Unit II Test Review

1. Describe the national/regional makeup of the UK. What are the regions of the kingdom? How
are they related? How have they gained more autonomy over time?
Scotland, Northern Ireland, Wales, England. England has traditionally been the strongest and
has ruled over all three as part of the UK. England/Scotland/Wales make up the island of Great
Britain. Since the late 1990s through devolution, the regions have gained their own legislatures
which have some autonomy. Scotland has the most autonomy and strongest nationalist
sentiment.

2. How has Parliament evolved and changed since the 17th Century?
Power has shifted towards the House of Commons and away from the House of Lords

3. What changed were brought about to the UK following WWII? Why was the Beveridge Report
significant? What was the Collectivist Consensus?
Following WWII, social welfare reforms prescribed by the Beveridge Report were implemented,
including the National Health Service.
The Collectivist Consensus was the time period from 1945-1979 when political parties and the
public agreed to fund the welfare state. Ended with Margaret Thatcher in 1979

4. Describe Thatcherism.
A term used to describe the ideology of Conservative PM Margaret Thatcher, characterized by
policies of deregulation, privatization, lessened influence of trade unions, and smaller
government.

5. What is the current make up of Parliament? What party(ies) make up the Government and
Opposition?
Government- Conservatives supported by the DUP
Opposition- Labour supported by the SNP, Liberal Democrats, Greens, and Plaid Cymru

Prime Minister- Theresa May (Conservative)

Leader of the Opposition- Jeremy Corbyn (Labour)

6. What are the major parties? What are their ideologies? Name at least 4.
Conservative- center-right, Eurosceptic, supports privatization, strong military, limited
immigration
Labour- center-left/ left-wing, Pro-European, social democracy, environmentalist, pro-union,
supports national education service
Scottish National Party- Pro-EU, social democracy, independent Scotland, environmentalism,
free university education, gender equality
Liberal Democrats- “Lib Dems”, center-left, pro-EU, electoral reform, civil rights, economic
liberalism
Democratic Unionist Party- “DUP”, center-right/right-wing, social conservatism, anti-EU,
Unionist, support for Northern Ireland
7. Describe the UK’s electoral process.
650 MPs (Members of Parliament) elected to the House of Commons from single-member
districts in plurality elections (most votes wins). Each serve 5-year terms and all are up for
reelection at the same time. Campaigns are shorter and less expensive than US campaigns.

8. What is the relationship between the Government and Opposition in the Westminster system?
Government is made up of the majority party or ruling coalition. Prime Minister and Cabinet are
from these. Have power to pass legislation.
Opposition is made up of the other parties. Leader of the Opposition served as an alternative
PM and critiques the PM and the Government. Shadow Cabinet does the same for the Cabinet.
Mirror-image system of opposites.

9. What are some of the powers of the Prime Minister?

Prime Minister has the power to appoint Cabinet members and has much control over
legislation and policies.

10. How do the House of Commons and House of Lords relate in terms of power?
Both houses must approve legislation, House of Commons can reject changed made to laws by
the Lords, House of Commons is more powerful.

11. What are some characteristics of the House of Lords?

Made up of a flexible number of Lords (peers), currently 793, not elected to the office, divided
up between Lords Temporal (hereditary peers and life peers) and Lords Spiritual (Anglican
bishops). Can only amend legislation, changed can be rejected by House of Commons. Serve life
terms. Less powerful than the HOC. The upper house of Parliament.

12. What is the importance of debate and the Weekly Question Hour?
This serves as a “check” on the Governments, in a system with no checks and balances.

13. What are quangos and the Trade Unions Congress?

Quangos- quasi-autonomous nongovernmental organizations. Policy advisory boards appointed
by the government to advice lawmakers on policies affecting certain groups. Appointed interest
groups.

Trade Unions Congress- the group representing a coalition of many trade unions which also
advises the government on labor policy. Not appointed by the government

14. Describe the powers of the UK Supreme Court. Also, what powers does it not have?
Has the power to decide whether or not policies violate acts of Parliament or common law.
Does not have the power of judicial review.
15. How is the UK Supreme Court different and similar to the US Supreme Court?
Similar- highest court in a multi-leveled judiciary, separate from other branches
Different- US Supreme Court has the power of judicial review and can interpret the constitution,
UK Supreme Court has no judicial review and no constitution to interpret, also has more justices
(11) than the US (9) and is newer (founded in 2009).

