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United Kingdom Page |
Welcome to ElectionInfo.com's pages on United Kingdom
About Government in United Kingdom
Individual society articles are available for the main components of the United Kingdom: England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
About Government in England
England is the largest division of the UK, which has no written constitution. The constitutional arrangements are the result of acts of Parliament, common law, and precedent. Parliament’s first bid for supremacy came in the 1642-1649 civil war and the subsequent execution of King Charles I. Oliver Cromwell then ruled as a dictator, but the monarchy was re-established upon his death. Uncontested parliamentary sovereignty dates from the Glorious Revolution of 1688, when the Catholic James II was ousted and the Protestant William and Mary were invited by Parliament to become joint monarchs. The monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is head of state, but elected officials govern through Parliament.
The House of Commons is the main legislative body, with 651 members. The party with the most members of Parliament (MPs) forms the government, and that party’s leader becomes the prime minister (officially appointed by the Queen). The prime minister and Cabinet (senior ministers) govern as the executive body. The voting age is 18, and elections are held at least every five years. In practice, they are held more often, because they can be called by the prime minister at any time.
Parliament’s upper chamber is the House of Lords, which has more than 1,200 members. About two-thirds are hereditary members, and the remaining third are members appointed for life, including those who sit at the UK’s highest court of appeal. The chamber can vote against legislation, which in practice simply delays it. Because the House of Lords is not an elected body, it cannot completely block legislation.
About Government in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland has 17 seats in the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, and its government is that of the UK. The majority of Northern Ireland's members of Parliament are members of the two Unionist parties. Before direct rule from London began in 1972, Northern Ireland had its own parliament at Stormont, which governed local affairs. The voting age is 18.
About Government in Scotland
Scotland elects 72 members to the United Kingdom’s House of Commons, which sits in London. The structure of local government was reorganized in 1996. Councils managing 9 large regions and 53 subsidiary districts were abolished and replaced by a single tier of 26 unitary authorities responsible for all aspects of local government except for water supply and sewage, which are run by three new public boards. Community councils represent the views of people living in more than 1,000 towns and villages, although these councils do not receive government funding from taxation. The voting age is 18.
Scotland's judiciary is independent and includes two separate supreme courts for civil and criminal cases as well as sheriffs' courts and children's courts.
About Government in Wales
Wales has 38 seats in the United Kingdom's House of Commons. In the post-war period, most Welsh seats in parliament have been held by members of the Labour party because this party was seen as the natural choice of workers in the steel and coal industries that used to drive the Welsh economy. Since 1950, support for the Welsh nationalist party (Plaid Cymru) has grown, amid demands for greater autonomy. A majority of people voted in a 1979 referendum against setting up a Welsh parliament; many opposed the idea because the assembly would have had only limited powers. Since then, executive power in a wide range of policy areas have been transferred from the administrative centre in London to the Secretary of State for Wales, who is a member of the British cabinet. Local government is managed by 22 local government authorities. The voting age is 18. The Labour Party, the majority party in the House of Commons since May 1997, has promised a referendum on the creation of an elected assembly to be held in September.
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