Understanding Parliament

The UK Parliament is based on a two chamber system. The House of Lords and the House of Commons sit separately, and are constituted on different principles. However, the legislative process involves both Houses.

On the Parliament website you can find out about the work of the two Houses, their members and their committees, as well as accessing contact details and publications. You can find further information on the How Parliament Works page. This guide does not enter into the work of Parliament in great detail. It focuses more on the function and description of Parliament.

Some of the links in the text below link to external Parliament sites. If not expressly mentioned, then these links are in white. To return to ACL and to this Guide, just click on the back button of your browser. If you are using ACL's own full screen gold browser just right click your mouse when you are on the Parliamentary website and select 'back' from the options to return here.

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THE ROLE OF UK PARLIAMENT

The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, having its origins in the mid-13th Century. From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two-chamber system. The House of Lords (the upper House) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch. Even though the House of Lords is known as the upper House, as is can be seen further down below in this part of the Guide, real legislative power lies with the House of Commons.

The main functions of Parliament are to:

• make or approve all UK law and to examine proposals for new laws
• the sanctioning of taxation and public expenditure and thus providing, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government,
• protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals,
• scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure,
• examine European proposals before they become law,
• hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain
• debate the major issues of the day.

The Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949

Until the early years of the 20th century, the House of Lords had the power to prevent legislation, as bills had to be passed by both Houses of Parliament.

David Lloyd-George's so-called 'people's budget' of 1909 brought this arrangement under strain, when the House of Lords originally refused to pass it. Eventually, the budget was passed after a general election in 1910; a second election was then fought on the issue of reform of the House of Lords. The result was the Parliament Act of 1911, which removed from the House of Lords the power to veto a bill, except one to prolong the lifetime of a parliament. Instead, the Lords could delay a bill by up to two years. The Act also reduced the maximum lifespan of a Parliament from seven years to its present five years. The Parliament Act 1949 further reduced the Lords' delaying powers to one year.

Since 1949 three Acts have been passed into law without the consent of the House of Lords:

• The War Crimes Act 1991

• The European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999

• The Sexual Offences (Amendment) Act 2000

The Dissolution or Ending of Parliament

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. At any time up to the end of this period, a general election can be held for a new House of Commons.

As mentioned, a Parliament can last up to five years but after that time there must be a General Election. The Prime Minister can call an election before the five years are over.

Dissolution is the official term for the end of a Parliament. The Prime Minister may call a General Election before this date (before the period of five years), but at the end of the Parliament he or she asks the Monarch to grant a Dissolution. Parliament is dissolved by Royal Proclamation.

Sessions of Parliament

The life of a Parliament is divided into sessions, normally of one year each, which are ended when Parliament is prorogued (also under the prerogative) by a royal commission. Each House divides a session into sittings, normally of a day's duration, which end when a motion for adjournment is passed.

For more about prerogatives, click here.

Devolved Parliaments

There are devolved Parliaments/Assemblies in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland created by legislation passed by the UK Parliament. Click on the links to go to the appropriate websites for them.

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THE CHAMBER OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

The Chamber in which the Lords meet to debate is also the culminating point of the Royal Procession to open Parliament. It is within this magnificent setting that members of the House of Lords meet to hold general debates, put questions to ministers, and consider legislation, although their power over this is limited.

To see a panoramic view of the inside of the House of Lords, please click here. Quicktime is necessary for viewing.

The House of Lords Chamber was designed by Charles Barry and Augustus Pugin after the fire of 1834. It is a very beautiful and ornate room decorated in red and gold. At each end of the Chamber, there are three frescos representing Religion, Justice and Chivalry.

The Layout of the Chamber consists of red benches on three sides of the Chamber. There is a table in the middle and at one end there is the Throne and the Woolsack.

The Woolsack

The Woolsack is the seat of the Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords. It is a large square cushion of wool covered in red cloth. It has no arms or back.

The tradition of the Woolsack dates back to the reign of Edward III. At that time the wool trade was one of the most important parts of the economy. A seat stuffed with wool was therefore a very important symbol of the wealth of the country.

For a time the Woolsack was stuffed with horse hair but today it is again stuffed with wool brought from around the Commonwealth.

