Many English-speaking countries have adopted parliamentary representation and the Commonwealth encapsulates this idea. To what extent do member-states of the Commonwealth share common features regarding political representation?
IBritish legacy
1 English heritage
During colonisation and “British rule”, Britons had a huge impact on the territories owned by the Crown. Colonisation shaped the English-speaking world today and spread the British political legacy worldwide for around 500 years.
About 370 million people speak English as their first language. Moreover, English is by far the most commonly spoken and studied language. There are 100 British Councils around the world to promote the knowledge of the UK and the English language. Around 1.4 billion people speak English in the world.
2 Political legacy
Most former British colonies use Common Law, known as judicial precedent (= tradition). It means that it gives weigh to former cases to judge a new one. Their legal system is based on Habeas Corpus emanating from the Magna Carta that dates back to the 13th century.
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Habeas Corpus is a piece of law voted in England in 1679 that guarantees that no one can be imprisoned without being brought to a judge (and be represented) to decide the legality of the detention.
Many former British colonies have adopted a bicameral (two-Houses parliament) regime of parliamentary democracy, which means that citizens elect representatives to a legislative parliament that makes the law.
Most of English-speaking countries are based on a two-party system: usually a conservative party and a progressist party share elected offices alternately. Not only is it the case in the UK with the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, but also in New Zealand, Canada, Australia, USA (Republicans and Democrats), etc.
IIOrganisation of the Commonwealth
1 Statutes
The Commonwealth of Nations, known as the Commonwealth is an international organisation which consists of 56 members. These nations are almost all former territories of the British Empire.
Headquartered in London, the Commonwealth was created in 1926 and formalised in 1931 when countries started to secede from the British Empire. It was restructured though the Declaration of London in 1949 in order to establish its member states as “free and equal”. The main goal was to ease the process of decolonisation.
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The terms “common” and “wealth” mean to share the good that these nations have in common.
The Head of this political association is the British Monarch, who is also the head of 16 independent countries called “dominions” (Australia, Canada…). Other members are republics (South Africa, India…) and five have different monarchs. It gathers 2.5 billion people: 1/3 of the world population.
Today, the Commonwealth promotes democracy, human rights and the rule of law. These concepts are written in the Commonwealth Charter, which a country needs to meet to remain in the organisation.
2 Representation and participation
Bi-lateral agreements (diplomatic representation, work permit, visa…) strengthen the ties between member states. It also gives the chance to smaller countries to have their voices heard and a stronger representation.
Commonwealth citizens living in the UK can vote for UK parliamentary elections and local elections. British citizens who reside in a Canadian province can vote at a provincial level.