Political institutions in the united kingdom

POLITICAL INSTITUTIONS IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The United Kingdom is composed of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It is a constitutional Monarchy. There isn't a single written constitution, like in Italy, in fact the Constitution is made by laws customs and by conventions, and can be modified by an act of Parliament.

The Monarchy

The Monarchy in Britain is hereditary. The present queen is Elizabeth II, who began her reign in 1952. She is a symbol, in fact she hasn't got real power, "she reigns but she does not rule'. In Britain the sovereign is the Head of State, Head of the Church of England, Head of Commonwealth, Head of the Executive, Head of the Judiciary and Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. She opens each session of Parliament every year in November, from the House of Lords, because She cannot enter the House of Commons. She summons and dissolves  the Parliament, appoints the Prime Minister and the Archbishop of Canterbury. She signs all bills passed by Parliament, but she does not take no part in politics.

The Parliament

British Parliament is composed by the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The House of Lords has about 1200 members, not elected by people, they are princes of Royal Family, the old aristocracy, Spiritual Lords (bishops), Hereditary Peers, lawyers and retired politician. The House of Lords is presided by the Lord Chancellor, who is also the head of the Judiciary in England and Wales. The power of the house of Lords is very limited, they examine bills passed by the Commons, but they cannot reject a bill. They can delay a bill for a maximum period of one year.

With the new system there will be about 550 members elected for 15 years

The House of Commons is composed by 659 members, elected every five years by all people over 18 years old. The word "common" means ordinary, not noble. In the House of Commons there are two sides: the Government and the Opposition. Their work consists of debating bills and voting to pass or reject them and debate questions of public interest. The President of the House of Commons is The Speaker.

Political Parties

The principal British political parties are: The Conservative party, The Labour party and the Liberal party. The conservative party developed from the Tories, a group of men who supported the Monarchy in the 17th century. They are conservative and they believe in the free enterprise, private property and they are against the heavy taxation. The Labour Party is a socialist party, in their opinion the state has to control large enterprises, banks and companies, taxes are necessary to finance the social welfare. The Liberal Party is a minor party, their opinions are between the Tories and the Labour. Besides these three parties there are other smaller parties.

General elections

General elections are called every 5 years. For voting Britain is divided in 659 districts. All people over 18 years old have the right to vote. Before the elections, each party chooses a candidate for each district and conducts an electoral campaign. The vote consists by putting a cross on the name of one of the candidates. The candidate who gets the most of the votes becomes MP of the district. The British electoral system is a majority system.

Government and Opposition

The leader of the party with the majority of votes becomes the Prime Minister, and is called by the Queen to form a Government. The present majority Party is the Labour Party and the Prime Minister is Tony Blair. There are about 60 Ministers, but only 20 - 25 are chosen to form a Cabinet. The main Ministers are: the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, The Minister of Defence, The Home Secretary, The Minister of Health, The Minister of Labour, the Minister of Education etc.

The largest minority party forms her Majesty's opposition. The leader of the opposition with his advisors forms the Shadow Cabinet.

Law Making

A bill is a proposed law and can be introduced by the Government Ministers, or by a MP in the Commons. A bill is debated, if it is  approved by the Commons it is sent to the Lords, if the Lords disagree, it is sent back to the Commons, who may change it or send it in the original form. After one year the Lords are obliged to agree. Only when the Lords agree, the Bill is presented to the Monarch for the Royal assent.