Life in the UK Test
Chapter 4: HOW THE UNITED KINGDOM IS GOVERNED
The British Constitution
United Kingdom is governed by a wide range of institutions. Most of these institutions are of long standing. They include the Monarchy,
Parliament, the office of Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the judiciary,the police, civil service and institutions of local government.
Unlike constitutions of many other countries such as America and France, the British Constitutions is not written
down in any single document. Our most important institutions have been in existence for hundreds of years.
Some people believe that there should be a single document, but others believe that an unwritten constitution gives more flexibility and allows
more scope for institutions to adapt in order to meet changing circumstances and public expectations.
The monarchy
Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of State of the United Kingdom. She is also the Monarch or Head of State for many countries in
the Commonwealth.
Unlike Denmark, the Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden, we have a constitutional monarchy. This means that the King or Queen does not rule the country,
but appoints the government which the people have chosen in democratic elections. The power of the Queen or King is limited to
only advise, warn and encourage the Prime Minister, the decisions on government policies.
The Queen has reigned since her father’s death in 1952.
Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, her oldest son, is the heir to the
throne. The Queen has important ceremonial roles such as the opening
of the new parliamentary session each year. On this occasion the
Queen makes a speech that summarises the government’s policies for the
year ahead.
UK Parliament
United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy. The UK is
divided into 646 parliamentary constituencies and at least every five
years voters in each constituency elect their Member of Parliament
(MP) in a general election.
All of the elected MPs form the
House of Commons.
Most MPs belong to any of the registered political party
but one can be an Independent member. The party with the largest number
of MPs forms the government. The law requires new elections to Parliament
to be held at least every five years.
The power of Parliament is argued to be lessened because
of the obligation on the UK to accept the EU rules and the judgments of
the European Court.
The UK parliament (Westminster) has two chambers
-
House of Commons:
It's members are democratically elected by the British
public through elections. They are called Member of Parliament (MP). Each
MP represent a parliamentary constituency. Currently 646 constituencies
thus there 646 MPs in the house of commons (lower house).
Parliamentary elections (General Election) are held at
least every five years. If an MP dies or resigns, there
will be a by-election, in his or her constituency.
Members of UK parliament (Westminster) are elected through
a system called first
past the post (candidate who gets the most votes will win) as opposed to the proportional representation where parties or groups get the seats according to the proportion of the total votes.This system is used to elect members of Scottish
Parliament and Welsh assembly.
Members of the House of Lords, known as peers,
are not elected and do not represent a constituency. The role and membership
of the House of Lords have recently undergone big changes. Until 1958
all peers were either hereditary, meaning that their titles
were inherited, senior judges, or bishops of the Church of England.
Since 1958 the Prime Minister has had the power to appoint peers just
for their own lifetime. These peers, known as Life Peers,
have usually had a distinguished career in politics, business, law or
some other profession. This means that debates in the House of Lords often
draw on more specialist knowledge than is available to members of the
House of Commons. Life Peers are appointed by the Queen on the advice
of the Prime Minister.
In the last few years the hereditary peers have lost the automatic right
to attend the House of Lords.
While the House of Lords is usually the less important of the two chambers
of Parliament, it is more independent of the government. It can
suggest amendments to existing laws or propose new laws, which are then
discussed by the House of Commons. The House of Commons has powers to
over rule the House of Lords, but these are very rarely used. The
Prime Minister
The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the political
party in power.He or she appoints the members of the Cabinet and has control
over many important public appointments. He is the head of government.
