Politics Of The United Kingdom

Campbell -1Newton Campbell First Year Seminar Section 88 Dr. Martha PereszlenyiPinter November 19, 2004 Political System of the United Kingdom The United Kingdom is governed by what is called a parliamentary monarchy. (Encarta, United Kingdom Government) A prime minister and his Cabinet are elected by the people. They hold the executive power in the Kingdom’s government. A king or queen, or a monarch, also exists. Though, throughout history, the monarch maintained complete power over all government, he or she now is usually just a figurehead who has laws carried out in their name. All the real power of government lies with Parliament and the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister can be compared to the President of the United States as the Parliament can be compared to Congress. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair. Like Congress, the Parliament is bicameral. This means that it is split up into two different Houses, or sections. The Parliament consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The House of Commons is more influential on decision making than the House of Lords, making Parliament virtually unicameral. This was how the entire United Kingdom was governed until 1999, when the Scottish Parliament, National Assembly for Wales, and another self-governing Assembly for Ireland were established. (Wikipedia, Politics of the United Kingdom) This will greatly affect elections for the UK from now on. In the United Kingdom, there are three main political parties. These parties are the Liberal Democrats, Labour, and Conservative parties. Voting in the UK, just as the United States, is permitted for citizens over eighteen

Campbell -2years of age. The people elect the Prime Minister, seats in Parliament, and all local positions such as mayor. The monarch is and most likely always will be appointed through inheritance.

Campbell -3Works Cited "United Kingdom," Microsoft Encarta Online Encyclopedia 2004 http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761553483_9/United_Kingdom.html#s193 Nov 17, 2004 “Politics of the United Kingdom,” Wikipedia 2004 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom Nov 17, 2004