The United Kingdom and the United States are two of the oldest and most influential democratic political systems in the world. As two nations with a shared history and cultural lineage, their political systems have many similarities as well as key differences that have developed over time. This article will provide a comparative analysis of the political systems and governance of the UK and USA, examining the origins, institutions, processes, ideologies, policies and contemporary issues in each system.
Origins and Historical Development
The UK parliamentary system has its origins in the constitutional monarchy that developed in England from the medieval period. After the Glorious Revolution of 1688 established the supremacy of Parliament over the monarchy, the UK evolved over centuries into a stable liberal democracy with the monarch as a figurehead and Parliament supreme. The US presidential system was intentionally designed by the Founding Fathers through the US Constitution as a federal republic with separation of powers and checks and balances between the executive, legislative and judicial branches. Based on Enlightenment ideas and a rejection of monarchy, the US system reflected the revolutionary origins of the new nation (Lijphart, 1999).
The UK underwent incremental reform over centuries to expand the franchise and move towards full mass democracy. The Reform Acts of 1832, 1867 and 1884 extended the voting rights beyond landed elites, and universal male and female suffrage was achieved in 1918 and 1928 respectively. For the US, the expansion of voting rights took place more rapidly, with non-property holding white males enfranchised in the early 19th century. After the Civil War, the 15th Amendment in 1870 guaranteed voting rights regardless of race, and women gained the nationwide right to vote in 1920 through the 19th Amendment (LeDuc, Niemi & Norris, 1996).
Executive Branch
The UK executive consists of the Prime Minister as head of government and the Cabinet as the main executive decision-making body. The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch based on the ability to command majority support in the House of Commons, and normally the leader of the largest party becomes Prime Minister. The Cabinet is composed of senior ministers chosen by the Prime Minister and formally appointed by the monarch. The UK executive is part of the legislature and is accountable to Parliament rather than directly elected (Heywood, 2017).
The US President serves as both head of state and head of government, and has significantly greater powers compared to the UK Prime Minister. The President is directly elected by an Electoral College system every four years. Executive power is vested in the autonomous presidency rather than in a cabinet or parliament. The President appoints a Cabinet to lead major departments, but Cabinet members are not normally sitting legislators. There are fewer constitutional constraints on presidential powers compared to the Prime Minister (Rhodes & Harrison, 2018).
Legislative Branch
The UK Parliament is supreme and made up of three parts: the elected House of Commons, the mostly appointed House of Lords, and the monarch. Parliament is sovereign and its power is concentrated in the House of Commons, which has 650 members elected by districts through the first-past-the-post system. The House of Lords has 810 members, mostly appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, and acts as a revising and scrutinizing chamber. Parliamentary procedure follows an adversarial approach, with government and opposition facing off against each other. The large size and single member districts enable MPs to closely represent constituent interests (Judge & Earnshaw, 2021).
The US Congress consists of the 435-member House of Representatives directly elected from districts through first-past-the-post, and the 100-member Senate with two Senators per state elected through statewide contests. Unlike the UK Parliament, Congress was designed with an elaborate system of checks and balances to constrain its power relative to the presidency. Party strength is more important than geography in shaping voting, and partisan conflict dominates. The small size and geographic diversity of districts reduces member’s ties to local interests. The powerful committee system shapes much policymaking (Sinclair, 2017).
Courts and Judiciary
The UK judiciary and legal system has roots in common law traditions. The UK does not have a written constitution with a Constitutional Court like the US. Parliamentary sovereignty places the legislature as supreme above judicial review. The Supreme Court headed by 12 judges is the final court of appeal for civil cases in the UK and for criminal cases in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. While lacking the political power of the US Supreme Court, the UK Supreme Court has demonstrated greater assertiveness in recent years (Elliott & Thomas, 2014).
