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class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Executive" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Executive"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3</span> <span>Executive</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Executive-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Executive subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Executive-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-His_Majesty's_Government" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#His_Majesty's_Government"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1</span> <span>His Majesty's Government</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-His_Majesty's_Government-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-The_Prime_Minister_and_the_Cabinet" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#The_Prime_Minister_and_the_Cabinet"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.1</span> <span>The Prime Minister and the Cabinet</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-The_Prime_Minister_and_the_Cabinet-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Government_departments_and_the_Civil_Service" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Government_departments_and_the_Civil_Service"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">3.1.2</span> <span>Government departments and the Civil Service</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Government_departments_and_the_Civil_Service-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Heads_of_governments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Heads_of_governments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4</span> <span>Heads of governments</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Heads_of_governments-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Heads of governments subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Heads_of_governments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Current_heads_of_government" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Current_heads_of_government"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.1</span> <span>Current heads of government</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Current_heads_of_government-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Timeline_of_leaders" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Timeline_of_leaders"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">4.2</span> <span>Timeline of leaders</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Timeline_of_leaders-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Devolved_national_governments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Devolved_national_governments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5</span> <span>Devolved national governments</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Devolved_national_governments-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Devolved national governments subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Devolved_national_governments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Scottish_Government" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scottish_Government"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.1</span> <span>Scottish Government</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scottish_Government-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Welsh_Government" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Welsh_Government"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.2</span> <span>Welsh Government</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Welsh_Government-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Northern_Ireland_Executive" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Northern_Ireland_Executive"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">5.3</span> <span>Northern Ireland Executive</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Northern_Ireland_Executive-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Legislatures" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Legislatures"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6</span> <span>Legislatures</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Legislatures-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Legislatures subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Legislatures-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-British_Parliament" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#British_Parliament"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1</span> <span>British Parliament</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-British_Parliament-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-House_of_Commons" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#House_of_Commons"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1.1</span> <span>House of Commons</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-House_of_Commons-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-House_of_Lords" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#House_of_Lords"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.1.2</span> <span>House of Lords</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-House_of_Lords-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Devolved_national_parliaments" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Devolved_national_parliaments"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2</span> <span>Devolved national parliaments</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Devolved_national_parliaments-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Scottish_Parliament" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scottish_Parliament"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2.1</span> <span>Scottish Parliament</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scottish_Parliament-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Senedd" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Senedd"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2.2</span> <span>Senedd</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Senedd-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Northern_Ireland_Assembly" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-3"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Northern_Ireland_Assembly"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">6.2.3</span> <span>Northern Ireland Assembly</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Northern_Ireland_Assembly-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Judiciary" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Judiciary"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7</span> <span>Judiciary</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Judiciary-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Judiciary subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Judiciary-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.1</span> <span>England, Wales and Northern Ireland</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Scotland" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scotland"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">7.2</span> <span>Scotland</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scotland-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Electoral_systems" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Electoral_systems"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">8</span> <span>Electoral systems</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Electoral_systems-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Political_parties" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Political_parties"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9</span> <span>Political parties</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-Political_parties-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle Political parties subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-Political_parties-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Conservatives_(Tories)" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Conservatives_(Tories)"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.1</span> <span>Conservatives (Tories)</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Conservatives_(Tories)-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Labour" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Labour"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.2</span> <span>Labour</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Labour-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Liberal_Democrats" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Liberal_Democrats"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.3</span> <span>Liberal Democrats</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Liberal_Democrats-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Scottish_National_Party" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Scottish_National_Party"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.4</span> <span>Scottish National Party</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Scottish_National_Party-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Northern_Ireland_parties" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Northern_Ireland_parties"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.5</span> <span>Northern Ireland parties</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Northern_Ireland_parties-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Plaid_Cymru" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Plaid_Cymru"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.6</span> <span>Plaid Cymru</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Plaid_Cymru-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Other_parliamentary_parties" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Other_parliamentary_parties"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.7</span> <span>Other parliamentary parties</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Other_parliamentary_parties-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Non-Parliamentary_political_parties" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Non-Parliamentary_political_parties"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.8</span> <span>Non-Parliamentary political parties</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Non-Parliamentary_political_parties-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-2015_to_2019" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#2015_to_2019"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.9</span> <span>2015 to 2019</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-2015_to_2019-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Current_political_landscape" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Current_political_landscape"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.10</span> <span>Current political landscape</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Current_political_landscape-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Membership" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Membership"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">9.11</span> <span>Membership</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Membership-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Local_government" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Local_government"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">10</span> <span>Local government</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Local_government-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Former_European_Union_membership" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Former_European_Union_membership"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">11</span> <span>Former European Union membership</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Former_European_Union_membership-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-International_organisation_participation" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#International_organisation_participation"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">12</span> <span>International organisation participation</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-International_organisation_participation-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-See_also" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#See_also"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13</span> <span>See also</span> </div> </a> <button aria-controls="toc-See_also-sublist" class="cdx-button cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only vector-toc-toggle"> <span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-expand"></span> <span>Toggle See also subsection</span> </button> <ul id="toc-See_also-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> <li id="toc-Overviews_by_period" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-2"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Overviews_by_period"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">13.1</span> <span>Overviews by period</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Overviews_by_period-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-References" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#References"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">14</span> <span>References</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-References-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-Further_reading" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#Further_reading"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">15</span> <span>Further reading</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-Further_reading-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> <li id="toc-External_links" class="vector-toc-list-item vector-toc-level-1"> <a class="vector-toc-link" href="#External_links"> <div class="vector-toc-text"> <span class="vector-toc-numb">16</span> <span>External links</span> </div> </a> <ul id="toc-External_links-sublist" class="vector-toc-list"> </ul> </li> </ul> </div> </div> </nav> </div> </div> <div class="mw-content-container"> <main id="content" class="mw-body"> <header class="mw-body-header vector-page-titlebar"> <nav aria-label="Contents" class="vector-toc-landmark"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown vector-page-titlebar-toc vector-button-flush-left" title="Table of Contents" > <input type="checkbox" id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-vector-page-titlebar-toc" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox " aria-label="Toggle the table of contents" > <label id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-label" for="vector-page-titlebar-toc-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--icon-only " aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-listBullet mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-listBullet"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">Toggle the table of contents</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div id="vector-page-titlebar-toc-unpinned-container" class="vector-unpinned-container"> </div> </div> </div> </nav> <h1 id="firstHeading" class="firstHeading mw-first-heading"><span class="mw-page-title-main">Politics of the United Kingdom</span></h1> <div id="p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown mw-portlet mw-portlet-lang" > <input type="checkbox" id="p-lang-btn-checkbox" role="button" aria-haspopup="true" data-event-name="ui.dropdown-p-lang-btn" class="vector-dropdown-checkbox mw-interlanguage-selector" aria-label="Go to an article in another language. Available in 40 languages" > <label id="p-lang-btn-label" for="p-lang-btn-checkbox" class="vector-dropdown-label cdx-button cdx-button--fake-button cdx-button--fake-button--enabled cdx-button--weight-quiet cdx-button--action-progressive mw-portlet-lang-heading-40" aria-hidden="true" ><span class="vector-icon mw-ui-icon-language-progressive mw-ui-icon-wikimedia-language-progressive"></span> <span class="vector-dropdown-label-text">40 languages</span> </label> <div class="vector-dropdown-content"> <div class="vector-menu-content"> <ul class="vector-menu-content-list"> <li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ar mw-list-item"><a href="https://ar.