THE SYSTEM OF GOVERNMENT IN BRIEF

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, and this institution dates back in Britain to the Saxon king Egbert. Its Constitution is an unwritten constitution, not being contained in a single legal document. It is based on statutes and important documents (such as the Magna Carta, signed by King John (1215), the Bill of Rights, signed after James II lost his throne in 1689 by his daughter Mary II and her husband William III), decisions taken by courts of law on constitutional matters, other customs and conventions, and can be modified by a simple Act of Parliament.

Since the age of absolute monarchy there has been a gradual decline in the Sovereign's power and, while formally still the head of the executive and the judiciary, commander-in-chief of all the armed forces, and temporal governor of the Church of England, nowadays monarchs reign, but not rule. Nevertheless, besides carrying out important ceremonial duties, the monarch is considered by many to act as a 'unifying force' in both the Constitution and the nation, lying outside the political debate.

Laws are made, put into effect, and interpreted by different bodies on the principle of the separation of powers: the Legislature (the two Houses of Parliament), the Executive (the Government, or the cabinet), and the Judiciary.

Parliament is the supreme legislative authority and consists of three separate elements: the Sovereign, the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons.

The House of Commons is a popular assembly elected by universal suffrage. The main function of the House of Commons is to legislate, but the strong party system in Britain has meant that the initiative in government lies not with Parliament but with the Government (most Bills are introduced by the Government, although they may be introduced by individual MPs).

The leader of the party which obtains a majority of seats in a general election is named Prime Minister. The position of Prime minister dates back to when George I left the running of the country's affairs to his ministers. The group of ministers invited by the Prime minister is known as the Cabinet (the main opposition party forms a Shadow Cabinet with Shadow Ministers).

Leaders of the Government and opposition sit on the front benches of the Commons, with their supporters (back-benchers) behind them. The House is presided by the Speaker.

The House of Lords, before its reforming started in the early 2000s, had been made up of the Lord Spiritual and the Lords Temporal, the former consisting of the representatives of the Church of England, the latter comprising hereditary and life peers (life peers, named by the Sovereign on the advice of the Prime Minister, do not pass on their title when they die). On November 11, 1999 the House of Lords Act removed the right of hereditary peers to be members of the chamber. In April 2001 the first new Lords were selected, chosen by committee. The government, reforming the House of Lords, has appointed so called people's peers, who are not chosen for their affiliation to any political party, but are, in theory, appointed on merit, by an independent committee.

The House of Lords is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. He or she is responsible for the administration of justice and is also an automatic member of the cabinet.

The removal of the hereditary principle means that the second chamber becomes more broadly representative of modern Britain. Still, the principle that the House of Commons will remain the pre-eminent chamber, is retained. It will retain the right to the final decision on whether any legislation can become law and it will retain the sole right to decide legislation on taxation.

(Abridged from Письменная О.А. Окна в англоязычный мир (история, география, социальные аспекты, языковая ситуация). - М, 2004. С.7-9, 11)

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