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The politics of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is of a constitutional monarchy with the Monarch as the head of state and the Prime Minister the head of government.
The British monarchy is the oldest institute of government in the world. The Monarch is a king or queen who rules the country. The power of the monarch is believed to come from God and the monarch used to be very powerful. However, since the passing of the Bill of Rights in 1689, the power of the monarch has been greatly reduced. Now, the primary role of the monarchy is to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British State. The current monarch of the state is Elizabeth II.
The British government exercises the executive power. The Prime Minister, the head of government, is assigned by the monarch from the political party that wins the most seats in the General Election. The Legislative power is exercised by two chambers of the Parliament, the House of Lords and the House of the Commons. The House of the Lords consists of the Archbishops and bishops of the Church and barons as well as life peers. The main duty of the House of Lord is to assist and scrutinize the work the other House. The House of Commons are elected through the General Election and responsible for the legislative power, judicial powers and the financial right as well as the supervision right.
The UK is a multi-party system. The two largest political parties are Conservative Party and the Labour Party. The third biggest party, the Liberal Democrats, is not powerful enough to form a government but it is very important in that it has a great impact on determining which of the two biggest party wins.
General Election is a good way for British citizens to participate in the British politics. Every qualified voter can vote for his ideal candidate and party.
大不列颠及北爱尔兰联合王国是一个君主立宪制国家。君主是国家最高的首领，首相是政府首脑。
英国的君主制是世界上最古老的政府机构之一。君主即统治国家的国王或女王。通常人们相信君权神授，因此，古代英国君主的权力很大。从1689年《权利法案》通过之后，君主的权力大大被削减。如今，君主的最主要职责是代表英国的传统与团结。英国的现任君主是伊丽莎白二世。
英国政府行使行政权。而政府的首脑，即首相，是由君主从大选中获得最多席位的政党中任命而产生的。立法权由议会两院行使。议会两院包括上议院和下议院。上议院成员包括大主教，主教，贵族和终身贵族。上议院的主要负责辅助和监督下议院。下议院议员由大选产生，行使立法权、司法权、财政权和监督权。
英国为多党制国家，保守党和工党是英国最大的两个政党。第三大政党自由民主党虽不足以组建政府，但在决定其余两党哪个党在大选中获胜上发挥着极其重要的作用。
英国大选为国民参与英国政治提供了一个很好的平台。每一个具有选举权的公民都可以为自己喜欢的政党和候选人投票。
The monarchy in Britain is the oldest form of government which could be traced back to the AngloSaxon time. The continuity of the monarchy never stops except for once during the years 1649 to 1660 when the Civil War took place in Britain.
It was believed that the power of the monarchy comes directly from God instead of its subject. That is to say, the monarch had the "divine right of kings". Its subjects had no right to interfere or control the power of king.
However, not everyone was satisfied with the sovereign, especially when the king abused his power. There were events in the history of the State for the British people to fight against the power of the monarchs. As a result of these events, the monarchy's absolute power has declined.
In 125, a group of people from federal barons and the Church fought against King John's abusing of power. Their objection was so powerful that the King was forced to grant them a charter of liberty and political rights, known as Magna Carta (a Latin name). This charter helped limiting the King's abuse of power to some extent.
Another such event occurred in 1688 when King James II governed the country regardless of the opinion of the Parliament. The joint effort from politicians and church authorities replaced him with his son-in-Law, William of Orange who accepted more constraints from Parliament than previous monarchs had. In 1689, the Parliament passed the Bill of Rights to limit the power of the monarchy which marked the establishment of the limited constitutional monarchy.
Nowadays, the primary role of the monarchy is to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British State. Other roles of the monarch stated in the Constitution include: She is legally head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces and "supreme governor" of the Church of England.
