Government - Parliament - Election

văn hóa anh

4 Lê Thị Quỳnh Hoa (Group Leader)

5 Nguyễn Thị Phương Hoa

I Overview of British country and people

II Detailed content

1 Government

1.1 Organizational structure of British government

1.1.1 The cabinet1.1.2 The Prime Minister 1.1.3 The civil service

1.1.4 Central & local government1.1.5 Local government services1.2 Comparison between British government & Vietnamese

government

2 Parliament

2.1 The party system in Parliament

2.2 H

3.5 Comparison between British and Vietnamese electoral

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I OVERVIEW OF BRITISH COUNTRY AND PEOPLE

Referring to famous landmarks such as The Nottingham Palance, University of Cambridge, Giant’s Causeway along with one-time famous men known as The Beatles Band, Robin Hood - a hero character, anyone also thinks instantly to the land to which God had awarded these great value That land is the United Kingdom

The United Kingdom is known as many different names such as The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland or only simply Britain It is a

sovereign state located off the north-western coast of continental Europe It is

made up of four nations including England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland Britain is

surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean in the west and north, the North Sea in the east,

the English Channel in the south, and the Irish Sea in the west

The United Kingdom has a long history as

a major player in international affairs and fulfils an important role in the European Union (EU), the United Nations Security Council, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), the G7, the G8, the G20 and NATO It is considered as a major economic and military power, with considerable political and cultural influence around the world It has the world's sixth-largest economy

by nominal GDP and eighth-largest economy by purchasing power parity

British not only make an impression of its economic power, but also catch an attention about culture and people in here The UK has been at the forefront of youth culture since the heyday of the Beatles and Rolling Stones in the 1960s It has a rich literary heritage encompassing the works of English writers such as

William Shakespeare and Charles Dickens, Scot Robert Burns, Welshman Dylan Thomas and Northern Irishman Seamus Heaney Traditional music has deep roots across the UK, which has also produced classical composers from Henry Purcell

in the Baroque period to Benjamin Britten in the 20th century

The British are rather formal Many from the older generation still prefer to work with people and companies they know or who are known to their associates Younger businesspeople do not need long-standing personal relationships before they do business with people and do not require an intermediary to make business introductions Nonetheless, networking and relationship building are often key to long-term business success Rank is respected and businesspeople prefer to deal with people at their level If at all possible, include an elder statesman on your team as he/she will present the aura of authority that is necessary to good business relationships in many companies

II DETAILED CONTENT

1 GOVERNMENT

1.1 Organizational structure of British government

The United Kingdom is a sovereign state and its form of government is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government which based on the Westminter system that has been emulated around the world - a legacy of the

Ministers of the Crown, and especially Cabinet ministers, are selected primarily from the elected members of House of Commons, and also from the House of Lords, by the Prime Minister Cabinet ministers are heads of government department, mostly with the office of Secretary of State The collective co-ordinating function of the Cabinet is reinforced by the statutory that all the Secretaries of State jointly hold the same office, and can exercise the same powers.The Cabinet is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory The political and decision-making authority of the cabinet has been gradually reduced over the last several decades, with some claiming its role has been usurped by a prime ministerial government

The Cabinet is the executive committee of Her Majesty’s Privy Council, a body which has legislation, judicial and executive functions, and whose large membership includes members of the Opposition Its decision are generally

MONARCH (Sovereign)

Central Government

Parliament Prime Minister The cabinet

House of Lords

House of Common

House of Lords Civil

Services

implemented either under the existing powers of individual government departments, or by Orders in Council.

