Since Spain is going to hold elections very soon, I think it would be interesting to have a brief view of how the British political system works. Like Spain, the UK has a constitutional government with a parliament and a royal family, or a constitutional monarchy.
In the UK, the monarch is the head of state and the head of the Church of England. The government consists of a cabinet of politicians and the Prime Minister is the head of the government. There is also a parliament which consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The government proposes laws and Parliament can either pass or reject them. If Parliament passes a new law, then the monarch has to sign [1] it.
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The king or queen appoints [2] the Prime Minister after each general election. The monarch asks him or her to form a government. The largest political party in the House of Commons that opposes the party in power is called His or Her Majesty’s Opposition. Its main function is to criticise the government and to be ready to set up [3] a new government if they win the next general election. The leading members of the opposition party are called the Shadow Cabinet [4].
The House of Commons
The members of the House of Commons are called Members of Parliament (MPs). They are elected [5] in the general election which usually takes place [6] about once every five years. MPs represent a constituency [7] and everyone in the United Kingdom has his or her own MP. If they have a problem they can write to or visit their MP. Nowadays, the House of Commons is the stronger of the two houses of Parliament, and it is responsible for passing new laws and debating government policy.
The House of Lords
The House of Lords has less power than the House of Commons. It can delay [8], but not defeat [9], the laws that the House of Commons passes. People do not elect the members of the House of Lords. Historically, most of its members came from the aristocracy and their right to sit in the House of Lords was hereditary. However, the House of Lords Act in 1999, removed this right from all but 92 of its members. The other members of the House of Lords are either Church of England Bishops, or they are life peers [10]. Life peers are appointed by the monarch and their titles are not hereditary.
General Elections in Great Britain are usually every five years, and are always held on a Thursday. The electoral campaign [11] lasts for four weeks and the politicians make speeches everywhere in Britain. The Government, based in England, controls political affairs in the United Kingdom. However, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales also have their own parliaments. Each country in the United Kingdom is divided into counties [12], and each county has an elected council [13]. The big cities are divided into borough [14] councils (for example, there are 32 in London).
[1] firmar, [2] nombrar, [3] formar, [4] la oposición, (literalmente, el gabinente en la sombra), [5] elegir, [6] tener lugar, [7] circunscripción electoral, [8] retrasar, [9] literalmente, vencer. Aquí significa rechazar, [10] persona con título de nobleza de por vida, [11] campaña, [12] condados, [13] ayuntamiento, [14] distrito
