British_Politics

The British democracy is representative, meaning that the people delegate power to politicians, rather than deciding in every matter by themselves.

1 x The British Political system recipe: Electoral system Representation? MPs Prime Minister House of Commons House of Lords

The Parliament consists of 646 seats - one from each constituency - and this is where it becomes problematic. This means that large amounts of votes are wasted, because there can only be one winner. So, if there are two candidates, and if one scores 50,1% of the votes, he has won and his opponent gets nothing.

This happens to the Liberal Democrats, as the system ensures that they get fewer seats than they would in a proportional system.

Those that do get seats, become MPs. This stands for Member of Parliament, and they are elected for five years. The MPs form the cabinet, and the cabinet decides when the next election will be. The leader of the cabinet is the Prime Minister, and he (once she) chooses the other ministers. The British Parliament is divided into two chambers: The House of Lords. The House of Commons

The House of Commons is more important today. They usually introduce legislation and can overthrow the cabinet. The members are elected from the constituencies, and have duties both in Parliament and in their constituency.

People are appointed to the House of Lords, or inherit the seats (today uncommon). Margaret Thatcher is currently a member of the House of Lords, being appointed after her period as Prime Minister. The Lords can make suggestions for legislation, although this rarely happens, and to a small extent stop decisions made by the House of Commons. There are now 738 members of the House of Lords.