The UKs Current Legislature - Assignment Example

UK Parliament UK Parliament The United Kingdom (UK), which is a constitutional monarchy, was formed through the Acts of Union in 1536 between England and Wales and later, in 1707, between England, Wales and Scotland. The three nations were united under a single legislative council, or Parliament of London and a single monarchy. The general election in 2010 of Members of Parliament (MPs) formed the UK’s current legislature, which is also the fifty-fifth Parliament. The Parliament is made up of the hereditary House of Lords, elected members of the House of Commons and the sovereign (Wasson 2000, p. 36). It is set for dissolution in April 2015. The modern UK parliament is among the world’s oldest incessant representative assemblies. Earlier, the House of Lords was superior both in practice and theory to the House of Commons, but the lower House’s principle of ministerial responsibility was developed in the 19th century. House of Commons members were elected through an outdated electoral system that had constituencies with cosmic different sizes. In that sense, for example, the borough of Old Sarum was able to elect two members with seven voters just like the borough of Dunwich which, incidentally, had disappeared completely into the sea because of land erosion. In the first half of the 20th century, the British House of Commons’ supremacy was established after passing of the “People’s Budget” by the Commons in 1909, effectively altering the taxation system in ways that did not favour wealthy landowners. Presently, the legislative authority, which is also known as the Crown-in-Parliament, is made up of three separate arms that include House of Commons, House of Lords and the Monarch (Radcliffe 2001, p. 44). An individual cannot belong to both Houses and the House of Lords members are barred legally from participating in House of Commons elections. The UK’s cultural diversity is mainly due to the increased migration in the British Isles and the immigration from overseas and Europe, which means most of the British people have ancestries of mixed origins from the British Isles’ four nationalities (Baumann 2000, p. 74). The period before, during and after World War II saw religious and political refugees as well as displaced persons from diverse nationalities and cultural backgrounds being offered shelter in Britain. This paper will briefly describe the history of the UK Parliament institution and discuss the extent to which it has adapted to cultural development and the reasons it has done so. The UK Parliament’s origins are traceable to the Witan and the moot, which are eighth to 11th century features of the Anglo-Saxon government (Klug 2010, p. 39). The occasion in which the King called together the nobles and his advisors to discuss issues relating to the country was known as the Witan. Although its duty was advising the King, its assent was not required for him to take action. Further, unlike the modern parliament, the Witan did not contribute in framing the laws but consented to those the King chose to enact. However, realising that their territories could not be governed without the locals’ support, the Anglo-Saxon Kings introduced a balance between their power and those of their subjects. Following the Norman Conquest of 1066, Kings in England governed via smaller, although permanent, inner councils of officials and advisers. They would occasionally call on barons and earls (known as nobles) as well as abbots and bishops (churchmen) in order to gain their support and approval over matters regarding taxation. Referred to as the Great Council, the larger assembly of noble advisors formed the foundation of the contemporary Upper House of Parliament, which is the present day House of Lords. On the other hand, moots were regular meetings for each county under the Anglo-Saxons in which local matters were discussed and cases heard (Radcliffe 2001, p. 58). They were attended by four representatives from each village, the sheriff, bishops and local lords. The moots were later known as County Courts after the Conquest. They also introduced the concept of representative government at local levels. For many centuries, the two gatherings remained separate. Eventually, the County Court’s local spokesman and the Great Council’s noble councilors combined to form the Parliament of two Houses which were the locally representative Commons and the aristocratic Lords. The nature of Parliament was fundamentally changed by the Reformation Parliament of King Henry VIII. Under the impetus and direction of the King, the Parliament had made laws that affected all phases of national life, particularly religious doctrine and practice, which were previously under the church’s excusive authority (Klug 2010, p. 27). Following the ground-breaking laws that were enacted in the 1530s, no aspect involved in the kingdom’s government was outside Parliament’s authority. It enacted laws that transferred religious authority to the English Crown from the Pope; afforded the Crown authority over the buildings and wealth of the Church; settled religious doctrine; altered succession after declaring some of the King’s children illegitimate; and, most significantly, launched a wider programme of economic, religious and cultural reform. All of King Henry VIII’s successors made use of Parliament to enact their own legislation thereby changing nature, authority and doctrine of the Church in England. The Reformation Parliament, therefore, asserted the sovereignty of Parliament in statute-making (Kelly 2007, p. 128). During the Industrial Revolution, a new social order was created as factory production and entrepreneurship resulted in wealth and new forms of work. To this end, The Reform Act of 1832 brought the political advantages of the landed wealth to an end. This was done by widening the vote to the middle-class males who were also household heads. Essentially, this meant that Parliament gave the middle-class the opportunity to govern the country by their aspirations, values and beliefs, rather than being governed by the landed aristocracy. Presently, the UK Parliament’s legislation dictates that all public authorities promote equality in all their businesses (Kelly 2007, p. 131). The Equality Act 2010 provides legal requirements under the legislation, collectively known as “the general duties to promote equality”, which promotes equality among all people. This requirement is defined in the equality and diversity values of the society that champion the human rights, equality and diversity of its members. Parliament promotes the equality of opportunity and requires that each individual be given the chance to accomplish their potential without discrimination and prejudice. The legal requirement to eradicate sex harassment and discrimination also include harassment and discrimination based on gender reassignment, or the transitioning process from one gender to another. Therefore, the concept of equality and discrimination provides that it is illegal to treat some people at the workplace in less favourable manner based on their age, unless such treatment is objectively justified. In terms of disability, when an individual