The Comparison of Political System Between the US and the UK

The Comparison of Political System Between the US and

the UK

姓名：陈泳嫦

学号：21

班别：10英语翻译

As is known to all that western countries are on the guide of a parliamentary democracy, however, the organization in specific and different countries have their own characteristics. Among all the systems, two most representative is the U.S. presidential model and the United Kingdom constitutional system. So let us have a view of the details of these two political systems.

The United States is a federal constitutional republic, in which the President of the United States (the head of the state and head of the government), congress, and judiciary share powers reserved to the national government, and the federal government shares sovereignty with the state governments. Federal and state elections generally take place within a two-party system, although this is not enshrined in law.

The executive branch is headed by President and is independent of the legislature. Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of Congress, the Senate and the House of the Representatives. The judicial branch (or judiciary),

which is composed of the Supreme Court and lower federal courts exercises judiciary power (or judiciary). The judiciary's function is to interpret the United States Constitution and federal laws and regulations. This includes resolving disputes between the executive and legislative branches. The federal government of the United States was established by the Constitution. Two parties, the Democratic Party and the Republican Party, have dominated American politics since the American Civil War, although other parties have also existed.

In terms of the United Kingdom, The UK is a unitary and constitutional monarchy democracy country. Its government system or so-called the Westminster system has directly influenced the political system of many other countries. The main characteristic is the doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy 、the core of the power is the cabinet、clearance monarch and Organized political party. Doctrine of Parliamentary supremacy is legislative powers is in the core status. The first set of western capitalist political systems created by Britain is praised as a source and model of the western political system monarchy. Although the king or Queen is the head of state, their powers are largely symbolic. The government is elected by people and the whole country is governed according to British constitutional principles.

As a parliamentary democracy, the British government is characterized by a division of powers among the legislature, the executive and the judiciary. However, the division among these three branches is not as absolute as that in the United States, because the Prime Minister, the head of the executive branch, is also the leader of the majority party in parliament. Furthermore, he advises the monarch on

the candidates of judges of the Supreme Court. Three parties dominate politics in the House of Commons. They all operate throughout Great Britain (only the Conservative Party stands candidates in Northern Ireland). Most of the British Members of the European Parliament, the Scottish Parliament, and the National Assembly for Wales represent one of these parties:

1、Labor Party, centre-right to left-wing (traditionally left-wing) (355 seats in the House of Commons) Co-operative Party (all Co-operative Party MPs are also Labor MPs as part of a long-standing electoral agreement)

2、Conservative Party, centrist to centre-right (traditionally centre-right) (198 seats)

3、Liberal Democrats, centrist to centre-left. (63 seats)

Based on what I have mentioned above, the similarities and differences between these two systems are as follow.

Similarities

First, from the relation between regime and the constitution, Britain and United State’s system of government belong to the dominant form of capitalist countries. The regime of the two countries are bourgeois regime, the fundamental goal is to maintaining the capitalist system, serving the interests of the bourgeois.

Second, both Britain and the United States political system have the same theoretical basis: \"Talent human rights\" theory and \"separation of the three powers” principle.

Third, the specific content of the political system include parliamentary system, the electoral system, judicial system, the government system, civil service system and political party system, etc.

Fourth, all labeled as “people’s democracy” to the main representative form of democracy.

Fifth, Power system is checks and balances and separation of powers \"rule of law\" principle characteristics.

Differences

First the political party system .Political party in the western political system has a special position. It is closely relevant with electoral system, parliamentary system and cabinet system. Political party in the American and British political life also plays an important role.. Britain appears the earliest bourgeois party in the world and it is the first country to establish and implement two-party system: two-party system combined with the British cabinet system. The cabinet consists of the political party which gains the majority at a general election.

The largest opposition party is the House of Commons which can establish a shadow cabinet. The organization of British Party is strict and there are many party members. Britain's two political parties are two different political factions in the parliament at first. On the contrary, the internal organization of American political party is very loose. The ruling party masters executive power, but doesn’t master the legislative power. American's two political parties aim at

supporting and opposing federalism. The party's main activity is the presidential campaign. The two-party system is stable. This kind of system will cause the United States parties which are in the middle of the internal organization is very weak.

Second comparison is the Constitution. Up until now, t the Britain does not have a single document called the Constitution but its

constitutional provisions are scattered over various Acts of Parliament. The British constitution is the product of a long-term historical evolution. It is the sum total of the common law over the years. The basic principle of the British Constitution is obscure. However, the United States has a written constitution which is very difficult to change. The United States Constitution is the fundamental law of America, which establishes the legal basis for the American political system. The US Constitution serving as an essential law is the first

written constitution in the world. The US Constitution has four major principles: separation of powers, federal system, doctrine of constitutional supremacy and equality. The two purposes of the United States constitution are limiting the power of the government and protecting people's freedom.

Third is the legal system. American and British legislative systems have the same principles in general Parliament is the center of the British political stage and is Britain's top legislative branch. The government is elected from the parliament and it should be responsible for the parliament. Parliament is a bicameral legislature. The House of Commons and the House of Lords constitute the British Parliament. In the meantime, the U.S. congress is the highest legislative branch, which consists of the senate and the House of Representatives. The main powers of congress are legislative power, supervisory power of judicial administration, examination and approval authority and amending power. In addition, congress can pass the resolution which does not need the president to sign.

In a conclusion, the US and the UK which share the similarities and the differences have relatively consistence in the basic political values. American and British political system and political civilization both play an important role in the world.