![UK Political System](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e3/UK_Political_System.png)
The
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
is a
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...
with
devolution that is governed within the framework of a
parliamentary democracy
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...
under a
constitutional monarchy
A constitutional monarchy, parliamentary monarchy, or democratic monarchy is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in decision making. Constitutional monarchies dif ...
in which the
monarch
A monarch is a head of stateWebster's II New College DictionarMonarch Houghton Mifflin. Boston. 2001. p. 707. for life or until abdication, and therefore the head of state of a monarchy. A monarch may exercise the highest authority and power i ...
, currently
Charles III, King of the United Kingdom
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person to a ...
, is the
head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
while the
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As modern ...
,
Rishi Sunak, is the
head of government
The head of government is the highest or the second-highest official in the executive branch of a sovereign state, a federated state, or a self-governing colony, autonomous region, or other government who often presides over a cabinet, ...
.
Executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems b ...
is exercised by the
British government, on behalf of and by the consent of the monarch, and the devolved governments of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
.
Legislative power
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government.
Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known a ...
is vested in the two chambers of the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
, the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
and the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
, as well as in the
Scottish,
Northern Irish
Northern Irish people is a demonym for all people born in Northern Ireland or people who are entitled to reside in Northern Ireland without any restriction on their period of residence. Most Northern Irish people either identify as Northern ...
and
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
parliaments.
The British political system is a
two party system
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...
. Since the 1920s, the
two dominant parties have been the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
and the
Labour Party. Before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
was the other major political party, along with the Conservatives. While
coalition and
minority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
electoral system used for
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a
third party
Third party may refer to:
Business
* Third-party source, a supplier company not owned by the buyer or seller
* Third-party beneficiary, a person who could sue on a contract, despite not being an active party
* Third-party insurance, such as a V ...
, such as the
Liberal Democrats, to deliver a working majority in Parliament. A
Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government held office from 2010 until 2015, the first coalition since 1945.
The coalition ended following
parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015, in which the Conservative Party won an outright majority of seats, 330 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, while their coalition partners lost all but eight seats.
With the
partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...
,
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
received home rule in 1920, though
civil unrest
Civil disorder, also known as civil disturbance, civil unrest, or social unrest is a situation arising from a mass act of civil disobedience (such as a demonstration, riot, strike, or unlawful assembly) in which law enforcement has difficulty ...
meant direct rule was restored in 1972. Support for nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s, though only in the 1990s did devolution happen. Today,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and executive, with devolution in Northern Ireland being conditional on participation in
certain all-Ireland institutions. The British government remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the
government of the Republic of Ireland
The Government of Ireland ( ga, Rialtas na hÉireann) is the cabinet that exercises executive authority in Ireland.
The Constitution of Ireland vests executive authority in a government which is headed by the , the head of government. The governm ...
. Devolution of executive and legislative powers may have contributed to increased support for
independence in the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. The principal
Scottish pro-independence party, the
Scottish National Party, became a
minority government in 2007 and then went on to win an overall majority of
MSPs
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The ad ...
at the
2011 Scottish parliament elections
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional ...
and forms the current
Scottish Government administration. In a
2014 referendum on independence 44.7% of voters voted for independence versus 55.3% against. In Northern Ireland,
Irish nationalist
Irish nationalism is a nationalist political movement which, in its broadest sense, asserts that the people of Ireland should govern Ireland as a sovereign state. Since the mid-19th century, Irish nationalism has largely taken the form of c ...
parties such as
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
advocate
Irish reunification
United Ireland, also referred to as Irish reunification, is the proposition that all of Ireland should be a single sovereign state. At present, the island is divided politically; the sovereign Republic of Ireland has jurisdiction over the maj ...
. In Wales
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
support
Welsh independence
Welsh independence ( cy, Annibyniaeth i Gymru) is the political movement advocating for Wales to become a sovereign state, independent from the United Kingdom.
Wales was conquered during the 13th century by Edward I of England following the ki ...
.
The
constitution of the United Kingdom
The constitution of the United Kingdom or British constitution comprises the written and unwritten arrangements that establish the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland as a political body. Unlike in most countries, no attemp ...
is
uncodified
In law, codification is the process of collecting and restating the law of a jurisdiction in certain areas, usually by subject, forming a legal code, i.e. a codex (book) of law.
Codification is one of the Civil law (legal system)#Codification, d ...
, being made up of
constitutional conventions,
statutes and other elements. This system of government, known as the
Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
. The United Kingdom is also responsible for several dependencies, which fall into two categories: the
Crown Dependencies, in the immediate vicinity of the UK, are strictly-speaking subject to the Crown (ie, the Monarch) but not part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom (though ''de facto'' British territory), and
British Overseas Territories, as British colonies were re-designated in 1983, which are part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom, in most of which aspects of internal governance have been delegated to local governments, with each territory having its own First Minister, though the title used may differ, such as in the case of the Chief Minister of Gibraltar, though they remain subject to the Parliament of the United Kingdom (when ''United Kingdom'' is used to refer only to that part of the British Realm, or sovereign British territory, which is governed directly by the British Government, and not via local subsidiary governments, ''United Kingdom'' logically refers to a local government area, though the national government performs the role of local government within that area).
History
*
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
agreed by commissioners for each parliament on 22 July 1706.
*
Acts of Union 1707, passed by both the Parliament of England and the
Parliament of Scotland
The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...
to form the
Kingdom of Great Britain
The Kingdom of Great Britain (officially Great Britain) was a Sovereign state, sovereign country in Western Europe from 1 May 1707 to the end of 31 December 1800. The state was created by the 1706 Treaty of Union and ratified by the Acts of ...
.
*
Act of Union 1800, passed by both the
Parliament of Great Britain and the
Parliament of Ireland
The Parliament of Ireland ( ga, Parlaimint na hÉireann) was the legislature of the Lordship of Ireland, and later the Kingdom of Ireland, from 1297 until 1800. It was modelled on the Parliament of England and from 1537 comprised two cham ...
to form the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was a sovereign state in the British Isles that existed between 1801 and 1922, when it included all of Ireland. It was established by the Acts of Union 1800, which merged the Kingdom of Grea ...
.
*
Government of Ireland Act 1920
The Government of Ireland Act 1920 (10 & 11 Geo. 5 c. 67) was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Act's long title was "An Act to provide for the better government of Ireland"; it is also known as the Fourth Home Rule Bill ...
, passed by the
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprema ...
and created the
partition of Ireland
The partition of Ireland ( ga, críochdheighilt na hÉireann) was the process by which the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland divided Ireland into two self-governing polities: Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland. ...
. The republican southern part of Ireland became
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
(also known as Éire), leaving
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
part of the union.
*
The Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities (EC) took effect on 1 January 1973.
*
The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union (EU) on 31 January 2020.
The Crown
The
British monarch, currently
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
, is the
Head of state
A head of state (or chief of state) is the public persona who officially embodies a state Foakes, pp. 110–11 " he head of statebeing an embodiment of the State itself or representatitve of its international persona." in its unity and l ...
of the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
. Though he takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate executive power over government lies. These powers are known as
royal prerogative
The royal prerogative is a body of customary authority, privilege and immunity, recognized in common law and, sometimes, in civil law jurisdictions possessing a monarchy, as belonging to the sovereign and which have become widely vested in th ...
and can be used for a vast amount of things, such as the issue or withdrawal of passports, to the dismissal of the
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
or even the declaration of war. The powers are delegated from the monarch personally, in the name of the Crown, and can be handed to various ministers, or other officers of the Crown, and can purposely bypass the consent of Parliament.
The head of
His Majesty's Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
, the prime minister, also has weekly meetings with the sovereign, where he may express his feelings, warn, or advise the prime minister in the government's work.
According to the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch has the following powers:
Domestic powers
* The power to dismiss and appoint a prime minister
* The power to dismiss and appoint other ministers
* The power to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament
* The power to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (making them valid and law)
* The power to commission officers in the Armed Forces
* The power to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom
* The power to appoint members to the
King's Counsel
* The power to issue and withdraw passports
* The power to grant
prerogative of mercy (though capital punishment is abolished, this power is still used to change sentences)
* The power to grant honours
* The power to create corporations via
Royal charter
A royal charter is a formal grant issued by a monarch under royal prerogative as letters patent. Historically, they have been used to promulgate public laws, the most famous example being the English Magna Carta (great charter) of 1215, but s ...
Foreign powers
* The power to ratify and make treaties
* The power to declare war and peace
* The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas
* The power to recognise states
* The power to credit and receive diplomats
Executive
Executive power
The Executive, also referred as the Executive branch or Executive power, is the term commonly used to describe that part of government which enforces the law, and has overall responsibility for the governance of a state.
In political systems b ...
in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign, King
Charles III
Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. He was the longest-serving heir apparent and Prince of Wales and, at age 73, became the oldest person t ...
, via
His Majesty's Government
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal Arms
, date_est ...
and the devolved national authorities - the
Scottish Government, the
Welsh Government
, image =
, caption =
, date_established =
, country = Wales
, address =
, leader_title = First Minister ()
, appointed = First Minister approved by the Senedd, ceremonially appointed ...
and the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
.
His Majesty's Government
The monarch appoints a
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
as the head of
His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom
ga, Rialtas a Shoilse gd, Riaghaltas a Mhòrachd
, image = HM Government logo.svg
, image_size = 220px
, image2 = Royal Coat of Arms of the United Kingdom (HM Government).svg
, image_size2 = 180px
, caption = Royal coat of arms of t ...
, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House. In practice, this means that the leader of the
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has an absolute majority, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister then selects the other
Ministers
Minister may refer to:
* Minister (Christianity), a Christian cleric
** Minister (Catholic Church)
* Minister (government), a member of government who heads a ministry (government department)
** Minister without portfolio, a member of governme ...
which make up the Government and act as political heads of the various
Government Departments
Ministry or department (also less commonly used secretariat, office, or directorate) are designations used by first-level executive bodies in the machinery of governments that manage a specific sector of public administration." Энцикло ...
. About twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the government. In accordance with
constitutional convention, all ministers within the government are either
Members of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members of ...
or
peers in the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
.
As in some other
parliamentary system
A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of th ...
s of government (especially those based upon the
Westminster system), the executive (called "the government") is drawn from and is answerable to Parliament - a successful
vote of no confidence
A motion of no confidence, also variously called a vote of no confidence, no-confidence motion, motion of confidence, or vote of confidence, is a statement or vote about whether a person in a position of responsibility like in government or mana ...
will force the government either to resign or to seek a
parliamentary dissolution and a
general election. In practice, members of parliament of all major parties are strictly controlled by
whips
A whip is a tool or weapon designed to strike humans or other animals to exert control through pain compliance or fear of pain. They can also be used without inflicting pain, for audiovisual cues, such as in equestrianism. They are generally ...
who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a large majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation.