The Cabinet meets once a week and takes decisions on new policies, the implementation of existing policies and the running of the various government departments All government members summarize the topics discussed and the decisions taken, but they never refer to individual or what they said

Cabinet office runs busy communication network, keeping ministers in touch with each other and drawing up the agendas or cabinet meetings

1.1.2 The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

(PM) is the head of Her Majesty’s Government in the United Kingdom The Prime Minister and Cabinet (consisting of all the most senior ministers, who are government department heads) are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament to their political party and ultimately to the electorate The current Prime Minister, David Cameron, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 11 May 2010

The office is not established by any constitution or law but exists only by established convention, which stipulates that the Monarch must appoint as Prime Minister, the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons The Prime Minister is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber The Position of Prime Minister was not created; it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to numerous acts of Parliament, political development, and accidents of history

long-By 1830s, the Westminter system of government had emerged, the Prime Minister was the first among equals in the Cabinet and the head of government in the UK The political position of PM was enhanced by the development of modern political

the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged; the office had become the pre-eminent position in the constitutional hierarchy vis-a-vis the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet.

The strength of the Prime Minister’s power of patronage is apparent from the modern phenomenon known as the cabinet reshuffle A few cabinet members are dropped, and a few members are brought in, but mostly the existing members are shuffled around, like a pack of cards, each getting s new department to look after.Everybody in the country can recognize the Prime Minister, while many cannot put

a name to the faces of other ministers As a result the PM can, if the need arises, go over the head of the other ministers and appeal directly to the public

1.1.3 The Civil Service

The Civil Service executes government decisions and therefore plays a vital part in the British Politics The Civil Service currently employs at about 500,000 It is split into a number of departments to a government department A Cabinet minister head one of these department and those civil servants within that department are meant to work for that minister in carrying out government policies This specific role is very important as a government minister is a working MP and has been elected by the voters in his/ her constituency Civil servants are not elected; they apply for a post in the Civil Service

The Civil Service in Britain is very hierarchical At the top are the Permanent Secretaries and the so-called mandarins These hold the most senior positions in the Civil Service Their tasks are many and varied They prepare policy papers and speeches for ministers They deal with a minister’s correspondence and help to prepare him/her for question that might arise in the House of Common The Civil servants maintain a minister’s official diary and minute meetings They also can consult with pressure group to develop their knowledge on certain issues

The next layer down is the permanent career official who works within a government department and carry out government policies As with all civil servants, these people are meant to be neutral in a professional sense They might

have their own political views, but these must not be allowed to interfere or jeopardise their work In theory, this level should not be having policy making powers, but they might be called upon to give advice if it is thought that their knowledge on s topic is sufficiently expert.

While the civil servants for the department (and therefore the government) she/he

is in, there are a number of legally enforceable restrictions placed on all civil servants They can vote in elections, but while they are a member of the Civil Service, they cannot stand for a political office They are bound by the Official Secrets Act, and they may not speak to the media or write about their experiences without permission Civil servants must not members of extreme left or right wing political parties, though they can be members of mainstream parties

There are modern criticisms of the Civil Service which do not question on its loyalty but its efficiency The criticism is that the civil servant does not have enough expertise in matters such as economics or technology, and that it lives too much in its own closed world, cut off from the concerns of most people in society

1.1.4 Central & local government

The pattern of Local government in England is complex, with the distribution of

functions varying according to the local arrangements Legislation concerning local government in England is decided by the Parliament and Government of the United Kingdom, because England does not have a devolved parliament or regional assemblies Local government authorities (known as

“councils”) only have powers because the central government has given them

powers Indeed, they only exist because the central government allows them to exist

The system of local government is very similar to the system of national government:

• The elected representatives are called councilors (the equivalent of MPs)

• There is a council chamber in the Town Hall or County Hall (the equivalent of Parliament).

