PARLIAMENT, PARLIAMENT, GOVERNMENT, POLITICAL GOVERNMENT, POLITICAL PARTIESPARTIES

Andi KriisaSilver Samarütel

11c

• The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy based on universal suffrage

• The Queen is the head of the executive and plays an integral part in legislature

• General elections are held every five years

• People over the age of 18 can vote

• Anyone over the age of 21 can stand for election as a member of parliament

• Voting is not compulsory

UK is divided into constituencies where voting takes place Each area is represented by one Member of Parliament Political parties appoint candidates to compete for a seat in

Parliament Several parties fight for one seat, the candidate who gets the

largest number of votes in a constituency wins The party with the most seats in the House of Commons is in

power and forms the Government There is usually an one party Government The second largest party becomes the Opposition and forms the Shadow Cabinet

The UK is administered from the Palace of Westminster

Elected by the British public through the first-past-the-post system

The 659 members are called Members of Parliament All new laws are first discussed and debated in the

Commons

Members are not elected Presided over by the Lord Chancellor Today there are 746 members

• After passing through the House of Commons, all bills are debated in the House of Lords and after that, signed by the Queen

The leader of the winning party in elections automatically becomes Prime Minister and has the right to appoint his Government, called the Cabinet

The Cabinet includes a selection of MPs It works as a team and is collectively responsible for its decisions The Cabinet is responsible to Parliament The most important ministers are Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, Foreign Secretary, Home Secretary

Political parties

The Labour Party Roots in the 19th c Supported by less-wealthy groups of society Re-elected in 2007

The Conservative Party

•Dates back to the 18th c.

•Mainly supported by wealthier people

•Has lost its popularity since the 1980s

The Liberal Democratic Party•Third largest party•Pro-Europe•Their politics are somewhere between the• Labour and Conservative parties

Sir Winston Churchill is considered to have been the most briliant politician of the Conservative Party in the 20th century

Prime Minister during most of WW II

Led Britain successfully through the war

Famous for his speeches in which he encouraged people to believe that they would eventually win

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1izsTZwa59k