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
The Prime Minister, currently Rishi Sunak, is the most senior minister in the Cabinet. Their tenure begins when they are appointed by the monarch. The Prime Minister is responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers (and all other positions in His Majesty's government), and formulating government policy. The Prime Minister being the ''de facto'' leader of the UK, exercises executive functions that are nominally vested in the sovereign (by way of the Royal Prerogatives). Historically, the British monarch was the sole source of executive powers in the government. However, following the lead of the Hanoverian monarchs, an arrangement of a "Prime Minister" chairing and leading the Cabinet began to emerge. Over time, this arrangement became the effective executive branch of government, as it assumed the day-to-day functioning of the British government away from the sovereign.
Theoretically, the Prime Minister is ''
primus inter pares'' (i.e., Latin for "first among equals") among their Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, they are theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet ministers. The Cabinet, along with the PM, consists of Secretaries of State from the various government departments, the
Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain
The lord chancellor, formally the lord high chancellor of Great Britain, is the highest-ranking traditional minister among the Great Officers of State in Scotland and England in the United Kingdom, nominally outranking the prime minister. The ...
, the
Lord Privy Seal, the
Lord President of the Council, the
President of the Board of Trade, the
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster
The chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster is a ministerial office in the Government of the United Kingdom. The position is the second highest ranking minister in the Cabinet Office, immediately after the Prime Minister, and senior to the Minist ...
and
Ministers without portfolio
A minister without portfolio is either a government minister with no specific responsibilities or a minister who does not head a particular ministry. The sinecure is particularly common in countries ruled by coalition governments and a cabinet ...
. Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session.
Government departments and the Civil Service
The Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of
ministries known mainly, though not exclusively as departments, e.g.,
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
. These are politically led by a
Government Minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
who is often a
Secretary of State and member of the
Cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
. The minister may also be supported by a number of junior ministers. In practice, several government departments and ministers have responsibilities that cover England alone, with devolved bodies having responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, (for example - the
Department of Health
A health department or health ministry is a part of government which focuses on issues related to the general health of the citizenry. Subnational entities, such as states, counties and cities, often also operate a health department of their ow ...
), or responsibilities that mainly focus on England (such as the
Department for Education
The Department for Education (DfE) is a department of His Majesty's Government responsible for child protection, child services, education (compulsory, further and higher education), apprenticeships and wider skills in England.
A Department ...
).
Implementation of the Minister's decisions is carried out by a permanent politically neutral
organisation
An organization or organisation (Commonwealth English; see spelling differences), is an entity—such as a company, an institution, or an association—comprising one or more people and having a particular purpose.
The word is derived from ...
known as the
Civil Service. Its constitutional role is to support the Government of the day regardless of which political party is in power. Unlike some other democracies, senior civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. Administrative management of the Department is led by a head civil servant known in most Departments as a
Permanent Secretary. The majority of the civil service staff in fact work in
executive agencies
An executive agency is a part of a government department that is treated as managerially and budgetarily separate, to carry out some part of the executive functions of the United Kingdom government, Scottish Government, Welsh Government or Nor ...
, which are separate operational organisations reporting to Departments of State.
"Whitehall" is often used as a
metonym for the central core of the Civil Service. This is because most Government Departments have headquarters in and around the former Royal Palace
Whitehall
Whitehall is a road and area in the City of Westminster, Central London. The road forms the first part of the A3212 road from Trafalgar Square to Chelsea. It is the main thoroughfare running south from Trafalgar Square towards Parliament Sq ...
.
Devolved national administrations
Scottish Government
The Scottish Government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly
reserved
Reserved is a Polish apparel retailer headquartered in Gdańsk, Pomerania, Poland. It was founded in 1999 and remains the largest company of the LPP group, which has more than 1,700 retail stores located in over 20 countries and also owns such ...
to the United Kingdom Parliament at
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
, by the
Scotland Act; including
NHS Scotland
NHS Scotland, sometimes styled NHSScotland, is the publicly funded healthcare system in Scotland and one of the four systems that make up the National Health Service in the United Kingdom. It operates 14 territorial NHS boards across Scotland, ...
,
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
,
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
, rural affairs, and
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
. It manages an annual budget of more than
£25 billion. The government is led by the
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
, assisted by various Ministers with individual
portfolio
Portfolio may refer to:
Objects
* Portfolio (briefcase), a type of briefcase
Collections
* Portfolio (finance), a collection of assets held by an institution or a private individual
* Artist's portfolio, a sample of an artist's work or a c ...
s and remits. The
Scottish Parliament nominates a Member to be appointed as First Minister by the
King
King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king.
*In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...
. The First Minister then appoints their Ministers (now known as Cabinet Secretaries) and junior Ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament. The First Minister, the Ministers (but not
junior ministers), the
Lord Advocate
His Majesty's Advocate, known as the Lord Advocate ( gd, Morair Tagraidh, sco, Laird Advocat), is the chief legal officer of the Scottish Government and the Crown in Scotland for both civil and criminal matters that fall within the devolved p ...
and
Solicitor General are the Members of the 'Scottish Executive', as set out in the
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
. They are collectively known as "the Scottish Ministers".
Welsh Government
The Welsh Government and
Senedd have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland, although following the passing of the
Government of Wales Act 2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...
and the
2011 Welsh devolution referendum
The Referendum on the law-making powers of the National Assembly for Wales was a non-binding referendum held in Wales on 3 March 2011 on whether the National Assembly for Wales should have full law-making powers in the twenty subject areas where ...
, the Senedd can now legislate in some areas through an
Act of Senedd Cymru
An Act of Senedd Cymru ( cy, Deddf gan Senedd Cymru), or informally an Act of the Senedd, is primary legislation that can be made by the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ) under part 4 of the Government of Wales Act 2006 (as amended by the Wales A ...
. The current
First Minister of Wales is
Mark Drakeford of
Welsh Labour
Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...
.
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive and
Assembly
Assembly may refer to:
Organisations and meetings
* Deliberative assembly, a gathering of members who use parliamentary procedure for making decisions
* General assembly, an official meeting of the members of an organization or of their representa ...
have powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a
diarchy
Diarchy (from ancient Greek, Greek , ''di-'', "double", and , ''-arkhía'', "ruled"),Occasionally misspelled ''dyarchy'', as in the ''Encyclopaedia Britannica'' article on the colonial British institution duarchy, or duumvirate (from Latin ', ...
, most recently
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
Paul Givan
Paul Jonathan Givan (born 12 October 1981) is a Unionist politician from Northern Ireland representing the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP). Givan served as First Minister of Northern Ireland from June 2021 to February 2022, the youngest person ...
(
Democratic Unionist Party) and
deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill
Michelle may refer to:
People
*Michelle (name), a given name and surname, the feminine form of Michael
* Michelle Courtens, Dutch singer, performing as "Michelle"
* Michelle (German singer)
* Michelle (Scottish singer) (born 1980), Scottish wi ...
(
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
).
Legislatures
The
British Parliament
The Parliament of the United Kingdom is the supreme legislative body of the United Kingdom, the Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories. It meets at the Palace of Westminster, London. It alone possesses legislative suprem ...
is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there is
parliamentary sovereignty
Parliamentary sovereignty, also called parliamentary supremacy or legislative supremacy, is a concept in the constitutional law of some parliamentary democracies. It holds that the legislative body has absolute sovereignty and is supreme over all ...
), and government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is
bicameral, consisting of the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
and the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
. There are also devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments and a devolved assembly in Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority.
British Parliament
House of Commons
![Palace of Westminster - Clock Tower and New Palace Yard from the west - 240404](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2a/Palace_of_Westminster_-_Clock_Tower_and_New_Palace_Yard_from_the_west_-_240404.jpg)
The
Countries of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK), since 1922, comprises three constituent countries and a region: England, Scotland, and Wales (which collectively make up the region of Great Britain), as well as Northern Ireland, ...
are divided into parliamentary
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
of broadly equal population by the four
Boundary Commissions. Each constituency elects a
Member of Parliament
A member of parliament (MP) is the representative in parliament of the people who live in their electoral district. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, this term refers only to members of the lower house since upper house members o ...
(MP) to the House of Commons at general elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of the
2010 general election there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's
general election). At the
2017 general election, of the 650 MPs, all but one -
Sylvia Hermon - were elected as representatives of a
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
. However, as of the
2019 general election, there are currently 11 independent MPs, who have either chosen to leave their political party or have had the whip withdrawn.
In modern times, all prime ministers and
leaders of the opposition have been drawn from the Commons, not the Lords.
Alec Douglas-Home resigned from his peerages days after becoming prime minister in 1963, and the last prime minister before him from the Lords left in 1902 (the
Marquess of Salisbury
Marquess of Salisbury is a title in the Peerage of Great Britain. It was created in 1789 for the 7th Earl of Salisbury. Most of the holders of the title have been prominent in British political life over the last two centuries, particularly th ...
).
One party usually has a majority in parliament, because of the use of the
First Past the Post electoral system
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast their ...
, which has been conducive in creating the current
two party system
A two-party system is a political party system in which two major political parties consistently dominate the political landscape. At any point in time, one of the two parties typically holds a majority in the legislature and is usually referr ...
. The monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can ''survive'' in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a government' ''with a parliamentary minority'' which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a
coalition government or 'confidence and supply' arrangement. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to
Bonar Law, and when he declined, to
David Lloyd George
David Lloyd George, 1st Earl Lloyd-George of Dwyfor, (17 January 1863 – 26 March 1945) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1916 to 1922. He was a Liberal Party politician from Wales, known for leading the United Kingdom during ...
and in 1940 to
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from ...
. A government is not formed by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on the
Speech from the Throne (the legislative programme proposed by the new government).
House of Lords
The House of Lords was previously a largely
hereditary aristocratic
Aristocracy (, ) is a form of government that places strength in the hands of a small, privileged ruling class, the aristocrats. The term derives from the el, αριστοκρατία (), meaning 'rule of the best'.
At the time of the word' ...
chamber, although including
life peers, and
Lords Spiritual. It is currently midway through extensive reforms, the most recent of these being enacted in the
House of Lords Act 1999
The House of Lords Act 1999 (c. 34) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the House of Lords, one of the chambers of Parliament. The Act was given Royal Assent on 11 November 1999. For centuries, the House of Lords ...
. The house consists of two very different types of member, the
Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house) and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the
established Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...
and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees (
Canterbury
Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour.
The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of ...
,
York
York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...
,
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
Winchester and
Durham Durham most commonly refers to:
*Durham, England, a cathedral city and the county town of County Durham
*County Durham, an English county
* Durham County, North Carolina, a county in North Carolina, United States
*Durham, North Carolina, a city in N ...
), and the 21 next-most senior bishops. Secular organisations such as
Humanists UK oppose bishops sitting in the House of Lords. The movement to end the Church of England's status as the official state religion of the United Kingdom is known as
disestablishmentarianism
Disestablishmentarianism is a movement to end the Church of England's status as an official church of the United Kingdom.
Anglican disestablishment Irish church
The campaign to disestablish the Anglican Church of Ireland began in the 18th centur ...
. Alternatives include a
secular state in which the state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion.
The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a
suspensive veto
A veto is a legal power to unilaterally stop an official action. In the most typical case, a president or monarch vetoes a bill to stop it from becoming law. In many countries, veto powers are established in the country's constitution. Veto pow ...
. This allows it to delay legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by convention and by the operation of the
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949: the Lords may not veto the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see
Salisbury convention
The Salisbury Convention (officially called the Salisbury Doctrine, the Salisbury-Addison Convention or the Salisbury/Addison Convention) is a constitutional convention (political custom), constitutional convention in the United Kingdom under whic ...
). Persistent use of the veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the
Parliament Act 1911
The Parliament Act 1911 (1 & 2 Geo. 5 c. 13) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It is constitutionally important and partly governs the relationship between the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the two Houses of Parlia ...
. Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full veto in acts which would extend the life of parliament beyond the 5-year term limit introduced by the Parliament Act 1911.
The
Constitutional Reform Act 2005
The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (c 4) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, relevant to UK constitutional law. It provides for a Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to take over the previous appellate jurisdiction of the Law L ...
outlined plans for a
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom to replace the role of the Law Lords.
The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom replaced the House of Lords as the
final court of appeal on civil cases within the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009.
Devolved national legislatures
Though the British parliament remains the sovereign parliament,
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
and
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
have devolved parliaments and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
has an assembly. Each can have its powers broadened, narrowed or changed by an act of the UK Parliament. Both the
Scottish Parliament and the Welsh
Senedd gained legislative power over some forms of taxation between 2012 and 2016. Their power over economic issues is significantly constrained by an act of parliament passed in 2020.
The UK is a
unitary state
A unitary state is a sovereign state governed as a single entity in which the central government is the supreme authority. The central government may create (or abolish) administrative divisions (sub-national units). Such units exercise only ...
with a devolved system of government. This contrasts with a
federal
Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to:
Politics
General
*Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies
*Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...
system, in which sub-parliaments or state parliaments and assemblies have a clearly defined constitutional ''right'' to exist and a ''right'' to exercise certain constitutionally guaranteed and defined functions and cannot be unilaterally abolished by acts of the central parliament.
All three devolved institutions are elected by
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
: the
Additional Member System is used in Scotland and Wales, and
Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...
is used in Northern Ireland.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, therefore, is the only country in the UK not to have
its own devolved parliament. However, senior politicians of all main parties have voiced concerns in regard to the
West Lothian Question
The West Lothian question, also known as the English question, is a political issue in the United Kingdom. It concerns the question of whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who sit in the House of Commons should be able to vote ...
, which is raised where certain policies for England are set by MPs from all four constituent nations whereas similar policies for Scotland or Wales might be decided in the devolved assemblies by legislators from those countries alone. Alternative proposals for English
regional
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
government have stalled, following a poorly received referendum on devolved government for the
North East of England
North East England is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. The region has three current administrative levels below the region level in the region; combined authority, unitary authority ...
, which had hitherto been considered the region most in favour of the idea, with the exception of
Cornwall
Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...
, where there is widespread support for a
Cornish Assembly
A Cornish Assembly ( kw, Senedh Kernow) is a proposed devolved law-making assembly for Cornwall along the lines of the Scottish Parliament, the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and the Northern Ireland Assembly in the United Kingdom.
The campaign fo ...
, including all five Cornish MPs. England is therefore governed according to the balance of parties across the whole of the United Kingdom.
The government has no plans to establish an English parliament or assembly although several pressure groups are calling for one. One of their main arguments is that MPs (and thus voters) from different parts of the UK have inconsistent powers. Currently an MP from Scotland can vote on legislation which affects only England but MPs from England (or indeed Scotland) cannot vote on matters devolved to the Scottish parliament. Indeed, the former Prime Minister
Gordon Brown
James Gordon Brown (born 20 February 1951) is a British former politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party from 2007 to 2010. He previously served as Chancellor of the Exchequer in Tony B ...
, who was an MP for a Scottish constituency until the 2015 general election, introduced some laws that only affect England and not his own constituency. This anomaly is known as the
West Lothian question
The West Lothian question, also known as the English question, is a political issue in the United Kingdom. It concerns the question of whether MPs from Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales who sit in the House of Commons should be able to vote ...
.
The policy of the British Government in England was to establish elected
regional assemblies with no legislative powers. The
London Assembly was the first of these, established in 2000, following a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 1998, but further plans were abandoned following rejection of a proposal for an elected assembly in
North East England in a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 2004. Unelected regional assemblies remain in place in eight
regions of England.
Scottish Parliament
![Debating chamber, Scottish Parliament (31-05-2006)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Debating_chamber%2C_Scottish_Parliament_%2831-05-2006%29.jpg)
The
Scottish Parliament is the national,
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
legislature of
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
, located in the
Holyrood area of the capital
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood"
(cf. "
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
"), is a
democratically
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
elected body comprising 129 members who are known as
Members of the Scottish Parliament
Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP; gd, Ball Pàrlamaid na h-Alba, BPA; sco, Memmer o the Scots Pairliament, MSP) is the title given to any one of the 129 individuals elected to serve in the Scottish Parliament.
Electoral system
The add ...
, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the
mixed member proportional representation
Mixed-member proportional representation (MMP or MMPR) is a mixed electoral system in which votes cast are considered in local elections and also to determine overall party vote tallies, which are used to allocate additional members to produce ...
system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
elected by the
plurality ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight
additional member regions, each electing seven MSPs.
The current Scottish Parliament was established by the
Scotland Act 1998
The Scotland Act 1998 (c. 46) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which legislated for the establishment of the devolved Scottish Parliament with tax varying powers and the Scottish Government (then Scottish Executive). It was o ...
and its first meeting as a
devolved
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
was on 12 May 1999. The parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of its roles is to hold the
Scottish Government to account. The "devolved matters" over which it has responsibility include
education
Education is a purposeful activity directed at achieving certain aims, such as transmitting knowledge or fostering skills and character traits. These aims may include the development of understanding, rationality, kindness, and honesty ...
,
health
Health, according to the World Health Organization, is "a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease and infirmity".World Health Organization. (2006)''Constitution of the World Health Organiza ...
, agriculture, and
justice
Justice, in its broadest sense, is the principle that people receive that which they deserve, with the interpretation of what then constitutes "deserving" being impacted upon by numerous fields, with many differing viewpoints and perspective ...
. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remains with the British Parliament in
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...
.
The public take part in Parliament in a way that is not the case at Westminster through Cross-Party Groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs).
The
resurgence in Celtic language and identity, as well as 'regional' politics and development, has contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state. This was clearly demonstrated when - although some argue it was influenced by general public disillusionment with Labour - the
Scottish National Party (SNP) became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat.
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
(leader of SNP between 2004 and 2014) made history becoming the first
First Minister of Scotland from a party other than Labour following the
2007 Scottish Parliament election. The SNP
governed as a minority administration following this election. Nationalism (support for breaking up the UK) has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years, with a pivotal moment coming at the
2011 Scottish Parliament election
The 2011 Scottish Parliament election was held on Thursday, 5 May 2011 to elect 129 members to the Scottish Parliament.
The election delivered the first majority government since the opening of Holyrood, a remarkable feat as the Additional M ...
where the SNP capitalised on the collapse of the Liberal Democrat support to improve on their 2007 performance to win the first ever outright majority at Holyrood (despite the voting system being specifically designed to prevent majorities), with Labour remaining the largest opposition party.
This election result prompted the leader of the three main opposition parties to resign.
Iain Gray
Iain Cumming Gray (born 7 June 1957) is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2008 to 2011. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the East Lothian constituency from 2007 to 2021, having ...
was succeeded as Scottish Labour leader by
Johann Lamont
Johann MacDougall Lamont (; born 11 July 1957) is a Scottish Labour Co-operative politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2011 to 2014. She was previously a junior Scottish Executive minister from 2004 to 2007 and ...
, Scottish Conservative and Unionist leader,
Annabel Goldie
Annabel MacNicoll Goldie, Baroness Goldie (born 27 February 1950) is a Scottish politician and life peer who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2005 to 2011 and has served as Minister of State for Defence since 2019. She ...
was replaced by
Ruth Davidson
Ruth Elizabeth Davidson, Baroness Davidson of Lundin Links (born 10 November 1978), is a Scottish politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party from 2011 to 2019 and Leader of the Scottish Conservative Party in the Scottish ...
, and
Tavish Scott
Tavish Hamilton Scott (born 6 May 1966) is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Lead ...
, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats was replaced by
Willie Rennie
William Cowan Rennie (born 27 September 1967), commonly known as Willie Rennie, is a Scottish politician who served as the Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2011 to 2021. He has served as the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MS ...
.
A major SNP manifesto pledge was to hold a
referendum on Scottish Independence
A referendum on Scottish independence from the United Kingdom was held in Scotland on 18 September 2014. The referendum question was, "Should Scotland be an independent country?", which voters answered with "Yes" or "No". The "No" side w ...
, which was duly granted by the British Government and held on 18 September 2014. When the nationalists came to power in 2011, opinion polls placed support for independence at around 31%, but in 2014, 45% voted to leave the union. In the wake of the referendum defeat, membership of the SNP surged to over 100,000, overtaking the Liberal Democrats as the third largest political party in the UK by membership, and in the general election of May 2015 the SNP swept the board and took 56 of the 59 Westminster constituencies in Scotland (far surpassing their previous best of 11 seats in the late 1970s) and winning more than 50% of the Scottish vote.
