Westminster system
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The Westminster system, or Westminster model, is a type of
The Westminster system is used, or was once used, in the national and
Characteristics
The Westminster system of government may include some of the following features:[9]
- A state or provincial governors in federal systems. Exceptions to this are Ireland and Israel, whose presidents are de jure and de facto ceremonial, and the latterpossesses no reserve powers whatsoever.
- A .
- An executive branch led by the head of government usually made up of members of the legislature with the senior members of the executive in a cabinet adhering to the principle of cabinet collective responsibility; such members execute executive authority on behalf of the nominal or theoretical executive authority.
- An independent, non-partisan civil service that advises on, and implements, decisions of the elected government. Civil servants hold permanent appointments and can expect merit-based selection processes and continuity of employment when governments change.[11]
- A leader of the oppositionis expected to be ready to form a government if the office of head of government becomes vacant.
- A legislature, often first-past-the-post from single-member districts, which is still more common, although some use a system of proportional representation (e.g. Israel, New Zealand), parallel voting (e.g. Japan), or preferential voting (e.g. Papua New Guinea, Australia).
- A confidence motion.
- A parliament that can be dissolved and snap elections called at any time.
- Parliamentary privilege, which allows the legislature to discuss any issue it deems relevant without fear of consequences stemming from defamatory statements or records thereof.
- Minutes of meetings, often known as Hansard, including an ability for the legislature to strike discussion from these minutes.
- The ability of courts to address silence or ambiguity in the equity. Exceptions to this include India, Quebec in Canada, and Scotland in the UK, among other countries who mix common law with other legal systems.
Most of the procedures of the Westminster system originated with the conventions, practices, and precedents of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, which form a part of what is known as the Constitution of the United Kingdom. Unlike the uncodified British constitution, most countries that use the Westminster system have codified the system, at least in part, in a written constitution.
However, uncodified conventions, practices, and precedents continue to play a significant role in most countries, as many constitutions do not specify important elements of procedure. For example, some older constitutions using the Westminster system do not mention the existence of the cabinet or the prime minister, because these offices were taken for granted by the authors of these constitutions. Sometimes these conventions,
Summary of the typical structure of the Westminster model
Type | Bicameral (unicameral in some circumstances) | Upper house (approves laws) |
---|---|---|
Lower house (represents the people) | ||
Leadership | Head of state | Monarch (sometimes represented by a vice-regal representative, such as a governor or governor-general) or ceremonial president.
|
Head of government |
Prime minister (sovereign state/country) Other titles include first minister, chief executive, president of the council of ministers. | |
Presiding officers of legislative chambers | Speaker of the upper house | |
Speaker of the lower house | ||
General | Government |
Led by the head of government. |
Opposition | Led by the leader of the opposition. A shadow cabinet is formed out of the elected members of the largest party or coalition in the legislature not in government, chosen by the party leader (the leader of the opposition). | |
Public service | Politically independent and available to the people of the state, that will work for various government organisations (health, housing, education, defence). | |
Armed forces | Defensive organisation of the state/country. |
Operation
The pattern of executive functions within a Westminster system is quite complex. In essence, the
The head of government, usually called the prime minister or premier, will ideally have the support of a majority in the responsible house, and must, in any case, be able to ensure the existence of no absolute majority against the government. If the parliament passes a motion of no confidence, or refuses to pass an important bill such as the budget, then the government must either resign so that a different government can be appointed or seek a parliamentary dissolution so that new general elections may be held in order to re-confirm or deny the government's mandate.
Executive authority within a Westminster system is de jure exercised by the cabinet as a whole, along with more junior
In the United Kingdom, the sovereign theoretically holds executive authority, even though the
As an example, the prime minister and cabinet (as the
This custom also occurs in other countries are regions around the world using the Westminster System, as a legacy of
An analogous scenario also exists in republics in the Commonwealth of Nations, such as India or Trinidad and Tobago, where there is a president who functions similarly to a governor-general.
An unusual case lies in Israel and Japan, where the respective prime ministers have the full legal power to implement executive decisions, and presidential (in Israel) or imperial (in Japan) approval is not required; the prime ministers of these nations are fully the de jure source of executive authority, and not the head of state.
