After a brief narrative of the development of parliament and its changing role in U.K., it shall be desirable to have an idea about the development of various institutions of parliamentary system in Britain. Some of the parliamentary institutions which deserve our attention include Electorate, Poltical Parties, frequent Elections, Cabinet, Civil Services etc.
1.Electorate:
The parliament is not the only institution of democracy in Britain. The electorate, which elects the parliament, and is the master of the country, is another important institution of parliamentary democracy. The right to franchise (or right to vote) was very restricted about two to three centuries back. Only rich people possessed franchise, while the poor were denied the same. Gradually a number of reforms were carried out to extend franchise to the middle classes.
Subsequently the working classes and women were also enfranchised. It was only in 1929 that right of franchise was granted to all citizens above 21 years of age. Further re- forms were carried out under the Representation of People’s Act 1948 which abolished two-member constituencies and the practice of two votes exercised by certain persons (on the basis of their education, property or status).
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It for the first time introduced the principle of ‘one vote’. Thus, right to franchise was granted to all men and women who had attained the age of 21 years except certified lunatics, idiots, criminals, offenders against electoral laws and sitting peers. Later on the voting age was reduced to 18 years.
2.Periodical Elections:
Another notable British Parliamentary institution is the practice of conducting periodical elections. Though the system of elections has been in vogue in Britain for quite some time, but the practice gained regular currency only in the nineteenth century. Initially the parliament enjoyed a term of three year which was fixed under Triennial Act of 1694. The term of the Parliament was increased to seven years through a Parliament Act in 1715.
The term was further reduced to five years under the Parliament Act 1911. However it is not essential that the parliament must enjoy full term of five years. It can be dissolved earlier also. Actually elections are held more frequently than at the prescribed intervals.
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There are adequate provisions in Britain to ensure fair elections. Voting takes place by secret ballot. Normally the voters cast vote in person at the polling booth, but voters resident abroad and merchant, seamen can vote by proxy or by post.
3. Political Parties:
The political parties, which are another important institution of British Parliamentary systems are not known to the law and are an extra-constitutional growth. In fact their growth was gradual and un-intentional. Generally the beginning of the political parties in Britain is traced to 1642 when the politically conscious sections of population divided themselves into royalists and parliament men. This division reflected difference between the economic, religious and political ideals and paved., lie way for future party affiliation.
Between 1688-1714 the political parties assumed more concrete shape and two major parties- Whigs and Torries-made their appearance. It may be observed that the political groups formed so far cannot be strictly described as political parties because they lacked political organization.
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The political divisions did not become clear till the French Revolution. The Revolution sharpened political differences. The Tories regarded the revolution as objectionable because it deprived the French King and the French aristocracy of their rights, while the Whigs welcomed the Revolution and looked upon it as a movement for the overthrow of tyrannical privileges.
The party system further hardened after 1794 and there was considerable decline in the number of independent members in Parliament. With the extension of franchise the political parties set up permanent central offices to find candidates for constituencies and constituencies for candidates, to collect and distribute funds etc. The Conservatives formed their central office in 1863 and the Liberals in 1865.
It may be noted that they changed their name into Conservatives in 1932 and projected itself as Tories a party which stood for conservation of British constitution. On the other hand, the Whigs renamed themselves as Liberals.
The British Political Parties assumed a new class basis after the split of Conservative Party on the question of repeal of Corn Laws in 1846. On the one hand, there were members who favoured protectionist policies, who came to be known as Conservatives. On the other hand, there were Whigs, Radicals and Liberal Conservatives who were bound by faith in principles of free trade and they formed themselves into a Liberal Party.
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The party conflict was further accentuated in 1886 on the question of grant of Home Rule to Ireland. Thereafter the Conservative Party came to be recognized as the representative of the propertied classes, while the Liberal Party came to be looked upon as party of salaries and wage- earning classes.
Towards the close of the nineteenth century a new political party was formed by the non-Marxist socialists under the name of Independent Labour Party. It convened a conference of trade unions and socialist societies in 1899 to consider means of securing representation of labour member, in parliament. Gradually this new party (Labour Party) supplanted the Liberal Party as the alternative government.
In fact a sort of perpetual duel has been going on between parties in Britain since the seventeenth century viz. Royalists and Puritans; Tories and Whigs; Conservatives and Liberals; and Conservative and Labour. The presence of two major political parties has been a basic feature of British Parliamentary system. Though a number of other political parties have also existed in Britain but in practice the struggle for power has been confined to only two major political parties at all times.
