POL SCI 50 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Pragmatism, Class Conflict, Thatcherism
Document Summary
No written constitution: mix of different documents and case studies: no judicial review. Executive dominance: no separation of powers, prime minister and cabinet > legislature. 2-party system: two dominant parties, other small/insignificant parties. Special interests minimized: usually lobby bureaucracy rather than government, campaign finance limited. First past the post: most votes wins election regardless if majority is reached. Constitutional monarchy: dig(cid:374)ified (cid:396)ole, sy(cid:373)(cid:271)oli(cid:272), (cid:396)ep(cid:396)ese(cid:374)ts (cid:374)atio(cid:374) as (cid:862)head of state(cid:863) Executive branch: parliament: pm: leader of majority party in house of commons, terms of election are variable, depend on leaders ability to command authority, up to 5 years before election must be called. If (cid:448)ote (cid:449)ith oppositio(cid:374), (cid:373)ust (cid:862)(cid:272)(cid:396)oss-o(cid:448)e(cid:396). (cid:863) u(cid:271)je(cid:272)t to (cid:396)idi(cid:272)ule/ pa(cid:396)ty expulsion: if majority party loses vote then they must resign, party loyalty > individual morality / convictions on issue. Legislative committees: randomly assigned to committee, ad hoc duration (committee a-f, small power, large size, mostly just edit bills.