Salmond resigned as
First Minister of Scotland and leader of the SNP following the country's rejection of independence in September 2014, and was succeeded in both roles by the deputy First Minister and deputy leader of the SNP, Nicola Sturgeon. Also in the wake of the referendum, Lamont stood down as Scottish Labour leader and
Jim Murphy
James Francis Murphy (born 23 August 1967) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2014 to 2015 and Secretary of State for Scotland from 2008 to 2010. He was Member of Parliament (MP) for East Re ...
was elected to replace her. Murphy was the leader until the general election in 2015 in which he lost his seat in Westminster. After the defeat, he resigned his position and her deputy MSP
Kezia Dugdale
Kezia Alexandra Ross Dugdale (born 28 August 1981) is a Scottish former politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2015 to 2017. A former member of the Scottish Labour Party and Co-operative Party, she was a Member of th ...
became leader of the party and leader of SLP in Holyrood. In 2017 she unexpectedly resigned and was replaced as Scottish Labour leader by the English-born
Richard Leonard
Richard Leonard (born January 1962) is a British politician who served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party from 2017 to 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP), as one of the additional members for the Central Scotland ...
. He held the post until quitting in January 2021, with
Anas Sarwar
Anas Sarwar (born 14 March 1983) is a Scottish politician who has served as Leader of the Scottish Labour Party since 2021. He has been a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for the Glasgow region since 2016, having been Member of Parliame ...
replacing him the following month.
Senedd
![Senedd](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Senedd.jpg)
The Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) is the
devolved
Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories ...
legislature
A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law
Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...
of
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
with power to make legislation and vary taxes. The Parliament comprises 60 members, who are known as
Members of the Senedd
A Member of the Senedd (MS; plural: ''MSs''; cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd; , plural:) (AS)., group=la is a representative elected to the Senedd (Welsh Parliament; ). There are sixty members, with forty members chosen to represent individual Senedd ...
, or MSs ( cy, Aelodau o'r Senedd, ASau). Members are elected for four-year terms under an
additional members system, where 40 MSs represent geographical
constituencies
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
elected by the
plurality system, and 20 MSs from
five electoral regions using the
d'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest ...
of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
.
![Debating chamber of the Welsh Assembly (2006)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/33/Debating_chamber_of_the_Welsh_Assembly_%282006%29.jpg)
The Welsh Parliament was created by the
Government of Wales Act 1998
The Government of Wales Act 1998 (c. 38) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom.
It was passed in 1998 by the Labour government to create a Welsh Assembly, therefore granting Wales a degree of self-government. This legislative ...
, which followed a
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
in 1997. On its creation, most of the powers of the
Welsh Office
The Welsh Office ( cy, Swyddfa Gymreig) was a department in the Government of the United Kingdom with responsibilities for Wales. It was established in April 1965 to execute government policy in Wales, and was headed by the Secretary of State f ...
and
Secretary of State for Wales
The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...
were transferred to it. The Senedd had no powers to initiate
primary legislation until limited law-making powers were gained through the
Government of Wales Act 2006
The Government of Wales Act 2006 (c 32) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom that reformed the then-National Assembly for Wales (now the Senedd) and allows further powers to be granted to it more easily. The Act creates a system o ...
. Its primary law-making powers were enhanced following a Yes vote in the
referendum
A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
on 3 March 2011, making it possible for it to legislate without having to consult the British
parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...
, nor the
Secretary of State for Wales
The secretary of state for Wales ( cy, ysgrifennydd gwladol Cymru), also referred to as the Welsh secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with responsibility for the Wales Office. The incumbent is a member ...
in the 20 areas that are devolved.
Northern Ireland Assembly
![Stormont Parliamentary Building 01](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/45/Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG)
The government of Northern Ireland was established as a result of the 1998
Good Friday Agreement
The Good Friday Agreement (GFA), or Belfast Agreement ( ga, Comhaontú Aoine an Chéasta or ; Ulster-Scots: or ), is a pair of agreements signed on 10 April 1998 that ended most of the violence of The Troubles, a political conflict in No ...
. This created the
Northern Ireland Assembly. The Assembly is a
unicameral
Unicameralism (from ''uni''- "one" + Latin ''camera'' "chamber") is a type of legislature, which consists of one house or assembly, that legislates and votes as one.
Unicameral legislatures exist when there is no widely perceived need for multi ...
body consisting of 90 members elected under the
Single Transferable Vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...
form of
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
. The Assembly is based on the principle of power-sharing, in order to ensure that both communities in Northern Ireland,
unionist and
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
, participate in governing the region. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas and to elect the
Northern Ireland Executive
The Northern Ireland Executive is the devolved government of Northern Ireland, an administrative branch of the legislature – the Northern Ireland Assembly. It is answerable to the assembly and was initially established according to the ...
(cabinet). It sits at
Parliament Buildings at Stormont in
Belfast
Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...
.
The Assembly has authority to legislate in a field of competences known as "transferred matters". These matters are not explicitly enumerated in the
Northern Ireland Act 1998
__NOTOC__
The Northern Ireland Act 1998 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which allowed Westminster to devolve power to Northern Ireland, after decades of direct rule.
It renamed the New Northern Ireland Assembly, established b ...
but instead include any competence not explicitly retained by the Parliament at Westminster. Powers reserved by Westminster are divided into "excepted matters", which it retains indefinitely, and "reserved matters", which may be transferred to the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly at a future date. Health, criminal law and education are "transferred" while royal relations are all "excepted".
While the Assembly was in suspension, due to issues involving the main parties and the
Provisional Irish Republican Army
The Irish Republican Army (IRA; ), also known as the Provisional Irish Republican Army, and informally as the Provos, was an Irish republican paramilitary organisation that sought to end British rule in Northern Ireland, facilitate Irish reu ...
(IRA), its legislative powers were exercised by the UK government, which effectively had power to legislate by decree. Laws that would normally be within the competence of the Assembly were passed by the UK government in the form of
Orders-in-Council
An Order-in-Council is a type of legislation in many countries, especially the Commonwealth realms. In the United Kingdom this legislation is formally made in the name of the monarch by and with the advice and consent of the Privy Council ('' ...
rather than legislative acts.
There has been a significant decrease in violence over the last twenty years, though the situation remains tense, with the more hard-line parties such as
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
and the
Democratic Unionist Party now holding the most parliamentary seats (see
Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland).
Judiciary
The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system due to it being created by the political union of previously independent countries with the terms of the
Treaty of Union
The Treaty of Union is the name usually now given to the treaty which led to the creation of the new state of Great Britain, stating that the Kingdom of England (which already included Wales) and the Kingdom of Scotland were to be "United i ...
guaranteeing the continued existence of Scotland's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct
systems of law
The contemporary national legal systems are generally based on one of four basic systems: civil law, common law, statutory law, religious law or combinations of these. However, the legal system of each country is shaped by its unique history an ...
:
English law,
Northern Ireland law
The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...
and
Scots law. Recent constitutional changes saw a new
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom come into being in October 2009 that took on the appeal functions of the Appellate Committee of the
House of Lords
The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...
. The
Judicial Committee of the Privy Council
The Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (JCPC) is the highest court of appeal for the Crown Dependencies, the British Overseas Territories, some Commonwealth countries and a few institutions in the United Kingdom. Established on 14 Aug ...
, comprising the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies.
England, Wales and Northern Ireland
Both English law, which applies in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
, and
Northern Ireland law
The law of Northern Ireland is the legal system of statute and common law operating in Northern Ireland since the partition of Ireland established Northern Ireland as a distinct jurisdiction in 1921. Prior to 1921, Northern Ireland was part of ...
are based on
common-law
In law, common law (also known as judicial precedent, judge-made law, or case law) is the body of law created by judges and similar quasi-judicial tribunals by virtue of being stated in written opinions."The common law is not a brooding omnipresen ...
principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by
judges sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of
legal precedent
A precedent is a principle or rule established in a previous legal case that is either binding on or persuasive for a court or other tribunal when deciding subsequent cases with similar issues or facts. Common-law legal systems place great valu ...
(''
stare decisis'') to the facts before them. The
Courts of England and Wales
The courts of England and Wales, supported administratively by His Majesty's Courts and Tribunals Service, are the civil and criminal courts responsible for the administration of justice in England and Wales.
The United Kingdom does not have ...
are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the
Court of Appeal, the
High Court of Justice
The High Court of Justice in London, known properly as His Majesty's High Court of Justice in England, together with the Court of Appeal and the Crown Court, are the Senior Courts of England and Wales. Its name is abbreviated as EWHC (Englan ...
(for civil cases) and the
Crown Court (for criminal cases). The
Supreme Court of the United Kingdom is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil cases in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Wales
Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...
, and
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the hierarchy.
Scotland
Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and
civil-law principles, applies in
Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. The chief courts are the
Court of Session, for civil cases, and the
High Court of Justiciary
The High Court of Justiciary is the supreme criminal court in Scotland. The High Court is both a trial court and a court of appeal. As a trial court, the High Court sits on circuit at Parliament House or in the adjacent former Sheriff Cour ...
, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known that as Sheriff solemn Court, or with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff summary Court). The
Sheriff courts provide a local court service with 49 Sheriff courts organised across six
Sheriffdoms.
Electoral systems
Various electoral systems are used in the UK:
* The
first-past-the-post
In a first-past-the-post electoral system (FPTP or FPP), formally called single-member plurality voting (SMP) when used in single-member districts or informally choose-one voting in contrast to ranked voting, or score voting, voters cast thei ...
system is used for
general elections
A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...
to the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
, and also for some
local government
Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...
elections in
England and Wales
England and Wales () is one of the three legal jurisdictions of the United Kingdom. It covers the constituent countries England and Wales and was formed by the Laws in Wales Acts 1535 and 1542. The substantive law of the jurisdiction is Eng ...
. the first-past-the-post system elects members to parliament through individual elections in each of the 650 constituencies in the UK. To be elected to the House of Commons candidates require the biggest share of votes. Each constituency can only elect one member to parliament, voters are given a ballot paper with a list of candidates of which they can select one.
* The
plurality-at-large voting
Plurality block voting, also known as plurality-at-large voting, block vote or block voting (BV) is a non- proportional voting system for electing representatives in multi-winner elections. Each voter may cast as many votes as the number of sea ...
(the bloc vote) is also used for some local government elections in England and Wales. the plurality system is a simple way of election, the winner requires only to gain more votes than any other candidate.
* The
additional member system is used for elections to the
Scottish Parliament,
Senedd and
London Assembly. The system is implemented differently in each of the three locations. the additional member's system used when electing members of parliament is a combination of the first-past-the-post system and the party-list system. voters are given two ballots, on one is the candidates running to be elected as an MP, the other ballot has a list of parties that are running for a seat in parliament, voters choose their preferred party.
* The
single transferable vote
Single transferable vote (STV) is a multi-winner electoral system in which voters cast a single vote in the form of a ranked-choice ballot. Voters have the option to rank candidates, and their vote may be transferred according to alternate ...
system is used in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
to elect the
Northern Ireland Assembly, local councils, and
Members of the European Parliament
A Member of the European Parliament (MEP) is a person who has been elected to serve as a popular representative in the European Parliament.
