This is an explanation of the two main systems
of democratic government: Presidential and Parliamentary. Around the world there are many variations
of these two types, but we’re going to focus on the United States and the United Kingdom
because they exist on the opposite ends of the democratic spectrum, and they’ve been
the most influential to other countries around the world. Every four years the American people elect
a president. But it’s not a direct election where the
winner of the overall nationwide vote wins the White House. The U.S. is the only country to have an electoral
college system, where each state has a number of electors based on the size of its relative
population. Every state, except Maine and Nebraska, awards
all of their electors to the candidate that received the most votes in that state, with
an overall 270 needed to win. This more complicated system exists to give
the states a little more control over the process. The constitution limits the President to just
two, four year terms in office. In the UK, the people directly elect a representative
from their geographic constituency, of which there are a total of 650 throughout England,
Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. These representatives make up the house of
commons in Parliament. The leader of whichever party wins the most
seats in this General Election, which occurs every five years, becomes the Prime Minister,
who has no term-limits. The Prime Minister then forms a government. The members of parliament from parties not
in power are called the opposition. Once inaugurated, the President appoints 15
cabinet officers to run the various departments of the executive branch of government. Nominees have to be confirmed by the Senate. However, the Prime Minister’s appointments
for the 21 different cabinet positions need no confirmation, although they must be currently
serving in either the House of Commons or the House of Lords. In the American Presidential system, the power
to create laws is split between the President and the Lower (the House) and Upper (the Senate)
chambers of Congress. In America, both houses of Congress must pass
a version of a bill. But, for a passed bill to become a law, the
President must sign it. If the President refuses, called a veto, the
Congress can try and override the veto with a 2/3ds majority vote in each Chamber. The Congress is the second branch of the Federal
government. The third is the Supreme Court, a nine-member
body, whose members are nominated by the President and confirmed by the Senate, and serve life
terms. The Supreme Court is the court of last appeal
and decides if state and federal laws are legal under the constitution. The legislative body is a bit more complicated
in the UK’s Parliament, although it also has an upper and a lower chamber. Both the lower, elected House of Commons and
the upper House of Lords make and shape the laws, but the House of Lords isn’t elected
and is made up of officials appointed by the Queen, Bishops from the Church of England,
and Hereditary peers, many of whom inherit their positions. Lords, play a wise-man’s role as an unelected
check on decisions made by the House of Commons. Bills are presented by the Prime Minister’s
government, debated and changed by both Houses in the Parliament, who must then both agree
on a bill for it to become law. A Supreme Court, with less power than the
American version, was created in 2009. In addition to being the Head of Government,
the American president is also the Head of State, and is the official representative
of the country to the rest of the world, although this role often falls to the president’s
Secretary of State. The President is the Commander-In-Chief of
the military of the United States, although only the Congress can formally declare war. The President lives at the White House at
1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in the heart of the District of Columbia. In the UK’s system, the Monarch is the official
Head of State. Legally, the Monarch still has many powers
like giving final approval on all laws, but in the reality of modern times, the Prime
Minister and the Cabinet run the country. The Prime Minister is also the Commander-In-Chief
in all but name. The Monarch still meets weekly with the Prime
Minister and has the constitutional right to “warn, encourage, and to be consulted.” The ability of the Monarch to influence the
decisions of the Prime Minister varies depending on the relationship between the two leaders. It’s worth noting here that that the current
Queen of England, Elizabeth II has been on the throne for 63 years and is 89 years old. Her son, Charles, Prince of Wales is her heir
apparent. The Monarch resides in Buckingham Palace in
London, while the Prime Minister lives at 10 Downing Street. Once a year, the President delivers a State
of the Union Address to the joint Congress and the nation in which they lay out their
governing priorities. Since the members of the House of Representatives
are elected every two years, the President faces a referendum on their performance halfway
through each term. If their party loses seats in a midterm election,
their ability to enact their agenda for the rest of the term is weakened. Every week the Prime Minister answers questions
from other members of parliament while simultaneously debating the leader of the opposition. This is a televised way for the people’s
representatives to directly challenge the Prime Minister on a whole host of issues. Besides resignation, the only way a President
can be removed from office is impeachment, which is done by the House of Representatives. This is like a prosecutor bringing official
charges against a defendant. If a vote to confirm the charges passes the
House, the President is “impeached.” The Senate will then try the impeachment,
but in order to convict, a 2/3ds vote must be achieved by the Senators. If this happens, which it never has in American
history, the President is removed from office. In the UK, if the House of Commons passes
a no confidence vote in the Prime Minister or if the Prime Minister’s party loses a
vote on a budget, they are seen as politically weakened and will call a General Election. So that’s the basic differences between
the American Presidential and UKs Parliamentary system. The President is the Chief Executive, while
the Prime Minister -- who is also a member of Parliament -- officially shares some power
with the Monarch. The UK’s legislature, because of the House
of Lords and the longer time between elections, is less responsive to the changing will of
the people. And it is slightly easier to force a Prime
Minister out of office than a President. You can see from this map how many countries
have been influenced by the American and British forms of government. Thanks for watching. Like this video to help it spread. You can watch our explanation of the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict by clicking the link on the screen, or check out our visualization of the top
ten immigrant countries in the world. For The Daily Conversation, I’m Bryce Plank. This video was edited by Brendan Plank. Until next time.
