The British State - Sociology-Power and Politics.

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The British State

Sociology-Power and Politics

The state is defined as “a set of social institutions, concerned with passing laws, implementing and administering these laws and providing a legal machinery to enforce compliance with these laws.”

The state enjoys a monopoly of legitimate force in a given area and most of the time, laws are upheld. The UK State is made up of the diversity of social institutions. I.e. the PM, Cabernet, Civil Service, Judiciary, Parliament, etc.

Britain does not have a written constitution unlike other countries. With no written constitution, changes are easier to make. Powers of the government are wide, since no written boundary to power exists. E.g. 1972 the government introduced a bill to increase army power in Northern Ireland. This bill was passed in the House of Lords and the House of Commons on that very same day.  

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Powers of the State- The first power which the state has is its ability to make and enforce laws. Some laws are delegated to ministers who bring in law without parliament permission. Laws are enforced by the use of threat of punishment.

The second power of the state, is its ability to raise large sums of finance. In 1985 taxes took 20% of all income received by all people in Britain. Governments differ on how the view taxing. Tories believe taxes should be lower to encourage free choice and enterprise. Where as Labour and the Liberals argue more ...

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