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.