Hello, my name is Mrs. Harris, and I'm the person who's going to be guiding you through today's lesson.

Title of the lesson today is, How Does the UK political System Compare to Other Systems? And it's part of a larger unit of work called, How Is The UK Governed? By the end of today's lesson, you're going to be able to say, I can describe the political system of the UK and compare it with other systems around the world.

Some of this work might be new to you, some of it you might have heard before, and some of it might be challenging.

I'm going to guide us all the way through it, and we'll tackle it together.

Let's start with the key words then.

I'm going to say the word, you can repeat it out loud, and then I'll tell you the definition.

Government.

That's the group of people with the authority to govern a country.

In the UK, the government is chosen and led by the prime minister or the PM.

Democracy.

That's a system of government in which the citizens vote in regular, fair elections for their representatives who then make laws and decisions on their path.

It's time for our first learning cycle called, what system of government does the UK have? The United Kingdom has various freedoms given to their citizens, and these include things like the right to vote, the right to a fair trial in a court, the right to have a free press, so not controlled by the state, the right to protest against things that they disagree with, the right to free speech, that's saying what you like and believing what you like, and also the right to an education as well.

Lots of these can be considered as human rights, and as Izzy says here, we've got defined human rights in law under something called the Human Rights Act of 1998.

Now these freedoms I've mentioned, they exist basically as a way of maintaining society in the UK as being fair and informed.

These kinds of freedoms allow people to be able to participate in decision making, expressing their opinions, accessing things like justice, and also holding the leaders of the country accountable, responsible for their actions.

And all of this combined helps create a stable and a just and a fair society, because people are treated equally and have equal rights.

Sophia says though that these freedoms haven't always existed.

People have fought for them throughout history, leading to legal changes and government action, and over time, laws have been created that protect these rights.

Now a government is the group of people who have been given authority to govern a country or a state, and they're given that authority through the citizens of the country, electing them into those roles.

And then a government, once they're in place, they have ideas and policies, which they want to put in place to then improve life for people living in that society or that country.

Sam says, "Governments and the political system they rule under all play a major role in deciding what rights and freedoms the citizens of the nation have." And Izzy says, "One type of political system is democracy." It's time for a quick check for understanding then, the first one.

So true or false, the freedoms we have in the UK today have always existed for citizens.

True or false? I'll give you a few seconds to think.

Okay, the answer to this is false.

But why? Why is it false? I'll give you a few more seconds to think.

Okay, let's go through and answer together then.

So why? Why is this false? Well, the freedoms that we have today in the UK haven't always existed.

They've actually been fought for and that's pushed for law changes and government action to be taken.

And so now we have laws that actually protect the rights of citizens in this country.

Well done if you got that one.

Let's look closer at this word democracy then.

Well, it's made up of two Greek words.

So demo comes from the Greek word demos, which means the people.

And then the cracy comes from the Greek word kratia, which means power or to rule.

So when we put them together, it's thought to mean the rule of the people, which basically means democracy is a system of government where power is given back to the citizens.

And it can be exercised by them directly.

So having direct actions and direct decision making, or it can be from them electing representatives to make those decisions on their behalf.

And the United Kingdom is what we call a representative democracy, where the United Kingdom elects its representatives to then make those decisions for them.

So some of the key features of a democracy then, whichever democracy you look at across the world, there will be these, generally these key features.

It's free and fair elections, a multi party system, human rights protection, active participation of citizens, the rule of law, and separation of powers.

Let's have a look more closely at these then.

So free and fair elections then, this is when the decisions that are made reflect the free expression and the will of the people.

So that's things like having regular elections, it's things like having a secret ballot, so not feeling pressurised or being watched who you're voting for.

Universal suffrage, which means every eligible citizen within the UK gets a vote.

And when we say eligible citizens, that's people who are signed up on the electoral roll and they meet certain things like age criteria or citizenship criteria.

The majority rule is basically a way of making decisions in government and in voting.

And so if a decision gets more than half of the votes, then it will be put into place.

We also have the multi party system.

So that's when a country has more than just one or two political parties that they're able to vote for, which gives people a wider range of options and ideas to be able to choose from when they come to vote for their representatives.

So it's the choice.

It also gives different political parties the chance to scrutinise what other political parties are doing.

It also promotes the limitation of power, which is designed really to stop it always being one major political group over another always having control over the UK.

Human rights protection, then that's to protect the interests and the rights of the people, the citizens who live within the UK.

And that's for things like civil liberties.

So the freedom that you have, things like freedom of speech, you can say and believe what you like.

It doesn't mean freedom from consequence however.

So if it's inciting hatred or violence, then there can be legal consequences for that.

But you are permitted to say what you think.

It's also things like freedom of association.

So you have the right to associate with different people without being penalised for that.

Along with that, you also have things like freedom of assembly.

So you are allowed to gather in groups in order to protest against something or to demonstrate against something.

And there's also things like individual and minority rights as well.

So giving everybody equal opportunities and equal access to things within the UK.

Another key feature of a democracy is the active participation of citizens and that's ensuring that citizens have the chance to engage in that democratic process.

So things like having the opportunity to vote in elections, being able to join political parties or different interest groups, the fact that they've got the right to protest or to petition for something that they want to happen.

And also things like engaging in public debate as well.

So being able to meet with MPs, being able to talk to leaders within the country about the things that are important to them.

Another feature is the rule of law, which guarantees that everybody is subject to law.

So equal treatment.

So that's laws apply to all.

There is an independent judiciary.

So not one that is under control of say the prime minister, that's independent of the rest of government.

It provides protection for people's rights and their freedoms. It also means transparent legal processes.

So basically that rules and decisions made in law are open and clear for everyone to see rather than always being done behind closed doors.

It's a little bit like making sure that everybody knows the rules and knows the processes so that nobody's cheated out of anything or doesn't understand the processes properly.

We also have the separation of powers, which is a way of ensuring that one branch of government doesn't have complete authority over the rule of the United Kingdom.

With the powers being separated, that makes sure that each branch of government has its own roles and its own responsibilities.

It gets checked upon and scrutinised by other different authorities and institutions.

And that helps reduce the things of like risk of corruption, where maybe unfair treatment or unfair advantages are given to different parts of society or different people within it.

Another quick trick for understanding then, so you're going to add the correct word to complete the sentence.

Key features of a democracy are free and fair elections, a multi party system, human rights protection, active participation of citizens, the rule of law and separation of what? I'll give you a few seconds to think.

Okay, so it's free and fair elections, multi party system, human rights protection, active participation of citizens, the rule of law and separation of powers.

Well done if you got that one.

Let's have a look at the separation of powers then.

Now there are three separate branches of the government in the UK and each one plays a role in ensuring that there is a balance of authority.

So there we have the head of state, which is the monarch, and then we have parliament, government and the judiciary.

Now the head of state is a ceremonial and traditional role now in the UK.

They don't have the authority to change and make laws now, for example.

Now whilst the separation of powers are there to ensure that balance, that power is shared, this can sometimes be disadvantages.

So decisions can't be made immediately because it involves more than one branch of power, which might slow down things happening.

It might also cause some conflict between branches.

And sometimes it can cause confusion as well as to which responsibility falls under which branch of power.

So here is parliament and parliament is a legislative branch, which means it's responsible for discussing, debating, and passing the laws.

It has two houses, so we call it bicameral, and that's the House of Commons.

It's the lower house of parliament.

And in there are elected members of parliament, so elected by citizens of the United Kingdom.

And we also have the House of Lords, which is the upper house of parliament.

And the people who sit in there are appointed.

They're lords, ladies, and peers, and they're appointed, they're chosen specifically, handpicked, to sit in the House of Lords, often because they've achieved something fantastic, and maybe they've got skill or expertise, and they've been given those honours of sitting in the House of Lords.

And sometimes it can be hereditary where somebody is allowed to sit in the House of Lords because their older relative has done so.

Now parliament makes the laws and debates the laws as we've said, but a lot of those suggestions come from the executive government.

The executive government is responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.