When the European Parliament (then known as the Common Assembly of the ECSC) first met in 1952, its ...
, and in Scotland to elect local councils. the single transferrable vote is a form of proportional representation, the strength of a party in parliament is equal to the number of votes they received during a general election. Areas elect a team of representatives rather than the traditional one, they also represent a larger area. voters rank their choices, they can rank as many as they choose since parties will run more than one candidate in each area. To be elected candidates have to receive a specific number of votes, the quota, which is decided based on the number of vacancies and the number of people that can vote.
* The
alternative vote
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
system is used for by-elections in
Scottish local councils. the alternative vote system is designed to deal with vote splitting. under the first-past-the-post system, a candidate can win even when the majority voted against them if this majority is split over several other candidates. voters rank the candidates from their preferred to their least preferred, if a candidate is the first choice for more than half of the votes cast they win. but when there is no majority the loser is removed and the second choice becomes the first, this process is repeated until one candidate receives the majority.
* The
D'Hondt method
The D'Hondt method, also called the Jefferson method or the greatest divisors method, is a method for allocating seats in parliaments among federal states, or in party-list proportional representation systems. It belongs to the class of highest ...
of
party-list proportional representation
Party-list proportional representation (list-PR) is a subset of proportional representation electoral systems in which multiple candidates are elected (e.g., elections to parliament) through their position on an electoral list. They can also be us ...
was used for
European Parliament elections
Elections to the European Parliament take place every five years by universal adult suffrage; with more than 400 million people eligible to vote, they are considered the second largest democratic elections in the world after India's.
Unti ...
in England, Scotland and Wales between
1999
File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
and
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
(the last such election before '
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
').
* The
supplementary vote is used to elect
directly elected mayors
Directly elected Mayors or Leaders in England, informally known as Metro Mayors or Leaders, are local government executive leaders who are directly elected by the residents of a local authority area (typically, but not always, a metropolitan are ...
in England, including the
mayor of London
The mayor of London is the chief executive of the Greater London Authority. The role was created in 2000 after the Greater London devolution referendum in 1998, and was the first directly elected mayor in the United Kingdom.
The current m ...
.
The use of the first-past-the-post to elect members of Parliament is unusual among European nations. The use of the system means that when three or more candidates receive a significant share of the vote, MPs are often elected from individual constituencies with a Plurality (voting), plurality (receiving more votes than any other candidate), but not an Majority, absolute majority (50 per cent plus one vote).
Elections and political parties in the United Kingdom are affected by Duverger's law, the political science Law (principle), principle which states that plurality voting systems, such as first-past-the-post, tend to lead to the development of two-party systems. The UK, like several other states, has sometimes been called a "two-and-a-half" party system, because parliamentary politics is dominated by the Labour Party and Conservative Party, while the Liberal Democrats, used to, hold a significant number of seats (but still substantially less than Labour and the Conservatives), and several small parties (some of them regional or Nationalism, nationalist) trailing far behind in the number of seats, although this changed in the 2015 general election.
In the last few general elections, voter mandates for Westminster in the 30–40% ranges have been swung into 60% parliamentary majorities. No single party has won a majority of the popular vote since the Third National Government 1935–1937, Third National Government of Stanley Baldwin in 1935 United Kingdom general election, 1935. On two occasions since World War II – 1951 United Kingdom general election, 1951 and February 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 – a party that came in second in the popular vote came out with the larger number of seats.
Electoral reform for parliamentary elections have been proposed many times. The Jenkins Commission (UK), Jenkins Commission report in October 1998 suggested implementing the Alternative Vote Top-up (also called alternative vote plus or AV+) in parliamentary elections. Under this proposal, most MPs would be directly elected from constituencies by the
alternative vote
Instant-runoff voting (IRV) is a type of Ranked voting, ranked preferential Electoral system, voting method. It uses a Majority rule, majority voting rule in single-winner elections where there are more than two candidates. It is commonly referr ...
, with a number of Additional member system, additional members elected from "top-up lists." However, no action was taken by the Labour government at the time. There are several groups in the UK campaigning for electoral reform, including the Electoral Reform Society, Make Votes Count Coalition and Fairshare. The boundary commission for England has also suggested in its 2023 boundary review that constituency lines should be redrawn to allow constituencies to have a similar number of residents.
The
2010 general election resulted in a hung parliament (no single party being able to command a majority in the House of Commons). This was only the second general election since World War II to return a hung parliament, the first being the February 1974 United Kingdom general election, February 1974 election. The Conservatives gained the most seats (ending 13 years of Labour government) and the largest percentage of the popular vote but fell 20 seats short of a majority.
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats entered into a Cameron–Clegg coalition, new coalition government, headed by David Cameron. Under the terms of the Conservative – Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, coalition agreement, the government committed itself to hold a 2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum, referendum in May 2011 on whether to change parliamentary elections from first-past-the-post to AV. Electoral reform was a major priority for the Liberal Democrats, who favour
proportional representation
Proportional representation (PR) refers to a type of electoral system under which subgroups of an electorate are reflected proportionately in the elected body. The concept applies mainly to geographical (e.g. states, regions) and political divis ...
but were able to negotiate only a referendum on AV (the alternative vote system is not a form of proportional representation) with the Conservatives. The coalition partners campaigned on opposite sides, with the Liberal Democrats supporting AV and the Conservatives opposing it. The referendum resulted in the Conservative's favour and the first-past-the-post system was maintained.
Political parties
![Uk general election 2005 by age](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png)
Since the 1920s the two main political parties in the UK, in terms of the number of seats in the
House of Commons
The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...
, are the Conservative Party (UK), Conservative and Unionist Party and the
Labour Party. The
Scottish National Party has the second largest party membership, but a smaller number of MPs as it only fields candidates for constituencies in Scotland.
The modern day Conservative Party was founded in 1834 and is an outgrowth of the Tory (British political party), Tory movement or party, which began in 1678. Today it is still colloquially referred to as the Tory Party and members/supporters are referred to as ''Tories''. The Liberal Democrats (or "Lib Dems") were founded in 1988 by an amalgamation of the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
This is a li ...
and the Social Democratic Party (UK), Social Democratic Party (SDP), a right-wing Labour breakaway movement formed in 1981. The Liberals and SDP had contested elections together as the SDP–Liberal Alliance for seven years previously. The modern Liberal Party had been founded in 1859 as an outgrowth of the Whig (British political party), Whig movement or party (which began at the same time as the Tory Party and was its historical rival) as well as the Radicals (UK), Radical and Peelite tendencies.
The Liberal Party was one of the two dominant parties (along with the Conservatives) from its founding until the 1920s, when it rapidly declined in popularity, and was supplanted on the Left-wing politics, left by the Labour Party, which was founded in 1900 and formed its first minority government in 1924. Since that time, the Labour and Conservative parties have been dominant, with the Liberals (later Liberal Democrats) being the third-largest party until 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015, when they lost 49 of their 57 seats, they now hold 11 seats. They lost 10 seats in the
2019 general election. Currently the
Scottish National Party is the third largest party and have been since the 2015 General Election when they gained 56 seats. Founded in 1934, the SNP advocates Scottish independence and has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1967. The SNP currently leads a
minority government in the
Scottish Parliament, and has 48 MPs in the House of Commons after the
2019 general election.
Minor parties also hold seats in parliament:
*
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru ( ; ; officially Plaid Cymru – the Party of Wales, often referred to simply as Plaid) is a centre-left to left-wing, Welsh nationalist political party in Wales, committed to Welsh independence from the United Kingdom.
Plaid wa ...
, the Welsh nationalism, Welsh nationalist party, has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1974, and currently hold three of the 40 Welsh seats (with a fourth member which the whip revoked). Plaid has had the second highest number of seats in the
Senedd, after
Welsh Labour
Welsh Labour ( cy, Llafur Cymru) is the branch of the United Kingdom Labour Party in Wales and the largest party in modern Welsh politics. Welsh Labour and its forebears won a plurality of the Welsh vote at every UK general election since 192 ...
for most of the period since devolution in 1999, but currently has the same number (10) as the Welsh Conservatives. They currently have three MPs.
*In
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
, all 18 MPs are from parties that only contest elections in Northern Ireland (except for
Sinn Féin
Sinn Féin ( , ; en, " eOurselves") is an Irish republican and democratic socialist political party active throughout both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland.
The original Sinn Féin organisation was founded in 1905 by Arthur G ...
, which contests elections in both Northern Ireland and the
Republic of Ireland
Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 Counties of Ireland, counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern ...
). The Unionism in Ireland, unionist
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) (who currently hold eight seats), the Irish republicanism, republican Sinn Féin (who currently hold seven seats), the
nationalist
Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Th ...
Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) (who currently hold two), and the non-sectarian Alliance Party of Northern Ireland (who currently hold one seat) all gained seats in Parliament at the
2010 general election, the Alliance Party for the first time. Sinn Féin has a policy of abstentionism and their MPs refuse to take their seats in Parliament, and have done so since 1918. The DUP, Sinn Féin, the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP), and the SDLP are considered the four major political parties in Northern Ireland, holding the most seats in the
Northern Ireland Assembly.
*The Alba Party, led by former SNP leader
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
, has two seats. Both of their MPs, Kenny MacAskill and Neale Hanvey, were elected for the SNP at the 2019 election, but defected to Alba in March 2021.
*The Green Party of England and Wales holds one seat, which it has held since 2010.
*There are also Independent politician, Independent MPs. One is the Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom), Speaker, Lindsay Hoyle who revoked his Labour affiliation after the 2019 Speaker of the British House of Commons election, 2019 Speaker election. Others have had their whip revoked or have resigned from their political party.
At the most recent 2019 United Kingdom general election, general election in 2019, the Conservatives, gained a majority after two years of being a minority government.
Conservatives (Tories)
The Conservative Party won the largest number of seats at the 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 general election, returning 330 MPs, enough for an overall majority, and went on to form the first Conservative majority government since the 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992 general election. The Conservatives won only 318 seats at the 2017 general election, but went on to form a confidence and supply deal with the
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) who got 10 seats in the House of Commons, allowing the Conservative Party to remain in government. The Conservatives won 365 seats at the 2019 general election and had a majority, forming the first majority government since 2015–17.