The Function of the House of Lords

The “Make-Up” of the House of Lords

q       All members gain a place by hereditary principle or appointment by the Crown – they are not chosen by representative election (by the citizens of the UK)

q       The House used to consist of 1,200 temporal and 26 spiritual Lords of Parliament. Of the Lords Temporal just under 800 were hereditary peers, but since the House of Lords Act 1999, the number of hereditary peers has been reduced to 92. So now, the House consists of 526 temporal and 26 spiritual Lords of Parliament.

q       Temporal peers are

o       Hereditary peers  (The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the entitlement of most of the hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords and of the 92 hereditary peers who retain their seat in the Lords, 75 were elected by their fellow hereditary peers)

o       Lords of Appeal (not more than 11, 12 with the Lord Chancellor) appointed by the Crown. Law Lords retain membership of the House for life so at present the number of Law Lords in the House is 26.

o       Life peers (the Life Peerages Act 1958 allows the Crown to give a man or woman a life peerage - currently there is 458 life peers)

q       Spiritual Lords are 26 bishops of the Church of England – they hold their seats until they resign from their office

Disqualification for membership of the Lords

1. Aliens

2. Persons under 21

3. Undischarged bankrupts

4. Persons convicted of Treason-until sentence completed or pardoned - Forfeiture Act 1870

5. Members expelled by the House unless pardon granted

Lords Temporal

Peers

A Peer is someone who is a Baron, Duke, Earl or Marquis. Some titles are Hereditary but most Barons are Life Peers. Life Peers and some Hereditary Peers are entitled to sit in the House of Lords.

Hereditary Peers

Hereditary peers inherit their title. The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the entitlement of most of the hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords and of the 92 hereditary peers who retain their seat in the Lords, 75 were elected by their fellow hereditary peers. The Peerage consists of five ranks, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Peerages may become extinct or fall into abeyance, but so long as there is an heir the title will continue.

Life Peers

A Life Peer differs from a Hereditary Peer in that the receiver cannot pass the title on to his or her children. Although Life Peers are appointed by the Queen, it is the Prime Minister who nominates them. By convention the Leader of the Opposition and other party leaders can propose a certain number.

Lords of Appeal in Ordinary

Also known as Law Lords, consists of up to 11 persons, (12 with the Lord Chancellor) holders of high judicial office or practising barristers of at least 15 years' standing, who are appointed to life peerages under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876 to carry out the judicial function of the House of Lords. While full members of the upper chamber, the Law Lords normally (by convention) avoid participating in the most politically controversial business of the House. Membership is for life so the number of Law Lords sitting (including retired Law Lords) is 26.

Lords Spiritual

• Archbishop of Canterbury
• Archbishop of York
• Bishops of London, Durham and Winchester
• 21 other Anglican bishops

Reform of the House of Lords

The Parliament Act 1911

The Parliament Act of 1911 was an Act introduced by the Liberal Party which reformed Parliament, and the House of Lords in particular, in a number of ways.

• It deprived the House of Lords of any powers over Money Bills.
• It gave the Speaker the power to decide what was a Money Bill.
• It allowed Bills that had been passed by the Commons in three successive sessions, but rejected by the Lords in all three, to become Law.
• It reduced the life of a Parliament to five years.

The progress of the Act through Parliament was a difficult one because the House of Lords were opposed to anything that reduced their powers, yet, in order for the proposals to become law the House of Lords had to agree to them.

The King at the time, George V, tried unsuccessfully to settle the matter by discussion between the Liberal and Conservative leaders. Finally George V agreed to create enough Liberal Peers who would support the Bill in the House of Lords provided he could be sure that the reform was what the electorate wanted. There was, therefore, a General Election in December 1910. The Bill was eventually passed by 131 votes to 114 by a House of Lords that prefered to lose some of its powers rather than see 250 new Liberal Peers created.

From this time the House of Lords had no control over the financial proposals of the Commons and could only hold up other legislation for two years. However this meant that the Lords could prevent the passage of Bills during the last two years of a Parliament.

The Parliament Act 1949

The Parliament Act 1949 further reduced the Lords' delaying powers to one year.

