1. Government of the United Kingdom

3. The House of Commons The lower house of parliament Elected body consisting of 650 members – “MPs“ (Members of parliament) First-past-the-post voting every 5 years (= first round in Senate elections) Labour Conser- vatives Liberals

4. The House of Commons GovernmentOpposition Mr Speaker

5. HM Government Leader of the winning party Appoints all the others Senior members Secretaries of state for Health, Justice, Education,Faith,… (leaders of departments, ‘main ministers’) The CABINET “Guys officially assisting the secretaries of state in their departments” Winning party or coalition with majority Discussing hot issues every Tuesday and making important decisions

6. The Prime Minister = head of the UK government. He is ultimately responsible for all policy and decisions. He: - oversees the operation of the Civil Service and government agencies - appoints members of the government -> members of the CABINET - is the principal government figure in the House of Commons He is based at Number 10 Downing Street in London. Current Prime Minister (since 2010), leader of the Conservatives David Cameron

7. Famous Prime Ministers ”The best argument against democracy is a five- minute conversation with the average voter.” Conservative Prime Minister 1940-1945 during WW II. Sir Winston Churchill Conservative Prime Minister 1951-1955

8. Famous Prime Ministers “The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money.” Baroness Margaret Thatcher First female British Prime Minister -> Conservative, 1979-1990 The “Iron Lady”

9. The CABINET -Prime Minister -Deputy Prime Minister -First Secretary of State -Chancellor of the Exchequer -Sec. Of State for Home Department -Sec. Of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs -Sec. Of State for Justice -Sec. Of State for Defence -Sec. Of State for Business, Innovation and Skills -Sec. Of State for Work and Pensions -Sec. Of State for Health … Currently appointed by David Cameron  Conservatives and Liberal Democrats (Coalition) The programme: "rebuild the economy, unlock social mobility, mend the political system and give people the power to call the shots over the decisions that affect their lives".

10. Government budget and spending

12. The House of Lords Currently 793 seats: -Lords Spiritual – 26 -Hereditary peers – 92 -The rest - Life peers (appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister) Labour Conser- vatives Liberals a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process The upper house of parliament

13. Meeting place --> Palace of Westminster

14. The Monarch Lives in Buckingham palace Since 1952: Queen Elizabeth II. (88) official, ceremonial, diplomatic and representational duties. Commander-in-chief of the British Armed Forces Limited power by law, convention and precedent The head of the church

15. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsAa9Vm wOaI http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TsAa9Vm wOaI

16. UK government quiz for dummies: Who is the current Prime Minister? a) b)c)

17. UK government quiz for dummies: Where does the UK Monarch live? a) b) c)d)

18. UK government quiz for dummies: If you don‘t have double C, I have bad news for you… …there is a strong possibility that you might be RETARDED!

19. Thanks for your attention!