British Goverment

The two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom (the House of Lords and the House of Commons) are based at The Palace of Westminster, also known as theHouses of Parliament, in London.
The palace lies on the north bank of the River Thames in the London borough of the City of Westminster, close to the government buildings of Whitehall.
Parliament decides the laws and make decisions onrunning the UK. (Some issues in Scotland,Wales and Northern Ireland are now dealt with by their respective parliaments and assemblies.) There has been a parliament at Westminster since the 13th Century.
The UK government is normally formed by the leader of the party that wins the most seats in the general election. All actions by the government - and particularly its proposals to amend or create laws- are scrutinised within parliament.
Who runs the UK?
The British government runs the UK. The leader of the government is the Prime Minister.
Parliamentary democracy
Great Britain (UK) is a parliamentary democracy with a constitutional Monarch as Head of State.
The principle behind British democracy is that the people elect Members of Parliament (MPs) to the House of Commons in London at ageneral election, held no more than five years apart. Most MPs belong to a political party, and the party with the largest number of MPs in the House of Commons forms the government.
For the first time since 1707, the people of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have more say over what happens in their countries, the UK Parliament has devolved (given away) some of its powers to other nationaland regional bodies. It is only England, that doesn't have its own parliament. Issues that effect England are decided by the UK government, which consists of MPs from all over the UK. We live in a democratic country, which means we all have a say in how the country is run. Parliament represents the people. It is where we send our chosen representatives to represent our views in the House of Commons.What is Parliament?
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.
What is the job of Parliament?
The main functions of Parliament are:
• to pass laws
• to provide, by voting fortaxation, 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:
1. The Queen
2. The House of Lords
3. The House of Commons

The Queen is the official Head of State. Britain has a constitutional monarchy where the Queen only rulessymbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament. So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament.
The Queen has the final say on whether a bill becomes law.
The last Monarch to reject a law that was wanted by both Houses of Parliament was Queen Anne. She died in 1715.
TheHouse of Lords
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. There are 675 members of the Lords.
The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.
the House of Commons has 659 members who have been elected by localresidents to represent an area of the country in Parliament. The members are called MPs (Members of Parliament). Each MP represents one of 659 constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party, such as New Labour or the Conservative party.
The Commons is the most important place for discussing policies and making laws.
General Elections

A UK Parliament has a maximum...