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Government
British Culture
What is a Parliament?
Parliament is where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the United Kingdom. It is not the same as the Government (which runs the country). One of the jobs
Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the
country properly.
What is the job of Parliament?
The main functions of Parliament are: to pass laws
to provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of
governmentto scrutinise government policy and
administration, including proposals for expenditure
to debate the major issues of the dayParliament is made up of three parts:
What is the job of Parliament?
The House of Lords is made up of people who have
inherited family titles and those who have been given
titles because of their outstanding work in one field
or another.
The House Of The Lords
What is the job of Parliament?
The House of Commons has 659 members who have been elected by local residents to
represent an area of the country in Parliament. The members are called MPs
(Members of Parliament).
The House Of Commons
What is the job of Parliament?
The House of Lords and the House of Commons meet in the Houses of Parliament, located next to the River
Thames in London.
The House Of Parliament
What is the difference between Parliament and the Government?
The Parliament and Government mean two different things.
Parliament represents the
peopleGovernment runs the country
and is also elected by the people.
The Leader
The leader of the Government is the Prime Minister.
The new Prime Minister chooses a team of people from Parliament who
will run the country with him. There are normally about 100 people
in a UK government.The Government is also different
from the rest of the party who won the election.
Who is the British Prime Minister?
At present, the Prime Minister is David Cameron, who is the leader of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg,
leader of the Liberal Democrats is his deputy.
The Prime Minister is the head of the UK Government
The Prime Minister heads the Government and appoints Ministers,
who head individual Government departments.
The Queens Role
Although the Queen is no longer responsible for
governing the country, she carries out a great many
important tasks on behalf of the nation.
See also our Calendar of Royal Duties
Head of State
As Head of State, the Queen goes on official State visits
abroad. She also invites other world leaders to come to the United Kingdom. During their
visit, Heads of State usually stay at Buckingham Palace, or
sometimes at Windsor Castle or Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.
Head of Armed Forces
The Queen is also the Head of the Armed Forces. She is the only person who can declare when the country is at war
and when war is over, although she must take advice
from her government first.