This is an explanation of the two main systems of democratic government: Presidential and
Parliamentary.
Around the world there are many variations of these two types, but we’re going to focus
on the United States and the United Kingdom because they exist on the opposite ends of
the democratic spectrum, and they’ve been the most influential to other countries around
the world.
Every four years the American people elect a president.
But it’s not a direct election where the winner of the overall nationwide vote wins
the White House.
The U.S. is the only country to have an electoral college system, where each state has a number
of electors based on the size of its relative population.
Every state, except Maine and Nebraska, awards all of their electors to the candidate that
received the most votes in that state, with an overall 270 needed to win.
This more complicated system exists to give the states a little more control over the
process.
The constitution limits the President to just two, four year terms in office.
In the UK, the people directly elect a representative from their geographic constituency, of which
there are a total of 650 throughout England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.
These representatives make up the house of commons in Parliament.
The leader of whichever party wins the most seats in this General Election, which occurs
every five years, becomes the Prime Minister, who has no term-limits.
The Prime Minister then forms a government.
The members of parliament from parties not in power are called the opposition.
Once inaugurated, the President appoints 15 cabinet officers to run the various departments
of the executive branch of government.
Nominees have to be confirmed by the Senate.
However, the Prime Minister’s appointments for the 21 different cabinet positions need
no confirmation, although they must be currently serving in either the House of Commons or
the House of Lords.
In the American Presidential system, the power to create laws is split between the President
and the Lower (the House) and Upper (the Senate) chambers of Congress.
In America, both houses of Congress must pass a version of a bill.
But, for a passed bill to become a law, the President must sign it.
If the President refuses, called a veto, the Congress can try and override the veto with
a 2/3ds majority vote in each Chamber.
The Congress is the second branch of the Federal government.
The third is the Supreme Court, a nine-member body, whose members are nominated by the President
and confirmed by the Senate, and serve life terms.
The Supreme Court is the court of last appeal and decides if state and federal laws are
legal under the constitution.
The legislative body is a bit more complicated in the UK’s Parliament, although it also
has an upper and a lower chamber.
Both the lower, elected House of Commons and the upper House of Lords make and shape the
laws, but the House of Lords isn’t elected and is made up of officials appointed by the
Queen, Bishops from the Church of England, and Hereditary peers, many of whom inherit
their positions.
Lords, play a wise-man’s role as an unelected check on decisions made by the House of Commons.
Bills are presented by the Prime Minister’s government, debated and changed by both Houses
in the Parliament, who must then both agree on a bill for it to become law.
A Supreme Court, with less power than the American version, was created in 2009.
In addition to being the Head of Government, the American president is also the Head of
State, and is the official representative of the country to the rest of the world, although
this role often falls to the president’s Secretary of State.
The President is the Commander-In-Chief of the military of the United States, although
only the Congress can formally declare war.
The President lives at the White House at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of the
District of Columbia.
In the UK’s system, the Monarch is the official Head of State.
Legally, the Monarch still has many powers like giving final approval on all laws, but
in the reality of modern times, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet run the country.
The Prime Minister is also the Commander-In-Chief in all but name.
The Monarch still meets weekly with the Prime Minister and has the constitutional right
to “warn, encourage, and to be consulted.”
The ability of the Monarch to influence the decisions of the Prime Minister varies depending
on the relationship between the two leaders.
It’s worth noting here that that the current Queen of England, Elizabeth II has been on
the throne for 63 years and is 89 years old.
Her son, Charles, Prince of Wales is her heir apparent.
The Monarch resides in Buckingham Palace in London, while the Prime Minister lives at
10 Downing Street.
Once a year, the President delivers a State of the Union Address to the joint Congress
and the nation in which they lay out their governing priorities.
Since the members of the House of Representatives are elected every two years, the President
faces a referendum on their performance halfway through each term.
If their party loses seats in a midterm election, their ability to enact their agenda for the
rest of the term is weakened.
Every week the Prime Minister answers questions from other members of parliament while simultaneously
debating the leader of the opposition.
This is a televised way for the people’s representatives to directly challenge the
Prime Minister on a whole host of issues.
Besides resignation, the only way a President can be removed from office is impeachment,
which is done by the House of Representatives.
This is like a prosecutor bringing official charges against a defendant.
If a vote to confirm the charges passes the House, the President is “impeached.”
The Senate will then try the impeachment, but in order to convict, a 2/3ds vote must
be achieved by the Senators.
If this happens, which it never has in American history, the President is removed from office.
In the UK, if the House of Commons passes a no confidence vote in the Prime Minister
or if the Prime Minister’s party loses a vote on a budget, they are seen as politically
weakened and will call a General Election.
So that’s the basic differences between the American Presidential and UKs Parliamentary
system.
The President is the Chief Executive, while the Prime Minister -- who is also a member
of Parliament -- officially shares some power with the Monarch.
The UK’s legislature, because of the House of Lords and the longer time between elections,
is less responsive to the changing will of the people.
And it is slightly easier to force a Prime Minister out of office than a President.
You can see from this map how many countries have been influenced by the American and British
forms of government.
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You can watch our explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by clicking the link on the screen,
or check out our visualization of the top ten immigrant countries in the world.
For The Daily Conversation, I’m Bryce Plank.
This video was edited by Brendan Plank.
Until next time.