suffers from mental or physical impairment, they have specific rights which shield them from discrimination and service providers and employers are legally obliged to make appropriate adjustments in favour of the disabled. Further, although the law defines marriage as the union between a woman and a man, the UK Parliament allows same-sex couples to have their unions recognised legally as civil partnerships. In recognition of changing cultures, the legislation provides that such civil partners must be given the same treatment as married couples on a broad scope of legal matters. In the context of employment, during pregnancy, which is legally described as the condition of expecting a baby, women are entitled to maternity leave. In the non-employment context, the UK Parliament enacted the provision that women should be protected against maternity discrimination for a period of up to 26 weeks after they give birth. Such protection includes protection against unfavourable treatment while breastfeeding (Keith & Christopher 2006, p. 83). The legislation refers to race as a group of people who may be defined by their national or ethnic origins, colour and citizenship. According to the legislation, everyone has a right to fair treatment and protection against prejudice and racial discrimination, regardless of where they were born, their skin colour and the origin of their parents. For instance, following the Parliamentary action that criminalised racism, the first non-white Member of Parliament (of mixed European and Indian origins) was elected to Parliament. This paved the way for the gradual growth of Members of Parliament from ethnic minorities since 1987. In the perspective of religion and belief, religion usually has a meaning attached to it whereas belief incorporates philosophical and religious beliefs, which also includes the lack of belief, for example, atheism. Beliefs, generally, affect people’s life choices and the way they live. In recognition of this, the UK Parliament enacted laws that provide that Religion or belief must not be the basis of interfering with people’s right to fair treatment. Such fair treatment must be exercised at school, work, shopping malls or access to public services such as housing and health care (Macdonald 2000, p. 42). The constitution recognises two sexes, either man or woman. A person’s sexual orientation, which defines whether their sexual attraction is towards the two sexes, the opposite sex or their own sex, must not place them at a disadvantage. In recognition of this the UK Parliament enacted laws that protect citizens from workplace harassment and discrimination and harassment based on sexual orientation. The Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which is a ministerial department, has one of its objectives as making Britain the most exciting and creative place to do business, visit and live in the world. Headed by ministers, who are also Members of Parliament, it receives support from 44 agencies and public organizations (Brown & Tanner 2004, p. 114). It is mandated by the Parliament to promote and protect the artistic and cultural heritage of the UK. The DCMS has its main focus on arts and culture; equality, rights and citizenship; sports and leisure; media and communications; and the UK economy. By bringing individuals and communities together, the arts help in the removal of social barriers. The government is mandated by Parliament to support the arts community by giving access to all citizens regardless of their cultural backgrounds. It is the government’s responsibility, as mandated by Parliament, to make the UK a free, fair and democratic society that is accessible by all persons ready to give their contribution to English life. In acknowledging that sport has the capacity to improve health and enrich the lives of its citizens, the UK Parliament empowered the DCMS to invest in facilities that encourage the participation in sport among children and adults. That was a significant move because has created a new form of symbolism (Macfarlane 2000, p. 101). Symbolic attachment has reinforced localism and taken the form of personal commitments which have gone beyond the socioeconomic divisions. In the 20th century, support for rugby and soccer teams in the UK grew significantly, with teams commanding local loyalties fiercely as sport symbolised self-image and male pride in a society where manufacturing and mining had declined. Finally, studies indicate that more than 33 percent of workers in the UK will be aged above 50 by the year 2020 (Donald & Leach 2010, p. 69). The UK legislation is in place to ensure that the older workers are not dismissed on grounds of their age. It is a legal requirement that employers respond to the demographic changes by making the work and workplace more feasible and appealing to the older workers, which will enable them to work beyond the government-stipulated State Pension Age, or SPA. This Parliamentary change has shifted the historical trend in which early retirement was used to create space for a younger workforce. The change is a reflection of the Parliament’s acknowledgment of older workers as being valuable assets with specialised skills, institutional memory, business experience, loyalty, reliability and strong work ethics (IES 2009, p. 1). It is evident that all the adaptations undertaken by the UK Parliament to address cultural developments are geared towards making it more accommodating to all cultures, specifically in terms of race, sex and age divisions. Parliament, through its power to draft and enact laws, has worked over the years to abolish cultural and social barriers in the UK that were characterised with discrimination and prejudice (Myerson 2010, p. 93). Being the UK’s supreme legislative body, the Parliament has a duty to harmonise the diverse cultures of its population, which includes a significant presence of immigrants. It is in fulfilling this duty that the UK Parliament has adapted to cultural developments to a largely successful extent. References Brown, K & Tanner, R 2004, The History of the Scottish Parliament Volume 1: Parliament and Politics, Clarendon Press, Oxford. Baumann, G 2000, Contesting culture: discourses of identity in multi-ethnic London, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Donald, A & Leach, P 2010, Developing a bill of rights for the UK, London Metropolitan University, London. Institute for Employment Studies (IES), 2009, An aging workforce: the employer’s perspective, viewed 2 April 2014, http://goo.gl/BBnxD Keith, A & Christopher, M 2006, Culture in International Trade, McGraw, New York. Kelly, R 2007, The Parliament Acts (SN/PO/675), House of Commons Library, Westminster. Klug, F 2010, Human rights do not belong to political parties, Stevens, London. Macdonald, S 2000, Reimaging culture: histories, identities and the Gaelic Renaissance, Pearson, New Jersey. Macfarlane, A 2000, The origins of English individualism, Oxford University Press, New York. Myerson, J 2010, New demographics, new workspace, Gower Publishing, London. Radcliffe, P 2001, Ethnicity in the 1991 census, McGraw, London. Wasson, E 2000, Born to rule: British political elites, Stroud, London. Read More