Who runs the UK?

The British government runs the UK. The leader of the government is the Prime Minister.

Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional Monarch as Head of State.

The principle behind British democracy is that the people elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in London at a general election, held no more than five years apart. Most MPs belong to a political party, and the party with the largest number of MPs in the House of Commons forms the government.

For the first time since 1707, the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have more say over what happens in their countries, the UK Parliament has devolved (given away) some of its powers to other national and regional bodies. It is only England, that doesn't have its own parliament. Issues that effect England are decided by the UK government, which consists of MPs from all over the UK.

The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in the Houses of Parliament, located next to the River Thames in London. There are more than 1,000 rooms and more than two miles of corridors!

The clock tower is the most photographed part of the Houses of Parliament. It houses five bells. The biggest and most famous bell is called Big Ben.

The Houses of Parliament is also called the Palace of Westminster and was a royal palace. The last monarch to live here, Henry VIII, moved out in 1512.Parliament has met in the Palace of Westminster since around 1550.

The election of all Members of Parliament (MPs) for each constituency (local area) is called a General Election. In the UK we vote for the best candidate in our local area to represent us in the House of Commons.

The winning candidate becomes MP and takes a seat in the House of Commons. The party with the majority of seats in the Commons gets to form the government. That party’s leader becomes Prime Minister.

In the UK we have the House of Commons and the House of Lords. We can only vote for a MP to represent us in the House of Commons. The Lords are appointed or inherited.

General elections have to take place at least every five years and are called by the Prime Minister (the leader of the Government).

The last General Election was in 2010. No single party won enough majority of seats to form the government alone. So in order to form a government two or more parties had to join together. David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, formed a new government, in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.

People are nominated as candidates to become MPs. Any one over the age of 21 can be a candidate.

When an MP gets the most votes for his constituency (local area) he gains a seat. This means he has a place in Parliament.

Parliament is where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the United Kingdom. It is not the same as the Government (which runs the country). One of the jobs Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the country properly.

The main functions of Parliament are:

  • to pass laws
  • to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government
  • to scrutinise government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure
  • to debate the major issues of the day

Parliament is made up of three parts:The Queen, The House of Lords, The House of Commons

The Queen is the official Head of State. Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen only rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament. So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament.

The Queen has the final say on whether a bill becomes law.
The last Monarch to reject a law that was wanted by both Houses of Parliament was Queen Anne. She died in 1715.

The House of Lords is made up of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or another. There are 675 members of the Lords.

The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.

The House of Commons has 659 members who have been elected by local residents to represent an area of the country in Parliament. The members are called MPs (Members of Parliament). Each MP represents one of 659 constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party.The Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws.

Interesting Fact
No King or Queen has entered the House of Commons since 1642, when Charles l stormed in with his soldiers and tried to arrest five members of Parliament who were there.

MPs hold most of their debates in the House of Commons Chamber. The Speaker, who controls proceedings, sits on a raised chair at one end of the Chamber.

The Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition party MPs occupy the benches on the Speaker's left.The Opposition's job is to oppose the Government. The biggest Opposition party sits directly across from the Government benches.

The red lines in front of the two sets of benches are two-sword lengths apart; a Member is traditionally not allowed to cross the line during debates. The lines are there to prevent either side attacking the other during a debate. Of course, MPs are not likely to attack each other these days.

There are three major political parties, in the House of Commons:

Labour , Conservative, Liberal Democrats

As well as the three major political parties the UK also has various minor ones, some of whom have seats in parliament.

The leader of the political party with the most MPs in the House of Commons is asked by the Queen to become Prime Minister and to form a government that will manage the country.

At present, the Prime Minister is David Cameron, who is the leader of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats is his deputy.

Every week the Prime Minister appears before the House of Commons and must answer questions put to him or her by the members of Parliament.

The Prime Minister is the head of the UK Government

The Prime Minister heads the Government and appoints Ministers, who head individual Government departments.

The most important ministers are called Secretaries of State and they form the Cabinet.

The Secretaries of State are in charge of a Government Department (a ministry). Each minister is responsible for his department, and makes sure that his department applies the policy of the government.

The most important Secretaries of State are:

  • The Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance)
  • The Foreign Secretary (international affairs)
  • The Home Secretary (internal affairs)
  • The Lord Chancellor (the legal system)
  • The Secretary of State for Education
  • The Secretary of State for Transport and the Environment.

Traditionally, the official residence of the Prime Minister is at Number 10 Downing Street.

Laws are rules that everyone in the country must obey. In a democracy, like the UK, nobody is above the law. About one hundred new laws are passed each year.

A proposed new law is called a bill. Bills must be agreedby both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent from the Queen before they can become Acts of Parliament which make our law.

The Bill is introduced by a First Reading. This is simply an official notice that a Bill is going to be proposed and what it's about. It gives MPs time to prepare and discuss it.

Shortly afterwards comes the Second Reading. At this point the principles are considered on the floor of the House. The Bill is then sent to be looked at by small groups of MPs who examine the Bill in detail.

At the Third Reading the Bill is debated and there is a vote. If the Government has a majority, the Bill is then passed to the House of Lords.

Once a Bill has passed through both Houses, it is sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Once it has Royal Assent the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. It is the law of the land.

Since 1952, The Queen has given Royal Assent to 3135 Acts of Parliament.

Interesting Fact:
Up until the end of the 17th century, British monarchs were executive monarchs. This means they had the right to make and pass laws. Since the beginning of the eighteenth century, the monarch has become a constitutional monarch.

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