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Importance of common law
Monarchy in Great Britain
The importance of magna carta
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British government and politics has evolved greatly throughout its formation and to its modern glory. The path taken by British rulers has paved the road for parliamentary democracy in Britain today. From the signing of the Magna Carta to the common law practiced in Great Britain today, British government is always evolving due to its people, leaders, and culture. The rational-legal authority practiced in Britain was created gradually through many important people and signing of documents. Several events in British politics and government has shaped the modern culture of Great Britain today (99). Beginning in 1066 when William the Conqueror defeated Harold II at the Battle of Hastings, British government has been based on a need for taxing and a power balance between the nobility class and the monarchy. The nobility class supported William the Conqueror since he promised to consult them before taxing them; due to their support he was able to win the battle (106). About 200 years later, King John signed the Magna Carta enabling limited monarchy and the rise of power in the noble class. The noble class would now be able to control some policy-making and taxation as well as having the power to subject the monarch to the same punishments given to the people (99). However, this balance soon resulted in the Civil War in the 1640s when the noble class beheaded the monarch and battles broke out between the two power-hungry forces (100). The noble class supported the formation of Parliament; soon, the Parliament supporters won and Oliver Cromwell took over the country. The nobility class soon brought back the monarchy with Charles II with restricted powers by Parliament. Around 40 years later, in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, balance o... ... middle of paper ... ... II; Ireland was also conquered but was awarded home rule. Ireland, aside from the northern portion ruled Britain, was able to make their own laws and rule over themselves (111). In summation, British government has evolved from a primitive monarchy to a sophisticated parliamentary democracy in our modern world. Through several revolutions, reforms, signing of official documents, battles, and power imbalances, Britain has come to be one of the most powerful nations in our modern world (98). Their central idea of common law and rational-legal authority has been the rope that ties British history to the modern Britain (98). Its ideals have been the central theme to power and authority in the country throughout hundreds of years that have transitioned Britain into a powerful welfare state with strong aspects of rule, citizenship, noblesse oblige, and common law (98).
One monarch who faced limited royal power due to his relationship with parliament was Henry IV. This uneasy relationship was mainly down to the fact that Henry was a usurper, and was exacerbated by his long periods of serious illness later in his reign. Parliament was thus able to exercise a large amount of control over royal power, which is evident in the Long Parliament of 1406, in which debates lasted from March until December. The length of these debates shows us that Henry IV’s unstable relationship had allowed parliament to severely limit his royal power, as he was unable to receive his requested taxation. A king with an amiable relationship with parliament, such as Henry V, and later Edward IV, would be much more secure in their power, as taxation was mostly granted, however their power was also supported more by other factors, such as popularity and finances. Like Henry IV, Henry VI also faced severely limited power due to his relationship with parliament.
Elton proposes that sovereign revolution was achieved under Cromwell; this claim seems to stand strongly, as evidence in form of the fact is that England remains sovereign from the Holy Roman Empire until this present moment which undoubtedly supports Elton. Under Cromwell, sovereign England was further strengthened as Wales was joined with England and placed under the rule of its Supreme King, Henry. The changes which Cromwell successfully administered were all permanent thus revolutionary, these changes were able to withstand the whole Tudor dynasty and more. Revolution was achieved by Cromwell with his skilful crafting of the parliamentary bills which ensured the Resolution of the Great Matter as well as the supremacy and absolutism of the King. Supremacy, sovereignty and Henry’s divorce were unl...
So whilst the government certainly faced political challenges, there was insufficient unity amongst those calling for reform to make enough of an impact on government. The government may have been under pressure to concede some concessions, but they managed to come out of it relatively unscathed. During times of national crisis patriotism saved the day, and unlike in France, revolution never seemed likely. By managing to avoid conflict between classes and social groups, the strength of the British system of government had been its ability to manage evolutionary, rather than revolutionary political
To assess the flaws of the British government, we should start with how they run their government: by monarchy. A monarchy passes the power and responsibility of running a kingdom down by blood relatives. This can give power to those who are hated, unfit to rule, or plain incompetent for such a role. The tradition dates back to centuries where people thought their monarchs were godlike. However, the current King of Britain seems less like a divine god and more like a creature that crawled from the
This power is lodged in the Parliament and we are as much dependant on Great Britain as a perfectly free people can be on one another.”
In the mid-18th century, England crowned a new king, an Englishman who acceded “I am born for the happiness or misery of a nation.” George William Frederick inherited the throne of a country strife with war and deeply in debt from his grandfather King George II in 1760 at the age of 23. Being groomed from birth to reign, and taught by his mother and Lord Bute to rule and impose his own will, he refused the advice of great Whigs in control of Parliament. Conversely, in Preliminaries of the Revolution, George Elliott Howard describes a government in which Parliament held the most power. This king desired a retrogressive movement for the English Constitution Howard argued, one who intended to govern as well as reign, much to the dismay of the House of Commons.
The most significant and challenge to the traditional view of parliamentary sovereignty was Britain’s membership of the European Community in 1972. The European Communities Act 1972 brought with it the requirement that European Law be given priority over domestic courts over conflicting issues of national law. This notion was a direct affront to parliamentary sovereignty, which required that if a later statute, contradicted and earlier statute, which sought to incorporate European Law into English Law, then the later statute should impliedly repeal the earlier statute. Therefore the European Communities act imposed a substantive limit on the legislative ability of subsequent Parliaments.
The history of the English Revolution from 1649 to 1660 can be briefly told. Cromwell's shooting of the Levellers at Burford made a restoration of monarchy and lords ultimately inevitable, for the breach of big bourgeoisie and gentry with the popular forces meant that their government could only be maintained either by an army (which in the long ran proved crushingly expensive as well as difficult to control) or by a compromise with the surviving representatives of the old order. But first there were still tasks to be done.
England, a country apart of the United Kingdom, has had an organized government for hundreds of years. The current type has been the same for more than four-hundred years and has been mostly successful. The system is called a monarchy. It consists of a monarch, or king, that is chosen from the king’s close family. For example, if a man is the king, his firstborn son may become the king, and then his son may become the next king, and so on. This is what happens in most cases, but there are always exceptions and weak kings. Parliament was formed to assist the king and check his power. It can both work with the king and against him. An example of parliament working against
The British public’s view on the monarchy has changed tremendously over the past two centuries. Because of this, the monarchy’s social and political roles have been steadily declining. The reasons behind this are the Great Reform Bill of 1832, growing political parties, and the actions of the Royal Family.
Smith, G., Anderson, I., & Anderson, L. (1899). The United Kingdom: A Political History (Vol. 1). New York: The Macmillan Co.
This essay reflects about these questions and explores the reasons of this hidden royal influence over the British politicians. Due to the length of the essay, it focuses on the last decades of Elizabeth II’s reign, though other royal personalities have also been considered.
Is it the change in political culture that generates the greatest challenge for democracy in the United Kingdom? That was the question I was asked to answer for this paper and through my research, I have concluded that the political culture provides the greatest challenge for the democracy because it is always changing on the basis of imperialist ideals, the problems with the class system and the changes that Tony Blair made.
such as Britain parliament; the modern supervise of the democracy use the laws, separation of
It is well known that the British political system is one of the oldest political systems in the world. Obviously, it was formed within the time. The United Kingdom of the Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the constitutional monarchy, providing stability, continuity and national focus. The monarch is the head of state, but only Parliament has the right to create and undertake the legislation. The basis of the United Kingdom’s political system is a parliamentary democracy. Therefore, people think the role of the Queen as worthless and mainly unnecessarily demanding for funding, but is it like that?