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The Political System

The British political system is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. Power is shared between the monarch, parliament, and the prime minister and cabinet. Parliament is divided into the House of Commons and House of Lords. The House of Commons has 650 members elected by British citizens over 18, while the House of Lords has over 1000 unelected members. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons and chooses the cabinet to help govern the country and set policy, requiring the support of a majority of members of parliament.

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41 views2 pages

The Political System

The British political system is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary government. Power is shared between the monarch, parliament, and the prime minister and cabinet. Parliament is divided into the House of Commons and House of Lords. The House of Commons has 650 members elected by British citizens over 18, while the House of Lords has over 1000 unelected members. The prime minister is the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons and chooses the cabinet to help govern the country and set policy, requiring the support of a majority of members of parliament.

Uploaded by

Elio Ferrara
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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THE POLITICAL SYSTEM

THE BRITISH SYSTEM

Britain is a constitutional monarchy and we can say that its system of government is
the oldest in Europe.
The British constitution is made up of a combination of laws, practices and
traditions, all of them developed and improved over the centuries.
Today power is in the hands of Parliament while in the past it was the king or the
queen that ruled the country.
It's also important to say that in the past only nobles, rich and powerful men were
represented in Parliament. Today, instead, all the social classes are represented and in
the 19th century the right to vote was extended to all men and in 1928 to women
/uimen/.

THE MONARCH

(As I have just said) Today the Monarch has no real power but, anyway, he or she is
the head of the state and a symbol of national unity. In short, we can say that the
Monarch reigns but doesn't rule. The king or queen is also head of the judiciary
system, head of the Church of England and the commander-in-chief of all the armed
forces. Although it seems a lot of responsability, the Monarch just gives advice to
his/her ministers because he/she can't really decide anything.
So, the country is gòverned by the Parliament.

The present queen is Elizabeth II. She was born in 1926 and became a queen in 1953.
Her husband is Prince Philip, the Duke of Edimburgh and her eldest son is Prince
Charles, Prince of Wales who is heir to the throne.
The queen and her family take part in traditional ceremonies, open new schools and
hospitals, visit foreigh countries and are involved in many charities.

PARLIAMENT

The British Parliament, which basically makes the laws, is divided into House of
Commons and House of Lords.

The House of Commons has 650 Members of Parliament (Mps). They are elected
every 5 years by all the British citizens of over 18.
They debate important political questions, make new laws and criticize or support the
actions of the Government.
The leader of the House of Common is called the Speaker.

The House of Lords has less power than the House of Commons. It has over 1000
members but they are not elected (they can have inherited their title or the queen has
given them the title). What they do is to reconsider bills (proposte di legge) and
suggest amendments (rettifiche). Among (tra) the members there are Lords Spiritual
– representing the Church of England, and Senior Judges - representing the final
court of appeal.
The leader of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor.

THE PRIME MINISTER AND THE CABINET

The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the majority party in the House of
Commons.
The present Prime Minister is a woman and her name is Theresa May. She is the
English Prime Minister since 2016 and she belongs to the Conservative Party.
He or she chooses the ministers from the party and creates the Cabinet which is an
executive group of about 20 senior ministers. They decide government policy. To rule
they need the support of a majority of Mps in the House of Commons.
To conclude, the largest minority party forms the Opposition.

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