The UK is a long-established parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch as Head of State. The democracy is sustained by free elections, freedom of speech and open and equal treatment before the law.
The principle behind British democracy is that the people elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in London at a general election, held no more than five years apart. Each MP in the House of Commons represents one of 659 constituencies, or ’seats’, in the UK and is also normally a member of one of the major political parties.
The party that wins the most seats forms the government executive which determines policy. The executive includes devolved elected assemblies in Wales and Scotland. Devolution in Northern Ireland was suspended in October 2002.
The remaining MPs group into opposition and other parties, or are independent. The result is a body that reflects a broad range of political opinions, all of which have a voice in the debates about key government issues and policies.
The House of Commons is the supreme legislative authority in the UK and has greater powers than the second parliamentary chamber, the House of Lords. The Lords is set up on entirely different principles and is also involved in the legislative process.
The Monarchy is the oldest institution in the UK system of government. It can be traced back over a thousand years and the Houses of Parliament are one of the oldest representative assemblies in the world.
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