The Life Peerages Act 1958

The Life Peerages Act 1958 was a significant reform that affected the House of Lords. The Act allowed both men and, for the first time, women to sit and vote in the House of Lords for their lifetime only.

The Life Peerages Act altered the composition of the House of Lords because it introduced more people from different professions, and more women. Before the Act the House of Lords had been made up exclusively of Hereditary Peers, who were usually men from a narrow section of the population.

The House of Lords Act 1999

The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the entitlement of most of the hereditary peers to sit and vote in the House of Lords and of the 92 hereditary peers who retain their seat in the Lords, 75 were elected by their fellow hereditary peers. The Peerage consists of five ranks, Duke, Marquess, Earl, Viscount and Baron. Peerages may become extinct or fall into abeyance, but so long as there is an heir the title will continue.

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  THE CHAMBER OF THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The Chamber of the House of Commons is where Britain's elected representatives meet to debate. It was redesigned after the Second World War by Giles Gilbert Scott on almost exactly the same plan as that devised by Charles Barry in the nineteenth century. The shape of the room derives from that of the Chapel of St Stephen, which was for centuries the home of the Commons, until the fire of 1834.

To see a panoramic view of the inside of the House of Commons, please click here. Quicktime is necessary for viewing.

The House of Commons

The House of Commons Chamber was rebuilt by Sir Giles Gilbert Scott after it was damaged during the Second World War. The new Chamber was built in a style that was in keeping with the Chamber that had been destroyed.

The layout of the Chamber consists of two sets of green benches that are opposite to each other. There is a table in the middle and the Speaker's Chair at one end. This arrangement means that the Government and Opposition MPs sit facing each other.

The Chamber is actually quite small as there is only room for 437 MPs to sit down when there are 659 MPs in total. Many of the objects in the Chamber, such as the Speaker's Chair, are gifts from Commonwealth countries.

The Speaker of the House of Commons

The Speaker is an MP who has been elected to act as Chairman during debates in the House of Commons. He or she is responsible for ensuring that the rules laid down by the House for the carrying out of its business are observed. It is the Speaker who calls MPs to speak, and maintains order in the House. He or she acts as the House's representative in its relations with outside bodies and the other elements of Parliament such as the Lords and the Monarch.

The Speaker is also responsible for protecting the interests of minorities in the House. He or she must ensure that the holders of an opinion, however unpopular, are allowed to put across their view without undue obstruction.

It is also the Speaker who reprimands, on behalf of the House, an MP brought to the Bar of the House. In the case of disobedience the Speaker can 'name' an MP which results in their suspension from the House for a period.

The Speaker must be impartial in all matters. He or she is elected by MPs in the House of Commons but then ceases to be involved in party politics. All sides in the House rely on the Speaker's disinterest. Even after retirement a former Speaker will not take part in political issues. Taking on the office means losing close contact with old colleagues and keeping apart from all groups and interests, even avoiding using the House of Commons dining rooms or bars.

The Speaker continues as a Member of Parliament dealing with constituent's letters and problems. By tradition other candidates from the major parties do not contest the Speaker's seat at a General Election.

The Speakership dates back to 1377 when Sir Thomas Hungerford was appointed to the role. The title Speaker comes from the fact that the Speaker was the official spokesman of the House of Commons to the Monarch. In the early years of the office, several Speakers suffered violent deaths when they presented unwelcome news to the King.

Further information can be obtained from Factsheet M2 at the UK Parliament site.

The “Make-Up” of the House of Commons

q       The rules, for how the “make-up” of the House of Commons is to be, are held in Acts of Parliament, for example the Representation of the People Acts 1983 & 2000

• There are 659 MP's elected on a constituency basis by those entitled to vote.

q       The make-up of the House of Commons is created by the rules of the electoral system, including-

o       The vote

o       Elections

o       Membership to the House of Commons

o       Electoral systems

q       The House consists of the leading and opposing parties voted in by the people of the UK in a General Election

Disqualification for membership of the House of Commons

This includes:

1. Aliens (citizens of the Republic of Ireland are not barred, however)

2. Persons under 21

3. A person convicted of an offence and sentenced to a term of imprisonment for more than one year - Representation of the People Act 1981. This covers imprisonment in the UK and the Republic of Ireland.

