Government UK - US

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.
The monarch of
the UK is the head of state, and the elected Prime Minister is the head of
government who serves in mostly ceremonial roles and doesn't have many
real independent powers.
The form of government is parliamentary that has got two chambers,
the House of Commons and the House of Lords. UK government is formed
under a majority elected in the House of Commons in general elections.
Executive power is exercised by the UK government and the semi-
autonomous governments of Ireland, Wales, and Scotland. The legislative
power is held by the government and the two Houses but is mostly
exercised by the Houses after the debate.
The UK political system is marked by multi-party rivalry and the two most
important rivals in politics are the Conservative Party and the Labor Party. Although
there are other parties, these two parties usually maintain a majority in the general
elections. The Parliament is the supreme legislative body and its head is the
Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II.
The two houses are also called lower and upper houses. The lower or House
of Commons has 650 members who are elected by general elections under the
electoral system that are held periodically after every 5 years. The prime minister and
his Cabinet (the ministers) are elected from the House of Commons. The
government is formed by the majority party in the House of Lords. The Queen
appoints the Prime Minister considering his or her support in the parliament. Such a
government may be forced to dissolve the government or resign in case of a
successful Vote of no No-Confidence. The head of the house is the Speaker of
House. The upper or House of Lords is not elected by the general public rather
appointed by the present and past governments.
The constitution of the United Kingdom is not codified or written formally;
rather it consists of conventions, rules, and statutes. All the legislation done under
the powers of the parliament is within the constitutional conventions. The executive
power that is held by the government is exercised on behalf of the monarch, who is
considered the sovereign.
The third important component of the government is the Judiciary that is
independent of the Executive and the Legislature. United Kingdom’s legal system is
a combined law of Britain and the devolved states of Scotland and Wales. The law is
interpreted and implemented by the legal courts. The Supreme Court is the highest
legal power that has its subordinate courts. The lower courts are independent but
only their decisions can be challenged in the Supreme Court. The higher court for
appeals is the House of Lords.
Differences between Us and British Political System

 The primary difference is the form of government. As opposed to a parliamentary
system of democracy, the US has a presidential democracy form of
government.
 The president is elected directly by the general public, while the congress is
elected in separate elections. This keeps the separation of powers.
 The legislative power is held by the congress while the executive powers are with
the president. The US president specifies the names of his vice, secretary of
state, and others aides before the election. These appointments cannot be the
elected congressmen.
 No member of government is allowed to be a member of the senate; a concept
supporting separation of powers. While in the UK the minister has to be a
member of parliament.
 The elected US president makes a few thousand political appointments. While in
UK Prime Minister appoints his Cabinet of several ministers from the
parliament.
 The US has a written constitution, while Britain has no written formal constitution;
rather it is in form of constitutional conventions and small statutes.
 The transition of power from the previous to the new president in the US takes
more than 3 months. While in the UK the previous Prime Minister evacuates the
10-Downing Street within hours after losing the elections.
 Unlike Britain where the Prime Minister and his cabinet are answerable to the
parliament, the US president is not questionable by the senate; however, any
new law or regulation signed by the president has to be passed through the
senate.
 UK parliament may pass vote-of-no-confidence to dissolve the government. US
congress cannot do so.

Government UK - US

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Government UK - US

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The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy.

Differences between Us and British Political System

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