The Conservative Party can trace its origin back to 1662, with the Court Party and the Country Party being formed in the aftermath of the English Civil War#Aftermath, English Civil War. The Court Party soon became known as the Tory, Tories, a name that has stuck despite the official name being 'Conservative'. The term "Tory" originates from the Exclusion Crisis of 1678-1681 - the Whigs (British political party), Whigs were those who supported the exclusion of the Roman Catholic James II of England, Duke of York from the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland, and the Tories were those who opposed it. Both names were originally insults: a "whiggamore" was a horse drover (See Whiggamore Raid), and a "tory" (''Tóraidhe'') was an Irish language, Irish term for an outlaw, later applied to Irish Confederation, Irish Confederates and Irish Cavaliers, Royalists, during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
[Oxford English Dictionary (Second Edition 1989). Whig n.2, whiggamore, and tory 1. a.] Generally, the Tories were associated with lesser gentry and the Church of England, while Whigs were more associated with trade, money, larger land holders (or "land magnates"), expansion and tolerance of Catholicism. The Rochdale Radicals (UK), Radicals were a group of more extreme reformists who were also heavily involved in the cooperative movement. They sought to bring about a more equal society, and are considered by modern standards to be Left-wing politics, left-wing.
After becoming associated with repression of popular discontent in the years after 1815, the Tories underwent a fundamental transformation under the influence of Robert Peel, himself an industrialist rather than a landowner, who in his 1834 "Tamworth Manifesto" outlined a new "Conservative" philosophy of reforming ills while conserving the good.
Though Peel's supporters subsequently split from their colleagues over the issue of free trade in 1846, ultimately joining the Whigs and the Radical Party (UK), Radicals to form what would become the
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
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, Peel's version of the party's underlying outlook was retained by the remaining Tories, who adopted his label of Conservative as the official name of their party.
The Conservatives were in government for eighteen years between 1979 and 1997, under the leadership of the first-ever female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer John Major (1990–97). Their landslide defeat at the 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 general election saw the Conservative Party lose over half their seats gained in 1992, and saw the party re-align with public perceptions of them. The Conservatives lost all their seats in both Scotland and Wales, and was their worst defeat since 1906 United Kingdom general election, 1906.
In 2008, the Conservative Party formed a pact with the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) to select joint candidates for European and House of Commons elections; this angered the DUP as by splitting the Unionist vote, republican parties will be elected in some areas.
After thirteen years in opposition, the Conservatives returned to power as part of a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, going on to form a majority government in 2015. David Cameron resigned as Prime Minister in July 2016, which resulted in the appointment of the country's second female Prime Minister, Theresa May. The Conservative Party is the only party in the history of the United Kingdom to have been governed by a female Prime Minister. In 2019, Boris Johnson was appointed Prime Minister after Theresa May stepped down during Brexit negotiations. At one point during 2019 his party had a parliamentary minority for a short period after he ejected a large number of party members, of which some were subsequently allowed to return for the 2019 General election. After the election the Tories returned with a majority government under Johnson.
Historically, the party has been the mainland party most pre-occupied by British unionism, as attested to by the party's full name, the Conservative and Unionist Party. This resulted in the merger between the Conservatives and Joseph Chamberlain's Liberal Unionist Party, composed of former Liberals who opposed Irish Home Rule movement, Irish home rule. The unionist tendency is still in evidence today, manifesting sometimes as a scepticism or opposition to devolution, firm support for the continued existence of the United Kingdom in the face of movements advocating independence from the UK, and a historic link with the cultural unionism of Northern Ireland.
In November 2022, Tory MP Bob Stewart (politician) was in Bahrain when at the end of his address he declared “God save the King of Bahrain” followed by “God save the King of England”. Allegedly, the MP received £10,000 worth of gifts from the Bahraini government in the form of hospitality and travel to the Gulf nation. Apparently, this wasn’t the first time for the Tory MP to have spoken in defense of a despotic regime like Bahrain after being paid to travel to the country on multiple occasions along with thousands of pounds’ worth of spending. According to the register of interests Stewart flew to Bahrain in November 2021 and November 2019 with flights, meals and accommodation paid for by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bahrain. Bob remained unavailable when reached out for comment on the matter.
Labour
The Labour Party won the second-largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2019 general election, with 202 seats overall, 60 seats less than 2017.
The history of the Labour Party goes back to 1900, when a British Labour Party#Labour Representation Committee (1900–1906), Labour Representation Committee was established and changed its name to "The Labour Party" in 1906. After the World War I, First World War, this led to the demise of the Liberal Party as the main reformist force in British politics. The existence of the Labour Party on the left-wing of British politics led to a slow waning of energy from the Liberal Party, which has consequently assumed third place in national politics. After performing poorly at the general elections of 1922, 1923 and 1924, the Liberal Party was superseded by the Labour Party as being the party of the left.
Following two brief spells in minority governments in 1924 and 1929–1931, the Labour Party won a landslide victory after World War II at the 1945 "1945 United Kingdom general election, khaki election"; winning a majority for the first time ever. Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, Labour governments alternated with Conservative governments. The Labour Party suffered the "wilderness years" of 1951–1964 (three consecutive general election defeats) and 1979–1997 (four consecutive general election defeats). During this second period, Margaret Thatcher, who became Leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, made a fundamental change to Conservative policies, turning the Conservative Party into an economic liberalism, economically liberal party. At the 1979 United Kingdom general election, 1979 general election, she defeated James Callaghan's Labour government following the Winter of Discontent. For all of the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Conservative governments under Thatcher and her successor John Major pursued policies of Privatization, privatisation, anti-Trade union, trade-unionism, and, for a time, monetarism, now known collectively as Thatcherism.
The Labour Party elected left-winger Michael Foot as their leader in 1980, and he responded to dissatisfaction within the Labour Party by pursuing a number of radical policies developed by its grassroots members. In 1981, several centrist and right-leaning Labour MPs formed a breakaway group called the Social Democratic Party (UK), Social Democratic Party (SDP), a move which split Labour and is widely believed to have made the Labour Party unelectable for a decade. The SDP formed an alliance with the Liberal Party which contested the 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 and 1987 United Kingdom general election, 1987 general elections as a pro-European, centrist alternative to Labour and the Conservatives. Following some initial success, the SDP did not prosper (partly due to its unfavourable distribution of votes by the First-Past-the-Post electoral system), and was accused by some of splitting the Labour vote.
The SDP eventually merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988.
The Labour Party was defeated in a landslide at the 1983 United Kingdom general election, 1983 general election, and Michael Foot was replaced shortly thereafter by Neil Kinnock as party leader. Kinnock progressively expelled members of Militant tendency, Militant, a Left-wing politics, left-wing group which practised entryism, and moderated many of the party's policies. Despite these changes, as well as electoral gains and also due to Kinnock's negative media image, Labour was defeated at the 1987 and 1992 United Kingdom general election, 1992
general elections, and he was succeeded by Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer, John Smith (Labour Party leader), John Smith. Shadow Home Secretary Tony Blair became Leader of the Labour Party following Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. He continued to move the Labour Party towards the "centre" by loosening links with the trade union, unions and continuing many of Thatcher's neoliberal policies. This, coupled with the professionalising of the party machine's approach to the media, helped Labour win a historic landslide at the 1997 United Kingdom general election, 1997 general election, after eighteen consecutive years of Conservative rule. Some observers say the Labour Party had by then morphed from a democratic socialism, democratic socialist party to a social democracy, social democratic party, a process which delivered three general election victories but alienated some of its core base; leading to the formation of the Socialist Labour Party (UK), Socialist Labour Party. A subset of Labour MPs stand as joint Labour Co-operative, Labour and Co-operative candidates due to a long-standing electoral alliance between the Labour Party and the Co-operative Party - the political arm of the British co-operative movement. At the
2019 general election, 26 were elected.
Scottish National Party
The Scottish National Party won the third-largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election, winning 56 MPs from the 59 constituencies in Scotland having won 50% of the popular vote. This was an increase of 50 MPs on the result achieved in 2010.
At the 2017 general election, the SNP won 35 seats, a net loss of 21 seats.
At the 2019 general election, the SNP won 48 seats, a net gain of 13 seats.
The SNP has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1967. Following the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections, the SNP emerged as the largest party with 47 MSPs and formed a
minority government with
Alex Salmond
Alexander Elliot Anderson Salmond (; born 31 December 1954) is a Scottish politician and economist who served as First Minister of Scotland from 2007 to 2014. A prominent figure on the Scottish nationalist movement, he has served as leader ...
as
First Minister
A first minister is any of a variety of leaders of government cabinets. The term literally has the same meaning as "prime minister" but is typically chosen to distinguish the office-holder from a superior prime minister. Currently the title of ' ...
. After the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election, the SNP won enough seats to form a majority government, the first time this had ever happened since devolution was established in 1999.
Members of the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru work together as a single parliamentary group following a formal pact signed in 1986. This group currently has 49 MPs.
Liberal Democrats
The Liberal Democrats won the fourth largest number of seats at the 2019 general election, returning 11 MPs.
The Liberal Democrats were founded in 1988 by an amalgamation of the Liberal Party with the Social Democratic Party, but can trace their origin back to the Whigs and the Rochdale Radicals who evolved into the Liberal Party. The term '
Liberal Party
The Liberal Party is any of many political parties around the world. The meaning of ''liberal'' varies around the world, ranging from liberal conservatism on the right to social liberalism on the left.
__TOC__ Active liberal parties
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' was first used officially in 1868, though it had been in use colloquially for decades beforehand. The Liberal Party formed a government in 1868 and then alternated with the Conservative Party as the party of government throughout the late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century.
The Liberal Democrats are a party with policies on constitutional and political reforms, including changing the voting system for general elections (2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum), abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with a 300-member elected Senate, introducing fixed five-year Parliaments, and introducing a National Register of Lobbyists. They also support what they see as greater fairness and social mobility. In the coalition government, the party promoted legislation introducing a pupil premium - funding for schools directed at the poorest students to give them an equal chance in life. They also supported Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom, same-sex marriage and increasing the Income Tax in the United Kingdom, income tax threshold to £10,000, a pre-election manifesto commitment.
Northern Ireland parties
The
Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) had 8 MPs elected at the 2019 general election. Founded in 1971 by Ian Paisley, it has grown to become the larger of the two main Unionism (Ireland), unionist political parties in
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...
. Sinn Féin MPs had 7 MPs elected at the 2019 election, but Sinn Féin MPs traditionally abstain from the House of Commons and refuse to take their seats in what they view as a "foreign" parliament.
Plaid Cymru
Plaid Cymru has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1974 and had 4 MPs elected at the 2019 general election, though one was suspended. Following the 2007 National Assembly for Wales election, 2007 Welsh Assembly elections, they joined Labour as the junior partner in a coalition government, but have fallen down to the third-largest party in the Assembly after the 2011 Assembly elections, and have become an opposition party.
Other parliamentary parties
The Green Party of England and Wales has had a single MP, Caroline Lucas, since 2010 and re-elected at the
2019 general election (the party previously had an MP in 1992; Cynog Dafis, Ceredigion, who was elected on a joint Plaid Cymru/Green Party ticket). It also has three seats on the
London Assembly and over 500 local councillors as of May 2022.