Now the government will often want to pass certain laws.

They can't do that on their own.

They need to make a proposal, which then goes to parliament.

Parliament will debate it and they'll discuss it, and then they'll pass it, and then it comes back to the government again to then enforce and to put that law into place.

So when we were talking about the separation of powers having some disadvantages, although it's really good to have different branches involved in making laws and changing laws, it can be quite a slow process because it involves one part of government proposing it.

You've got another branch of government who has to approve that and to debate that, and then it comes back again to another branch to then enforce it and to put it into place.

Now the Prime Minister is the head of the government in the UK.

The Prime Minister chooses the cabinet, and the cabinet made up of senior ministers is them who make the policies and the decisions for the country, including things like carrying out those laws that parliament have made.

The government work is supported by the civil service and other government authorities who help them implement the decisions and services made.

The judiciary is the judicial or the legal branch, and that's responsible for legal fairness, protection of people's rights, and it's also responsible for interpreting and applying the law to make sure that justice is done.

In the United Kingdom, judges make sure that laws follow the constitution and that they protect individual rights.

Now judges do not make the law in the UK, but they do have to apply it.

So when parliament puts a new law into place, a judge has to follow it, but the way that they apply that and the way that they interpret it can be done in different ways.

Judges do have to be very fair and they can only do what the law says, so they can't make up their own rules for it.

So no matter what their personal feelings are, they have to be honest and make decisions that are based only on the law and the evidence and the facts in front of them.

That makes sure that courts are making independent decisions which are free from political or social influence as well.

And the highest court in the UK is called the Supreme Court.

A quick check for understanding then.

So can you match the responsibility to the correct state power? So A, judicial, responsible for legal fairness, protection of rights, and interpreting and applying the law to ensure justice.

We've got B, executive branch, responsible for the day-to-day running of the country.

C, legislative, so that's responsible for discussing, debating, and passing laws.

And the correct state powers are there on the right hand side.

So we've got parliament, judiciary, and government.

So you need to match the responsibility to the state power.

I'll give you a few seconds to think about it.

Okay, so A, the judicial, that falls with the judiciary.

We have B, the executive branch, that is the government.

And C, the legislative part is parliament.

Well done if you got those three correct.

The political system of a country really does set the tone for how life is there.

So how the country is run and how the citizens are treated and the freedoms they have when they're living in that country.

Now when a country is a democracy, there is a certain expectation from people as to what freedoms and allowances they will have if they live there.

So things like being able to say and believe what they like, as well as things like being able to gather in groups either to raise awareness or to protest against something or just to meet in groups in public.

Now Sophia said that this might not always be the case in countries which don't have a democratic political system.

And sometimes freedoms can range from lightly to severely restricted for people who live there.

Another quick check for understanding then.

When citizens have the right to say and believe what they like as well as to protest in groups, this is called A, freedom of speech, B, freedom of movement, or C, freedom of democracy.

I'll give you a few seconds to think.

Okay so when they have the right to say and believe what they like as well as to protest in groups, this is called freedom of speech, that's A.

And Izzy is reminding is that freedom of speech does not mean freedom from consequences.

So for example if people incite, so that's encourage hatred or violence towards anybody, then legal action might be taken against them.

It's time for your first task then, task A.

And in this one you're going to write bullet points to explain the advantages and the disadvantages of having separate branches of power.

It's a really good idea now to pause your video to give yourself the time to do that and then we'll come back and we'll look at some possible answers together.

Okay let's go through some possible answers then.

So some advantages of having separate branches of power.

Your answer might have included some of these examples here.

So it prevents any one branch from being too powerful.

It encourages balance and fairness when it comes to decision making.

It makes it harder for leaders to abuse power so there's no corruption there.

Each branch checks the actions of another and it also ensures that laws are passed fairly with input from different viewpoints from different people.

Let's have a look at the disadvantages.

So your answer might have included some of these examples.

So you might get disagreement and disapproval from one branch which can cause conflict and maybe slow down decision making.

You might have one branch which seems to have more power than the other two branches.

