The u.K. Political system, con, monarchy, prime-minister and the government.
The United Kingdom within the framework of a constitutional monarchy, in which the Monarch is the head of state and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by Her Majesty's Government, on behalf of and by the consent of the Monarch, as well as by the devolved Governments of Scotland and Wales, and the Northern Ireland Executive.
Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as in the Scottish parliament and Welsh and Northern Ireland assemblies.
The judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. The highest national court is the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom.
The UK political system is a multi-party system. Since the 1920s, the two largest political parties have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the Liberal Party was the other major political party along with the Conservatives.
The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and other elements such as EU law. This system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire.
The United Kingdom is also responsible for several dependencies, which fall into two categories: the Crown dependencies, in the immediate vicinity of the UK, and British Overseas Territories, which originated as colonies of the British Empire.
Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy, and the Crown is a permanent and continuous institution. The traditional announcement, “The King is dead, long live the King!” typifies the immortality of royal authority. According to the Constitution, the powers of the Crown are very great. Every action of the government is carried out in its name. But the Queen cannot act independently. She may exercise these powers only on the advice of her ministers, who are responsible politically to Parliament.
In Britain they look to the Queen not only as their head of State, but also as the “symbol of their nation’s unity”. The royal title in the United Kingdom is: “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith”. The seat of the monarchy is in the United Kingdom. The Queen personifies the State. The Queen reigns but does not rule. She never vetoes bills passed by Parliament.
Although the Queen is deprived of actual power, she has retained many important, though formal, functions. She summons and dissolves Parliament, gives approval to Bills passed by both Houses of Parliament; she appoints government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors, diplomats and bishops of the Church of England. The Queen appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the political party which has a majority in the House of Commons) to form a government. As head of State the Queen has, in international affairs, the power to declare war and make peace, to recognize foreign states and governments, to conclude treaties, etc. She gives audiences to her ministers and other officials at home and overseas, receives accounts of Cabinet decisions. She is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life.
The Queen is Head of the Commonwealth of Nations where she is represented by the Governor-General appointed by her on the advice of the government of the country concerned and completely independent on the British government. The Commonwealth is an association of about fifty states. Alongside with Britain and such developed countries as Canada, Australia, New Zealand, it includes large developing countries as India, Nigeria and very small states as Nauru (population — 8,000), as well as dependent territories, like Anguilla, Bermuda, Gibraltar and others. The Commonwealth does not formulate central policies on economic and foreign affairs. However, there is a considerable consultation and cooperation between the member states of the Commonwealth.
The Prime Minister is the most senior minister in the Cabinet. They are responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers (and all other positions in Her Majesty's government), and formulating government policy. The Prime Minister is the de facto leader of the UK government; since they exercise executive functions that are nominally vested in the sovereign (by way of the Royal Prerogatives). Historically, the British monarch was the sole source of executive powers in the government. However, following the rule of the Hanoverian monarchs, an arrangement of a "Prime Minister" chairing and leading the Cabinet began to emerge. Over time, this arrangement became the effective executive branch of government, as it assumed the day-to-day functioning of the British government away from the sovereign.
Theoretically, the Prime Minister is primus inter pares (,i.e. Latin for "first among equals") among their Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, they are theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet ministers. The Cabinet, along with the PM, consists of Secretaries of State from the various government departments, the Lord High Chancellor, the Lord Privy Seal, the President of the Board of Trade, the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and Ministers without portfolio. Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session.
British con. The constitution of the United Kingdom is the sum of laws and principles that make up the body politic of the United Kingdom. It concerns both the relationship between the individual and the state, and the functioning of the legislature, the executive and judiciary. Unlike many other nations, the UK has no single constitutional document. This is sometimes expressed by stating that it has an uncodified or "unwritten" constitution.[1] Much of the British constitution is embodied in written documents, within statutes, court judgements, works of authority and treaties. The constitution has other unwritten sources, including parliamentary constitutional conventions.[2]
Magna Carta (Latin for Great Charter),[1] also called Magna Carta Libertatum or The Great Charter of the Liberties of England, is an Angevin charter originally issued in Latin. It was sealed under oath by King John at Runnymede, on the bank of the River Thames near Windsor, England, on 15 June 1215.[2]
Magna Carta was the first document imposed upon a King of England by a group of his subjects, the feudal barons, in an attempt to limit his powers by law and protect their rights.
The Bill of Rights[1] is an Act of the Parliament of England passed on 16 December 1689.[2] It was a restatement in statutory form of the Declaration of Right presented by the Convention Parliament to William and Mary in March 1689 (or 1688 by Old Style dating), inviting them to become joint sovereigns of England. It lays down limits on the powers of the crown and sets out the rights of Parliament and rules for freedom of speech in Parliament, the requirement for regular elections to Parliament and the right to petition the monarch without fear of retribution. It reestablished the liberty of Protestants to have arms for their defence within the rule of law, and condemned James II of England for "causing several good subjects being Protestants to be disarmed at the same time when papists were both armed and employed contrary to law".
These ideas about rights reflected those of the political thinker John Locke and they quickly became popular in England. It also sets out—or, in the view of its drafters, restates—certain constitutional requirements of the Crown to seek the consent of the people, as represented in Parliament.