Freedom in the World 2001 - United Kingdom

2001 Scores

Status: Free
Freedom Rating: 1.5
Civil Liberties: 2
Political Rights: 1

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The United Kingdom received an upward trend arrow for its implementation of the Human Rights Act, the country's first codified charter of rights.

Overview

Despite a series of setbacks including losses in local elections, disputes over pensions, and fuel tax protests, Tony Blair's governing Labour party regained its wide lead in opinion polls by the end of 2000. However, the government's success is widely seen to be the result of infighting within the opposition Conservative (Tory) party, which has split into hardline and liberal factions. It is widely believed that Blair will call elections for May 2001 and win another term, but he will face increasing pressure to deliver on promises to improve health and other public services, education, and criminal justice.

In a long-awaited boost to human rights, Britain formally enacted the Human Rights Act in October, charging British courts with protecting the rights of British citizens under the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The law represents the closest thing to a written constitution to exist in British history, as well as a significant shift in power to the judiciary.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland encompasses the two formerly separate kingdoms of England and Scotland, the ancient principality of Wales, and the six counties of the Irish province of Ulster (see Northern Ireland under Related Territories). The British parliament has an elected House of Commons with 659 members chosen by plurality vote from single-member districts and a House of Lords with 478 hereditary and appointed members. Reforms to make the Lords more representative are ongoing; an initiative by the government in September 2000 allows all United Kingdom, Irish, and Commonwealth citizens over age 21 to nominate themselves for ten new seats. The candidates will be chosen by a six-member commission in the Lords based on an application procedure. By October, 191 people had submitted applications. A cabinet of ministers appointed from the majority party exercises executive power on behalf of the mainly ceremonial sovereign. Queen Elizabeth II nominates the party leader with the most support in the House of Commons to form a government.

Blair's "New Labour," so called because of its radical shift from its socialist past, adopted Conservative-style positions on a number of issues and swept general elections in May 1997. The government continues to define itself as it goes along by blending traditional Labour and Tory policies. Since taking office, Labour has abandoned tax-and-spend policies, devolved monetary policy to the Bank of England, and maintained strict spending limits. However, it has also reintroduced the minimum wage and restored rights to trade unions.

Devolution of power to Scotland and Wales took place in May 1999, with each territory establishing its own legislature. The 129-member Scottish parliament and the 60-member Welsh assembly exercise control over transportation, health, education, and housing, while foreign, defense, and economic policies remain under British control. The Labour party dominated parliamentary elections in both territories. On December 1, 1999, Britain officially handed power to a new 108-member Northern Ireland Assembly in Belfast. The shared-power arrangement between the Ulster Unionists and Sinn Fein, the political wing of the Irish Republican Army (IRA), arose from the Good Friday Agreement of April 1998. Central to the agreement was the IRA's promise to agree to a timetable for decommissioning its arms. Disagreements about decommissioning led to the suspension of the executive and assembly in February 2000. The institutions were reinstated in May, but internal feuding among loyalist paramilitary organizations and disputes over police reform, disarmament, and the British military presence continued to threaten the agreement.

During 2000, Labour achievements such as House of Lords reform; a stable economy; low unemployment; devolution of power to Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland, and a new London city council; and improvements in primary education were overshadowed by criticism of the government's failure to deliver on its key promise to revive public services. After years of underinvestment, transport systems are in disrepair, secondary schools are substandard, and the National Health Service is ill-equipped to handle its workload. Pension spending as a proportion of GDP is significantly lower than in the rest of Europe, and by most accounts insufficient. In fact, the government's ability to honor its commitments was hampered by two-year spending limits imposed by the previous Conservative government. In July, Blair introduced a spending plan designed to win back disillusioned traditional Labour supporters. The plan called for spending increases to improve health, education, transport, and policing, and to develop poor areas.

Labour suffered a sweeping defeat in local elections in April, losing 15 local councils as Conservatives gained 16. Voter turnout was estimated at 30 percent. The most embarrassing loss occurred in London, where voters elected former Labourite Ken Livingstone the first mayor since former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher abolished the Greater London Council in 1986. Livingstone, who headed the last local London government, was expelled from the Labour because he decided to run as an independent following the party's decision not to back him. The Labour candidate came in third.

Rising fuel prices led to widespread protest blockades of oil refineries and storage facilities by truckers in September. Demanding that the government cut fuel taxes, demonstrators all but halted gasoline deliveries, forcing the closure of gas stations; cutbacks in ambulance, fire department, and hospital services; school shutdowns; and train cancellations throughout the country. Blair, refusing to accede to the demands, saw the government's approval ratings plummet. Two polls in mid-September showed Conservatives leading, by a slight margin, for the first time since 1992.

