Government & PoliticsIntro to British PoliticsWeek 1Teacher: Laura Graham

Aims for today’s class Introduce the structure of British Government

Identify different personalities and landmarks in British politics and society.

Recognise materials helpful to your understanding of the topics in the course.

SourcesIn addition to your text books, remember to read the

newspapers. There are broadsheets (The Times, Guardian, Telegraph, Independent) and tabloids (The Sun, Mirror, Star).

Don’t underestimate the power of tabloids. Politicians certainly don’t!!

The TV coverage is usually seen as being even-handed. Channel 4 News Newsnight (BBC) Question Time (BBC)

The United KingdomThe UK is made up of 4 different countries England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland

These areas form one political unit, The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The population of the UK is 62 million, 87% of whom live in England.

There are many different ethnic groups living in the UK and many languages spoken

In June 2009 it was estimated that there were 1.789 million people living in Northern Ireland

The flag of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (known as ‘the Union Jack’)

The United Kingdom The UK head of state is the monarch, Queen

Elizabeth II has been on the throne for 60 years this year.

The monarchy is hereditary. Charles is next in line.

The head of state has very little power in the 21st century. The UK has a constitutional monarchy. Therefore while in theory, the Queen holds power, in practice that power is carried out by her Government.

The United Kingdom - Economy During the days of the British Empire the UK economy was the largest

in the world and the first to industrialise (or industrialize, ushering in the Industrial Revolution).

Although it has declined in significance since, the UK is still the sixth largest economy in the world by purchasing power parity.

The British economy in 2009 was declining at an even quicker rate than originally suspected. All sectors of the UK economy struggled, with consumer confidence, the housing market, employment and manufacturing either at the lowest point, or dropping faster than ever previously recorded.

The Conservative Government, which was elected in 2010, announced a series of cuts to spending in an attempt to reduce the amount of Britain’s debt.

Austerity measures were introduced to reduce the economic deficit.

Figures of the Monarchy:

HM Queen Elizabeth II

Symbols of the Monarchy:

The Royal coat of arms

Figures of the Monarchy:

HRH The Prince of Wales (Prince Charles) – heir to the throne

Figures of the Monarchy:

HRH The Duke of Edinburgh (Prince Philip)

Royal Family - succession

HM Queen Elizabeth II

HRH The Prince ofWales (Queen’s eldest son)

(married to) HRH The Duke of Edinburgh

HRH Prince Williamof Wales (Prince Charles’ eldest son)

Government Sovereignty and Power reside in the Parliament

(House of Lords and House of Commons)

Power is really held by the Government.

The current PM is David Cameron and deputy PM Nick Clegg. Unusually for the UK, the government is in a 2 party coalition government. This is the first such government since 1945.

Government figures:

Conservative Party Leader and Prime Minister of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, David Cameron

Government Figures:

Leader of the Liberal Democrat Party and Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg

Government Figures & World Leaders:

David Cameron, GB Prime Minister, with Barack Obama, President of the United States of America

Government Figures:

George Osborne, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Opposition Figures:

Ed and David Miliband. Ed was voted in as leader of the Labour Party (September 2010). David was runner up in the contest for party leader.

Opposition Figures:

Rt Hon Gordon Brown MP – former Prime Minister

British Prime Minister Tony Blair greets the Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger (June 2007)

Baroness Thatcher (Margaret Thatcher) – former Prime Minister

Political Change Britain has been subject to political change but

there has not been a political revolution or civil war since 1649 when Charles I was beheaded.

Since then, there have been major changes around such issues as women’s enfranchisement and Irish Home Rule (1910-1914) but in the main, change has been relatively peaceful.

Summary of Part 1 British Council Video

http://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/en/uk-culture/population-and-demographics

Places

10 Downing Street, London

Places

Palace of Westminster, London (House of Commons and House of Lords)

Places

House of Commons

Places

Buckingham Palace, London

Places

Parliament Buildings, Stormont

Places

Northern Ireland Assembly

Places

Belfast City Hall

People

Peter Robinson MP MLA (First Minister) and Martin McGuinness MP MLA (deputy First Minister) of Northern Ireland

People

Peter Robinson MP MLA (First Minister) and Martin McGuinness MP MLA (deputy First Minister) of Northern Ireland with US Secretary of State, Mrs Hillary Clinton

World Leaders

US President Barack Obama

World Leaders

US President Barack Obama participates in a noodle-making demonstration with Chinese President Hu Jintao

US President Barack Obama and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao

Famous faces

Simon Cowell

Famous faces

David Beckham

Famous faces

Jude Law

Activity 1 Turn to pp. 11-12 on your INTO Politics textbook and complete “Introduction to Britain Task 1”

Homework Complete task 2 on p. 12 in your INTO Politics textbook. ATTN: This assignment has been modified: This task is to be completed alone. You may select any newspaper and/or news article for this task.

Come to class prepared to explain what the article is about and how it relates to Politics.

Due Tuesday 11/10.