Critical Reflection on the Hidden Influence of the British Monarchy on Politics

It comes as a surprise to many, given the ostensible thirst for power of the Blair administration, that since coming into power in 1997 it should have undertaken admittedly moderate reforms with the aim... ... middle of paper ... ... to hold the government to account - if it were able to tie it down to its mandate - but the government's domination of parliament has led it to control parliament's means of scrutiny and opposition. Among them, select committee powers, the time allocated to government scrutiny and the success of Private Member's Bills are all subject to the government's patience with them. Indeed it is largely due to governments' compliance with 'the rules' of British parliamentary government - the uncodefied conventions of our constitution that demand the ability of parliament to hold government to account - that parliament retains any real powers of scrutiny at all. The government is bound to constitutional moderateness by its need to keep the electorate onside: only in this context can government ever expect not to get its own way.

The idea of a governing body drawing its power directly from its constituents has been undermined by the corrupt nature of modern politics where politicians act out of self-interest. While the Constitution and later amendments had every intention of securing basic liberties, certain limitations later undermined the original intentions of the founding fathers to give power back to the people by placing the larger majority of power in the hands of the state. Federal limitations to certain amendments, known as federal mandates, have taken power away from the masses. To secure democracy and avoid further abuses of power by the judicial courts, an amendment should be made to the Constitution prohibiting the federal government from putting down mandates that directly interfere with the power given to the states by law. Federal politicians use desultory commands as leverage to ensure that the states comply with their wishes.

Even though monarchs have argued for social benefits, they fail to meet with expectations of commoners. Indeed, absolute power corrupts absolutely. Turbulence in politics and the government led to the development of new philosophies, which ultimately replaced broken ones that favored monarchy. The English Civil War that directly influenced the American Revolution, as well as the French Revolution along with other examples, proves that absolute monarchy inexorably led to the rise of modern democracy.

This causes many to question the existence of royalty in the modern times. With a Prime Minister in charge of running the government, monarchy is limited in power and seem to exist more as a tradition and a symbol for nation's citizens to look up to. Before the beginning of the eighteenth century, the British monarchy were considered executive monarchs. Executive monarchy means that the Sovereign is able to make and pass legislation. Nowadays, the monarchy we know is constitutional monarchy.

Something based on this belief may well be valid but with numerous pieces of evidence that suggest the traditional role of the British Prime Minister is becoming more presidential and modern society adhering less to written convention, it has become far less clear who wields the most domestic power outside of conventional parameters. Both the UK Prime Minister and US president are the key figures in their countries politics. The UK Prime Minister has no formal written role but is rather a product of convention and historical evolution. His main powers include those of patronage, the control of the cabinet and its agenda, and the overall direction of government policy, both of head of government and leader of the party in power. In contrast, the US president has an official outlined role.

The British Monarchy Nowadays, some scandals and salacious gossip that surrounded the royals seriously undermined the symbolism of the constitutional monarchy, which indirectly influenced the current political situation. The issue to be discussed, as to if the advantages of the UK having a constitutional monarchy are greater than the disadvantages boils down to one fundamental question: if the present system of the government of the UK adapt to the present society? My answer is: no. In this essay, I will look at the two ideas and appropriate my answer. The constitutional monarchy: an impartial symbolic head of state, and always acts on the advice of minister, especially of prime minister, i.e.

I do believe that the constitution was created out of distrust; however I believe this distrust is for a strong central government that was displayed through Britain 's monarchy, not of democracy. Professor Skeptic, in his keynote speech, points to the Electoral College as an example of distrust in our electoral system. It would

In essence the judge would only be able to reflect the view of the legislature through his interpretation of the laws that had been reconfigured by the legislative branch. The current unbalance of power within Great Britain’s government shows how the government can be viewed as a parliamentary-dictatorship due the prominent power that the Prime Minister has over the rest of the government through controlling both the executive branch and parliament, which is composed of both the House of Lords and The Commons. After more substantial reform the government in the United Kingdom has come to a more unified status; however, there is still arguably a parliamentary dictatorship in Great Britain despite recent reform due to the control of the prime minister though policy making and implementation. Great Britain is arguably a parliamentary dictatorship due to the immense power that the Prime Minister and his party have over government relative to their opposition. The Prime Minister’s hold of office depends upon his party having the m... ... middle of paper ... ...as a overwhelming influence on how the government operates.

In traditional constitutional theory the cabinet is the primary decision making body of the executive. Over the years various scholars have developed succinct ways of describing the role of the cabinet in British politics, Walter Bagehot construed it as the 'efficient secret ' of British government, and throughout the first half of the 20th century the Cabinet Model of British Government was typically used as a descriptor. However, this once established pillar of the Westminster Model has been eroded throughout the latter half of the 20th century and the 21st century. Political commentators observe that the role of the Cabinet has been usurped by the office of Prime Minister. You only have to examine the ritual patterns of the British media to realise that the Prime Minister is taken as the representative and primary force of the executive and of government in general.

Therefore, Hobbes believed in an absolute monarchy. He also justified the political actions of King Charles l of England. The writings of Thomas Hobbes were used among Parliament members and king Charles; they argued about how powerful the king should be. Thomas Hobbes believed that people’s judgement is unreliable because they are needy and vulnerable. During the tensions between the king and the parliament, England was divided into two opposing parties: defenders of the king and prosecutors.