HOW is BRITAIN GOVERNED ?

HOW IS UK GOVERNED ?

The British Government runs the UK.

It is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as Head of State.

SO, there are :

A)The Parliament : it represents the people

B) The Government : runs the country and is also elected by the people

A/ THE PARLIAMENT

It is the place where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws

and make decisions . MPs = Members of ParliamentIts main functions are to :

1. To pass laws

2. To provide money (by voting for taxation)

3. To debate the major issues of the day

4. to scrutinize government policy and administration

Parliament is made up of 3 parts :

1. The House of Commons

2. The House of Lords

3. The Queen

1- The House of Commons

It is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws .There are 659 MPs who represent the 659 constituencies (areas) in the UK and who are part of a political party .

The main political parties are The Labour Party and the Conservative Party.

They are elected.

The Speaker controls the debates which can be very animated !!!http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xUy2inkGHQ

2. The House of Lords

It is composed of 675 members with titles (family or by merit).

Unlike the Members of the House of Commons , they are not elected.

Their job is to ensure that the laws are fair and will work. However they don’t have the power to stop a law, just to delay it.

3. The Queen

The Queen as Head of State has a final say on

whether a bill becomes a law.

In fact she accepts the advice of her government and gives her Royal Assent.

B/ THE GOVERNMENTThe leader of the government is the Prime Minister

Do you know the name of the incumbent Prime minister ?

He was elected in June 2007 and belongs to the Party .Labour

There are normally people in a UK government

and they are called ministers or secretaries of State

100

His official residence is in London

N°10 Downing Street

Who was the Prime Minister before Gordon Brown ?

His name is Tony Blair

How is the Prime Minister elected ? He is the leader of the political party with the most MPs in the

House of Commons . He is asked by the Queen to be Prime

Minister and to form a government .

What is the Role of the Prime Minister ?1. He heads the government

2. He appoints the Ministers

The most important ministers are called the Secretaries of State and they form the Cabinet .

They meet with the Prime Minister once a week at 10 Downing Street

The most important secretaries of States are

•The Chancellor of the Exchequer for

•The Foreign Secretary for

•The Home Secretary for

•The Lord Chancellor for

financeInternational affairs

Internal affairs

Legal system

How are laws made ?

1. To make a law you start with a bill (projet de loi)

Normally, it comes from the government ( =a government sponsored Bill)

Yet it may also come from an ordinary MP ( = a Private Member’s Bill)

2. To become a law , it is debated and voted in both Houses.

3. Then the Queen gives her Royal Assent to this bill which then becomes a law .