The head of state will often hold meetings with the head of government and cabinet, as a means of keeping abreast of governmental policy and as a means of advising, consulting and warning ministers in their actions. Such a practice takes place in the United Kingdom and India. In the UK, the sovereign holds confidential weekly meetings with the prime minister to discuss governmental policy and to offer his or her opinions and advice on issues of the day. In India, the prime minister is constitutionally bound to hold regular sessions with the president, in a similar manner to the aforementioned British practice. In essence, the head of state, as the theoretical executive authority, "reigns but does not rule". This phrase means that the head of state's role in government is generally ceremonial and as a result does not directly institute executive powers. The
Such an executive arrangement first emerged in the United Kingdom. Historically, the
Electoral system, ministers and officials
The electoral system is often set out in a Representation of the People Act.[14][15] Common ministerial titles include parliamentary secretary and under-secretary. Ministers are supported by private secretaries and government departments are run by permanent secretaries, principal secretaries or chief secretaries.
Role of the head of state
The
A president, monarch, or governor-general might possess clearly significant
In many
Cabinet government
In the book
Members of the Cabinet are collectively seen as responsible for government policy, a policy termed cabinet collective responsibility. All Cabinet decisions are made by consensus, a vote is rarely taken in a Cabinet meeting. All ministers, whether senior and in the Cabinet, or junior ministers, must support the policy of the government publicly regardless of any private reservations. When a Cabinet reshuffle is imminent, a lot of time is taken up in the conversations of politicians and in the news media, speculating on who will, or will not, be moved in and out of the Cabinet by the Prime Minister, because the appointment of ministers to the Cabinet, and threat of dismissal from the Cabinet, is the single most powerful constitutional power which a Prime Minister has in the political control of the Government in the Westminster system.
The
Bicameral and unicameral parliaments
In a Westminster system, some members of parliament are elected by popular vote, while others are appointed. Nearly all Westminster-based parliaments have a
- Termless appointees, either lifetime or retiring, from successive prime ministers (such as the Senate of Canada)
- Appointees of the premier and the opposition leader (such as the Jamaican Senate)
- Direct election (such as the Australian Senate)
- Election by electoral colleges or sub-national legislatures (such as the Indian Rajya Sabha)
- Hereditary nobility (such as the British House of Lords until the House of Lords Act 1999)
- Any combination of the above (such as the Malaysian Senate)
In the UK, the lower house is the de facto legislative body, while the upper house practices restraint in exercising its constitutional powers and serves as a consultative body. In other Westminster countries, however, the upper house can sometimes exercise considerable power, as is the case for the Australian Senate.
Some Westminster-derived parliaments are
- The Quebec have abolished their upper houses.[17]
- The parliaments of all other Canadian provinces, the Parliament of Malta, the Papua New Guinea Parliament, the Legislative Council of Hong Kong and the Israeli Parliament never had upper houses.
"Washminster system"
The waters of the Thames and of the Potomac both flow into Lake Burley Griffin.
The Australian Senate is unusual in that it maintains an ability to
The Australian system has also been referred to as a semi-parliamentary system.[25]
Ceremonies
The Westminster system has a very distinct appearance when functioning, with many British customs incorporated into day-to-day government function. A Westminster-style parliament is usually a long, rectangular room, with two rows of seats and desks on either side. Many chambers connect the opposing rows, either with a perpendicular row of seats and desks at the furthermost point from the Speaker's Chair at the opposite end of the chamber (e.g. UK House of Lords or Israel Knesset) or the rows of chairs and desks are rounded at the end, opposite to the Speaker's Chair (e.g. Australian chambers, Ireland, South Africa, India). The chairs in which both the government and opposition sit, are positioned so that the two rows are facing each other. This arrangement is said to have derived from an early Parliament which was held in a church choir. Traditionally, the opposition parties will sit in one row of seats, and the government party will sit in the other. In some countries, the mace will face the government’s side whilst lying on the table of the House. In most majority governments, the number of government-party MPs is so large that it must use the "opposition" seats as well. In the lower house at Westminster (the UK's House of Commons) there are lines on the floor in front of the government and opposition benches that members may cross only when exiting the chamber.
