06 Political life
Inhoudsopgave
Public attitude to politics......................................................................... 1
Freeloaders!............................................................................................ 1
Style of democracy .................................................................................. 2
Official secrets ........................................................................................ 2
The constitution ...................................................................................... 2
The style of politics ................................................................................. 3
The pairing system .................................................................................. 3
The party system..................................................................................... 3
A guide to British political parties............................................................... 4
The modern situation .............................................................................. 4
The Rushdie affair ................................................................................... 5
Public attitude to politics
Politics in general => ok
Politicians => no good reputation (not trustworthy, honest or loyal)
Demonstrations?? Not at all! People don’t care + politicians neither
General ignorance: names of major political parties, important government
ministers, name of their local MP (one per area)
Past: NOT talk about politics => violence
Now: Not talk about politics => boring
Politics = dirty business / necessary evil
Politicians pretend not to be happy with the job
Freeloaders!
= Somebody who arranges to get food, drink, and other benefits without
having to pay or work for them
British media calls politicians freeloaders
Stories about ‘scandalous’ amounts of money they spend (taking a special
flight rather than an ordinary one, stay in a 5-star hotel, their rent-free
residences, drivers and cars at their disposal…)
, BUT British politicians generally live poorly compared to those from other
countries in Europe
=> British public life is habitually mean with expenses
Eating, travelling and entertaining standards ≠ national prestige (like in other
countries of Europe)
More important: politicians can’t get to many big ideas about themselves
Style of democracy
Respect for the principle of law
Don’t like to make new laws => Very few rules and regulations
People are free government is free
Leave each other alone as much as possible
Britain = democracy
BUT: nothing is done by the people
referendum isn’t obligated
(only 2 times in history: - 1975: stay in the EC or not?
- 2011: change of the electoral system)
Official secrets
1992: Government admits existence of MI6 (British Secret Service) for the first
time
MI6 => not a surprise, everybody already knew
Admissions itself => surprise ( British governments don’t like public revelations
of their activities, even if these are no longer secret)
Why?? => Cold war was over: necessary to admit the existence of MI6, to justify
why it needed money from tax payers
1980: Government tried to prevent the publication of the book Spycatcher (the
memoirs of an MI6 agent)
BUT it had already been published in several other countries!
2007: Government successfully prosecuted a government official and a political
researcher.
Why?? => Breaking the Official Secrets Act (telling the press what the American
president said at a meeting with the British Prime Minister)
6 + 3 months in prison (!!)
The constitution
Constitutional monarchy => King/Queen who accepts the advice of a parliament
Parliamentary monarchy => Government controlled by parliament (elected by
the people)
But monarch has little real power
Inhoudsopgave
Public attitude to politics......................................................................... 1
Freeloaders!............................................................................................ 1
Style of democracy .................................................................................. 2
Official secrets ........................................................................................ 2
The constitution ...................................................................................... 2
The style of politics ................................................................................. 3
The pairing system .................................................................................. 3
The party system..................................................................................... 3
A guide to British political parties............................................................... 4
The modern situation .............................................................................. 4
The Rushdie affair ................................................................................... 5
Public attitude to politics
Politics in general => ok
Politicians => no good reputation (not trustworthy, honest or loyal)
Demonstrations?? Not at all! People don’t care + politicians neither
General ignorance: names of major political parties, important government
ministers, name of their local MP (one per area)
Past: NOT talk about politics => violence
Now: Not talk about politics => boring
Politics = dirty business / necessary evil
Politicians pretend not to be happy with the job
Freeloaders!
= Somebody who arranges to get food, drink, and other benefits without
having to pay or work for them
British media calls politicians freeloaders
Stories about ‘scandalous’ amounts of money they spend (taking a special
flight rather than an ordinary one, stay in a 5-star hotel, their rent-free
residences, drivers and cars at their disposal…)
, BUT British politicians generally live poorly compared to those from other
countries in Europe
=> British public life is habitually mean with expenses
Eating, travelling and entertaining standards ≠ national prestige (like in other
countries of Europe)
More important: politicians can’t get to many big ideas about themselves
Style of democracy
Respect for the principle of law
Don’t like to make new laws => Very few rules and regulations
People are free government is free
Leave each other alone as much as possible
Britain = democracy
BUT: nothing is done by the people
referendum isn’t obligated
(only 2 times in history: - 1975: stay in the EC or not?
- 2011: change of the electoral system)
Official secrets
1992: Government admits existence of MI6 (British Secret Service) for the first
time
MI6 => not a surprise, everybody already knew
Admissions itself => surprise ( British governments don’t like public revelations
of their activities, even if these are no longer secret)
Why?? => Cold war was over: necessary to admit the existence of MI6, to justify
why it needed money from tax payers
1980: Government tried to prevent the publication of the book Spycatcher (the
memoirs of an MI6 agent)
BUT it had already been published in several other countries!
2007: Government successfully prosecuted a government official and a political
researcher.
Why?? => Breaking the Official Secrets Act (telling the press what the American
president said at a meeting with the British Prime Minister)
6 + 3 months in prison (!!)
The constitution
Constitutional monarchy => King/Queen who accepts the advice of a parliament
Parliamentary monarchy => Government controlled by parliament (elected by
the people)
But monarch has little real power
