in the upcoming parliamentary session  Role of House of Commons House of Commons or Commons – originated in 13th century Popularly elected Legislative Assembly of the bicarmel (consisting of two chambers) British Parliament Technically the Lower House However, predominant over the House of Lords, and in the normal sense, ‘parliament’ refers to the House of Commons only Majority of the House of Commons can override the rejection of bills by the Lords’ Maximum duration of a parliamentary session fixed at five years Membership of House of Commons 658 – from 1801– 1885 and then increased to 670 1918 – increased up to 707 General election of 2010 650 Members – 533 from England, 59 from Scotland, 40 from Wales, 18 from Northern Ireland  Role of House of Lords House of Lords Originated in the 11th century, Anglo-Saxon kings consulted the councils consisting of religious leaders and ministers Upper Chamber of bicarmel British legislature Present composition: The Lords Spiritual, including the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and Bishops of Durham, London, and Winchester, and 12 other bishops 92 hereditary peers All life peers and peeresses under Life of Peerages Act 1958 Law Lords (Judges of Supreme Court) Total members 670; extremely limited powers Plays a significant role in the Parliament; revision of bills passed by the House of Commons and later enabling the passing of these bills National forum for debate free from any party association Further Readings 1. Kenneth O. Morgan. 1988. The Oxford History of Britain. Oxford University Press. pp. 470-517