So for example the executive government seems to have a lot of power because it runs the day-to-day running of the country and makes a lot of the decisions and the policies but then parliament's the one who gets to make the laws so they might seem to have more power than the other branches as well.

Sometimes separation of powers might make it harder to make quick decisions in emergencies.

There might be power struggles between branches which can cause some confusion and sometimes it might feel a bit unstable and also power isn't equally shared amongst all three branches.

In the UK parliament is sovereign which means they make the law and everybody else is scrutinised by parliament.

They have to abide by what parliament says and some people see that as unfair.

Well done if your answer included any of those example bullet points.

Great job.

It's time for our second learning cycle.

What other political systems are there? As we talked about in the previous learning cycle, a key part of democracy is that citizens have the power to make decisions by voting for their representatives and also participating in society and in politics by having a choice and having their voices heard.

However across the world there are lots of different political systems and different ways of running within those political systems where democracy might not be present at all or it could be limited.

So some political systems protect rights and they'll have fair elections for example while others will have a bit of a mix of democratic and undemocratic practises and others exist where the government has total control so no democracy at all.

Now the Economist Intelligence Unit's Democracy Index is a way of being able to then measure political systems and how it does that as it scores countries on how well things like decision-making powers are shared with citizens, the equality of citizens, and what day-to-day life is like in a country for citizens.

This democracy index uses information about things like democracy and civil liberties so that's the freedoms of the people there and it categorises countries into four different political systems. And these are known as full democracy, hybrid regime, authoritarian and flawed democracy.

Now a really important thing to keep in the front of your mind throughout the rest of this lesson is that the categorizations for countries that we have within the democracy index are constantly shifting so these aren't fixed scores that a country will be categorised in a certain way for all eternity.

Countries are constantly changing aren't they? We've got political changes, social changes, economic changes and all of those things combined can change how a country is seen and how a country operates.

So this democracy index rather than being a fixed score.

It's just a snapshot in time of a particular year.

So the Democracy Index first started in 2006, so getting over 20 years old now.

And originally, it was done every two years, and now it's done annually.

So the most recent release is the Democracy Index of 2024.

So here we have a diagram here, which is showing the results of the Democracy Index 2024.

And the key here is below.

So we have full democracies in blue, darker blues.

We have flawed democracies in the lighter ones.

We have the hybrid regimes in the yellow tones.

Authoritarian in the orange and brown and the black tones.

And those in grey, there isn't any data for those countries.

If you want to pause the video to have a closer look at that, you can do that now, and then rejoin me and we'll carry on with the lesson.

A quick check for understanding then.

So Sam is talking about the political systems in different countries.

Is she correct? And if not, then why not? So Sam says democracy exists in all countries, just in different ways.

So is Sam correct? And if not, why not? I'll give you a few seconds to think about it.

Okay, is Sam correct? Well, no, not quite.

So yes, democracy exists in many countries and the levels of it vary.

However, in many countries as well, there is a really large mix of democratic and non-democratic practises.

And in other countries, there is no true democracy.

There really isn't any evidence of democracy there where, for example, the government might take full control.

Well done if you got that answer.

Let's start with a full democracy then.

Now important political freedoms and the rights of citizens aren't just respected in a full democracy, but are reinforced and promoted by the political culture.

So the way that decisions are made puts those things as really, really important.

So common features of full democracies can be things like protection of freedom of speech, freedom of press in the media and association.

There can be regular, free and fair elections.

A wide range of political choices, so lots of different parties that people are able to vote for.

The law being applied equally to all citizens, so not having an unfair advantage to different sides of society.

And also transparency in government, so not doing things behind closed doors, but there is the openness and the information given to the public about what is happening in government.

So according to the Democracy Index of 2024, Norway has the highest score for democracy and that is put in part down to high voter turnout, so they have really good participation from their citizens.

There is a strong press freedom, which means the media isn't controlled in any way by the government, it's actually ranked first globally and it has really strict anti-corruption laws, so you're not allowed to use power to give yourself an advantage in Norway.

Other countries that are categorised as full democracies by the Democracy Index 2024 are Finland and the Czech Republic, New Zealand and Uruguay, and Taiwan and Japan.

