Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. It means that there is a Queen (or King) and the Parliament. The Queen has almost no power in the country. Her powers are limited by the Parliament. Laws are made by the Parliament. The Queen is only a formal ruler: she reigns but does not rule. In fact everything that she does is done on the active of her ministers, who are responsible for the royal acts. Thus, most of her functions are symbolic. The United Kingdom is governed by Her majesty's Government in the name of the Queen. But the Queen has all information, has the right to encourage and the right to warn. The Queen's residence in London is Buckingham Palace. Besides, she has some homes in England and Scotland.
The organs of government are: Parliament, the executive and the judiciary.
The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House if Lords and the House of Commons. There are more than 1000 members in the House of Lords. Many seats are hereditary. The House of Commons has 635 members. They are elected by a general election. The voting is by secret ballot and is from the age of 18. Any member may introduce a Bill and ask permission to bring it to the House for the first reading. After the third time reading the Bill goes to the House of Lords. If the Lords agree to a Bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature.
The executive consists of the central which is responsible for iniating and directing the national policy, government departments, local authorities, and public corporations. Government is formed by the party which has the majority in the Commons. It is the party that wins the elections.
The Prime Minister is the leader of the Government. He chooses a number of ministers in the cabinet. The second largest party forms the official opposition with its "shadow cabinet".
The judiciary is independent of both the legislature and executive.
There are two main parties - Conservative and Labour.
The orientation of the Conservative party is center-right, with pragmatic policies. The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. Its aim is to bring about wealth and power in favour of working people"
The party which is called the Liberal Democrats is an influential center. Another party is the Socialist Democratic Party. There are also nationalist parties from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.