The US federal judiciary is headed by the Supreme Court which since 1803 has established its authority for constitutional review of legislation through judicial review. The Supreme Court consists of 9 justices nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate who serve life terms. The ideological struggle over nomination of justices has become intensely political, given the Supreme Court’s power of judicial review over major policy areas. Lower federal courts play a reduced role in shaping policy compared to the Supreme Court (Baum, 2017).
Electoral Systems
For national elections to the House of Commons, the UK uses the first-past-the-post system, with the candidate with a plurality of votes winning each constituency. This has historically benefited larger parties like Labour and the Conservatives and resulted in single party governments. Third parties like the Liberal Democrats are underrepresented compared to their vote share. There have been proposals for electoral reform towards proportional representation but the two main parties have opposed change (Curtice, 2018).
US Congressional elections use similar first-past-the-post voting in single member districts. But the Presidential election uses a unique Electoral College system, where each state has electoral votes equal to their representation in Congress. The winner of the popular vote in each state wins those electoral votes on a winner-take-all basis, except Maine and Nebraska. This means Presidential candidates focus their campaigns on swing states rather than overall national votes. The Electoral College system has resulted in some conflicts between the popular vote winner and Electoral College outcome (Edwards, 2011).
Party Systems
The UK has historically had a two party system dominated by Labour and the Conservatives (formerly the Whigs and Tories), with the Liberal Democrats serving as a third party. Labour arose from the trade union movement to represent the working class while the Conservatives have represented upper class and business interests. Power has alternated between the two major parties throughout the 20th century. Since the 1970s, the UK saw a decline in party loyalty and rise of third parties including the Scottish National Party and Greens reflecting fragmentation of traditional voting blocs (Ingle, 2008).
The US party system emerged earlier than the UK’s with the Federalists and Anti-Federalists in the 1790s, followed by a long period of Democratic-Republican dominance. The modern two party system took shape in the mid-19th century with the Democrats and Republicans. Third parties occasionally arise like the Populists in the 1890s or Reform in the 1990s to raise new issues but rarely win elections. The Democrats shifted from a Southern party to a liberal Northern urban one under FDR, while Republicans became more uniformly conservative. Geographic and racial polarization between the two parties has deepened in recent decades (Hershey, 2017).
Ideologies
Classically in the UK Labour was associated with democratic socialism and state intervention while the Conservatives advocated free market policies and welfare state retrenchment. But under Tony Blair, Labour moderated substantially towards the center. The Conservative Party under David Cameron also modernized and moved towards the center on social issues. The UK has seen convergence of the major parties around a broad centrist pro-market consensus in recent decades, reducing major programmatic differences between them (Pierson & King, 2021).
In contrast the US saw greater polarization between the Democrats and Republicans as the Democrats moved left on cultural issues and Republicans shifted right. Under Ronald Reagan, Republicans embraced a more anti-statist ideology favoring tax and spending cuts and deregulation. Under Trump, Republicans embraced a populist nationalism and working class appeals. Democrats have grown more diverse and urban and taken more progressive stances on issues like healthcare, environment, immigration and inequality. This divergence has led to deep tribalism and affective polarization between the partisan coalitions (Skocpol, 2022).
Political Culture
Certain aspects of political culture are shared between the UK and US as Anglo-American democracies, including value of liberty, individualism, rule of law and free markets. But studies show the US political culture leans more individualist with less support for an interventionist state compared to Britain (Sperling, 2021). The US was founded on a Jeffersonian anti-statist ideology while the UK developed a Benthamite utilitarian tradition favoring pragmatic state policies. UK political culture came to emphasize class identities while US political culture was shaped more by racial and ethnic identities (Eatwell, 2020).
Religion is declining in politics in the UK, but in America the Christian Right remains an important base for Republicans. Patriotism in America has been influenced by reverence for the Constitution and founding myth of the American Revolution. The UK monarchy maintains cultural authority to unify the British nation symbolically above partisan politics in a way the US presidency lacks (Kupchan, 2018). Overall the UK model accepts greater role for state intervention compared to America’s distrust of central government power.
