The Political System of the UK

The UK is a monarchy which is hereditary (the crown is passed to the eldest son).The Queen is the head of the state. She is also the head of the states of The Commonwealth of Nations, Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. She opens and closes the sessions of Parliament, appoints the Prime-Minister and other Ministers, signs the bills and gives honors of lords and peers. The present monarch is the Queen Elizabeth II who was coronated in 1953.

The highest legislative body is Parliament, the oldest in Europe. It consists of 2 chambers - the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The upper chamber The House of Lords has more than 1000 members (hereditary peers and peeresses who have life peerage and life peers who received the titles from the Queen). The Chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor who sits on a Woolsack. The lower chamber is the House of Commons. There are 650 members (Members of Parliament or MPs) in it who are elected at the general election. The House of Commons is presided by the Speaker. MPs debate bills and vote for them during sessions of Parliament. The flag is on the Houses of Parliament on these days. There are two main political parties in the UK - the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party. The leader of the party which wins the majority in the House of Commons at the election becomes the Prime-Minister, he forms the Cabinet. His official residence is Downing Street 10. The opposing party form Shadow Cabinet.

Дата добавления: 2015-07-20