Contrasting American and British politics
Two and a half months ago, I did a blog posting on the contrast between American and British politics. It attracted more comments that I usually obtain on this blog, so you might like to revisit it.
Now that the presidential election is over, this is a good time to make some further comments about the differences between the two political systems as it especially affects the transfer of power between leaders:
- In Britain, the changeover of Prime Ministers is virtually immediate – within hours of the election result, one person leaves 10 Downing Street and the successor enters it. In the United States, the transition period is two and half months.
- In Britain, the Prime Minister appoints around 100 members of the Government and members of the Cabinet each appoint a couple of Special Advisers, so the total number of political appointments is around 150. In the United States, the incoming President and his aides make a total of around 7,000 political appointments.
- In Britain, every Government Minister must be a member of one of the two Houses of Parliament and, if he or she is not already in the Parliament, he or she is made a peer. In the United States, no Cabinet member is allowed to be a member of the Congress because of the strict theory of the separation of the powers.
- In Britain, there is no produral method of challenging the appointment of a particular Minister although, in theory, the Opposition could move a vote of no confidence in the appropriate House of Parliament. In the United States, all the most senior appointments are subject to confirmation hearings and votes in the Senate.
- In Britain, the new Prime Minister sets out his or her vision for the country in a speech to the House of Commons on the subject of the Queen’s Speech which opens the new session of Parliament. In the United States, the incoming President’s inaugural address is an altogether more public and more prestigious affair.