Page 77 - Exercise 3A

Page 77 - Exercise 3A

The United Kingdom is a monarchy. The head of state is the king or queen. Ge or she has to sign all laws. But can’t make or change laws. Only parliament can do that.

Parliament. The Houses of Parliament are in Westminster. There are two parts, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. There are 650 members of parliament or MPs in the House of Commons. They are elected by the people of the UK every five years. The House of Commons makes and changes laws. The members of the House of Lords are not elected. Most of them are people who have played an important part in national life. Politicians, famous actors and actresses, directors of large companies, and so on. The House of Lords has very little power. They check all new laws. But they can’t stop them.

Political parties. There are two large parties, the Labour Party and the conservative party. One of these usually forms the government. There are also some smaller parties.

The government. The party that wins the most seats in the House of Commons, forms the government. The party’s leader becomes prime minister. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He or she chooses the government ministers.