Political Participation
Voter turnout has declined in both nations but remains higher in the UK compared to the US. In 2019 UK turnout was 67% while 2020 US presidential election turnout was 66%, continuing a decades long gap. Lower US turnout reflects weaker partisan mobilization and registration laws. The UK also has higher membership in political parties, though this is declining, and more voters split their tickets compared to highly partisan US elections. Political violence occurs rarely in either system. But contentious protests have erupted in both nations over racial justice, climate change and economic grievances, testing their tolerance of dissent (Norris, 2021).
Despite differences, long-term trends are similar with erosion of parties, falling trust in institutions, public disillusionment with elites and leadership, and populist criticism of the establishment. Social media has also become a tool and battleground for political forces in both nations. But a core civic culture supporting democratic values remains strong in the UK and US public (Dalton, 2004). This limits extreme challenges to the fundamental system even during crisis periods in leadership.
Constitutional Powers of Government
The UK constitution consists of laws and practices that have evolved incrementally over centuries without a single written constitutional document. Parliamentary sovereignty places Parliament at the apex able to pass, amend or repeal any law. Constitutional reform has sought to moderate untrammeled parliamentary power through reforms like the Human Rights Act and devolution of power. But Parliament retains ultimate authority (Bogdanor, 2009).
By contrast the US Constitution is an eighteenth century foundational document that delineates separation of powers between coequal executive, legislative and judicial branches both federally and at state level. The complex system of checks and balances limits government power and protects minority rights from majorities. Amending the Constitution requires high barriers of supermajorities, making significant reform difficult (Levinson, 2006).
Due to the uncodified nature of the UK constitution, Britain has greater legal and political flexibility as evidenced by Britain’s rapid absorption of the Scottish Parliament, London Assembly and other devolved bodies. Constitutional crises can be resolved through parliamentary majority. But the US system’s rigidity creates greater potential for gridlock and conflict between branches, as evidenced by recurring battles between President and Congress (Watson, 2010).
Public Policy and Social Welfare
The UK led in developing major social reforms in the early 20th century under the Liberal Party that laid foundations of the modern welfare state, including old age pensions, health insurance, school meals and progressive taxation. The Labour Party after World War II oversaw creation of the National Health Service and nationalization of major industries. Efforts to rollback the welfare state by Conservatives have been limited, demonstrating cross party consensus (Lowe, 1993).
The US adopted major social welfare programs later than in Europe, with Social Security and Medicare not passing until the 1960s under Democratic Presidents FDR and Lyndon Johnson. US government spending on healthcare and social transfers remains lower as share of GDP compared to the UK. More conservative ideological resistance has sought to limit the US welfare state. Healthcare reform has proven politically divisive between Democrats favoring expanded access and Republicans opposing government role (Pierson, 1994).
Macro-economic Policy
Postwar UK economic policy went through phases. The postwar Labour government maintained wartime centralized planning before Conservatives shifted policy towards markets in the 1950s. Labour returned to state direction of industry in the 1960s and 70s before the free market orientation of Thatcher in the 80s tackled stagflation through tight monetary policy, weakening unions, and privatization. Since then both parties have supported an open economy (Tomlinson, 2021).
US macroeconomic policy has focused on Keynesian demand management since the 1930s using fiscal and monetary policy to maintain full employment while accepting greater inequality as a tradeoff. Roosevelt expanded the US state’s role in the economy in ways that were consolidated by later administrations. The Federal Reserve is independent unlike the close Treasury control over Bank of England. Republicans have at times pursued more monetarist and supply side policies favorable to the financial sector and high earners (Eisner, 1994).
Foreign and Defence Policy
The UK was a global superpower in the nineteenth century but experienced declining world status over the course of the twentieth century, especially after the Suez crisis. However, its legacy of overseas territories, military capability including nuclear deterrent, permanent UN Security Council seat and close NATO ties with the US and EU enable it to exert international influence despite its small size. Defence and foreign policy continuity has characterized the postwar cross-party UK consensus on international affairs (Daddow, 2019).
