An introduction to National Politics

A quick recap on Local Government;

1st Tier - County Council
2nd Tier - District/City Council
3rd Tier - Parish Council

All of these combined is known as Unitary Authority.

Councillors elected by constituencies are the representatives in a county council.
High ranking members of the government make up the Cabinet with the chief executive earning £94,000 a year.

National Politics;

Parliament and the news combined equals political reporting.
Journalists from the constitutional position have The Fourth State - they are the watchdogs of Parliament. "Must not only be done but must be seen to be done"

Legal right; Privellege

John Wilkes was known for being a hero journalist. He was an English radical leading a colourful life. He was forced into exile numerous times however he undertook important positions such as the mayor of London whilst also being a key memeber of parliament. He was elected three times from prison.
His private life was notorious, with countless mistresses, debt and duels.
Wilkes started a weekly radical publication, known as the North Briton which attacked MP Lord Brute and King George III causing contempt of Parliament.
During his lifetime, Wilkes obtained free speech and the constitutional basis of free speech.

Reporting of Parliament

When reporting on Parliament, it uses the protection of the city of London against Westminister. It has established a statutory qualified privellege (QP) for reporting on Parliament. Local authorities and many others also have statutory QP however this is subject to contradiction.

Legal right; Comment/free expression (Article 10, Human Rights Act)

Fair comment provides a defence if not a comment (i.e an opinion) is supported by facts, is honestly held, is on a matter of public interest and is not malicious.

In the US, all elected officials are not allowed to sue for libel. By way of comment you can say pretty much what you like about politicans - and there is no need (in newspapers) for balance. However on TV and Radio you must have balance (representation of the People Act) as well as the BroadCasting Act, Section 6. You cannot be sued, but breaking RPA is a criminal act. The airtime rule is regulation and not a criminal matter but the BBC could lose their charter.

Westminister;

The rules of privelege mean that you can report virtually anything said in the House. But dont forget the sub-judice rules as well as the last big taboo at Westminister; dont mention the rules.
Voting in the Commons is formally called a divison. The parties try to control the way in which their MP's vote through whipping unless there is a free vote on matters of conscience.
Mp's - Cabinet. MPQ's shadow the cabinet.

House of Lords;

All new laws have to be approved by both Houses of Parliament (except tax raising measures which are for MP's alone to decide)
-Peers are not elected and do not represent constituencies.
-Peers are not paid a salary, thought they can claim expenses.
-Peers are not allowed to vote on changes to taxation and finance.
-Peers never have the final word, though the government may sometimes choose to compromise.

The same amendments must be agreed by both Houses. In the event of a disagreement, the Lords do not have the power to reject legislation - it can always be over ruled by the governments use of the Parliament Act.

To create a law...

You begin with a green paper. This is the consultation document. The document will then go through these stages;

-First reading
-Second reading
-Committee stage
-Report stage
-Third reading
-House of Lords
-Consideration of Lords amendments
-Royal Assent

Nearly 750 peers are entitled to sit in the upper house. 500 hereditary peers were expelled in 1999, leaving just 92 who owe their place as lawmakers due to accident of birth.
Most of the rest have been appointed as life peers, either for their eminence in their own profession or loyal service to a political party. DO NOT mention cash for peerages.
Hansard is an official report of the proceedings of Parliament which is published daily.

Party Funding;

Party funding - subscriptions from members, donations from wealth donors, state funding however party membership has fallen dramatically - so parties rely heavily on wealthy donors. This then leads to claims of cash for honours which Lloyd George has sold openly.