• There are local government officers (the equivalent of civil servants) to make and implement policy

* Local councils:

• Local councils traditionally manage nearly all public services

• In practice, therefore, local councils have traditionally been fairly free from constant central interference in their day to day work

• Local councils are funded by a combination of central government grants,

Council Tax (a locally set tax based on house value), Business Rates, and fees and charges from certain services including decriminalised parking enforcement

Councillors cannot do the work of the council themselves, and so are responsible for appointment and oversight of officers, who are delegated to perform most tasks Local authorities nowadays have to appoint a "Chief Executive Officer", with overall responsibility for council employees, and who operates in conjunction with department heads The Chief Executive Officer position is weak compared to the council manager system seen in other counties

The modern trend has been towards greater and greater control by central government There are now more laws governing the way councils can conduct their affairs

England is devided into 9 regions including: 6 metropolitan couties, 27 metropolitan couties, 56 unitary authorities and the Greater London

non-Sizes of council areas vary widely The most populous district in England

is Birmingham (a metropolitan borough) with 977,087 people (2001 census), and the least populous non-metropolitan unitary area is Rutland with 34,563 However, these are outliers, and most English unitary authorities have a population in the range of 150,000 to 300,000 The smallest non-unitary district

in England is West Somerset at 35,400 people and the largest Northampton at 194,458 However, all but 9 non-unitary English districts have fewer than 150,000 people Responsibility for minor revisions to local government areas falls to the Boundary Committee for England Revisions are usually undertaken

to avoid borders straddling new development, to bring them back into line with a diverted watercourse, or to align them with roads or other features

1.1.5 Local government services

In Britain, most of the numerous services that a modern government provides are run at local level These include public hygiene and environmental health inspection, the operation of police and fire, the collecting of rubbish from outside people’s houses, the cleaning and tidying of all public places, the provision of public swimming pools

Public libraries are another well – known service Anybody can go into one of these to consult the books, newspapers and magazines there free of charge There are about 5000 public libraries (that’s about one for every 12000 people) On average, each one houses about 45000 books

1.2 Comparison between British & Vietnamese government

British government Vietnamese government

The Government's powers include general executive and statutory powers, delegated legislation, and numerous

The Government of Vietnam is the

executive arm of the Vietnamese state, and the members of the Government are elected by

powers of appointment and patronage; however, some powerful officials and bodies are legally more or less independent of the Government, and Government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown

the National Assembly of Vietnam

+ The Prime Minister heads the Government and appoints Ministers who head individual government departments

The current prime minister Nguyen Tan Dung has served since 2005, and he is serving his last term

The prime minister directs the work

of government members, and may propose deputy prime ministers to the National Assembly

Election

British voters do not choose their Prime Minister They vote for their political party

The National Assembly elects the President of the State and the Prime Minister

Political

Party

“Multi - party system” with 3 political parties: Conservative Party, Labour Party, and Liberal Democratic Party

Single - party state: the Communist Party of Vietnam All Vietnamese political organizations are under Vietnamese Communist Party control

Structure + The leader of the

government is the Prime Minister

+ The PM has the right to nominate candidates for some important positions such as Chief Justice of

+ The new PM chooses a team

of people from Parliament who will run the country with him

+ There are normally about

100 people in the government

The government is also different from the rest of the party who won the election

the Supreme People’s Court, and the Procurator-General of the People’s Office of Supervision and Control

+ The PM has the right to nominate and dismiss the members of his cabinet, though only with the approval of the National Assembly.+ The PM also has powers to cancel

or suspend decisions or directives issued by the ministries

Secretaries of State) meet once

a week and take decisions about new policies, the implementation of existing policies and the running of the various government

departments

+ The Vietnamese Communist Party has a monopoly on power A three-person collective leadership consists of the Vietnamese

Communist Party general secretary, the PM, and the President

+ President is the chief of state while PM is head of government General Secretary heads up not only the Vietnamese Communist Party but also the 15 member Politburo A decision by any member of the triumvirate is vetted

Ministers

and

departments

“The Secretaries of State”

+ There are 17 departments

+ The most important Secretaries of State are:

The Chancellor of the Exchequer (Finance).

