英国的政治和政府

1、Government and Politics of the UKB班第四组SummaryThe United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy; the head of state is a king or a queen. The United Kingdom is governed, in the name of the Sovereign by His or Her Majestys Government. The System of parliamentary government is not based on a written const

2、itution; the British constitution is not set out in any single document. It is made up of statute law, common law and conventions. The Monarchy The Queen is the symbol of the whole nation. In law, She is head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the commander

3、-in-chief of all the armed forces and the “supreme governor” of the Church of England. She gives Royal Assent to Bills passed by parliament.The monarch actually has no real power. The monarchs power is limited by law and Parliament. Constitutional monarchy began after the Glorious Revolution in 1688

4、.ParliamentThe United Kingdom is a unitary, not a federal, state. Parliament consists of the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.The main functions of Parliament are: (1) to pass laws; (2) to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government; (3) to

5、examine government Policy and administrations, including proposal for expenditure; and (4) to debate the major issues of the day.The House of Lords is made up of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal. The main function of the House of Lords is to bring the wide experience of its members into th

6、e process of lawmaking. In other words, the non-elected House is to act as a chamber of revision, complementing but not rivaling the elect House.The House of Common is elected by universal adult suffrage and consists of 651 Members of Parliament (MPs). It is in the House of Commons that the ultimate

7、 authority.PartiesBritain has a number of parties, but there are only two major parties. These two parties are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Since 1945, either the Conservative Party or the Labour Party has held power. The party which wins sufficient seats at a General Election to com

8、mand a majority of Government. The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minister. The party which wins the second largest number of seats becomes the Official Opposition, with its own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The rule of Opposition is to help the formulation of policy，Criticizes the G

9、overnment and debate with the Government.The Cabinet and MinistryThe Prime Minister presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of general business of the Government. Cabinet members hold meetings under the chair

10、manship of the Prime Minister for a few hours each week to decide Government policy on major issues.Ministers are responsible collectively to Parliament for all Cabinet decisions; individual Ministers are responsible to Parliament for the work of their departmentThe Privy CouncilThe Privy Council was formerly the chief source of executive power in the state and give private advice to the King. So the Privy Council was also called the Kings Council in history. Today its role is largely formal, advising the sovereign to approve certain gover