The government in England is called a Parliamentary Monarchy. It has one legislative body, and the head of this body is the equivalent to our President; This body is known as parliament and its chief executive is the Prime Minister. The prime minster, amongst other things, is also the head of their party. Like the United States' legislature, England's Parliament is composed of two houses: The House of Commons and the House of Lords. Members are elected to five-year terms and are then dissolved by the Crown (The acting Head of State-- monarch) on advice of the prime minister. While the Crown is theoretically in charge of a number of appointments and departments, all decisions are made on "advice" from the prime minister. Unlike the U.S., however, it does not have three institutions in place that serve as checks and balances. Their major political parties consist of: the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. The political ideologies of the Conservatives promote maintenance if of traditional institutions and advocate for very little change in society. The Labour Party, however is a more left, and currently describes the selves as a "Democratic socialist party".
A CNN corespondent reported that although the number of Blacks in Britain were no where near the number of Blacks in the U.S., they faced some of the same oppressive and racist obstacles. Bernie Grant, a black former British Parliament member, once said, "Racism is an international phenomenon", and British institutions have serious barriers that prevent Blacks from advancing.
Article link: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9510/mmm_britain/index.html
"How We Work | The Labour Party." A New Generation for Change | The Labour Party. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.labour.org.uk/how_we_work>.
"Conservatism (political Philosophy) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/133435/conservatism>.
 |
| Bernie Grant Credit: TheLatest.com |
Article link: http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9510/mmm_britain/index.html
"How We Work | The Labour Party." A New Generation for Change | The Labour Party. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.labour.org.uk/how_we_work>.
"Conservatism (political Philosophy) -- Britannica Online Encyclopedia." Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Encyclopedia. Web. 14 Feb. 2012. <http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/133435/conservatism>.
It's sad to see how the government of England supposedly the counterpart of U.S, is treating the people of color in the England. I had a question, When grant talks about the "'de-facto' glass ceiling" from advancing to England? I just find it unfair and distributing how the Black people is treated even though we live in the 21st century. Also I find it stupid that England places issues of race in the bottom of their priority showing how much they care. I'm interested on how this all plays out at the end and how if the Black people do stand up against them what is going to happen? Would they change their list of priorities? This was just some thoughts I had.
ReplyDeleteGrowing up it seemed as if I was taught that in any type of Monarchy the king or queen was head of everything and always would be. This might have been true for a long time but it is not at all anymore. The king or queen is pretty much just a figure head and really has no power. I bet people of the past would have never have thought that this would happen. I find it interesting how government has changed through out time and become more alike, not only in England but also many other countries. The one question that I have is why even have a king or queen? What purpose are they really even serving? As Huy was saying, the race issue is terrible and I am also interested to see how it plays out. Hopefully they will change this problem and make it a higher priority or hopefully someone decides that they won't stand for this anymore.
ReplyDeleteThe de-facto glass ceiling he's talking about is the fact that this type of discrimination was practiced, but not by law. It's just to describe how "Normal" it had become in the society. And I too believe that this type of racism needs to be extinguished immediately. There's just no way for us, as a global community, to function otherwise. How can we expect progress with such a blatant and illogical contempt for another's phenotypes. John also makes an interesting point about the current operating of the English government. Indeed, most people, myself included prior to this research, do believe that the Queen (Or head monarch) is the head-of-state. I was extremely surprised to hear that she acts mostly as a symbolic leader. But I also know that the head monarch is not completely powerless. They are still incredibly influential people both in government and in the global community as a whole.
ReplyDelete