General Election

A General Election is when the electors of the country cast their votes to elect Members of Parliament. The Parliament Act 1911 established the maximum life of a Parliament, that is the time between General Elections, as 5 years.

The reasons for calling a General Election on a specific date are varied, but generally stem from a Government's desire to obtain a further or increased majority in the House of Commons for the next five years - to have a further five years in power.

A government cannot operate effectively unless it can command the support of the majority of MPs within the House of Commons. Should it fail to hold the confidence of the majority of the House, it has to call a General Election.

Once dissolution has been announced, the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery issues Writs of Election. At this time the date of meeting for the new Parliament will also be announced. Although the Government continues in office, there cease to be any MPs and former Members may not use the facilities of the House whilst the General Election is in progress.

At the beginning of a new Parliament the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery will deliver to the Clerk of the House a return book, which lists the members who won constituency seats and therefore have the right to serve in Parliament.

Further information can be obtained from Factsheet M15 at the UK Parliament site.

The Electoral Register

The Electoral Register is a list of all the people who are eligible to vote and have registered to do so. The Electoral Register for each constituency is revised monthly. Registration is a statutory obligation but, in practice, not everyone registers. Those who do not register cannot vote in elections. Electoral Registers are available, for reference only, in public libraries and local authority offices.

Those eligible to vote are held in the Representation of the People Act 1983-2000.

Polictical Parties

Political Parties are formed by groups of people who are united in maintaining a set of policies. They have similar ideas on how the nation should be governed and band together to achieve that view.

The Party System

In Britain the party system has evolved from the historical division of Whigs and Tories in the Stuart period. The Tories were the representatives of the Monarchy and Anglicanism and the Whigs were the aristocratic party of foreign expansion.

Under Gladstone the Whigs became the Liberal Party. In the early decades of the 20th Century the Liberal Party was pledged to social reform whilst the Conservatives stood more for the preservation of vested interests and tariff reform.

The growth of the Labour Party led to the decline of the Liberals in the first part of the twentieth century but, since the 1970s, there have been increasing numbers of parties represented in the House of Commons. While Labour and Conservative have remained the largest parties, the Liberal Democrats have increased their strength, there are MPs from nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales and a number of Northern Ireland parties.

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ELECTORAL SYSTEMS

'The British Electoral System'
Britain uses a 'first-past-the-post' voting whereby a constituency returns the candidate who has won the most votes to Parliament as a M.P. A few points should be noted -

* each constituent has only one vote for one candidate
* the winning M.P. need not have an absolute majority (50 % +1)
* voters have no say in which candidates shall be proposed by any party

Example: [excluding N. Ireland]
General Election for FEB. 1974 SeatsWon % Votes Won
Conservative 297 37.8
Labour 301 37.1
Liberal 14 19.3
Others 11 3.3

Other Points To Note :
* Minor parties - such as the Greens or the neo-Nazis - gain no significant amount of votes and have never won a Parliamentary seat;
* the Liberals are consistently under-represented, with the 'worst' result coming in 1983 when the Liberal / SDP Alliance won 25.4 % of the vote yet gained only 23 seats;
* Both the Conservatives and the Labour Party are over-represented reflecting the disproportionality of the system;
* the effect on the nationalist parties is mixed, with the Scottish Nationalists losing out in this system whereas the Welsh Nationalists ( Plaid Cymru) do well;
* a party can actually win a General Election with fewer seats than its opponents, as happened in February 1974.