Flawed democracies then.

Now in a flawed democracy, generally elections are fair and they're free and you've got things like basic rights are honoured, but often there can be different issues that maybe affect the fairness and effectiveness of things like elections and basic rights.

So you might find common features of flawed democracies as some limitations on civil liberties, so there might be some limitations on protests or demonstrations that can happen.

There might be some political corruption or influence, so maybe there is foreign interference within the elections or maybe political funding is used in a way that isn't supposed to happen in order to influence elections.

There might be an imbalance of power which might favour one group more than another and there might be some restrictions or censorship on the media as well.

Now in the Democracy Index of 2024, the United States of America was classified as a flawed democracy, so yes it holds free elections and it protects citizens' rights.

However since 2016 there have been reports of things like increasing division within the country, a decline in the trust that people have in the government as well.

In addition to that there have been concerns raised about the influence of money in politics and the way that that can influence people to vote and also how the fairness of elections and the process of that.

Other countries that have been categorised as flawed democracies by the Democracy Index of 2024 are Belgium and India, Brazil and Ghana, and South Korea and Italy.

A quick check for understanding then, can you sort these countries under the correct headings according to whether they're categorised as full or flawed democracies by the Democracy Index 2024? I'll give you a few seconds to think about it and then we'll check the answers.

Okay so the countries here that were categorised as full democracies by the Democracy Index are Taiwan, Uruguay, and the Czech Republic, and those that were classed as flawed democracies are India, Italy, and Ghana.

Well done if you got those.

Let's move on to look at the hybrid regime then.

Well in a hybrid regime, that's a mix of democratic and undemocratic practises on the whole.

So they might have elections, there might be restrictions or unfairness within the system.

So common features of hybrid regimes may be things like governments that apply pressure on political opposition so it doesn't feel like a level playing field for them.

There might be non-independent judiciaries so where the judicial branch is controlled by the same part that makes the day-to-day decisions so that political influence is going into decisions that are made in courts.

There could be widespread corruption so that's if leaders are using their power to benefit themselves or groups that they are a part of.

And there could be harassment or pressure placed on the media so they're not allowed to report certain things.

There could also be the lack of the rule of law as well where the law isn't applied equally to everybody.

Now in the Democracy Index of 2024, Turkey was categorised as a hybrid regime.

So in Turkey elections are held but it's not always seen as a fair competition.

Government has a lot of control over the media and the judiciary and there's things like for example in the constitutional court of Turkey it's the president who can appoint 12 out of 15 members of that court and that isn't seen as a democratic way by some people because that's the only body that can challenge any decisions that are made aside from parliament, so if the president is picking 12 out of the 15 of those people then they're going to be on the side of the president.

So other countries that are categorised as hybrid regimes by the Democracy Index 2024 are Morocco and Mexico, Bangladesh and Paraguay, and Nigeria and the state of Hong Kong.

So authoritarian regimes now.

Now this is a political system where power is concentrated purely in the hands of maybe one leader or a very small group and often you find with that the civil and political freedoms of citizens and other groups are very heavily restricted.

So common features of authoritarian regimes can be controlled or manipulated elections so that the results aren't true and fair and that's done in a way to make sure that the party that are already in power stay in power.

There might be very limited freedom of speech, of press and assembly.

There could be suppression of any political or citizen opposition so you're not allowed to speak out against the current government and there could even be the use of force or fear to maintain control over the population.

It could also be that the judiciary so the legal branch of the country is actually controlled by the state rather than being independent and following the law.

In the Democracy Index 2024, North Korea was categorised as an authoritarian regime.

Now, in North Korea a single leader has complete absolute power and the same family has run North Korea for three generations now.

Free elections are not held and political opposition is banned so you are not allowed to have other parties that want to fight for power.

Freedom of speech, freedom of the media and the press, and freedom of gathering together, the assembly, are very, very tightly controlled and there's often punishment for speaking out against the government.

The media is owned by the government in North Korea and internet access is limited to information that just supports the ideas of the government that are in power at the moment.