在英国，君主制是最古老的政府机构，可以追溯到盎格鲁·萨克逊时期。英国的君主只有在1649～1660年英国内战时期终止，除此之外，英国的君主制再也没有中断过。
人们大多相信“君权神授”，即君主的权力来自上帝而不是臣民，因此，君主的权力是神圣的。臣民无权干涉或阻碍君主行使权力。
然而，并不是所有的君主都能做到顺息民意，尤其是当君主滥用权力的时候。英国历史上就有几次人民反抗君主权力的事件。而君主的权力也由此不断受到限制。
125年，一群封建贵族和教会成员联合对当时的君主约翰王发起反抗，反对其滥用君权。反抗的力量非常强大，约翰王被迫签署了代表自由和政治权利《大宪章》。《大宪章》大大地削弱了君主的权力。
另一个限制君权的事件发生在1688年。当时，国王詹姆士二世毫不听取议会的意见。一些政治人士和教会首脑联合起来推翻了詹姆士二世的统治，把他的女儿玛丽和女婿奥伦治威廉推上了王位。威廉和玛丽在1689年接受了议会提出的限制君主的权力的《权利法案》，君主的权力受到了前所未有的削减。《权利法案》标志着英国君主立宪制的形成。
如今，君主的主要角色是代表国家的传统和团结。宪法规定的君主的其他职责还有：她是行政首脑，立法机构的组成部分，司法首脑，全国武装部队总司令，英国国教“至高无上”的领袖。
词汇 Vocabulary
1 monarchy [ˈmɔnəki] n. 君主政体；君主国；君主政治
2 continuity [,kɔntiˈnju(:)iti] n. 连续性；一连串；分镜头剧本
3 baron [ˈbærən] n. 男爵；大亨；巨头
4 Magna Carta n. 大宪章；保障人民权利与自由的法令
5 authority [ɔ:ˈθɔriti] n. 权威；权力；当局
6 constitutional [,kɔnstiˈtju:ʃənəl] a. 宪法的；本质的 n. 保健散步；保健运动
7 executive [iɡˈzekjutiv] ad. 行政的；经营的；执行的，经营管理的 n. 经理；执行委员会；经理主管人员
8 legislature [ˈledʒis,leitʃə] n. 立法机关；立法机构
9 judiciary [dʒu(:)ˈdiʃiəri] n. 司法部；法官；司法制度 法官的；法院的
Tips
Magna Carta
《大宪章》主要内容有：保障教会选举教职人员的自由；保护贵族和骑士的领地继承权，国王不得违例征收领地继承税；未经由贵族、教士和骑士组成的“王国大会议”的同意，国王不得向直属附庸征派补助金和盾牌钱；取消国王干涉封建主法庭从事司法审判的权利；未经同级贵族的判决，国王不得任意逮捕或监禁任何自由人或没收他们的财产。此外，少数条款涉及城市，如确认城市已享有的权利、保护商业自由、统一度量衡等。大宪章是对王权的限定，国王如违背之，由25名贵族组成的委员会有权对国王使用武力。
The United Kingdom Parliament, also known as the Westminster Parliament, is the supreme legislative and judicial authority that is consisted of three parts: the Monarchy, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The word "parliament" derives from the word "parley", namely, to negotiate. The original form of Parliament in Britain was the Great Council. The Great Council was a gathering of leading, wealth barons who were assembled by the King to collect money for special needs, such as starting a war. By the 13th century, kings found that the money collected from the barons was not enough, thus they included representatives of counties, cities and towns in the Great Council. Therefore, the group of barons has come to known as the House of Lords while the other group became the House of Commons.
The main duties of the Parliament include passing laws and voting for taxation in order to support the working of the government. The Parliament also plays the role to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure and to debate the major issues of the day. It alones has the power to change the Constitution.
The House of Lords nowadays consists of the Archbishops and bishops of the Church, barons and life peers. There are generally two ways to become a member of the House of Lords, one is to inherit from their forefathers and the other is to be appointed by the sovereign for their contribution to the country. The latter are also called life peers who can't pass their title to their offspring. The House of Lords mainly supports and scrutinizes the work the other House. The House of Lords is the highest judicial administrative organ of the State.
The members of The House of Commons are selected for a five-year term of office. The party that owns the most seats in the House of Commons becomes the party in office. The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch from this party. The House of Commons owns the legislative powers, judicial powers and the financial right as well as the supervision right.
Within the parliament, in terms of representation, the monarch, as the symbol of the country, is nonpolitical and represents each and all; the House of Lords are not elected and therefore are not considered to represent anyone besides themselves; the House of Commons are elected, so they represent for the group of people who vote for them.
