Constitutional
Monarchy
Britain is a parliamentary democracy
with a constitutional monarch – Queen Elisabeth II as a head of state. The
British constitution, isn’t set out in a single document. Instead it is made up
of a combination of laws and conventions.
A thousand years ago the Anglo-Saxon
kings consulted the Great Council before taking important decisions. Between
1066 and 1215 the king ruled alone, but in 1215 the nobles forced king John to
accept Magna Carta, which took away some of the king’s powers. In later
centuries this was seen as the 1st occasion on which the king was forced to
take advice. In 1264 the 1st parliament of nobles met together. Since then the
British constitution has grown up slowly as the result of countless Acts of
parliament. Then, parliament invited William and Mary to become Britain’s 1st
constitutional monarchs. A constitutional monarch is one who can rule only with
the support of parliamentary. The Bill of Rights was the 1st legal step towards
constitutional monarchy. This Bill prevented the monarch from making laws or
having an army without Parliament’s approval. Since 1689 the power of
parliament has grown, while the power of the monarch has become weaker. The UK
is a constitutional monarchy: the head of the state is a king or a queen. In
practice, the Sovereign reigns, but doesn’t rule. The present Sovereign is
Queen Elisabeth II. Today the Queen isn’t only head of state, but also an
important symbol of national unity. In law the Queen is head of the executive,
head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the
Crown and the established Church of England. The monarchy’s absolute power has
been progressively reduced, the Queen is impartial and acts on the advise of
her ministers. The Queen and the Royal family continue to take part in many
traditional ceremonies. Their visits to different parts of Britain and to many
other countries attract considerable interests and publicity.
The proceedings of both Houses of
Parliament are broadcast on television and radio. General elections to choose
Members of Parliament must be held at least every five years. Today every man
and woman aged 18 has the right to vote.
The Government is formed by the
party with majority support in the Commons. The party in power determines the
home and foreign policy of the country. The Queen appoints its leader as Prime
Minister. As head of the Government the Prime Minister appoints about 100
ministers, of whom about 20 are in the Cabinet – the serious group which takes
major policy decisions. Ministers are collectively responsible for their own
departments. The second largest – party forms the official oppositions with its
own leader and “shadow cabinet”. The opposition has a duty to challenge
government policies and to present an alternative programme.
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