Government in the UK

The main features of the British parliamentary

system :
 The legislative branch
The legislative and executive branches of government are united
at the top in the form of the Cabinet, which is both the top
executive authority in the government and the central
leadership of the majority party in the legislature.

The same group of people - the

Cabinet:
-are members of the legislature;
- lead and manage the business of the
legislature;
- occupy the top offices in the executive
branch;
- control and direct the executive branch;
Executive power
- The Prime Minister and members of the Cabinet are
elected from local parliamentary election as members of
the House of Commons;
- The majority in the House of Commons, chooses the
Cabinet, mostly from its own membership in the
Commons.
- A person becomes Prime Minister by being the top leader
of the political party;
Judicial branch

- The position of head of government

and chief of state are separate
offices;
- The Prime Minister is the effective
head of government, the Monarch is
the chief of state and performs
symbolic and ceremonial functions
of that office.
Parliament- the highest legislative authority in the UK

Examining and
challenging the work Debating and passing
of the government all laws (legislation)
(scrutiny)

The institution is
responsible for:

Enabling the
government to raise
taxes
The three main parts of the Parliament:

The House of Lords : The monarch, the

is made up of members Queen, open and closes
The House of who are mostly Parliament every year,
Commons : appointed by the asks the winning party
is made up of 650 Sovereign on the in a general election and
selected MPs; recommendation of the officially signs all the
Prime Minister; some are laws that Parliament
internally elected; votes for;
House of Commons
❖ The House of Commons is the lower chamber of the UK’s
two-chamber Parliament.
❖ The Commons is publicly elected.
❖ It consists of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs).
❖ The political party which wins the most seats in the House of
Commons at a general election is known as the Governing
Party and its leader becomes the Prime Minister.
❖ The second largest party - Official Opposition.
 The Roles of the House of Commons

❏ Scrutinising Government (to ensure that the Government is working

for the benefit of those living in the UK);
❏ Proposing and amending legislation (Parliament is responsible for
making laws. The 2 Houses must agree the text of any proposed
legislation before it can become law);
❏ Representing the people (The UK is divided into areas, called
constituencies, each of which elects a single MP to represent them in
Parliament);
❏ Taxation (The House of Commons has the right to raise taxes, which
provides the Government with money to deliver its policies);
 The House of Lords
.
House of Lords -the upper Chamber of the Uk’s
two-chamber Parliament
-it complements the work of the House of
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Commons

Life Peers
830 Archbishops
Members and
Bishops
Elected hereditary
Peers
● Life Peers -appointed for their life time only, these Lord’s
titles are not passed on to their children. The Queen
formally appoints life Peers on the advice and
recommendation of the Prime Minister.

● Archbishops and bishops - a limited number of 26

Church of England ...sit in the House, passing their
membership on to the next most senior bishop when they
retire.

● Elected hereditary Peers - the right of hereditary Peers to

sit and vote in the House of Lords was ended in 1999.
Members were elected internally to remain until the next
stage of the Lords reform process.
 The Roles of the House of Lords
❏ Makes laws -(55%)plays an integral role in the legislative
process
❏ Holds Government to account-(40%) done by:
❏ Investigates and influences public policy- committees
conduct investigations into policy issues and other governmental
actions and decisions, and publish their recommendations to
Parliament in reports.
❏ reaches out to connect people with the House of
Lords
❏ represents the UK - maintaining international relationship with
other countries and their parliaments and leaders.
How are laws made in Parliament?
Acts of Parliament : laws of the land that
affect us all;

A proposed new law is called a bill;

Bills must be agreed by both Houses of

Parliament before becoming laws. In this
way, a bill is passed backwards and forwards
between the House of Commons and House
of Lords, each making changes, until they are
happy with the exact wording;

Once both Houses have agreed on the

bill it can be approved by the Queen. This
is called Royal Assent and means the bill
becomes an Act of Parliament and therefore
officially a new law.