Young Wrexham

UK Politics

The politics of the United Kingdom take place under what is known as a constitutional monarchy.

• The Queen is the head of state
• The government has executive power and the Prime Minister is the head of the government
• The government is formed democratically where citizens participate in electing Members of Parliament (MP’s) as representatives in their local area
• The political party that has the most ‘seats’ or MP’s elected, become the party in power and the leader becomes the Prime Minister
• The Prime Minister chooses MP’s to be ministers who will make up the government and become heads of different departments
• The government is made up of departments, or ministries, for example: Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, Ministry of Transport
• Around 20 of the most senior ministers, such as Minister of Defence and the Home Secretary, make up the cabinet
• The decisions of the ministers are carried out by an organisation known as the civil service - these are ordinary men and women who are working for the government but shouldn't be affected by which political party is in power
• 'Whitehall' is the common name for the central core of the civil service. This is because most government departments have headquarters in and around the former Royal Palace of Whitehall
• Parliament meets at the Palace of Westminster
• Parliament is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords

Political Parties

UK politics is a multi-party system with the devolution of some power in Wales, to a lesser extent, Northern Ireland, with Scotland being completely devolved having their own parliament and law making powers. For more information about the Welsh Government and its powers go to the Welsh Politics section.

The main political parties in the UK are:

1. The Conservative Party (commonly called the 'Tories')
2. The Liberal Democrats
3. The Labour Party

The current UK government is a coalition between the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats. A coalition government is where two parties join together to hold the majority of elected seats. Although their political views differ, they agree to work together.

Other influential political parties are:

• The Green Party of England and Wales
• Respect Coalition
• Scottish National Party
• Democratic Unionist Party
• Alliance Party of Northern Ireland
• Sinn Fein
• Plaid Cymru
• Scottish Socialist Party
• Respect Party
• British National Party
• UK Independence Party (UKIP)

House of Commons

The House of Commons is where these elected MPs meet to debate and amend Bills (a proposal for a new law or to amend an existing one) and current issues facing the country.

• The House of Commons is supposed to keep a close eye on the Government and question Ministers on the work they do
• Important ministers including the Prime Minister will make speeches in the House of Commons about current issues or a Bill that they want to pass, and MPs in the House may show their support or opposition
• The UK is divided into parliamentary constituencies, which are roughly of equal population, each of which votes to elect a Member of Parliament into the House of Commons

House of Lords

The House of Lords meet to debate and amend Bills presented to them by the House of Commons.

• If a Bill is approved in the House of Commons, it is then passed to the House of Lords to be scrutinised
• The House of Lords are able to prevent Bills from becoming law, they can also delay things from happening they can force the House of Commons to reconsider
• Peers or Lords either inherit a title as a Lord or they are appointed by the Government or Shadow Cabinet

The Queen

• If a both Houses of Parliament agree on the final wording of the bill it is then sent for Royal Assent, when the Queen approves bills and they become law
• The Queen technically has a lot of power in international affairs, even though decisions are generally made by the Prime Minister and the cabinet
• The Queen has power to declare war, make peace, take over or give up territories, and to recognise foreign states
• The armed forces swear an oath if allegiance to the Queen rather than the government