At one end of the room sits a large chair, for the
Other ceremonies sometimes associated with the Westminster system include an annual
Current countries
Countries that use variations on the theme of the Westminster system, as of 2023, include the following:
Country | Legislature | System of govt. | Notes/Differences from the standard Westminster model |
---|---|---|---|
Antigua and Barbuda | Parliament: Senate House of Representatives |
Monarchy | |
Australia | Parliament: Senate House of Representatives |
Monarchy | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and state governments. Lower house is elected using instant-runoff voting. Upper house is elected by single transferable vote (a form of proportional representation) with each state and territory treated as individual electorates. Queensland has a unicameral state parliament while all other states have bicameral parliaments. The Australian Capital Territory and the Northern Territory have unicameral legislatures. |
The Bahamas | Parliament: Senate House of Assembly |
Monarchy
|
|
Bangladesh | Jatiya Sangsad | Republic | |
Barbados | Parliament: Senate House of Assembly |
Republic | |
Belize | National Assembly: Senate House of Assembly |
Monarchy | |
Canada | Parliament: Senate House of Commons |
Monarchy | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and provincial governments. Caucuses require official party status for some parliamentary privileges. Two of its territorial parliaments operate without any caucuses other than cabinet, and therefore have no leader of the opposition. |
Cayman Islands | Parliament | Monarchy | British Overseas Territory, meaning ultimate authority for its government resides with the UK Parliament in Westminster |
Denmark | Folketing | Monarchy | Essentially identical to the Westminster system in function, but developed independently, though with inspiration from the UK. Proportional representation is used to elect the Folketing.
One of five countries other than the UK to use a Westminster system with a native monarch, along with Japan, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Thailand. |
Dominica | House of Assembly | Republic | |
Fiji | Parliament | Republic | |
Grenada | Parliament: Senate House of Representatives |
Monarchy | |
India | Parliament: Rajya Sabha Lok Sabha |
Republic | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and state governments. The Lok Sabha (lower house) is popularly elected via first past the post. The Rajya Sabha (upper house) is mostly elected by the members of state/union territory legislatures using single transferable vote with a handful of members being appointed by the President of India. |
Ireland | Oireachtas: Seanad Éireann Dáil Éireann |
Republic | Dáil Éireann (the lower house) is elected by universal suffrage by single transferable vote from constituencies of 3 to 5 members. President is directly elected using instant-runoff voting. The prime minister has the title of Taoiseach (in the Irish language meaning roughly "captain" or "leader") and is appointed by the president on the nomination of the Dáil. |
Italy | Italian Parliament: Senate of the Republic Chamber of Deputies |
Republic | Very similar to the Westminster system but developed independently, though with inspiration from the UK. Notably, the perfect bicameralism, with the Senate of the Republic and Chamber of Deputies exercising identical powers; thus, a government must maintain majorities in both. The Chamber of Deputies and most of the Senate are directly elected through parallel voting. Five people appointed by the President of Italy, as well as previous Presidents of Italy, serve as senators for life .
|
Israel | Knesset | Republic | Modified Westminster system: Powers which would have been exercised by the President of Israel are divided between the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, and the speaker of the legislature. The Prime Minister was directly elected from 1996 to 2001.[26] Closed list party-list proportional representation is used to elect members to the Knesset. |
Japan | House of Councillors
House of Representatives |
Monarchy | Modified Westminster system: many non- reserve powers do not exist. Both houses are elected using parallel voting. Parallel voting is used for both houses of the National Diet .
One of five countries other than the UK to use a Westminster system with a native monarch, along with Denmark, Lesotho, Malaysia, and Thailand. |
Jamaica | Parliament: Senate House of Representatives |
Monarchy | |
Kuwait | National Assembly
|
Monarchy | In principle; in practice, the monarchy exercises executive power. |
Lesotho | Parliament: Senate National Assembly |
Monarchy | Constitutional monarchy that operates under a Westminster system.
