Great Britain

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland) is a country located in Western Europe on the British Isles. Its territory is 244.1 thousand square kilometers, population-more than 60 million people, official language-English, official religion-Protestantism (90 % of the population); capital — London. The United Kingdom is a unitary state. The historical parts of the United Kingdom are England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Their administrative-territorial division is different. The Constitution as a single legislative act that establishes the foundations of the state system does not exist in Great Britain.

a parliamentary monarchy. The political regime is democratic. The head of state is the monarch (king or queen). The monarch formally has quite extensive powers: the appointment of the Prime Minister and members of the government, other officials (judges, officers of the armed forces, diplomats, senior church officials of the dominant church), the convocation and dissolution of parliament, the right to veto laws passed by parliament, etc. Traditionally, the monarch opens the sessions of Parliament by delivering a keynote speech prepared by the Prime Minister, which proclaims the main directions of domestic and foreign policy. The monarch is also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, he officially represents the country in international relations, concludes and ratifies treaties with foreign states, declares war and makes peace, and has the right to pardon. In fact, virtually all the powers of the monarch are exercised on his behalf by the Government. By virtue of responsible government, government officials prepare all acts issued by the monarch and are responsible for them.

public importance. Among the most important functions of the Parliament are the adoption of laws and control over the activities of the Government. The right of legislative initiative is exercised by members of Parliament, and accordingly by members of the government, since ministers must be deputies of one of the chambers. Government bills (bills) have priority: MPs who are not members of the government can introduce bills only one day a week (on Friday), while members of the government — at any time. Bills are introduced in both the upper and lower houses of parliament, but, as a rule, they are discussed first in the House of Commons and only then in the House of Lords. The bill passes three readings.

elections. The leader of the party that wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons becomes Prime Minister. Formally, he is appointed by the monarch.On the proposal of the Prime Minister, the Monarch appoints the remaining members of the Government. In the UK, the concepts of "government" and "cabinet"are distinguished. The Cabinet develops the state policy on the main issues.The Cabinet is an organizationally separate part of the government. The minutes of its meetings are not subject to public disclosure for 30 years. Members of the Cabinet take an oath of non-disclosure of information related to its activities.

deal with local affairs (police, social services, roads, etc.). In the late 1990s, a major state and legal reform began in Great Britain, designed to give some historical parts of the kingdom state and political autonomy. At the end of 1999, the UK Parliament formally transferred some powers to the Northern Ireland Legislative Assembly through the Decentralisation Act, ending 25 years of London's direct rule of Ulster. In 1997. Referendums on the creation of the Scottish Parliament and the Welsh Assembly were held. Based on their results, the relevant bodies were elected in 1999.However, the degree of political autonomy obtained varies: in Scotland it is very significant, in Wales it is rudimentary (the assembly is only an advisory body).