The UK Independence Party (UKIP) had one MP and 24 seats in the European Parliament as well as a number of local councillors. UKIP also had a MLA in the
Northern Ireland Assembly. UKIP had become an emerging alternative party among some voters, gaining the third-largest share of the vote in the 2015 United Kingdom general election, 2015 general election and the largest share of the vote of any party (27%) in the 2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, 2014 European elections. In 2014 UKIP gained its first ever MP following the defection and re-election of Douglas Carswell in the 2014 Clacton by-election. They campaign mainly on issues such as reducing Modern immigration to the United Kingdom, immigration and United Kingdom withdrawal from the European Union, EU withdrawal. They no longer have any MPs.
The Respect – The Unity Coalition, Respect party, a left-wing group that came out of the anti-war movement had a single MP, George Galloway from 2005 to 2010, and again between 2012 and 2015.
Change UK was a political party formed and disbanded in 2019. It had five MPs, four of whom were elected as Labour MPs, and one as Conservative MPs.
There are usually a small number of Independent (politician), Independent politicians in parliament with no party allegiance. In modern times, this has usually occurred when a sitting member leaves their party, and some such MPs have been re-elected as independents. Since 1950, only two new members have been elected as independents without having ever stood for a major party:
*Martin Bell represented the Tatton (UK Parliament constituency), Tatton constituency in Cheshire between 1997 and 2001. He was elected following a "sleaze" scandal involving the-then incumbent Conservative MP, Neil Hamilton (politician), Neil Hamilton. Bell, a BBC journalist, stood as an anti-corruption independent candidate, and the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties withdrew their candidates from the election.
*Dr. Richard Taylor (UK politician), Richard Taylor MP was elected for the Wyre Forest (UK Parliament constituency), Wyre Forest constituency in 2001 on a platform opposing the closure of Kidderminster hospital. He later established Health Concern, the party under which he ran in 2005.
Non-Parliamentary political parties
Other List of political parties in the United Kingdom#Minor parties in the United Kingdom, political parties exist, but struggle to return MPs to Parliament.
The Brexit Party was founded in January 2019, with leader Nigel Farage (former retired UKIP leader). It initially had 14 MEPs, all of whom had been elected as members of UKIP. In the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, it returned 29 MEPs. The MEPs were elected representatives of the party until 11pm on 31 January 2020 when the UK left the European Union and the position of British MEPs was subsequently abolished.
Following the 2021 Scottish Parliament Election the Scottish Greens have 8 MSPs in the
Scottish Parliament and are the junior partner in the SNP/Green coalition. They also 35 local councillors.
The Green Party in Northern Ireland has previously had MLAs in the
Northern Ireland Assembly. They currently have 8 local councillors.
The Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) won its first seat in the Scottish Parliament in the 1999 Scottish Parliament election. In the 2003 Scottish Parliament election the party increased their number of seats to 6. The party built up its support through opposing the war in Iraq and fighting for policies such as free school meals and an end to prescription charges. In the
2007 Scottish Parliament election it lost all of its MSPs but remains politically active and continues to contest elections.
The British National Party (BNP) won two seats in the European Parliament in the 2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, 2009 European elections, before losing both seats in 2014. In May 2018 the party lost its last elected representative (a local councillor).
The Women's Equality Party (WEP) was founded in 2015. The party gained its first elected representation in the 2019 United Kingdom local elections, winning one local councillor seat on Congleton Town Council. The party has no other elected representation at any other level of governance.
The Libertarian Party (UK), Libertarian Party was founded in 2008 and has contested several local elections and parliamentary constituencies. It has no elected representatives at any level of governance.
The English Democrats was founded in 2002 and advocates England having its own parliament. The party's candidate was elected mayor of Doncaster in 2009, before resigning from the party in February 2013.
Other parties include: the Socialist Labour Party (UK), the Socialist Party of Great Britain, the Communist Party of Britain, the Socialist Party (England and Wales), the Socialist Workers Party (UK), Socialist Workers Party, the Liberal Party (UK, 1989), Liberal Party, Mebyon Kernow (a Cornish nationalist party) in Cornwall, the Yorkshire Party in Yorkshire, and the National Health Action Party. The Pirate Party UK existed from 2009 to 2020.
Several local parties contest only within a specific area, a single county, borough or district. Examples include the Better Bedford Independent Party, which was one of the dominant parties in Bedford Borough Council and led by Bedford's former Mayor, Frank Branston. The most notable local party is Health Concern, which controlled a single seat in the British Parliament from 2001 to 2010.
The Jury Team, launched in March 2009 and described as a "non-party party", is an umbrella organisation seeking to increase the number of independent MPs.
The Official Monster Raving Loony Party was founded in 1983. The OMRLP are distinguished by having a deliberately bizarre manifesto, which contains things that seem to be impossible or too absurd to implement – usually to highlight what they see as real-life absurdities. It is effectively regarded as a political satire, satirical political party.
2015 to 2019
After winning the largest number of seats and votes in the 2015 general election, the Conservatives under David Cameron, remained ahead of the Labour Party, led by Jeremy Corbyn since September 2015. The SNP maintained its position in Scotland, the party was just short of an overall majority at the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2016.
However, a turbulent 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, referendum on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, called for by David Cameron, led to his resignation, the appointment of a new prime minister Theresa May, and divided opinion on Europe amongst the party.
In addition, the Campaigning in the 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, EU referendum campaign plunged the Labour Party into crisis and resulted in a motion of no confidence in the party leader Jeremy Corbyn being passed by the party's MPs in a 172–40 vote, which followed a significant number of resignations from the Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn, Shadow Cabinet. This led to a 2016 Labour Party leadership election (UK), leadership election which began with Angela Eagle, the former First Secretary of State, Shadow First Secretary of State and Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills who eight days later withdrew from the leadership race, to support Owen Smith, the former Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions. This was won by Jeremy Corbyn with an increased majority.
Following the vote to leave the European Union, Nigel Farage offered his own resignation as leader, something he had campaigned for since 1992. A leadership contest also took place in the Green Party, which led to the joint election on 2 September 2016 of Jonathan Bartley and Caroline Lucas as co-leaders, who took over the role in a job-share arrangement. Lucas, was previously leader until 2010 and is the party's only MP. Strategic cross-party alliances have been initiated, including a "Progressive alliance (UK), progressive alliance" and a "Patriotic Alliance", as proposed by UKIP donor Arron Banks.
In 2017, the prime minister, Theresa May, called a general election. She hoped to increase the conservative majority to diffuse party opposition to her deal to leave the EU. In the election, the conservatives lost seats and the Labour party, under Jeremy Corbyn, gained 30 seats. This led to a minority conservative government supported by the Democratic Unionist Party, DUP.
The Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) rated the United Kingdom as a "Democracy Index#Classification definitions, full democracy" in 2017. In the 2018 EIU democracy index, the UK remained 11th out of the 14 western European nations classed as 'full democracy' with an overall score of 8.53 out of a maximum of 10. It received a comparatively low mark in the 'functioning of government' assessment.
In July 2019, Boris Johnson won the leadership of the conservative party following the resignation of May. He became the prime minister by default.
In August 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested the monarch, Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth II, to Prorogation in the United Kingdom, prorogue the UK parliament, British parliament. Although this measure is common for incoming governments to allow time to prepare the State Opening of Parliament, Queen's speech, the move caused 2019 British prorogation controversy, great controversy as it was announced to last 23 days instead of the usual 4 or 5 days. It would end the current session of the Parliament that had been running for 2 years and prevent further parliamentary debate. The government stated that it was nothing to do with
Brexit
Brexit (; a portmanteau of "British exit") was the withdrawal of the United Kingdom (UK) from the European Union (EU) at 23:00 GMT on 31 January 2020 (00:00 1 February 2020 CET).The UK also left the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC ...
and that there would still be "ample time" for debate before Brexit happens. Opponents believed that parliament had been suspended to force through a no-deal Brexit and prevent parliament from being able to thwart the government's plan. Others argued that it facilitated the Brexit negotiations by forcing the EU to modify the current proposed deal. The move is unprecedented in British politics and caused debate in the media, an attempt to stop it in the Scottish
Court of Session, an attempt by ex-prime minister John Major and others to stop it in the English High Court of Justice, High Court and in the High Court in Northern Ireland. It was reported by many media sources that the move takes the UK one more step towards a full dictatorship from its current status of 'elective dictatorship'. The legality of the suspension of parliament was tested in courts in England and Scotland. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. On 24 September, it ruled unanimously that the prorogation was both justiciable and unlawful. The prorogation was quashed and deemed "null and of no [legal] effect". Parliament resumed the next day.
On the return of parliament the government lost its Wiktionary:working majority, majority when Conservative MP Phillip Lee (politician), Phillip Lee Crossing the floor#Changing parties, crossed the floor of the house to join the Liberal Democrats. This meant that the combined votes of the Conservative and Democratic Unionist Party, DUP MPs amounted to one less than the combined votes of opposition parties. The government of Boris Johnson then lost a vote, 301 to 328, giving control of the agenda of the house to the MPs, removing the control the government had over the introduction of new laws. The 21 Conservative MPs who voted against their own government had the Whip (politics)#United Kingdom, whip removed by 10 Downing Street, Number 10, removing them from the party. This included long-standing members of the party. Johnson called for a general election and following a few attempts succeeded in getting a vote approving an election through parliament.
Current political landscape
note: this section is outdated.
In the December 2019 2019 United Kingdom general election, general election, the
Conservative Party
The Conservative Party is a name used by many political parties around the world. These political parties are generally right-wing though their exact ideologies can range from center-right to far-right.
Political parties called The Conservative P ...
, led by Boris Johnson, won a large overall majority. Jeremy Corbyn resigned as leader of the
Labour Party. Jo Swinson resigned as Lib Dem leader after losing her own seat.
On 20 December 2019, the Brexit withdrawal agreement was passed. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 at 11 p.m. GMT and entered a transition period, set to finish on 31 December 2020.
In January 2020, the Labour Party began the process of electing a new leader. On 4 April 2020, Keir Starmer was elected leader of the Labour Party with 56.2% of the vote in the first round.
In October 2020, Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party over his comments about antisemitism. According to ''The Washington Post'':
:Corbyn's ouster from a party he led in the last two national elections, in 2019 and 2017, was a stunning rebuke and mark him now as a near-outcast, at least temporarily. The suspension also shines light on a long-running feud within Europe's largest democratic socialist party over its very soul, as hard-left “Corbynistas” pushing for radical change duke it out with a more moderate wing more ideologically aligned with Tony Blair, the centrist former Labour prime minister.
