Tesina di inglese - The British system

Tesina di inglese

The British system

Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch. At one time the monarch head real power but over the centuries this power has been transferred to parliament.

At first only rich people were represented in parliament but, in 19^th century the right to vote was extended to all men and in 1928 to women too. Britain does not have a written constitution; the division of power is based on laws and traditions.

The Queen is the head of state and a symbol of national unity but she has no control over the policies of the government. Parliament is responsible for making the laws of the country and for giving authority to the decision of the government.

The main institution of parliament is the House of Commons, which has 659 members. The members of parliament are elected by dividing Britain in 659 constituencies. In each constituency the political parties propose their candidates, and the candidate who wins most votes becomes a MP.

In the House of Commons the members of Parliament discuss the problems of the country and decide on new laws. The second institution of Britain parliament is the House of Lords with 1000 members. These members are at elected by the people: some of them are hereditary peers (members of old aristocratic families); others are life peers (former politicians or other well-know people).

The House of Lords has little real power. Its main purpose is to reconsider bills passed by the Commons. But the senior judges in the House of Lords are the final court of appeal of the British judicial system.

The prime minister chooses the members of his party to become ministers in the government. The main ministers are the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home secretary and the foreign secretary. The party with the second largest number of members of parliament is the opposition.

The government remains in power for five years.

British voting system favours two-party politics and the House of Commons is physically designed the accommodate two parties, are sitting opposite the other.

The two main political parties are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party. The Liberal Democrats usually win 15-20% of votes but have a small number of members of parliament because of the voting system.

At the moment the Prime minister is Tony Blair leader of the Labour Party.