1. Government
British Culture

2. Parliament is where politicians
(MPs) meet to decide laws and
make decisions for the United
Kingdom. It is not the same as
the Government (which runs
the country). One of the jobs
Parliament does is to check
that the Government is
running the country properly.

3. The main functions of Parliament
are:
to pass laws
to provide, by voting for taxation,
the means of carrying on the work of
government
to scrutinise government policy and
administration, including proposals
for expenditure
to debate the major issues of the day
Parliament is made up of three parts:

4. The House of Lords is made
up of people who have
inherited family titles and
those who have been given
titles because of their
outstanding work in one field
or another.

5. The House of Commons has
659 members who have been
elected by local residents to
represent an area of the
country in Parliament. The
members are called MPs
(Members of Parliament).

6. The House of Lords and the
House of Commons meet in
the Houses of Parliament,
located next to the River
Thames in London.

7. The Parliament and
Government mean two
different things.
Parliament represents the
people
Government runs the country
and is also elected by the
people.

8. The leader of the Government is
the Prime Minister.
The new Prime Minister chooses a
team of people from Parliament
who will run the country with him.
There are normally about 100
people in a UK government.
The Government is also different
from the rest of the party who won
the election.

9. At present, the Prime Minister is David
Cameron, who is the leader of the
Conservative Party and Nick Clegg,
leader of the Liberal Democrats is his
deputy.
The Prime Minister is the head of the
UK Government
The Prime Minister heads the
Government and appoints Ministers,
who head individual Government
departments.

10. Although the Queen is no
longer responsible for
governing the country, she
carries out a great many
important tasks on behalf of
the nation.
See also our Calendar of Royal
Duties

11. As Head of State, the Queen goes
on official State visits abroad.
She also invites other world
leaders to come to the United
Kingdom. During their visit,
Heads of State usually stay at
Buckingham Palace, or
sometimes at Windsor Castle or
Holyroodhouse in Edinburgh.

12. The Queen is also the Head of
the Armed Forces. She is the
only person who can declare
when the country is at war
and when war is over,
although she must take advice
from her government first.