Political System of Britain

Britain is a parliamentary democracy. Its formal title is the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The membership in the House of Lords is hereditary. The Commons is the elected House. It consists of 635 members of Parliament. The power of Queen is strongly restricted by Parliament.

The voting is by secret ballot and is from the age of 18.

Government is formed by the party which has the majority in the Commons. It is the party that wins the elections.

The Prime Minister is the leader of the Government. He chooses a number of ministers in the cabinet. The second largest party forms the official opposition with its "shadow cabinet".

There are two main parties - Conservative and Labour.

The orientation of the Conservative party is center-right, with pragmatic policies. The Labour Party is a democratic socialist party. Its aim is to bring about wealth and power in favour of working people"

The party which is called the Liberal Democrats is an influential center.

Another center party is the Socialist Democratic Party (SDP). There are also nationalist parties from Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales.