POLITICS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM

Lecturer: Nguyen Le Bao Ngoc

CONTENTS
❑The UK as “Parliamentary Democracy” and
“Constitutional Monarchy”
❑What is UK Parliament?
❑General election
WHY IS UK “A PARLIAMENTARY DEMOCRACY”?

➢Government is voted into power by the

people, to act in the interests of the
people.
➢Every adult has the right to vote - known
as 'universal suffrage'.
WHY IS UK “A CONSTITUTIONAL MONARCHY”?

➢ This is a situation where there is an

established monarch (currently Queen
Elizabeth II), who remains politically
impartial and with limited powers.
UK PARLIAMENT

UK PARLIAMENT

The House The house The

of Lords of Commons Monarch
THE HOUSE OF LORDS (AN APPOINTED BODY)
❑Members of the House of Lords are appointed by the
Queen on the advice of the prime minister.
❑Currently, there are about 800 members who are eligible to
take part in the work of the House of Lords.
❑Many members of the House of Lords have a political
background, some don’t. They represent a wide range of
professions
❑The Lords shares the task of making and shaping laws and
checking and challenging the work of the government.
THE HOUSE OF COMMONS (AN ELECTED BODY)
❑The UK public elects Members of Parliament (MPs) to
represent their interests and concerns in the House of
Commons
❑There are 650 MPs.
❑MPs consider and propose new laws, and can scrutinise
government policies by asking ministers questions about
current issues either in the Commons Chamber or in
Committees.
THE MONARCH
❑The Monarch used to run the country, but not anymore.
❑The Monarch gives “final approval” to all laws. The Queen gives
“Royal Assent”.
❑The Monarch opens Parliament every year.
❑The Monarch appoints the Prime Minister after an election.
❑The Monarch is “above politics”
❑The state of opening photo links
https://www.flickr.com/photos/uk_parliament/sets/72157668
527944485
GENERAL ELECTION
❑A general election is an opportunity for people in every part
of the UK to choose their MP.
❑This person will represent a local area (constituency) in the
House of Commons for up to five years.
❑MPs are elected using the First Past the Post system. This
means the public vote once for a candidate in their
constituency. The candidate with the most votes becomes
the MP of that constituency.
GENERAL ELECTION
❑How often?
❑=> every 5 years
❑The Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 provides
that Parliament is dissolved automatically after 5 years.
Parliament is now dissolved automatically 25 working days
before a general election.
❑The last general election was 8 June, 2017.
GENERAL ELECTION
❑The political party that wins the most seats in the
House of Commons at a general election usually
forms the new government.
❑Its leader becomes the Prime Minister.
GENERAL ELECTION

How are the winners chosen?

HOW ARE THE WINNERS CHOSEN?

❖Any party with more than half the MPs (326) in the Commons
usually forms the government. The UK's voting system means
that parties can take power with well below 50% of the national
vote.
❖If no party has a majority of MPs, the one with the most can
form a coalition - or partnership - with one or more other parties
to gain control.
❖The prime minister is not directly voted for by the public. He or
she is chosen by the winning party's MPs and appointed by the
Queen, who is duty bound to follow their advice.
GENERAL ELECTION 2017 RESULTS
General election 2017 in numbers
326Seats needed for a majority
318Conservative Party seats won
262Labour Party seats won
35Scottish National Party seats won
68.7%Voter turnout
Source: BBC general election coverage 2017
2019 GENERAL ELECTION
❑The UK is set to go to the polls on 12 December after
MPs backed Boris Johnson's call for an election
following months of Brexit deadlock.
❑By a margin of 438 votes to 20, the House of
Commons approved legislation paving the way for the
first December election since 1923.
REFERENCE
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50229318
https://www.parliament.uk/