As global superpower since 1945, US foreign policy revolves around maintaining international security influence and an open world economy. While the partisan divide on foreign policy was reduced during the early Cold War, divergence emerged in the 1960s over Vietnam followed by the Iraq War, with Democrats less interventionist. Trump challenged existing bipartisan consensus on NATO and free trade. But President Biden has restored traditional US multilateral stances (Rathbun, 2021).
Devolution and Federalism
Traditionally the UK was among the most centralized of nations with power concentrated in London and the south. But pressures for regional autonomy arose in the 1970s, culminating in devolution of powers to new legislatures in Scotland and Wales with tax powers. Further decentralization took place to London and other English regions with directly elected mayors. This has created quasi-federal arrangements but within an overarching parliamentary sovereignty (Trench, 2013).
Federalism was intrinsic to the US political system from its inception. The division of power between state and federal government reflects that between Member State and European Union. US federalism has gone through periods of greater centralization in the Progressive Era, New Deal and Great Society and resurgence of states’ rights from the Reagan era. Republican strategies to gain statehouse control ignited debates on gerrymandering. Trump challenged norms of federalism in battling states over the pandemic and protests (Bulman-Pozen, 2018).
Brexit
The 2016 referendum vote for Brexit reflected decades of UK ambivalence towards the EU. Despite staying out of the euro and Schengen, UK influence had been reduced by deeper integration of eurozone members. But replicating all EU laws and policies as a non-member proved more complex than supporters anticipated, producing a long tortuous negotiation with the EU over the UK’s exit. The economic costs of separation and disruption of supply chains has been substantial despite limited new trade deals made to compensate (Usherwood, 2021).
The US faces no comparable threat to unity like Brexit from the EU. The last major secession crisis was over Southern states leaving to preserve slavery, leading to the Civil War. Today’s partisan cultural divide has led to some semi-serious secession talk in Texas and California. But there are no legal provisions for US states to withdraw. The polarized climate has intensified policy differences between Red and Blue states, yet the Constitution binds the nation together allowing no equivalent of Brexit (Levitz, 2021).
Contemporary Challenges and Reform
The UK faces pressures from nationalist movements like the SNP demanding another Scottish independence referendum after Brexit. Despite four decades of neoliberal economic policy and rising inequality, both major parties remain committed to a market economy, limiting chances of radical reform. Coalition or minority governments may become more common given partisan fragmentation. Further decentralization is likely but the Westminster Parliament retains preeminence. The non-partisan civil service provides stability amidst political turbulence (Butler, 2022).
Contemporary pressures in the US include intense polarization of parties, erosion of democratic norms, legislative gridlock, fiscal pressures from entitlements,periodic urban unrest over racial inequalities, high healthcare costs compared to other wealthy nations, and a large immigrant population challenging assimilation capacity. The rigidity of the Constitution makes major structural reform difficult. But decentralization of policy allows progress in Democratic-led states on issues like climate, guns and healthcare (Fukuyama, 2020).
Conclusion
In conclusion, this comparative analysis shows both key similarities and divergences between the political systems of the UK and the USA reflecting their distinct historical paths and formative ideological influences. The two nations share an Anglo-American political cultural heritage that underpins their resilient liberal democracies. But the revolutionary tradition shaped US politics towards a more anti-statist, libertarian direction as seen in strict separation of powers, weaker party discipline and greater suspicion of centralized government power. The pragmatic British approach embedded principles of parliamentary sovereignty and centralized control that were never as contested. Divergences have grown in recent decades as polarization has deepened more in America while the UK saw greater cross-party consensus. Yet Britain’s smooth absorption of major constitutional changes through gradual reform provides lessons for addressing America’s twenty-first century challenges.
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Here is the continuation of the 50,000 word article comparing UK and US politics:
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