The Foreign Secretary

+ There are 18 ministries

+ The Vietnamese government has ministers in the following areas: Agriculture and Rural

Development; Construction;

Defense; Education and Training; Finance, Fisheries; Foreign Affairs; Health; Home Affairs; Industry; Justice; Planning and Investment; Posts and Telecommunications; Public Security; Science and Technology; Trade; Transport; National Resources and

Environment

Organizational Structure of Vietnam government

2 PARLIAMENT

The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the British Parliament , Westminster Parliament or simply

"Westminster", is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom , British

Crown dependencies and British overseas territories It is located in the Palace of Westminster , Westminster , London

The word “Parliament” which comes from the French word “parler” was first used

in England in 13rd century to describe an assembly of nobles called together by the King It was in the Medieval Period that parliament began its gradual evolution into the democratic body which it is today In 1925, the Model Parliament set the pattern for the future by including elected representatives from urban and rural areas

In 16th century, due to the Wars of the Roses and bubonic plague, the power of the great barons had been weakened and the tie between feudal lords and peasant reduced In the Tudor dynasty (1485-1603), parliament was split into 2 “Houses” The House of Lords consisted of the feudal aristocracy and the leader of the Church; the House of Commons consisted of the representatives from the town and the less important landowners (the people with the money) in rural areas It was now more important for monarchs to get the agreement of the Commons for policy-making because that was where the newly powerful merchants and landowners were represented

It was in the 17th century – when the inextricably relation between religion and politics happened - that Parliament established its supremacy over the monarch in Britain The conflict between ideological Protestantism and Catholicism led to the Civil War, which ended with complete victory for the parliamentary forces The leader of the parliamentary army encompassed the whole of British Isles

In 18th century, the Scottish parliament joined with the English and Welsh parliament in Westminster in London Scotland retained its own system of law, which is more similar to continental European systems than that of England, it does so to this day During this century, the habit of the monarch appointing Prime Minister from the ranks of Parliament to head the government was established.

Interactive map of Parliament

2.1 The party system in Parliament

Most divisions take place along party lines MPs know that they owe their position

to their party, so they nearly always vote the way that party tells them to The people who make sure that MPs do this are called the Whips The Whips act as intermediaries between the backbenchers and the frontbench of a party They keep the party leadership informed about backbench opinion They are powerful people Each two major parties have several MPs who perform this role It is their jobs to inform all MPs in their party how they should vote By tradition, if the government loses a vote in Parliament on a very important matter, it has to resign Therefore, when there is a division, MPs are expected to go to the House and vote even if they have not been there during the debate

Sometimes the major parties allow a “free vote”, when MPs vote according to their own beliefs and not according to party policy such as the abolition of the death penalty and the decision to allow television cameras into the Commons, etc.

2.2 House of Commons

The House of Commons is the Lower House of the Parliament of the United

Kingdom which, like the House of Lords (The Upper House), meets in the Palace

of Westminster The Commons is an elected body consisting of 659 members known as Members of Parliament (MPs) Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved

The House of Commons evolved at some point in England during the 14th century, becoming the House of Commons of Great Britain after the political union with

Scotland in 1707 and in the nineteenth century the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the political union with Ireland before assuming its current title after independence was given to the Irish Free State in 1922

Under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords' power to reject legislation was reduced

to a delaying power The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains its support

2.2.1 Lay-out of The House of Commons

The current Commons' layout is influenced by the use of the original St Stephen's Chapel in the Palace of Westminster The rectangular shape is derived from the shape of the chapel Benches were arranged using the configuration of the chapel's choir stalls whereby they were facing across from one another This arrangement facilitated an adversarial atmosphere that is representative of the British parliamentary approach.

Commons Chamber’s design and layout differ from the interior of the parliament

in most other countries These differences tell us a lot about what is distinctive about the British Parliament

Commons chamber is small and modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the large, lavishly furnished red Lords chamber There are benches on two sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle This arrangement reflects the design of St Stephen's Chapel, which served as the home of the House of Commons until destroyed by fire in 1834 The Speaker's chair is at one end of the Chamber; in front of it is the Table of the House, on which the Mace rests The Clerks sit at one end of the Table, close to the Speaker so that they may advise him or her on procedure when necessary Members of the Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition occupy the benches on the Speaker's left In front of each set of benches a red line is drawn on the carpet, which members are traditionally not allowed to cross during debates It has been suggested that the distance between the lines in front of each set of benches is the length of two swords, thus stopping a member from attacking a member on the opposing side However, the only person who is allowed to wear or carry a sword

in the chamber is the Serjant-at-Arms Government ministers and the leader of the Opposition and the Shadow Cabinet sit on the front rows, and are known as

