The United Kingdom

Power of the Monarchy The current reigning Monarch of Great Britain is Queen Elizabeth II Her powers are mostly ceremonial. She holds no real decision making power. She doesn’t rule the country. Today her chief duties are receiving heads of state, attending ceremonial functions, raising awareness about issues affecting the world and signing bills into law- An English Monarch has not refused to sign a bill into law since 1708

The United Kingdom The United Kingdom is: England Scotland Wales Northern Ireland

The Queen’s speech The most important task given to the Queen is to read from a speech prepared by the ruling party in Parliament She must show no emotion when reading this speech so that she can not be accused of favoring any one party

System of government Constitutional Monarchy without a written Constitution Great Britain is lead by their Parliament which is a legislative body elected by the people of the UK

Parliament Bicameral- House of Commons- Made up of Members of Parliament elected from districts around the UK (like our House of Representatives) House of Lords- Made up of hereditary members of the church of England, nobles, and other people noted for their achievements in society

House of Lords The House of lords holds no real power They may delay a bill from being passed but all the House of Commons has to do to make it law is pass it a second time

The Prime Minister and politics Whatever party has the most seats in the house of commons will elect their leader as Prime Minster. The Queen will formally seat the Prime Minster Labour- liberal party under the leadership of Ed Miliband. Tories- The Conservative party of the UK. Has the most seats in Parliament. In coalition government with Liberal Democrats. Prime Minister David Cameron leads. Liberal Democrats- even more liberal political party than Labour. Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg leads

Elections and courts Elections Must be called once every five years in the UK There is no set time for having elections Courts The courts do not have the power of Judicial review, therefore even if a law violates Britain’s unwritten Constitution, the court cannot overrule Parliament

Unwritten Constitution -partly written from a collection of laws and documents such as the petition of right and the Magna carta The rest is statutes, common law and tradition This makes for a flexible society. This can be both good and bad however

Quiz 1.Who is the current Prime Minister of Great Britain? 2. How often are elections held in Great Britain? 3. Who is the Current Monarch in Great Britain? 4. What is the Queen’s speech? Why can the Queen show no emotion? 5. Why is not having a written Constitution a good idea? 6. Why is it a bad idea?