United Kingdom

Flag of the United Kingdom

**Parliament**

The **United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland**, commonly referred to as the **United Kingdom** (**UK**) or **Great Britain** is a sovereign state, formed of four United nations; England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The UK is a unitary parliamentary democracy and constitutional monarchy, where the monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, has reigned since 1952. The capital and largest city is London, a global city and financial centre with a metropolitan area population of over 14 million. Other major cities include Birmingham, Manchester, Glasgow, Liverpool and Leeds. Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland have their own devolved governments, each with varying powers (see #devolution).

## Government and Politics

The United Kingdom is a unitary state under a constitutional monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the monarch and head of state of the United Kingdom, as well as 14 other independent countries (formerly of the British Empire), which form the Commonwealth of Nations.

The Constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified and consists mostly of a collection of disparate written sources, including statutes, judge-made case law and international treaties, together with constitutional conventions. The UK Parliament can carry out constitutional reform by passing acts of parliament, and thus has the political power to change or abolish almost any written or unwritten element of the constitution. No sitting parliament can pass laws that future parliaments cannot change.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy and a constitutional monarchy.The Parliament of the United Kingdom is sovereign, comprising the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Crown. The main business of parliament takes place in the two houses, but royal assent is required for a bill to become an act of parliament (law).

For general elections (elections to the House of Commons), the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each of which is represented by a member of Parliament (MP). MPs hold office for up to five years and are always up for re-election in general elections. The Conservative Party, Labour Party and Scottish National Party are, respectively, the current first, second and third largest parties (by number of MPs) in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister is the head of government in the United Kingdom. Nearly all prime ministers have served as First Lord of the Treasury and all prime ministers have continuously served as First Lord of the Treasury since 1905, Minister for the Civil Service since 1968 and Minister for the Union since 2019. In modern times, the prime minister is, by constitutional convention, an MP. They are appointed by the monarch, and their appointment is governed by constitutional conventions. However, they are normally the leader of the political party with the most seats in the House of Commons and hold office by virtue of their ability to command the confidence of the House of Commons.

The prime minister not only has statutory functions (alongside other ministers), but is the monarch's principal adviserand it is for them to advise the monarch on the exercise of the royal prerogative in relation to government. In particular, the prime minister recommends the appointment of ministers and chairs the Cabinet.