Government of the United Kingdom: Difference between revisions
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The '''government of the [[United Kingdom]]''' refers to both how the UK is [[government|governed]] and the actual politicians of the day who are responsible for major political decisionmaking. Government in the UK has developed over many centuries within the British tradition of [[parliamentary democracy]], with the ranks of the government mostly drawn from [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] in the [[House of Commons]], the UK's lower legislative chamber in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]. Other government ministers come from the unelected upper chamber, the [[House of Lords]] - or may indeed be neither MPs nor [[peer]]s at all - but it is expected that the most senior members of the government would be elected MPs. | {{subpages}} | ||
The '''government of the [[United Kingdom]]''' refers to both how the UK is [[government|governed]] and the actual politicians of the day who are responsible for major political decisionmaking. Government in the UK has developed over many centuries within the British tradition of [[parliamentary democracy]], with the ranks of the government mostly drawn from [[Member of Parliament|Members of Parliament]] in the [[House of Commons]], the UK's lower legislative chamber in [[Parliament of the United Kingdom|Parliament]]. Other government ministers come from the unelected upper chamber, the [[House of Lords]] - or may indeed be neither MPs nor [[peer]]s at all - but it is expected that the most senior members of the government would be elected MPs. A [[general election]] is held at least every five years, and the largest party in the House of Commons typically becomes the party of government, with many of its MPs serving as ministers. The leader of this majority party usually becomes [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|prime minister]]. This person forms a Cabinet, or the executive branch of government, consisting of senior ministers, and also appoints junior ministers and individuals to various other roles. Currently, the governing party is [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]], opposed by the official Opposition [[Conservative Party (UK)|Conservative Party]]. | |||
==Footnotes== | ==Footnotes== | ||
{{reflist|2}} | {{reflist|2}} | ||
Revision as of 04:58, 4 December 2008
The government of the United Kingdom refers to both how the UK is governed and the actual politicians of the day who are responsible for major political decisionmaking. Government in the UK has developed over many centuries within the British tradition of parliamentary democracy, with the ranks of the government mostly drawn from Members of Parliament in the House of Commons, the UK's lower legislative chamber in Parliament. Other government ministers come from the unelected upper chamber, the House of Lords - or may indeed be neither MPs nor peers at all - but it is expected that the most senior members of the government would be elected MPs. A general election is held at least every five years, and the largest party in the House of Commons typically becomes the party of government, with many of its MPs serving as ministers. The leader of this majority party usually becomes prime minister. This person forms a Cabinet, or the executive branch of government, consisting of senior ministers, and also appoints junior ministers and individuals to various other roles. Currently, the governing party is Labour, opposed by the official Opposition Conservative Party.