16. What are some reasons that the EU formed? Why was there a need for a supranational
organization in Europe after WWII?
The EU was formed to help foster economic growth and political and social interconnectedness
in Europe. After WWII, with many economies ruined, there was a need seen for a free-trade
zone to help grow European economies. This eventually evolved into a full governmental
organization.

17. How did the EU develop after the Maastricht Treaty?

The EU developed further through the Treaty of Amsterdam and the Treaty of Lisbon, and has
since grown to 28 member-states and has expanded into the former Warsaw Pact countries in
Eastern Europe. Euro and Eurozone were implemented and are used by 12 EU members as of
2017.

18. What are the “three pillars” of the EU as laid out in the Maastricht Treaty?
1. Trade and economic matters
o Creation of the European Central Bank
o A single currency
2. Justice and home affairs
o Asylum, immigration, border crossing
o Judicial cooperation on crime and terrorism
3. Common foreign and security policy
o Joint positions and actions
o Common defense policy

19. How does power and legislation flow in the EU? How is it different from many other
governments?
Power and legislation flow from the top-down, from the European Commission to the legislative
bodies of the European Parliament and the Council of the EU. Most other countries have power
and legislation flowing from the bottom-up.

20. Describe the make-up and functions of the European Commission.

Executive branch of the EU made up of 28 members or “commissioners”, one from each
member-state. Each has a specific policy area with corresponding bureaucracy which they
oversee. Nominated by their home government and serve 5-year terms. They have a monopoly
over proposing legislation.
Jean-Claude Juncker of Luxembourg is currently the President of the European Commission
21. Describe the make-up and functions of the Council of the European Union.
Also called the Council of Ministers, made up of the member-states’ prime ministers, finance
ministers, foreign ministers, and the President of France. Meet frequently. Approve legislation
coming from the European Commission. Have the power to reject amendments made to
legislation by the European Parliament. Use qualified majority voting.

22. Describe the make-up and functions of the European Parliament.

Made up of 750 MEPs (Members of European Parliament), elected to 5-year terms. Only part of
the EU government directly elected by the people. Seats are apportioned based on relative size,
with Germany having 96 seats as the most. MEPs are elected by party but sit with European
political groups, large multi-party groups made up of ideologically-similar parties from member
states. Elected proportionally based on party.
European Parliament has little formal power, can amend legislation but all changed can be
rejected by the Council of the EU.

23. Describe the make-up and functions of the European Court of Justice.
Made up of 28 justices, one from each member-state. Have broad powers of judicial review and
the ability overrule national courts of member-states.

24. What are the three major policy areas of the European Union? Describe each.
 Creating and maintaining a single internal market
 Promoting the common market
 Removal of tariffs and other trade barriers between member countries
 Acceptance of professional licenses in all member states
 Free movement of people across borders
o Schengen area
 Monetary policy
 The establishment of the euro as the standard currency of member states
 The Eurozone
 Many EU members, but not all, have switched to the euro
 European Central Bank
 Central bank for the euro and the Eurozone
 Administers the EU monetary policy
 Sets interest rates and the money supply
 Economic and Monetary (EMU)
 Policies over the development of the Eurozone and the euro as the currency of
the EU
 Common agriculture policy
 Farm subsidies
25. Summarize the economic and monetary themes of the European Union.
Debate between economic liberalism and economic nationalism/ protectionism. Integrated
markets vs. independent markets, promotion of the single market and the Eurozone

26. What was the European sovereign debt crisis and subsequent austerity measures?
European sovereign debt crisis:
Several Eurozone member states were unable to repay or refinance their government
debt or to bail out over-indebted banks under their national supervision without the
assistance of third parties like other Eurozone countries, the European Central Bank
(ECB), or the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Authority programs:
Designed to decrease budget deficits by spending cuts and increased taxes.

27. Why did the UK vote to leave the EU? What could be some consequences of this decision?
Economic reasons: European sovereign debt crisis, austerity programs, concerns over the
stability of the single market
Immigration/ migration: concerns over terrorism and loose EU immigration and movement
policies
Rise of UKIP, nationalism, and Euroscepticism

28. Describe the differences between Pro-Europeanism and Euroscepticism.

Pro-Europeanism- supportive of a connected Europe and the EU
Euroscepticism- not supportive of the EU, focused on nationalism