The present dispute within the Labour party is likely causing the leftist political coalition to further fragment since the catastrophic result in 2019. Polling generally indicates that ''at present'' (August 2021) Labour has lost significant portions of its vote share to the Green party and the Liberal Democrats. At Labour Conference 2021, several showdowns between the left and right of the party are expected to take place. This includes but is not limited to: a motion to give members power to approve or reject decisions over the Labour whip within the PLP, a potential rejection of the pro-Starmer interim General Secretary David Evans (political official), David Evans by unions and members alike, a debate over PR and a significant debate over the loss of members and their subscription fees since Corbyn's expulsion which has left the party in a dire state regarding its activist and financial bases.
The SNP and the Scottish Greens won the right to form a Scottish coalition government in May 2021. The precise arrangement is loose and allows the Greens freedom to criticise official SNP policy on key areas of disagreement. However, it provides Nicola Sturgeon, FM Nicola Sturgeon with a mandate to call for a new independence referendum after the failed one in 2014.
Proponents of a new referendum particularly cite Brexit as changing the political situation, thus leading Scots to be more pro-independence than in 2014. As an issue, Scottish independence is known to cross-cut across party lines, with many Scottish Labour voters in particular being favourable to the prospect of independence.
Membership
All political parties have membership schemes that allow members of the public to actively influence the policy and direction of the party to varying degrees, though particularly at a local level. Membership of British political parties is around 1% of the British electorate, which is lower than in all European countries except for Poland and Latvia. Overall membership to a political party has been in decline since the 1950s. In 1951, the Conservative Party had 2.2 million members, and a year later in 1952 the Labour Party reached their peak of 1 million members (of an electorate of around 34 million).
The table below details the membership numbers of political parties that have more than 5,000 members.
No data could be collected for the four parties of Northern Ireland: the DUP, UUP, SDLP, and Sinn Féin. However, in January 1997, it was estimated that the UUP had 10,000 – 12,000 members, and the DUP had 5,000 members.
In December 2020, the UK Independence Party had 3,888 members.
In June 2019, Reform UK claimed to have 115,000 registered supporters.
Local government
The UK is divided into a complex system of local governance.
Former European Union membership
The United Kingdom first joined the then European Communities in January 1973 by the then Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Prime Minister Edward Heath, and remained a member of the European Union (EU) that it evolved into; British citizens, and other EU citizens resident in the UK, between 1979 and 2019 elected Member of the European Parliament, members to represent them in the European Parliament in Brussels and Strasbourg.
The UK's membership in the Union has been a major topic of debate over the years and has been objected to over questions of sovereignty,
and in recent years there have been divisions in both major parties over whether the UK should form greater ties within the EU, or reduce the EU's supranational powers. Opponents of greater European integration are known as "Euroscepticism, Eurosceptics", while supporters are known as "Europhiles". Division over Europe is prevalent in both major parties, although the Conservative Party is seen as most divided over the issue, both whilst in Government up to 1997 and after 2010, and between those dates as the opposition. However, the Labour Party is also divided, with conflicting views over British adoption of the euro whilst in Government (1997–2010).
British nationalists have long campaigned against European integration. The strong showing of the eurosceptic UK Independence Party (UKIP) since the 2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom, 2004 European Parliament elections has shifted the debate over UK relations with the EU.
In March 2008, Parliament decided to not hold a referendum on the ratification of the Treaty of Lisbon, signed in December 2007. This was despite the Labour government promising in 2004 United Kingdom European Constitution referendum, to hold a referendum on the previously proposed Treaty establishing a Constitution for Europe, Constitution for Europe.
On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a 2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, referendum. After the referendum, it was debated as to how and when the UK should leave the EU. On 11 July 2016, the Cabinet Office Minister, John Penrose failed to deliver a final answer on whether it would be at the disposal of the
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
and one of the Secretary of State (United Kingdom), Secretaries of State, through the Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom, royal prerogative, or of Parliament of the United Kingdom, Parliament, through Acts of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, primary legislation.
In October 2016 the Conservative
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
, Theresa May, announced that Article 50 would be invoked by "the first quarter of 2017".
On 24 January 2017 the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, Supreme Court ruled in R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union, the Miller case by a majority that the process could not be initiated without an authorising act of parliament, but unanimously ruled against the Scottish government's claim in respect of devolution that they had a direct say in the decision to trigger Article 50. Consequently, the European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017 empowering the prime minister to invoke Article 50 was passed and enacted by royal assent in March 2017.
Invocation of Article 50 by the United Kingdom government occurred on 29 March 2017, when Tim Barrow, Sir Tim Barrow, the List of Permanent Representatives of the United Kingdom to the European Union, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union, formally delivered by hand a letter signed by Prime Minister Theresa May to Donald Tusk, the President of the European Council in Brussels. The letter also contained the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...
's intention to withdraw from the European Atomic Energy Community (EAEC or Euratom). This means that the UK will cease to be a member of the EU on 30 March 2019, unless an extension to negotiations is agreed upon by the UK and EU.
The leaving date was subsequently revised by agreement with the EU to be 31 October 2019. This led to a change of prime minister who promised to leave the EU on this date either with a revised deal or with no-deal.
The UK withdrew from the EU at 23.00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 January 2020, beginning a transition period that was set to end on 31 December 2020.
During the 11-month transition period, the UK and EU negotiated their future relationship which resulted in the EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement which was agreed on 24 December 2020 just days before the end of the transition period.
[ The UK ended the transition period which ended the incorporation of European Union law into UK law, and ended its membership of the European Union Customs Union, EU Customs Union, and the European Single Market at 23:00 Greenwich Mean Time, GMT on 31 December 2020.]
International organisation participation
*African Development Bank
*Asian Development Bank
*Australia Group
*Bank for International Settlements
*Commonwealth of Nations
*Caribbean Development Bank (non-regional)
*Council of Europe
*CERN
*Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council
*European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
*European Investment Bank
*European Space Agency
*Food and Agriculture Organization
*Group of Five, G5, Group of Six, G6, G7, G8
*Group of Ten (economic), G10
*International Mobile Satellite Organization, Inmarsat
*Inter-American Development Bank
*International Atomic Energy Agency
*International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
*International Civil Aviation Organization
*International Chamber of Commerce
*International Confederation of Free Trade Unions
*International Criminal Court
*International Criminal Police Organization - Interpol
*International Development Association
*International Energy Agency
*International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies
*International Finance Corporation
*International Fund for Agricultural Development
*International Hydrographic Organization
*International Labour Organization
*International Maritime Organization
*International Monetary Fund
*International Olympic Committee (IOC)
*International Organization for Migration (IOM) (observer)
*International Organization for Standardization (ISO)
*International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
*International Telecommunications Satellite Organization (Intelsat)
*International Telecommunication Union (ITU)
*International Whaling Commission
*MONUC
*Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) (guest)
*NATO, North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO)
*Nuclear Energy Agency (NEA)
*Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG)
*Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
*Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
*Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)
*Organization of American States (OAS) (observer)
* The Pacific Community (SPC)
*Permanent Court of Arbitration
*UNESCO
*United Nations
*United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
*United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (associate)
*United Nations Economic Commission for Europe
*United Nations Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean
*United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific
*United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)
*United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO)
*United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK)
*United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observation Mission (UNIKOM)
*United Nations Mission in Bosnia and Herzegovina (UNMIBH)
*United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL)
*United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG)
*United Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP)
*United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA)
*United Nations Security Council (permanent member)
*Universal Postal Union (UPU)
*UNTAET
*Western European Union
*World Confederation of Labour
*World Customs Organization
*World Health Organization
*World Intellectual Property Organization
*World Meteorological Organization
*World Trade Organization
*Zangger Committee
See also
* Absentee voting in the United Kingdom
* British political scandals
* British Polling Council
* United Kingdom Common Framework Policies, Common Policy Frameworks of the United Kingdom
* Electoral registration in the United Kingdom
* History of taxation in the United Kingdom
* List of British political defections
* Parliament in the Making
* Parliament Week
* Pressure groups in the United Kingdom
* Referendums in the United Kingdom
* Universal basic income in the United Kingdom
Overviews by period
* 2010s in United Kingdom political history
* Premiership of Boris Johnson
References
Further reading
* ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (2004
online
short scholarly biographies of all the major people who died by 2009
* Addison, Paul and Harriet Jones, eds. ''A Companion to Contemporary Britain: 1939–2000'' (2005
excerpt and text search
* Brown, David, Robert Crowcroft, and Gordon Pentland, eds. ''The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800-2000'' (2018
excerpt
* Budge, Ian, et al. eds. ''The New British Politics'' (4th ed. 2007) 712pp
* Butler, David. ''British General Elections Since 1945'' (1995) 195pp
excerpt and text search
* Cannon, John, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to British History'' (2003), historical encyclopedia; 4000 entries in 1046p
excerpt and text search
* Childs, David. ''Britain since 1945: A Political History'' (2012
excerpt and text search
* Cook, Chris and John Stevenson, eds. ''Longman Companion to Britain Since 1945'' (1995) 336pp
* Fairlie, Henry. "Oratory in Political Life," ''History Today'' (Jan 1960) 10#1 pp 3–13. A survey of political oratory in Britain from 1730 to 1960.
* Hennessy, Peter. ''The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945'' (2001
except and text search
Attlee to Blair; 688pp
* Jones, Harriet, and Mark Clapson, eds. ''The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Twentieth Century'' (2009)
excerpt and text search
* King, Anthony. ''The British Constitution'' (2011) 464pp
* Leventhal, F.M. ''Twentieth-Century Britain: An Encyclopedia'' (2nd ed. 2002) 640pp; short articles by scholars
* Marr, Andrew. ''A History of Modern Britain'' (2009); also published as ''The Making of Modern Britain'' (2010), popular history 1945–2005
* Martin Pugh (author), Pugh, Martin. ''Speak for Britain!: A New History of the Labour Party'' (2011)
excerpt and text search
* Ramsden, John, ed. ''The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century British Politics'' (2005
excerpt and text search
External links
Prospect Magazine - UK based political magazine focussing on British and international politics, cultural essays and arguments
British Politics - the only academic journal devoted purely to the study of political issues in Britain
Directgov, main entry point for citizens to the UK government
*
Official UK parliament website
from the Keele University School of Politics
British Politics and Policy at LSE
The London School of Economics' UK politics and policy blog
ePolitix - UK Politics news website
Compiled by a retired English Librarian
Women's Parliamentary Radio
Interviews and resources about women politicians in the UK
{{DEFAULTSORT:Politics of the United Kingdom
Politics of the United Kingdom,
sv:Storbritannien#Statsskick och politik