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Text 1D. Political system
The United Kingdom is a monarchy. The Queen is the official head of state. In practice the country is ruled by the government of the party that has majority in the parliament after the elections. The leader of the majority party usually becomes the prime minister.
The British Parliament has two chambers. The House of Lords, the upper chamber, consists of approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clerical lords – bishops and archbishops. The House of Commons, the lower chamber, which is more politically important, has 646 seats since the elections of 2005. The members of parliament, most often called MPs for short, are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is dissolved earlier.
There are three main political parties: the Labour, the Conservative, and the Liberal. Nationalist parties of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland are represented in parliament too, but they are much smaller. In 2010 a general election was held. The Conservative party achieved a majority in the House of Commons, and the leader of the party David Cameron was appointed Prime Minister by the Queen.
Britain has a long judicial history. Its legal system has been emulated throughout the world, especially such principles as the right to trial by jury; the right to due process of law; freedom from unlawful imprisonment, the trial system of prosecution and defence; and the presumption that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
Britain does not have a Supreme Court that reviews legislation to determine its constitutionality; that responsibility falls to Parliament. The highest court of appeal is the House of Lords.
The flag of the United Kingdom consists of a blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland). Its proper name is the Union Flag, but it is commonly called the Union Jack. The national anthem is called ‘God save the Queen’.
In the Royal Coats of Arms there are three lions symbolize England, a lion rampant – Scotland, and a harp – Ireland. The whole is encircled and is supported by a lion and a unicorn. The lion has been used as a symbol of national strength and of the British monarchy for many centuries. The unicorn, a mythical animal that looks like a horse with a long straight horn, has appeared on the Scottish and British royal coats of arms for many centuries, and is a symbol of purity.
The United Kingdom is a highly developed industrial country. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of machinery, electronics, textile, aircraft and navigation equipment. Its economy is mixed, meaning that some sectors of the economy are operated by the government and some are operated by private businesses.
Though United Kingdom is not an empire any more, its role in world politics is fairly important. The country stood at the beginnings of the UN; it is a member of the Big Eight and NATO (where it is USA's closest ally). United Kingdom also joined EC, though many people were against it and wanted to keep the traditional trend of British politics which always was separate from Europe. UK did not join several important EC treaties including the one establishing common EC currency.
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