"frontbenchers" Other Members of Parliament, in contrast, are known as

"backbenchers" Not all Members of Parliament can fit into the Chamber at the same time as it only has space to seat 427 of the 650 Members Members who

arrive late must stand near the entrance of the House if they wish to listen to debates Sittings in the Chamber are held each day from Monday to Thursday, and also on some Fridays During times of national emergency, the House may also sit

at weekends

2.2.2 Functions

The House of Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws It has 4 main functions as showing below:

Firstly, legislation is the main function, as it is the job of the House of Commons

to introduce and pass bills Bills can be passed, amended or dropped altogether in the Commons, before it even reaches the House of Lords Parliament collectively makes law, but it is mainly the government that introduces and passed legislation, for example the Criminal Justice Bill

Secondly, it is scrutiny, where the government must explain and defend its actions

to the House of Commons This can be done in several ways, including Prime Ministers Question Time Also, select committees such as the Public Accounts Committee are set up to scrutinize and question the work of Parliament, holding it

to account

Thirdly, The House of Commons supports the Government as well as opposites to

that Government Most MPs are elected because of the party label they carry They

go to the Commons to support their parties: the majority to support the Government, and the rest to support opposition to that Government - that is why they have been elected Usually the Government wins, but not always The Commons can kill the Government by voting it has no confidence in the Government, as in 1924 and in 1979 when by one vote the Labour Government of James Callaghan was destroyed, a general elected was called and Mrs Thatcher’s party won Parliament is the location for an adversarial confrontation between the parties with words The power to end a Government is always there, in the background The Government knows it, and so it does not act in a way that would

provoke the MPs to vote against it on vote of no-confidence From that power to kill the Government flows the influence of the Commons over the Government.

Finally, Recruitment, training and assessment ministers of the Government is one

of the main functions The House of Commons is the recruiting centre for ministers The UK draws its ministers overwhelmingly from the Commons, and not from other walks of life, lik business, banking, universities and law firms It is

their training college, where they learn how to perform as ministers New MPs

watch how ministers perform in the House, and learn what to imitate and what to avoid If they perform well in the Commons, they come to the notice of their party leaders and, if successful there, are promoted to ministerial jobs in the Government Then the Commons becomes their assessment centre, since they have to speak in the House on behalf of the Government and their department They face the opposition and its critical questioning, and they have to convince their own party supporters that they have a grip on their departments, can beat the opposition and raise the morale of their own MPs Poor performances in the Commons can damage the career prospects of ministers, and they ay be removed from the Government

2.2.3 Key people

There are 5 key roles in the House of Commons such as:

 The Speaker: The Speaker of the House of Commons is the presiding officer

of the House of Commons, the United Kingdom's lower chamber of Parliament The Speaker presides over the House's debates, determining which members may speak The Speaker is also responsible for maintaining order during debate, and may punish members who break the rules of the House Unlike presiding officers

of legislatures in many other countries, the Speaker remains strictly non-partisan, and renounces all affiliation with his or her former political party when taking office The Speaker does not take part in debate nor vote (except to break ties, and even then, subject to conventions that maintain his or her non-partisan status) Aside from duties relating to presiding over the House, the Speaker also performs administrative and procedural functions, and remains a constituency Member of

Parliament (MP) The Speaker has the right and obligation to reside in Speaker's House at the Palace of Westminster The current Spe aker is Mr.Rt Hon John

Bercow, MP for Buckingham.