One of five countries other than the UK to use a Westminster system with a native monarch, along with Denmark, Japan, Malaysia, and Thailand. |
Malaysia | Parliament: Dewan Negara Dewan Rakyat |
Monarchy (elective) | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and state governments. The Yang-di-Pertuan Agong shares characteristics of heads of state in both monarchies and republics. |
Malta | Parliament | Republic | |
Mauritius | National Assembly | Republic | |
Nepal | Parliament: National Assembly House of Representatives |
Republic[27] | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and state governments. |
New Zealand | Parliament | Monarchy | Uses voters. |
Pakistan | National Assembly
|
Republic | Federated nation, meaning that the power to govern the country and its people is shared and divided between national and provincial governments. |
Papua New Guinea | Parliament | Monarchy | One significant deviation it has from the traditional Westminster model is that a person is nominated for the position of Governor-General not by the Prime Minister but by a majority vote in Parliament, then they are appointed by the monarch. Members are elected to the Parliament by instant-runoff voting. |
Saint Kitts and Nevis | National Assembly | Monarchy | |
Saint Lucia | Parliament: Senate House of Assembly |
Monarchy | |
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines | House of Assembly | Monarchy | |
Samoa | Legislative Assembly | Republic | |
Singapore | Parliament | Republic | first-past-the-post voting.
|
Solomon Islands | Parliament of the Solomon Islands | Monarchy
|
One significant deviation it has from the traditional Westminster model is that a person is nominated for the position of Prime Minister but by a majority vote in Parliament, then they are appointed by the monarch, similar to neighboring Papua New Guinea.
|
Thailand | House of Representatives
|
Monarchy | One of five countries other than the UK to use a Westminster system with a native monarch, along with Denmark, Japan, Lesotho, and Malaysia. |
Trinidad and Tobago | Parliament: Senate House of Representatives |
Republic | |
Tuvalu | Parliament | Monarchy | |
United Kingdom | Parliament: House of Lords House of Commons |
Monarchy | Between 2011 (Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011) and 2022 (Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022), the Prime Minister did not have the ability to call early elections. |
Vanuatu | Parliament | Republic |
Former countries
The Westminster system was adopted by a number of countries which subsequently evolved or reformed their system of government departing from the original model. In some cases, certain aspects of the Westminster system were retained or codified in their constitutions. For instance South Africa and Botswana, unlike Commonwealth realms or parliamentary republics such as India, have a combined head of state and head of government but the President remains responsible to the lower house of parliament; it elects the President at the beginning of a new Parliament, or when there is a vacancy in the office, or when the sitting President is defeated on a vote of confidence. If the Parliament cannot elect a new President within a short period of time (a week to a month) the lower house is dissolved and new elections are called.
- Union of South Africa between 1910 and 1961, and the Republic of South Africa between 1961 and 1984. The 1983 constitution abolished the Westminster system in South Africa.
- Dominion of Newfoundland between 1907 and 1934, the year self-government was suspended and the Commission of Government assumed direct rule from London. Use of the Westminster system resumed in 1949 when Newfoundland became a province of Canada.
- Rhodesia between 1965 and 1979, and Zimbabwe between 1980 and 1987. The 1987 constitution abolished the Westminster system.
- Nigeria following the end of British colonial rule in 1960, which resulted in the appointment of a Governor-General and then a President, Nnamdi Azikiwe. The system ended with the military coup of 1966.
- Ceylon between 1948 and 1972, and Sri Lanka from 1972 until 1978 when the constitution was remodelled into an Executive presidential system.
- Burmafollowing independence in 1948 until the 1962 military coup d'état.
- Ghana between 1957 and 1960, then 1969 and 1972.
- State of Somaliland during its brief independence in 1960, with Muhammad Haji Ibrahim Egal as its first and only Prime Minister.
- Eswatini (then known as Swaziland) between 1968 and 1973.
- Tanganyika between 1961 and 1962.
- Sierra Leone between 1961 and 1971.
- Uganda between 1962 and 1963.
- Indonesia between 1945 and 1966.
- Kenya between 1963 and 1964.
- Malawibetween 1964 and 1966.
- The Gambia between 1965 and 1970.
- Guyana between 1966 and 1980.
- Kingdom of Iraq between 1921 and 1958; during the monarchy, the Parliament of Iraq was a bicameral parliament made of an upper house of lords and a lower house of commons and was modelled after the Westminster system with some adjustments.