英国议会或威斯敏斯特议会，是英国最高立法和司法机关。英国议会由三个部分组成：君主、上议院和下议院。Parliament这个单词由parley衍生而来，parley的意思是协商。英国议会的雏形是大议会（the Great Council）。大议会是国王为某些特殊需求，比如征战，筹措资金而召集有名望的富有贵族开的会议。到了13世纪，国王意识到贵族无法满足他们的经济需求，因此，他们把来自不同县市镇的代表也囊括到了大议会中。后来，那部分贵族演变为上议院议员，而那些各个地方的代表则构成了下议院。
议会的主要职责包括通过立法和为政府的正常运作筹措资金。议会同时还有监督政府政策、政府工作和政府支出的职能。议会也是唯一有权修改宪法的机构。
上议院成员包括大主教、主教、贵族和终身贵族。一般来说，能够成为上议院议员的途径有两种，一是继承；二是凭借对国家的巨大贡献被君主授予终身议员的头衔。但是后者的头衔不具有传承性。上议院主要职责是辅助和监督下议院。上议院是国家最高司法机构。
下议院议员由选举产生，任期5年。在大选中获得最多议员席位的政党成为执政党。首相也是君主从该政党中任命产生。下议院行使的主要权利有立法权、司法权、财政权和监督权。
构成议会的不同部分代表不同人的利益。君主作为国家的标志不具有政治性，因此代表英国的所有公民；上议院不是通过选举产生，因此只代表自己；下议院议员都是通过选举产生的，他们代表支持他们的群体的利益。
词汇 Vocabulary
1 parliament [ˈpɑ:ləmənt] n. 议会，国会
2 scrutinize [ˈskrutinaiz] vi. 细阅；作详细检查 vt. 详细检查；细看 n. 仔细或彻底检查
3 debate [diˈbeit] vt. 辩论，争论，讨论 vi. 辩论，争论，讨论 n. 辩论；辩论会
4 Archbishop [ˈɑ:tʃˈbiʃəp] n. 【宗】大主教；总教主
5 peer [piə] vi. 凝视，窥视 vi. 封为贵族；与……同等 n. 贵族；同等的人
6 representation [,reprizenˈteiʃən] n. 代表；表现；表示法；陈述
Tips
1. The Houses of Parliament
依泰晤士河而建的议会大厦（the Houses of Parliament）位于伦敦市中心区的泰晤士河畔，是19世纪中期英国最主要的哥特式建筑。大厦建立在泰晤士河畔一个近于梯形的地段上，面向泰晤士河。议会大厦内有一千间房间，自13世纪以来此处便是英国国会开会之处，也同时兼为国王宫殿。大厦一侧有一座闻名中外的“大本钟”。大本钟每小时报时一次，钟声响起时远近可闻，且是十分准时，英国BBC电视台也是依据此钟报时。
2. Life peers
终身贵族，亦作一代贵族，是英国贵族的一种。与一般贵族不同的是，终身贵族只限于个人，不能让其子女世袭继承。现时的终身贵族由1958年制定的《终身贵族法》所管制，爵位只限于男爵。终身贵族的称呼与勋爵一样，而且都可以成为上议院的议员。成为终身贵族，可以选择封邑，但这个“封邑”只是象征式，并不会为贵族贡献税收。英国著名的终身贵族有彭定康、邓莲如、玛格丽特·希尔达·撒切尔和安德鲁·劳埃德·韦伯。
The United Kingdom is the first country in the world to start general election and its election system has a great influence on British representative democratic political system as well as that of other western countries.
All the qualified citizens in Britain can vote. The qualification to vote covers the following aspects:
1. Nationality. People with British nationalities (Irish citizenship and citizenship of the British Commonwealth of Nations are included) can vote.
2. Age. People who are 18 or above can vote.
3. Residential limitation. People who live in the parliamentary constituency for at least 3 months can vote, except for army members who have the right to vote after staying for 1 month.
4. People who cannot vote are those who have mental problems or who serve their terms in prison.
Only after all of the above qualifications are met can a person vote.
The whole state is generally divided into 651 parliamentary constituencies; with each constituency contain a population of around 50, 000 people. The voting committee is responsible for balancing the numbers of voters in all the constituencies so that every constituency is of approximately equal voters.
