Political System of Britain

Britain
is a parliamentary democracy. Its formal title is the United Kingdom of Great
Britain and Northern Ireland.

Parliament
consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The membership in the
House of Lords is hereditary. The Commons is the elected House. It consists of
635 members of Parliament. The power of Queen is strongly restricted by
Parliament.

The
voting is by secret ballot and is from the age of 18.

Government
is formed by the party which has the majority in the Commons. It is the party
that wins the elections.

The
Prime Minister is the leader of the Government. He chooses a number of
ministers in the cabinet. The second largest party forms the official
opposition with its "shadow cabinet".

There
are two main parties - Conservative and Labour.

The
orientation of the Conservative party is center-right, with pragmatic policies.
The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. Its aim is to bring about
wealth and power in favour of working people"

The
party which is called the Liberal Democrats is an influential center.

Another
center party is the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP). There are also
nationalist parties from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.