- Kingdom of Egypt between 1923 and 1953; after the 1919 Egyptian Revolution the Parliament of Egypt was made to follow the exact model of the Westminster system.
- Kingdom of Afghanistan between 1964 and the end of the monarchy in 1973.
See also
- Bill of Rights 1689
- English Civil War
- Glorious Revolution
- His Majesty's Government
- History of parliamentarism
- Loyal opposition
- Magna Carta
- Parliamentary system
- Parliament in the Making
- Parliament of England
- Petition of Right
- Presidential system
- Representation of the People Act
References
- ISBN 978-0521128650.
- ISBN 978-9004151741.
- ^ "How the Westminster Parliamentary System was exported around the World". University of Cambridge. 2 December 2013. Retrieved 16 December 2013.
- ^ ISBN 9780773525085.
- ISBN 978-9047423935.
- ISBN 9780313273261.
- ISBN 9789403518213.
- ISBN 9789004276284.
- ^ "The Westminster System – Public Service Commission". www.psc.nsw.gov.au. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- ^ a b "OBA.org – Articles". www.oba.org.
- ^ "Reinvigorating The Westminster Tradition". Archived from the original on 27 March 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2013.
- ^ "The Role of the Opposition". academic.oup.com. Retrieved 18 October 2023.
- ^ a b Bagehot, Walter (1876). The English Constitution (1st ed.). London: Chapman & Hall.
- ^ Alder and Syrett. Constitutional and Administrative Law. (Palgrave Law Masters). 11th Edition. 2017. p 294. Birch. The British System of Government. 10th Edition. Routledge. 1998. Taylor & Francis e-Library. 2006. p 17.
- ^ See, for example, the definition in section 8(1) of the Representation of the People Act 1884, read with the definition of the Registration Acts in section 8(2)
- ISSN 1323-5664. Archived from the original(PDF) on 17 January 2011. Retrieved 22 January 2011.
- ^ "Chapter 2: The development of the Westminster system". Parliament of Australia. Retrieved 22 August 2017.
- OCLC 774393122.
- ISBN 978-1-86287-918-8.
- ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- ^ James A. Thomson, American and Australian Constitutions: Continuing Adventures in Comparative Constitutional Law, 30 J. Marshall L. Rev. 627 (1997)
- ^ Zelman Cowan, A Comparison of the Constitutions of Australia and the United States, 4 Buff. L. Rev. 155 (1955).
- ^ Evans, Harry (December 2009). "The Other Metropolis: The Australian Founders' Knowledge of America". Papers on Parliament No. 52. Retrieved 4 November 2020.
- .
- .
- S2CID 144231226.
- ^ "CONSTITUTION OF NEPAL 2015" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 23 December 2015. Retrieved 18 February 2016.
- ISBN 978-3643100856.
- ISBN 978-0195171761.)
{{cite book}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link - ISBN 978-0415364980.
- ^ "Special Issue Constitutional Law in Japan and the United Kingdom". King's Law Journal. 2 (2). 2015.
Bibliography
- Rhodes, R. A.W.; Wanna, John; Weller, Patrick (2009). Comparing Westminster. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0191609817.
- Galligan, Brian; Brenton, Scott, eds. (2015). Constitutional Conventions in Westminster Systems. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1107100244.
- The English Constitution, ISBN 0-521-46942-2.
- British Cabinet Government, Simon James, Pub Routledge, 1999. ISBN 0-415-17977-7.
- Prime Minister & Cabinet Government, Neil MacNaughton, 1999. ISBN 0-340-74759-5.
- Westminster Legacies: Democracy and Responsible Government in Asia and the Pacific, Haig Patapan, John Wanna, Patrick Weller, 2005. ISBN 0-868-40848-4.
External links
- How the Westminster parliamentary system was exported around the world University of Cambridge.
- Module on Parliamentary Democracy Commonwealth Parliamentary Association.
- The Twilight of Westminster? Electoral Reform & its Consequences, Pippa Norris, 2000.
- Westminster in the Caribbean: History, Legacies, Challenges University College London.
- What is the Westminster System? Parliament of Victoria video.