Comparative Notes

Branch

Role

US

UK

Executive

To provide leadership and representation for the whole country

To initiate policy ideas

To put those ideas into practice using government departments and bureaucracies

President

Vice President

Cabinet

Government Departments

Prime Minister

Cabinet

Government departments, including the civil service

Legislature

To legislate (make laws)

To represent the public usually on a constituency basis

To check the executive branch

Congress, which has 2 chambers- the House of Representatives and the Senate

Parliament, which has 2 chambers- the House of Commons and House of Lords

Judiciary

To uphold laws by interpreting them

To uphold constitutional laws/rules

To provide a check on other 2 branches

The Supreme Court

The Supreme Court

US

UK

Implications

Separation of powers/fusion of powers

Clear separation of powers between the executive, judiciary and legislature

This refers to a separation of personnel between these 3 branches. It is not possible to be a member of more than 1 branch at the same time

There are separate elections for the President and Congress

Members of the executive are also members of the legislature

Members of the cabinet, including the PM, are required to be members of Parliament

There is only 1 election, which is for Parliament. There are no separate elections for government or prime minister.

In the UK, the executive (or government) tends to dominate Parliament. The president, on the other hand is relatively weak, often lacking the powers to force Congress to accept their policy agenda

Checks and balances

High levels of checks and balances between the 3 branches of government

The president can propose and veto legislation, but Congress can propose, amend and pass legislation as well as overturn a presidential veto with a 2/3 veto

The Supreme Court can overturn actions or laws made by the President and Congress if they break the constitution. The president can appoint justices to the court, subject to Senate ratification and Congress and the states play a role in amending constitutional rules, which the Supreme Court rules on

Much lower levels of checks and balances. The government, with its in-built majority in Parliament can usually dominate the legislative process

Using this majority, and a powerful patronage system, the prime minister has a great deal of power

The Supreme Court is given a much lower level of power. The UK Supreme Court is not given the power to overturn acts of Parliament

Power is concentrated much more in the UK than it is in the US. The UK Prime Minister has much greater power over the policy direction of their own country than a president typically has.

The sharing of power in the US means that he system is slower to produce new policies or laws. The UK could be argued to have a more effective system of government in which the executive branch can achieve their goals, achieve them more quickly and chieve them with less need for compromise.

Location of sovereignty

The Constitution is sovereign. This means that the Constitution is above all politicians and political institutions. It is the Supreme Court tat enforces the Constitution by interpreting it and deciding whether it has been broken

To protect the sovereignty of the Constitution, it is entrenched; amendments require super-majorities in the House, Senate and states.

Parliament, not the Constitution, is sovereign

Parliament can make or remove any law it wishes to. The Supreme Court of the UK cannot overturn decisions made by Parliament

The UK Supreme Court is significantly weaker than the US counterpart. Any judicial interpretation can be overturned by a new act of Parliament in the UK. If the government dislikes a court ruling, it could easily change it. In the US, the courts use the power of judicial review to overturn the actions of any institution, including Congress. The entrenched nature of the US Constitution means that court decisions are unlikely ever to be overturned by politicians.

Amendment Process