Constitutional Monarchy
Britain is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional monarch — Queen Elisabeth II as a head of state. The British constitution, isn’t set out in a single document. Instead it is made up of a combination of laws and conventions.
A thousand years ago the Anglo-Saxon kings consulted the Great Council before taking important decisions. Between 1066 and 1215 the king ruled alone, but in 1215 the nobles forced king John to accept Magna Carta, which took away some of the king’s powers. In later centuries this was seen as the 1st occasion on which the king was forced to take advice. In 1264 the 1st parliament of nobles met together. Since then the British constitution has grown up slowly as the result of countless Acts of parliament. Then, parliament invited William and Mary to become Britain’s 1st constitutional monarchs. A constitutional monarch is one who can rule only with the support of parliamentary.
The Bill of Rights was the 1st legal step
The proceedings of both Houses of Parliament are broadcast on television and radio. General elections to choose Members of Parliament
The Government is formed by the party with majority support in the Commons. The party in power determines the home and foreign policy of the country. The Queen appoints its leader as Prime Minister. As head of the Government the Prime Minister appoints about 100 ministers, of whom about 20 are in the Cabinet — the serious group which takes major policy decisions. Ministers are collectively responsible for their own departments. The second largest — party forms the official oppositions with its own leader and «shadow cabinet». The opposition has a duty to challenge government policies and to present an alternative programme.