Other countries that are categorised as authoritarian by the Democracy Index 2024 are China and Russia, Cuba and Syria, and Zimbabwe.

So another check for understanding then, can you sort these countries under the correct headings and that's according to whether they're categorised as hybrid or authoritarian regimes by the Democracy Index 2024.

I'll give you a few seconds to think about it.

Okay, so the hybrid regimes, the ones that are considered to be hybrid regimes by the Democracy Index are Nigeria, Turkey, and Mexico.

And authoritarian are China, Cuba, and Russia.

Well done if you got those answers.

So now you're on to task B in this lesson now.

So the first part of this task is to compare the different political systems by adding ticks and crosses to this table.

So you're going to add a tick or a cross to show if the system has that feature.

And if you can't guarantee it, you're going to put a question mark.

So the different features are elections, fair elections, free media, freedom of speech, and an independent judiciary.

And across the top, we have the different political systems of full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime, and authoritarian regime.

Pause the video to give yourself the time to do this, and then we'll come back together and look at the answers.

Okay, let's go through these answers together then.

So your answer should be something like this.

So under the full democracy, all of these boxes should be ticked because there are elections, there should be fair elections, a free media, freedom of speech, and an independent judiciary.

In a flawed democracy, there are elections.

Whether they're completely fair elections might not be guaranteed, so there might be influence from money, for example.

There may not be a completely free media, so maybe some of what the press put out there is censored or it's restricted.

But there should be protections of freedom of speech, and there should also still be an independent judiciary if it's a flawed democracy.

In a hybrid regime, there are elections, but whether they're fair elections again is sometimes unknown.

There isn't always a free media within a hybrid regime, and freedom of speech and an independent judiciary, sometimes these can have political influence and some restrictions placed on citizens, so those would be down as question marks.

In an authoritarian regime, there might be elections, but not always, and the likelihood of these being completely fair elections, the chances are very slim.

There is unlikely to be free media, unlikely to be much freedom of speech, and there is unlikely to be a completely independent judiciary.

Well done if you got those answers like that.

Fantastic job.

So the second part of your task now is to compare the UK's political system with that of North Korea.

So in your answer, you might want to consider things like elections, you might want to consider the media and how it's controlled in those two countries, you might want to think about freedom of speech, association and assembly, and also you might want to think about the democracy versus the authoritarian regime.

Again, pause the video to give yourself the time to do the task, and then we'll come back at it and look at some possible answers.

Okay, let's go through some possible answers together then.

So your answer might be something like this.

The United Kingdom is considered to be a full democracy because it has free and fair elections in place to vote for representatives in parliament and therefore government.

The press are allowed to investigate freely and print information that is accurate and true.

Citizens have freedom of speech and can voice opinions, providing it does not spread hate or encourage violence.

Criticism of the government is not punished.

And your answer might continue something like this.

In comparison, North Korea is authoritarian.

The leader can be considered a dictator because elections are not considered to be free or fair.

There is strict control over the media and what they say or print because the government owns the press.

The rights of citizens are severely restricted with the government monitoring what people say and write.

Access to the internet is restricted and any criticism of the government can lead to imprisonment.

Well done if your answer got some of these main points there.

Contrasting those political systems of the UK and North Korea.

Well done.

Let's summarise our lesson then today which is being called How Does the UK Political System Compare to Other Systems? The UK is a representative democracy.

Democracies give citizens many freedoms which have often developed over many years.

The government is made of three parts.

Parliament, the legislative branch.

Government, the executive branch.

And the judiciary, the judicial branch.

This is referred to as a separation of powers.

The main categories of political systems are full democracy, flawed democracy, hybrid regime and authoritarian regime.

These involve varying levels of freedom in politics and for citizens.

In hybrid and authoritarian regimes often citizens cannot speak out against the government and elections are not always free and fair.

In democracies there are more freedoms for citizens but in a flawed democracy it might mean that there is some media control or regulation for example.

And that's our lesson completed.

Well done today because there's been some really complex and intricate information there which you've taken in.

Really, really well done.

Hope to see you again soon.