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Political System
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The UK consists of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (the first three constitute Great Britain). The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. The UK has no written constitution as such. The constitution exists as a body of statutes, common law (based on judicial decision and precedent) and convention. Head of State The UK is a constitutional and hereditary monarchy whose current head of state, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952. All effective authority resides with the elected lower chamber of parliament, the House of Commons. In theory, the monarch retains the power to call and dissolve parliament, to give assent to bills passed by parliament, to appoint the prime minister, and to sign treaties or declare war. In practice, most of these acts are performed by government ministers, and the "royal prerogative" is not used in a manner contrary to that suggested by the democratically elected government. As head of state, the Queen formally fulfils a number of specific roles: head of the executive branch of the government, head of the judiciary, commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown, supreme governor of the Church of England and Head of the Commonwealth. The head of government is Prime Minister Anthony (Tony) Blair, since 2 May 1997. Government General elections must take place at least every five years, although the actual election may be held at any time before the end of the five-year term, at a time chosen by the government of the day. The leader of the party that wins the majority of Commons seats in a general election is usually called on to form the next government as Prime Minister. The PM then appoints around 20 Members of Parliament to a Cabinet of Ministers and a further 80 or so junior ministers. Cabinet Ministers are collectively responsible for government decisions and individually responsible for their own departments. The second largest party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and 'shadow cabinet'. The political party system is essential to the working of the constitution. Although the parties are not registered or formally recognized in law, most candidates for election and the overwhelming majority of MPs belong to one of the main parties. Legislature 
The UK Parliament is one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world, having its origins in the mid-13th Century. From the 14th Century, parliamentary government in the United Kingdom has been based on a two chamber system.
The bi-cameral Parliament is comprised of the House of Lords (which consists of 606 Life Peers, 92 hereditary peers and 25 bishops) and the House of Commons (which consists of 645 seats; members are elected by popular vote in single member consituencies according to a first-past-the-post majority system to serve five-year terms, unless the House is dissolved earlier). No elections are held to the House of Lords (although some proposals for reform of the Lords currently under discussion include elections). Elections to the House of Commons were last held on May 5, 2005 and will be next be held by May 2010 at the latest. The House of Lords (the upper house) and the House of Commons (the lower house) sit separately, and are constituted on different principles. The relationship between the two Houses is governed largely by convention but is in part defined by the Parliament Acts. However, the legislative process involves both Houses. Parliament has three main functions:
The House of Commons is traditionally regarded as the lower house, but it is the main parliamentary arena for political battle. A Government can only remain in office for as long as it has the support of a majority in the House of Commons. As with the House of Lords, the House of Commons debates new primary legislation as part of the process of making an Act of Parliament, but the Commons has primacy over the non-elected House of Lords. 'Money bills', concerned solely with taxation and public expenditure, are always introduced in the Commons and must be passed by the Lords promptly and without amendment. When the two houses disagree on a non-money bill, the Parliament Acts can be invoked to ensure that the will of the elected chamber prevails. In 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999. It has been rescinded three times since then and at the time of writing (July 2005) remains so. In 1999 and 2003 there were elections for a new Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly. |
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