British Political System: Нistory and Principles

The single most important fact in understanding the nature of the British political system is that Britain has not been invaded or occupied for almost 1,000 years. The last successful invasion was in 1066 by the Normans. Is this true of any other country in the world? This explains why: it has had no revolution, it has no written constitution, its political system is not neat or logical, change has been very gradual and pragmatic and built on consensus.

To simplify political history very much, it has essentially been a struggle to shift political power from the all-powerful king who claimed that he obtained his right to rule from God to a national parliament that was increasingly representative of ordinary people and accountable (подотчётен) to ordinary people. A key date in this evolution was 1215 when King John was forced to sign the Magna Carta which involved him sharing power with the barons.

Another important feature of the British political history is that three parts of the United Kingdom – Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – have a special status and have local administrations with a wide range of responsibilities. England represents over 80% of the total UK population of around 60 million.

The final important part of political history is that, since 1973, Britain has been a member of what is now called the European Union. This now has 27 member-states covering most of the continent of Europe. The UK Government and Parliament are limited in some respects by what they can do because certain areas of policy or decision-making are a matter for the European Union. The British political system is headed by a hereditary monarchy but essentially the powers of the monarch – currently Queen Elizabeth II – are ceremonial.

HM Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother (1900-2002)

“Icon of the Century”, “The Nation’s Favourite Grandmother”, “The Richest Jewel in the Royal Family’s Crown” – these are just some of the many tributes that have been bestowed upon the Queen Mother. She was the longest-living British Royal in memory, and she witnessed some of the most significant developments and historical moments of the last century. When she was born aeroplanes had not yet flown, and gas lamps had not been replaced by electric lighting.

The most genuinely loved woman in England secured her place with a casual remark over six decades ago. Asked if she would remove her two young daughters from London during the Blitz, Queen Elizabeth replied: “The girls will not leave unless I do. I will not leave unless the King does. And the King will not leave under any circumstances whatsoever.” Instead she learned to shoot a revolver, practicing her aim in the Palace gardens.

Born a commoner on August 4, 1900, Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had never expected to be Queen; she was forced into it when “Bertie,” her shy and stuttering husband, became King upon the abdication of his brother in December, 1936. She told her household, “We must take what is coming and make the best of it”.

Her finest hour was in 1940, when she, the King, and the Prime Minister Churchill rallied one nation to keep liberty alive. Ensconced at Buckingham Palace as the bombs rained, she remarked that this allowed her to look East Londoners in the eye. Her defiance caused Hitler to brand her “the most dangerous woman in Europe”.

For sixteen years she was the rock of support behind her husband George VI and then for daughter, passing to Elizabeth II her resonant devotion to duty, honour and country. “Duty was important to the Queen Mother,” wrote one observer, “and despite illness and various operations she was still one of the hardest working royals, carrying out 130 engagements in her 80^th year.”

She was a keen and successful horse breeder and gave up fishing, a favourite pastime, only at 80. Her somewhat extravagant Edwardian lifestyle – she had five homes, a fleet of cars and an unspecified number of staff – was always an accepted and essential accessory for playing host to the nation. Her refusal to indulge in regrets, carried her through the good and the bad. What Wendell Willkie said in 1941 was still valid in her case: “The Britons are almost miraculously fortunate in their present leaders.”