The Political System in the United

Kingdom
 Introduction
• United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland is a constitutional monarchy
• Official head of the state is the Monarch, a
queen or a king, but her or his powers are
limited by the constitution
• The UK has an unwritten constitution
• Head of the state for years has been Queen
Elizabeth II
 The Queen
• Full name: Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the
Second, by the Grace of God of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and of her other Realms and Territories Queen,
Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the
Faith
• Only a formal and symbolic head of State
 The Constitution
• Based on custom, tradition and common law
• Drawn from a number of sources, such as:
– Parliamentary legislation
– European Union legislation
– The European Convention on Human Rights
– Decisions by courts of law
– Precedents/conventions
 The Parliament(Legislature)
• Supreme legislative body and the highest
authority in the UK - rules over ALL other
governmental institutions, for example the
Parliament can pass any laws it wishes
• Bicameral legislature:
– House of Commons
– House of Lords
• Palace of Westminster
 House of Commons
• Made up of 650 Members of Parliament (MPs)
elected at a General Election, which must be held
every five years
• Each of MPs represents a different area of Britain
• The primary function is debate and passing laws
• All the speeches are addressed to the Speaker who
is elected at the beginning of each new Parliament
to preside over the House
House of Lords(764)
• Made up of inheritable
and life noblemans and
noblewomans, two
archbishops and 24
bishops of the Church of
England
• Main function is law-
making
• All speeches are
addressed to the Lord
Chancellor
 The Scottish Parliament
• Elected in 1999
• Sits in Edinburgh
• The first time Scotland has had its own parliament
in 300 years
 The Government
• Official name: “Her Majesty’s Government”
• Formed by the party which has the majority in
Parliament and the Queen appoints its leader as the
Prime Minister
 Prime Minister
• The present Prime Minister is David Cameron, the
head of the Conservative Party elected in 2010
• „Number 10“
 Political Parties
Two big political parties:
 Labour Party
 Conservative Party
Other political parties:
• Liberal Democratic
• SNP(Scottish National Party)
• Plaid Cymru
• N. Ireland
 Conservative Party
• A centre-right political party
• Leading party since 2010
• More focused on "social" and "quality of life" issues
such as the environment, government services and
schools
• Current leader and Prime Minister: David Cameron
 Labour Party
• Formed in 1900 from socialists, Marxists, Fabian
Society, and unions
• A centre-left political party
• Stands for the working class, creation of jobs,
investment in health and education and keeping the
government active in the economy
• Opposition since 2010
• Current leader: Edward Samuel Miliband
 Other Parties
• Liberal Democratic(1988: Liberal + Social Democrats)
– Gladstonian Liberalism: free trade, home rule for Ireland,
economy where possible, social reform where necessary
• Scottish Nationalists(SNP= Scottish National Party)
– want Scotland to be a separate country that is completely
independent of Britain
• Plaid Cymru
– want Wales to be a separate country completely independent of
Britain
• Ulster Unionist
– oldest and traditionally most successful unionist party in
Northern Ireland
 Important terms and unknown words
• Constitution – ustav •Common law – običajno
• Realm – područje, oblast, pravo
carstvo •Legislation –
• Prime Minister – premijer zakonodavstvo, zakon,
propisi
• Summoning and dissolving
•Legislature – zakonodavno
Parliament – sazivanje i
tijelo, sabor
raspuštanje sabora
•Election – izbor
• Speech – govor •Bicameral parliament –
• Custom – običaj dvodomni parlament
• Political party – politička •Coat of Arms – grb
stranka
THE END
• Political system in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
– Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy – official head of the State is the monarch(a king or a queen) but his or her powers
are limited by the constitution. For years it has been Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
• The queen
– Elizabeth II
– A formal and symbolic head of State
– The Queen's speech
• The Constitution
– Unwritten
– Based on custom, tradition and common law
• The Parliament
– Supreme legislative body and the highest authority in the UK
– Bicameral – consists of House of Commons and House of Lords
– Oldest in the world(13.st.)
– Palace of Westminster
• House of Commons
– 650 members elected at a General Election
– Debate and passing laws
• House of Lords
– Made up of inheritable and life noblemans and noblewomans, two archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England
– Law-making
• The Government
– Formed by the party with majority in the Parliament
– Prime Minister – leader of leading party in Parliament and the head of the Government
– Current Prime Minister: David Cameron
– „Number 10“ – Prime Minister's residence
– Royal Coat of Arms