Key Characteristics

The Westminster Model and the Civil Service

In this course, Dr Patrick Diamond (Queen Mary, University of London) explores the parliamentary system of government known as the Westminster Model, with a focus in the second half of the course on one of its central pillars: a permanent, independent civil service. In the first module, we think about the central characteristics of the Westminster Model – its core principles, how it operates, how it’s evolved historically, and how it’s currently understood. After that, in the second module, we think about the arguments for and against the Westminster Model. In the third module, we divide the supporters and critics of the Westminster Model into four ‘camps’, each of which has a different view of the merits of the Westminster Model and how (if at all) it should be changed. In the fourth module, we think about one of the central institutions of the Westminster Model, the Civil Service, before turning in the fifth and final module to consider the challenges and criticisms faced by the Civil Service in the past few decades and how it has adapted and continues to adapt as a result.

Key Characteristics

In this module, we think about the central characteristics of the Westminster Model – its core principles, how it operates, how it’s evolved historically, and how it’s currently understood. In particular, we focus on: (i) the fact that the UK operates under an unwritten constitution; (ii) the concepts of the sovereignty of parliament, the unitary state, and constitutional monarchy; (v) the nature of cabinet government; (vi) the role of the judiciary and its relation to the other branches of government; (vii) the UK electoral system; and (viii) the nature of the civil service in the Westminster Model.