FURTHER OBSERVATIONS ON THE BRITISH ELECTORAL SYSTEM

1. 'Safe Seats'
   A 'safe seat' is one which remains in the hands of one party at every election, with the M.P. assured of re-election. It is estimated that some 60 % of the 651 seats are 'safe'. Such seats come about due to geographical considerations i.e. an industrial town will probably elect a Labour M.P. while a wealthy middle-class area will probably vote Conservative.
       Only in the event of a by-election due to the death or resignation of a M.P. is the notion of a 'safe seat' reduced. After their 1992 general Election success the Conservatives have failed to win ANY by-election victories, including severe defeats in formerly rock-solid Tory seats such as Eastleigh (1994) and Christchurch (1993).
   Safe seats are a worrying part of the British system because they mean that voters have very little influence over the final result. Only in 'marginal' seats where the outcome is less sure does the voter have a real say, but marginal seats are a minority.
2. 'Differential Voting Values'
   In some ways, votes have different values, as can be seen by the 1992 election results -
   PARTYVOTES WONSEATS WONVOTES PER SEAT
   Conservative 14.1 M 336 41 943
   Labour 11.6 M 271 42 655
   Liberal democrat 6.0 M 20 299 969
3. 'Concentration of Party Support'
   The two main parties enjoy concentrated support in certain areas, whereas the Liberal Democrat support is spread all over the country. In the 1992 General Election, the Conservatives won 161 seats in the South of England compared to 10 won by the Labour Party. Equally, in the North of England the Labour Party won 107 seats compared to 53 won by the Tories.
4. 'Tactical Voting'"...tactical voting is a symptom of the flaws in the electoral system..." Helen Catt (1989)
       A tactical vote is one cast by the voter not for his preferred party but for another he feels has a better chance of winning. This is usually done to keep out another candidate. Typically, this might be a Liberal Democratic voter supporting the Conservatives because he knows that the Liberal Democrat cannot win and he does not wish to see the Labour candidate win. Tactical voting may occur because the voter does nit wish to waste his vote and because their is no second choice in the British voting system. Tactical voting does not always hinder the smaller parties, especially in by-elections when recent trends have shown that Labour voters will switch allegiance to the Liberal Democrats to defeat the Tories. However such tactical voting often lessens during General Election times.
5. 'Government Formation'
   The most important feature of the British electoral system is that it produces a decisive outcome leading to strong single-party government. Every election since the Second World War (1945) has produced a majority government - except in February 1974.

The First Past the Post System - Advantages and Disadvantages and Alternatives

ADVANTAGES OF THE 'FIRST-PAST-THE-POST' SYSTEM : n.b. this system should considered in light of its use in the 2-party system of Britain.

* It is easy to understand as you vote for the candidate and his party;
* it produces clear decisive results with one-party government. This is often compared to Israel and Italy where 'coalition' governments are common;
* If one party wins, they can claim to have a mandate to introduce their manifesto policies. The same cannot be said of coalitions where a lot of bargaining goes on and no-one has really voted for the final coalition;
* there is a strong traditional link between British M.P.'s and their constituents, safeguarded by the single-member constituents.

DISADVANTAGES OF THE 'FIRST-PAST-THE-POST' SYSTEM :

* the system is unfair as it discriminates against the smaller parties and does not give equal value to all votes;
* it encourages tactical voting, leaving voters voting for a party they do not support purely to have some sort of say;
* electors do not have choice of candidates from the same party;
* while constituencies M.P.'s are a strength, some may prefer to a M.P. of their own party.