By December, the government had rebounded to lead 48 percent to 33 percent in polls. Many attributed this success to the Conservatives' inability to capitalize on the government's setbacks. The party is beset by infighting between hardliners, led by party leader William Hague, and liberals, led by shadow chancellor of the exchequer Michael Portillo. Liberals have sought to promote the Tories as modern, inclusive, and more tolerant, particularly regarding homosexuals. The feud has hurt the Conservatives' image and fueled speculation that Hague will lose the party leadership to Portillo if Labour wins a large majority in general elections expected in spring 2001.

Political Rights and Civil Liberties

Citizens of the United Kingdom can change their government democratically. Voters are registered by government survey and include both Irish and Commonwealth citizens resident in Britain. British subjects abroad retain voting rights for 20 years after emigration. Welsh and Scottish legislatures have authority over matters of regional importance such as education, health, and some economic matters. The Scottish parliament has limited power to collect taxes. In 1999, the government abolished hereditary peerage in the House of Lords and dismissed more than 600 hereditary peers. Critics expressed concern that the move would allow the government to pack the house with cronies; hereditary peers had constituted more than half the Lords' membership, while the balance were government appointees.

The Human Rights Act, effectively Britain's first written charter of rights, came into force in October. Under the law, British citizens who feel their rights have been violated may take their grievances to British courts rather than seek redress in the European Court of Human Rights. British Law Lords will declare whether specific British laws comply with the European Convention. The law represents a significant shift in power to the courts, because although judges will not have the right to strike down legislation, the government will face enormous political pressure to bring laws into line with European standards.

Legal attempts by the government to combat crime and corruption have been widely denounced as dangerous to basic freedoms. The Terrorism Act 2000, permanent legislation to replace emergency laws concerning political violence, was passed in July and will become effective in 2001. Amnesty International released a briefing on the bill, outlining concerns about provisions such as arrest, entry, and search and seizure without warrant; denial of a detainee's access to counsel upon arrest and during interrogation; detention without trial for up to 12 days; and the shifting of the burden of proof from prosecution to defense.

A government report issued in 1999 found London's police force "riven with pernicious and institutionalized racism." The findings stem from complaints of police harassment of blacks and specifically, the case of Stephen Lawrence, an 18-year-old black student stabbed to death in 1993 by a group of white youths. No one has yet been convicted of the killing despite five arrests and eight separate investigation teams. Many allege that the investigation has been bungled because the victim was black. In 2000, the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination reported that criticism of police for their handling of the Lawrence case has provoked a police backlash against minorities. The report also noted that blacks make up a disproportionate number of those killed in police custody. Human rights campaigners asserted that black people are six times more likely to be stopped and searched by police, are overrepresented in prisons, and often receive longer sentences than whites or Asians.

Though uncensored and mostly private, the British press is subject to strict libel and obscenity laws. Print media are privately owned and independent, though many of the national daily newspapers are aligned with political parties. The BBC runs about half the electronic media in the country. It is funded by the government but is editorially independent. In October, the government announced its intention to strip the BBC governors of their regulatory authority after the governors decided to change the time of the main nightly news broadcast, prompting a dispute with the culture secretary. Under the current system, the BBC is regulated by its government-appointed governors, while commercial broadcasters are regulated by an independent commission. BBC regulation will reportedly be handled by a separate authority responsible for the entire broadcasting industry. The Human Rights Act provides a statutory right to free expression in Britain for the first time, although the European Convention makes exceptions in the interest of public safety, health, morals, and the reputations and rights of others. Parliament passed freedom-of-information legislation in 2000, granting access to a wide range of information previously denied, including police data. The law, which is expected to come into force in 2002, has been sharply criticized by rights groups for excluding information regarding national security, defense, international resolutions, individual or public safety, commercial interests, and law enforcement.

In October, new regulations gave employers the right to monitor staff phone calls, e-mail, and Internet activity without consent. In July, measures were introduced to allow authorities to intercept e-mail and other electronic communication without a warrant for reasons of national security, prevention of crime, and national "well-being."

Attacks on British refugee asylum policy continued in 2000. The Immigration and Asylum Act, enacted in April, seeks to deter asylum seekers by offering them vouchers redeemable for goods instead of cash welfare benefits. In addition, asylum seekers will be dispersed among 13 designated sites around Britain instead of being allowed to settle where they choose, and refugees whose applications for asylum are turned down will be allowed only one appeal. While Conservatives criticized the government's asylum policy as too soft, rights activists charged that the new law, which does not allow vendors to give change in cash for vouchers that exceed the value of goods purchased, would demean and reinforce prejudice against refugees. Britain has been unable to handle an increasing influx of refugees; currently some 103,000 people and their families await decisions on asylum applications. The process has taken up to five years in some cases.

British workers are free to form and join independent trade unions. Britain introduced a national minimum wage in 1999. Legislation introduced in mid-2000 requires employers to offer part-time workers the same benefits, wages, and conditions of employment, such as parental leave and sick pay, as those enjoyed by full-time workers doing the same type of work. With an estimated 44 percent of Britain's female workers in part-time employment, the new regulations help boost women's equality in the workplace.