In each constituency, there is a register official assigned by the government to do the registration for the voters door-to-door and work out an "electoral register". "Electoral register" is a list on which all the qualified voters appear. When the voting date is decided, each voter can receive a voting card via mail with detailed information about when and where the voting will take place (The voting date is not fixed in Britain). When the day comes, the voters go to the voting station and exchange the voting card for another card with names of the candidate on. Every voter has only one vote and is allowed to vote for one candidate. After choosing the candidate, the voter folds the voting card and put it into a sealed box.
The candidates to be voted are mostly from different political parties. The local organization of each party selects the most suitable candidate to represent the party and compete with other candidates. The candidate with the most votes of the constituency wins and the party with the most constituencies wins the election.
All the political parties conduct electoral campaigns to win more votes. There are constituency campaigns and national campaigns. In the campaign, each party uses newspaper advertisement, door-to-door campaign, postal deliveries of leaflets and TV campaigns to "sell" their policies.
The counting begins immediately after the voting and the result of the voting comes out a few hours later. The party with the most constituencies wins the election and forms the new government.
英国是世界上第一个实行大选的国家。英国选举制度对英国的代表民主政治体系乃至其他西方国家的政治体系都有很大的影响。
所有符合条件的英国公民都可以参加选举。参与选举的条件包括：
一、国籍。拥有英国国籍的臣民，包括居住在英国的任何英联邦国家和爱尔兰共和国的公民都有选举权。
二、年龄。英国现行法律规定，18岁为选民最低年龄资格条件，不到18岁者无选民资格。
三、居住。普通选民在选区的居住时间限制至少是三个月。军人选民在选区的居住时间限制至少是一个月。
四、因精神问题和刑事问题而丧失投票行为能力和行为资格的人没有选民资格。
只有符合了上面的所有条件才能选举投票。
整个英国被划分为651个选区，每个选区的人数在5万左右。选举委员会负责平衡选区的选举人数从而保证每个选区的选民人数基本一致。
每个选区都有政府指派的注册官员，负责上门进行登记选民并制成“选民登记册”。“选民登记册”上列出所有符合条件的选民。一旦选举日期确定了（英国没有固定的选举日期），每个选民都会收到附有选举卡片的信件。选举卡片上有选举时间和地点的信息。到了选举日，选民来到选举点，把收到的选举卡片换成另一张上有候选人名字的卡片。每个选民只能为一个候选人投票，而且只能投一次票。选择了候选人之后，选民把卡片折叠并投入一个密封的信箱里。
大多数候选人都来自政党。每个政党在不同地区都有地方组织，负责选出该地区的候选人来与其他政党候选人竞争席位。各选区获得最多票数的候选人赢得该选区，赢得最多选择的政党就是大选的胜利者。
所有的政党都会通过举办竞选活动来赢得更多选票。竞选活动分选区竞选活动和全国竞选活动两种。在竞选活动中，各政党都会通过广告、上门宣传、邮寄竞选传单和电视竞选来“推销”自己的政策主张。
投票一结束，计票就开始了。投票结果在几个小时后之后就揭晓了。赢得最多选区的政党赢得大选并组成新政府。
词汇 Vocabulary
1 qualification [,kwɔlifiˈkeiʃən] n. 资格；条件；限制；赋予资格
2 commonwealth [ˈkɔmənwelθ] n. 联邦；共和国；国民整体
3 residential [,reziˈdenʃəl] a. 住宅的；与居住有关的
4 constituency [kənˈstitjuənsi] n. （选区的）选民；支持者；（一批）顾客
5 campaign [kæmˈpein] vi. 作战；参加竞选；参加活动 n. 运动；活动；战役
Tips
First-past-the-post election system
简单多数选举制（First-past-the-post election system），即根据一党所占有的议员数量。如果一党拥有绝对多数的议员，则此党将组成下届政府，该党党魁则成为首相。如果没有任何党派拥有绝对多数席位，则合计拥有绝对多数席位的两个或多个政党将组成联合政府（Coalition government），基本上其中最大党党魁将成为首相；或者单独一党成立政府，并通过与其他党派非正式的联盟和协议而得以延续。