 The Commons Deputy Speakers: The Commons Deputy Speakers chair

debates in the absence of the Speaker There are 3 Commons Deputy Speakers The principal Deputy Speaker is the Chairman of Ways and Means.The current Deputy Speaker isMr.Lindsay Hoyle The other two Deputy Speakers are known as

the First Deputy Chairman of Ways and Means and the Second Deputy Chairman

of Ways and Means The other two current Deputy Speakers are Mr Nigel Evans and Mrs.Dawn Primarolo.

 The Lord Chancellor: The Lord Chancellor is a senior and important

functionary in the government of the United Kingdom He also is a Cabinet minister and currently a Member of the House of Commons The Lord Chancellor

has a role in appointing many judges in the courts of England and Wales

 The Leader of the House of Commons is a government minister whose

main role is organising government business in the Commons The Leader of the House does this by working closely with the government's Chief Whip The Leader can deputise for the Prime Minister, either at Prime Minister's Questions or for

formal duties Mr.Rt Hon Andrew Lansley is the current Leader of the House of

Commons

 Clerk of the House & Chief Executive: The Clerk of the House advises the

Speaker and MPs on the formal and informal rules of the House of Commons, and

manages the Commons' departments and services Currently, Mr.Sir Robert Rogers

is the Clerk of the House of Commons and Chief Executive

political and professional backgrounds and most faiths and ethic groups in the UK are represented.

2.3.1 Lay-out of the House of Lords

The Lords Chamber, the masterpiece of the rebuilt Palace, was first occupied in

1847 It is 24 m long, 14 m wide and 14 m high (80 ft x 46 ft x 46 ft) At its

southern end is the Throne, from which the Queen reads her speech at the opening of Parliament In front of the Throne is the red cushion known as the Woolsack In front of this are two similar woolsacks used by judges at the opening of Parliament, and the Table of the House at which the Clerks sit.The Lords' benches, upholstered in red leather, are arranged on both sides of the House, in five rows divided into three blocks The Government benches are on the right of the Throne and the Opposition benches on the left Facing the Woolsack below the Table are the cross benches, used by members who do not belong to any political party

2.3.2 Functions

There are 3 main functions of the House of Lords such as : checking bills and making better laws; questioning government action, seeking information and debating current issues; and breadth of knowledge and independence of thought

Firstly, checking bills and making better laws The House of Lords spends most of

its time in the chamber checking bills It plays an essential role in improving the content of bill (draft draws): highlighting potential problems and ensuring they will

be workable laws The value of the House of Lords is that the lack of a government majority, the more relaxed party discipline, and the fact that the House’s procedures give members great freedom to propose and debate amendments, mean that the Lords sometimes reaches different conclusion on bills, and agrees amendments asking the Commons and the government to ‘think again’

Secondly, questioning government action, seeking information and debating current

issues Questions are asked in the chamber at the start of business They are also

asked in writing They are a chance to seek information about government decisions and actions The government makes statements to the House about developments and emergencies, or to report back after international meetings They provide valuable time for members to ask questions and probe government activity Debates take place on public policy and on specialist issues They are an opportunity to draw the government’s attention to concerns

Finally, breadth of knowledge and independence of thought Members of the House

of Lords come from different backgrounds and professions Most members have a political background, some don’t All come from different walks of life , from across the UK, and represent a wide range of professions – in medicine, law, business, the arts, sports, education, science… So it is a reason why is said that it

is diversity and breadth of knowledge The House of Lords is characterised by independence of thought Members who belong to the political parties are not subject to the same degree of discipline as in the House of Commons – they do not necessarily vote according to their party’s policy A significant part of the membership is non-party political: the crossbenchers and the bishops Member of the House of Lords represent the issues that concern them, not geographical constituencies

2.3.3 Key people

There are 4 principal office holders who play important roles in the work of the House of Lords

 Lord Speaker: The Lord Speaker oversees proceedings in the chamber The

House of Lords is self-regulating so, unlike the Commons Speaker, she does not call the House to order or choose who will speak next in questions and debates The Lord Speaker is elected by the House and is politically impartial

 Leader of the House of Lords: is a member of the cabinet and the most senior

member of the government in the Lords, reponsible for its business in the