The political parties have played an important role in the successful working of Parliamentary Democracy in Britain. The majority party supports the government and helps it to carry out it policies.
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The minority party forms the opposition and criticizes the government for its lapses and forms government in case a vote of no confidence is passed against it. Under the British Parliamentary system, the opposition can always hope to replace the majority party and form government. As a result, the members of the party are bound by rigid discipline. The meaning of the majority party loyally support their leaders so that they may continue in power, while those belonging to the opposition party solidly stand behind their leaders so that they may form the government.
Under the British Parliamentary system opposition has an important role. It knocks the government about, exhorts it if it makes mistakes, and tries to prove that ministers are incompetent and ought to be fired by the Prime Minister. It may be observed that the opposition does not play only a negative role but also plays a positive role.
As Lord Morrison has observed “Denunciation, negative criticism, 5s part of its job-an important part of its job-but positive policies, constructive proposals are also an essential part of its task…. So the oppositions has its job to do; it should balance between criticism and denunciation and positive and constructive ideas.
” Almost similar views were expressed by Gladstone about the role of the opposition party. He said “a party in opposition cannot afford to be irresponsible, to oppose for the sake of opposition, to obstruct the process of government, if it hopes to achieve power within ten or twenty years, for a bad reputation lives long.”
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4.Cabinet:
The Cabinet is another important institution of Parliamentary Democracy in Britain. It can very well be described as an executive committee of the parliament because all the members of the cabinet (Council of Ministers) are taken from the Parliament and are accountable to the popularly elected representatives of the people.
The members of the cabinet have to defend their policies on the floor of the parliament (House of Commons). The cabinet gradually developed in Britain. Generally its origin is traced back to the year 1667 when Charles II invited a small group of intimate advisers to advice and assist him.
In all he invited five persons named Clifford, Ashley, Buckingham, Arlington and Lauderdale. From the initial letters of these five members the body came to be named as CABAL, and became the fore-runner of the present cabinet. Generally these members held their meetings in a small room or ‘cabinet’ and this body came to be named as cabinet. The institution of cabinet further developed during the reign of George I (1714-27).
Due to ignorance of English language and lack of interest in British politics, George I requested Walpole, his senior-most minister to preside over the meetings of this body and thus contributed to the rise of the office of Prime Minister and exclusion of King from the meetings of the Cabinet.
Gradually the other features of Cabinet system also developed. These features were (0 all the members of the Cabinet must be members of either House of Parliament; (ii) all the ministers must be taken from the same political party; (Hi) Cabinet is formed by the party which has majority of members in the House of Commons; (iv) Members of cabinet pursue same policy and are jointly responsible to the House of Commons; (v) The Cabinet can be ousted from office through a vote of no confidence by the Parliament (House of Commons); and (vj) Prime Minister is the leader of the majority party; (vii) During emergencies National Governments are formed which contain representatives of all the major political parties. This is done to ensure united front against common enemies and threats.
5.Civil Services:
Finally, the civil services also play a vital role in the working of parliamentary system of government in Britain. The civil servants place at the disposal of the ministers, who are laymen, expert advice and assistance and enable them to take decisions regarding policy etc. Sometimes the ministers may leave the decisions to civil servants, but the ultimate responsibility for these decisions rests with the minister.
The civil servants on the other hand, work impartially and act anonymously. During the earlier centuries the civil servants were recruited by the ministers from amongst their relatives, friends and admirers and were often quite inefficient. But Gladstone introduced the practice of recruitment of civil services through Civil Services Commission on the basis of a competitive examination.
This practice still persists and now recruitment is made on the basis of an open competition. These civil servants are expected to provide necessary data and information to the minister on the basis of which he formulates his policy. After the policy has been formulated the civil servants are expected to faithfully carry out the policy, even if they do not agree with it.
In fact, it is difficult to imagine that the parliamentary system of government in Britain can work without civil servants. Over the years the ministers have become increasingly dependent on the civil servants and often the civil servants make use of the ministerial powers without any responsibility.
In view of the enormous increase in the powers of the civil servants, Ramsay Muir has alleged that bureaucracy thrives under the “cloak of ministerial responsibility.” It has thriven and grown so much that like a Frankenstein’s monster it seems like to devour its creator. Sidney and Beatrice Webb also say “the government of Britain is, in fact carried on, not by the cabinet, nor even by individual ministers but by the civil services.”
It is evident from the above description that the parliamentary institutions in Britain have been gradually evolved. In fact their evolution is intimately linked with the development of democracy in Britain.