How Government works in The United Kingdom

The Bristish Constitution is not written down. The rules are a mixture of conventions and laws that have been developed over many years. For example, they have a prime minister because of convention. They have a general election at least every five years because of the law. At a general election, every British man and woman aged eighteen and over can vote, but it is not compulsory.

The UK is divided into 650 electoral districts, called constituencies. The average constituency has 64,000 voters. At the time of an election, the people of each constituency vote for a candidate who wishes to be elected as Member of Parliament (MP) for that constituency. The main political parties are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and the Liberal Democrat Party. Candidates can also stand for election as independents or for smaller political parties, such as the Greens who campaign for a better environment, or parties representing the regions. The candidate with the most votes wins a majority and becomes a Member of Parliament.

Parliament has two houses: the House of Commons for MPs and the House of Lords for peers. MPs are elected, but peers are chosen by the Government or they attend by right because they are the aristocracy or bishops of the Church of England.

The MP takes a seat in the House of Commons. The leader of the party with the biggest number of MPs is invited by the Queen to form a government, and he or she becomes Prime Minister, the head of the government, and chooses about twenty members of parliament to form a Cabinet. Together they make important decisions about party policy. The main opposition party (the party that came second in the election) forms a Shadow Cabinet. The Shadow Cabinet is chosen by the Leader of the Opposition. If the opposition became government, then the Shadow Cabinet would normally become ministers. All other MPs in the House of Commons are known as backbenchers.

The opposition parties ask the government difficult questions at Question Time and argue with the government during debates. The Speaker of the House is the person who acts as the referee between the various sides and ensures that the proper procedures are followed.