Système britannique LLCE

Emma Aoustin                                                                                                             06/02/2023
1A                                                      Synthèse LLCE

 As we know, the United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, in which the monarch doesn’t take any open political decisions. All decisions are taken by the government and the parliament. The government is divides by the Tories and the Labour. and the parliament is composed of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The British citizens elect only the parliament. It means that the British system of government is very closed to the population who want to play a role more important in the British society. We will study 3 documents including 2 articles and a cartoon, the first one: “A royal mess: How Brexit has tarnished the crown?” is written by Emilio Casalicchio adapted from Politico in September 2019, it deals with the role of the Queen and the fact that the country has no written constitution. The second: “Why the will of the people is a myth in British democracy?” is written by George Monbiot, adapted from the Guardian in October 2019, it deals with the politic role that British citizens play. The last one, “On Brexit and Megxit”, drawn by Andrzej Krauze adapted from the Guardian in 2020, it deals with the two crises. It brings us to the fundamental question of “Why is the British system of government so questionable?”. Firstly, we will focus on the reproaches which are made to the crown, then we will consider the crises that have affected the country, and finally we will deal with the opinions of people.

In the first place, numerous reproaches are made to the British system of government. While the majority of citizens would like to see a British democracy, people judge the system too much closed to the British. In the second article, we can see that if people want to integrate in a certain way the politic life, and take it part, they have to do so in an active way, as this quote (l.12 to 14) shows us, in the article from the Guardian : “ I’ve often been asked when I complain about a government policy, So why don’t you stand for election ?”. This shows us a lack of freedom of expression, if you want to be heard by your government, transmit your opinions, ideas, you have to become a representative, (l.15 to 17) “This suggests that the only valid politic role a citizen can play is to become a representative […]”. Next, we can see that in the first document, people reproach the fact that their country has no written constitution, for them, that’s a big problem, because there is no “rule”, no limits. I quote from Politico (l. 29 to 33): “We’re only able to survive with an unwritten constitution because people behave, but as people push the limits more and more we need to clarify this stuff”. Many critics are made to the government that divide the country.

Secondly, this division proves unfavorable when the country is in crisis. The fact that United Kingdom has no written constitution poses a problem during the Brexit. Indeed, any decision made by the Crown was not well received by a part of the population, as the next quote (l.19 to 22) show us in the article of Politico: “[…], and the country so deeply divided between Leave and Remain, any answer she gave was bound to infuriate one side or other.”. Effectively, the British citizens was divided during the Brexit, a part wanted to stay in the European Union while others wanted to leave from, as shown in particular by the cartoon. This drawing represents both crises that lived the United Kingdom, the Brexit and the Megxit. We can see two men, who are trying to get away from E.U, those men can represent a small opinion that people have of the Brexit. Then we can see Harry, Meghan, and their baby Archie, who are running away from the Crown, this is the representation of Megxit.

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