ALTERNATIVES TO THE BRITISH ELECTORAL SYSTEM

1. 'The Second Ballot' [a.k.a. 'Double Ballot']
   The first ballot is a vote along British lines. However the candidate must gain 50 % +1 of the vote to be elected. If this is not achieved a second ballot is held at a later date. There will be 2 final candidates and voters are free to chose who to vote for. The winner is guaranteed a 50 % +1 majority. his is the system used in France.
2. 'Alternative Vote'
   This variation of the 'second ballot' system is used in Australia. Each voter makes a first and second choice on the ballot paper. First choices are added together and any candidate with over 50 % of the vote is elected. If this is not achieved the second choices are added to the scores of the top 2 candidates so that an overall majority must be achieved by one of them. Essentially, it is like the 'second ballot' system carried out on one day.
3. PROPORTIONAL REPRESENTATION
   'The National List' [a.k.a. .The D'Hondt method']
   This simple system operates in Israel, Holland, Belgium, Spain and Portugal. There are no constituencies and voters choose a party not a candidate. The proportion of each party votes are calculated and the parties are awarded the same proportion of seats as votes won. Thus, 40 % votes = 40 % seats. It is up to the parties who fill the seats, though a party list is usually drawn up before the election. A 'threshold' may be stipulated whereby there is a minimum amount of votes (usually 5 %) a party must win before they can claim seats. The threshold is lower in Israel, which is notorious for awarding seats to tiny extremist parties.
4. 'Mixed Member Proportional Systems' [a.k.a. 'Additional Member System']
   This is a hybrid (mixture) system used in Italy and Germany. Electors have 2 votes, one for a constituency M.P. as in Britain, the other for a party, as in the D'Hondt system. Thus some of the legislature is composed of constituency M.P.'s while others are drawn from party lists. The division in Germany is 50 / 50 while Italy has 75 % constituency M.P.'s. This system is fairly - though not entirely - proportional.e.g: German Election Results 1990
   PARTY% VOTES% SEATSNO. OF SEATS
   Christian Democrats 36.7 40.5268
   Christian Socialists 7.1 7.7 51
   Social Democrats 33.5 36.1239
   Free Democrats 11.0 11.9 79
   Greens 5.1 1.2 8
   Democratic Socialists 2.4 2.6 17
5. 'Single Transferable Vote'
   This is the most popular choice of those who wish to change the present system in Britain. It is used in the Republic of Ireland and in Northern Ireland for European Elections. It is considered to be a difficult system to understand.
   Constituencies are 'multi-member' (usually about 4 or 5). Each candidate may put up as many candidates as there are seats. The voter is as follows -
   - the voter ranks his choices - all or some - in his order of preference
   - the 'quota' is worked out via TOTAL VOTES CAST PLUS ONE
   NUMBER OF SEATS + 1
   - first preference votes are counted. Any candidate who achieve the quota are elected
   - candidates with the fewest votes are eliminated and their second preference votes are transferred to the remaining candidates. If any candidate now has reached the quota he is elected.
   - the process continues until the required number of candidates have reached the quota.
   While by no means straight forward, the counting is left to the Returning Officer and it allows the voter to choose between candidates and parties.

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POLITICS AND POWER IN GENERAL

This section provides some very brief information about the concepts of power and politics as background to what is discussed in this part of the Guide.

THE EXERCISE OF POWER
ALL states exercise power over their citizens, but the level of power that is used can vary from 'total' power to much lower levels of power. Similarly, if a state needs to force an issue, it can fall back on the use of coercion ie. the use of force.
Coercion can take a number of forms -
(i) imprisonment
(ii) torture
(iii) execution

TOTALITARIAN STATES [ = state that have total control over their citizens] control using 'absolute power'. They would resort to the types of 'coercion' listed above, backed up by a compliant judiciary. "...Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun..." MAO TSE TUNG [1938]

QUESTION : HOW MIGHT AN INDIVIDUAL PROTEST AGAINST A TOTALITARIAN REGIME ?
(i) Political underground eg. Solidarity in early 1980's Poland
(ii) Terrorism / freedom fighters e.g A.N.C. in S. Africa
(iii) Martyrdom eg. Tianemen Square Massacre: Chinese student movement 1989+

Yet not all states are totalitarian or need to resort to such political tactics. This is usually because their citizens give their consent to be governed.
Why then do people conform and accept the laws and rulings of those power ?
(i) accept natural rule;
(ii) believe their country is democratic;
(iii) indoctrination;
(iv) fear of punishment if they go against the regime.

A truly democratic government / society can point that its government is elected by the people, but even this form of power has had its critics. With elections in the United Kingdom only held every 4/5 years, do the public really have a say. Lord Hailsham's notion  this was of an "...elected dictatorship."

In other words, the British government has power because it has been elected but arguably once in power it can do what it likes !

The problems begin for any government when a section of its citizens withdraw support for the government. In the UK this can be seen with the Northern Ireland issue.

Thus we are faced with a variety of different types of political power from totalitarianism to liberal-democracies. The question is which is or should be the most 'natural' form of government.

The main question of who has power and who has not is an ever changing according to the society and circumstances in question. Political power may come from outside government as well eg.

(i)TRADE UNIONS : In the 1970's the Trade Unions in the UK had very close links with the Labour Government, with the saying that they had 'beer and sandwiches' with Prime Minister Harold Wilson (1964 - 70 and 1974 - 76) and influenced his economic policy.

(ii)'BIG BUSINESS': In the UK, they have close links with the Conservatives, with many Tory M.P.'s on the Boards of companies.

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The Prime Minister & The Cabinet

The Crown