God Save the Queen: The British Government System

Here is a very old photo of me (from 2015) from the last time I went to Buckingham Palace to kick off our post about the British government (and yes that is me with the hot pink hair). 

I'm sure that many of you have heard of the Queen of England: Queen Elizabeth II. But did you know that she isn't actually the one who is truly running the country? The Prime Minister is actually the leader of the Government and she is ultimately responsible for all policy and decisions. She's kind of like our president. Right now the Prime Minister is Theresa May. So the Queen is more of a figure head while the Prime Minister is the one who is making decisions with the help of the cabinet. 

This is Theresa May:

 

 

This is Queen Elizabeth II during her coronation in 1953 and then a more recent photo from 2016. The queen is currently 92 years old (wow!):

 

So, if Theresa May has all the power, then what does the cabinet do? Well, like the checks and balances that we have in the U.S., the UK does something similar. You don't want one person to have all the power (that's called a dictator) so you break up the power among a few branches of government. In Britain, that second branch is the cabinet. The cabinet is made up of secretaries of state from the various government departments as well as some other ministers. There are 119 ministers in total, but only 22 are in the cabinet. There are 25 departments (but only 22 department representatives in the cabinet. I don't know why). There is also an entire agency dedicated to civil service. They basically do administrative work for the government.

Have any of you ever heard of Parliament? They meet up in in a huge building that is attached to Big Ben:

Parliament is actually separate from the government so that they can be unbiased. Every week they meet up and talk about government issues, pass new laws, and set taxes. Also, during Parliament is when the cabinet gets together to discuss the government. So basically, all of the power in the U.K. is split between the Prime Minister and Parliament. 

There are also smaller local governments here. These local governments are made up of two tiers: county council and city council. They decide on specific city issues like trash pickup, infrastructure, and local laws. I actually live right next to the Bristol city hall where the council holds its meetings. This is a photo I took during one of Bristol's few sunny days in the last few weeks. It's hard to see, but the top of the building has a unicorn on it. The unicorn is the national animal of England!

 

So, then what does the Queen do and why is she important? We hear about the royal family a lot, but what do they actually do? Mostly the Queen is a diplomat and represents the country. She travels around as a figure head and also hosts lots of dinners for other foreign government officials. She is the face of England and has been for the last 66 years. People in England generally love the Queen. While she might look like a cute old lady, she's seriously also a pretty amazing woman. Here are some cool facts about the Queen:

• She was a mechanic in World War II
• She technically owns all of the swans and dolphins in England
• She doesn't need a passport to travel
• She is the only person in England who doesn't need a license to drive
• She doesn't have to pay taxes but chooses to anyway
• She loves corgis and has owned more than 30 during her reign
• She is the world's longest ruling monarch
• She has two birthdays
• She one time took a trip to Scotland where she met some American tourists. They didn't recognize her asked her if she had ever met the Queen. She said no, but pointed to the officer guarding her and said "but he has!"

What are your favorite facts about the Queen?

At 92 years old, the country must be prepared for her death, but what happens when she dies? Well in 2018 she officially announced that her successor will be her son Charles, prince of Wales. When the Queen dies there will be a mourning period of 12 days across Britain. Her body will stay in Westminster Abbey until her funeral so that the public can pay their respects. Flags will also be flown at half-mast until the end of the mourning period. One of the biggest changes that will happen is that they will have to print all new money with the King's face on it since everything currently has the Queen's face on it. 

           

The U.K. Will also go through a big change in 2022 when they hold another general election for Prime Minister. They hold an election every five years. Unlike in the U.S. the general election votes for members of parliament (MPs) instead of an individual candidate. Whichever political party has the most MPs at the end of the election wins. The leader of that political party then becomes the Prime Minister. In 2017, most of the MPs voted into office were conservative, so Theresa May, the leader of the conservative party at the time, became the PM. May was voted to be the party leader by the MPs at the time, and not by the people of England. Many people in England do not like this system because they feel as if they do not truly have a say in who runs the country. I don't personally have an opinion, but many people also do not like Theresa May, and she is growing in unpopularity due to Brexit (which i will talk about in my next post). What do you think? How does the American voting system compare to the British system? What could either country learn from the other? Is there anything that you would like for me to explain more in my next post? 

I'll be traveling some more this week since it's Easter break, so I'll have a new photo of me in a fun place on Friday. Want to guess where I'm going? Hint: they have amazing chocolate. Here is a photo of me and some friends from a few months ago in front of Westminster Abbey which is the place of coronation for British royalty:

 

See y'all on Friday!