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%D9%8A%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D9%85%D9%84%D9%83%D8%A9_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AA%D8%AD%D8%AF%D8%A9" title="سياسة المملكة المتحدة – Arabic" lang="ar" hreflang="ar" data-title="سياسة المملكة المتحدة" data-language-autonym="العربية" data-language-local-name="Arabic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>العربية</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-az mw-list-item"><a href="https://az.wikipedia.org/wiki/B%C3%B6y%C3%BCk_Britaniya_v%C9%99_%C5%9Eimali_%C4%B0rlandiya_Birl%C9%99%C5%9Fmi%C5%9F_Krall%C4%B1%C4%9F%C4%B1n%C4%B1n_d%C3%B6vl%C9%99t_v%C9%99_siyasi_sistemi" title="Böyük Britaniya və Şimali İrlandiya Birləşmiş Krallığının dövlət və siyasi sistemi – Azerbaijani" lang="az" hreflang="az" data-title="Böyük Britaniya və Şimali İrlandiya Birləşmiş Krallığının dövlət və siyasi sistemi" data-language-autonym="Azərbaycanca" data-language-local-name="Azerbaijani" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Azərbaycanca</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be mw-list-item"><a href="https://be.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%96%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%96" title="Палітыка Вялікабрытаніі – Belarusian" lang="be" hreflang="be" data-title="Палітыка Вялікабрытаніі" data-language-autonym="Беларуская" data-language-local-name="Belarusian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-be-x-old mw-list-item"><a href="https://be-tarask.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%9F%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%96%D1%82%D1%8B%D0%BA%D0%B0_%D0%92%D1%8F%D0%BB%D1%96%D0%BA%D0%B0%D0%B1%D1%80%D1%8B%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%96" title="Палітыка Вялікабрытаніі – Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" lang="be-tarask" hreflang="be-tarask" data-title="Палітыка Вялікабрытаніі" data-language-autonym="Беларуская (тарашкевіца)" data-language-local-name="Belarusian (Taraškievica orthography)" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Беларуская (тарашкевіца)</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-bg mw-list-item"><a href="https://bg.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D1%8A%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%BE_%D1%83%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%9E%D0%B1%D0%B5%D0%B4%D0%B8%D0%BD%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BE%D1%82%D0%BE_%D0%BA%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%BB%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%BE_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D1%8F_%D0%B8_%D0%A1%D0%B5%D0%B2%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%BD%D0%B0_%D0%98%D1%80%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B4%D0%B8%D1%8F" title="Държавно устройство на Обединеното кралство Великобритания и Северна Ирландия – Bulgarian" lang="bg" hreflang="bg" data-title="Държавно устройство на Обединеното кралство Великобритания и Северна Ирландия" data-language-autonym="Български" data-language-local-name="Bulgarian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Български</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cs mw-list-item"><a href="https://cs.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politick%C3%BD_syst%C3%A9m_Spojen%C3%A9ho_kr%C3%A1lovstv%C3%AD" title="Politický systém Spojeného království – Czech" lang="cs" hreflang="cs" data-title="Politický systém Spojeného království" data-language-autonym="Čeština" data-language-local-name="Czech" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Čeština</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-cy mw-list-item"><a href="https://cy.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gwleidyddiaeth_y_Deyrnas_Unedig" title="Gwleidyddiaeth y Deyrnas Unedig – Welsh" lang="cy" hreflang="cy" data-title="Gwleidyddiaeth y Deyrnas Unedig" data-language-autonym="Cymraeg" data-language-local-name="Welsh" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Cymraeg</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-se mw-list-item"><a href="https://se.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stuora-Brit%C3%A1nnia_politihkka" title="Stuora-Británnia politihkka – Northern Sami" lang="se" hreflang="se" data-title="Stuora-Británnia politihkka" data-language-autonym="Davvisámegiella" data-language-local-name="Northern Sami" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Davvisámegiella</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-de mw-list-item"><a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politisches_System_des_Vereinigten_K%C3%B6nigreichs" title="Politisches System des Vereinigten Königreichs – German" lang="de" hreflang="de" data-title="Politisches System des Vereinigten Königreichs" data-language-autonym="Deutsch" data-language-local-name="German" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Deutsch</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-et mw-list-item"><a href="https://et.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suurbritannia_poliitika" title="Suurbritannia poliitika – Estonian" lang="et" hreflang="et" data-title="Suurbritannia poliitika" data-language-autonym="Eesti" data-language-local-name="Estonian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Eesti</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-el mw-list-item"><a href="https://el.wikipedia.org/wiki/%CE%A0%CE%BF%CE%BB%CE%B9%CF%84%CE%B9%CE%BA%CE%AE_%CF%84%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%97%CE%BD%CF%89%CE%BC%CE%AD%CE%BD%CE%BF%CF%85_%CE%92%CE%B1%CF%83%CE%B9%CE%BB%CE%B5%CE%AF%CE%BF%CF%85" title="Πολιτική του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου – Greek" lang="el" hreflang="el" data-title="Πολιτική του Ηνωμένου Βασιλείου" data-language-autonym="Ελληνικά" data-language-local-name="Greek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Ελληνικά</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-es mw-list-item"><a href="https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADtica_del_Reino_Unido" title="Política del Reino Unido – Spanish" lang="es" hreflang="es" data-title="Política del Reino Unido" data-language-autonym="Español" data-language-local-name="Spanish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Español</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fa mw-list-item"><a href="https://fa.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA_%D8%AF%D8%B1_%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7" title="سیاست در بریتانیا – Persian" lang="fa" hreflang="fa" data-title="سیاست در بریتانیا" data-language-autonym="فارسی" data-language-local-name="Persian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>فارسی</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-fr mw-list-item"><a href="https://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politique_au_Royaume-Uni" title="Politique au Royaume-Uni – French" lang="fr" hreflang="fr" data-title="Politique au Royaume-Uni" data-language-autonym="Français" data-language-local-name="French" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Français</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-gl mw-list-item"><a href="https://gl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADtica_do_Reino_Unido" title="Política do Reino Unido – Galician" lang="gl" hreflang="gl" data-title="Política do Reino Unido" data-language-autonym="Galego" data-language-local-name="Galician" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Galego</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ko mw-list-item"><a href="https://ko.wikipedia.org/wiki/%EC%98%81%EA%B5%AD%EC%9D%98_%EC%A0%95%EC%B9%98" title="영국의 정치 – Korean" lang="ko" hreflang="ko" data-title="영국의 정치" data-language-autonym="한국어" data-language-local-name="Korean" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>한국어</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-hi mw-list-item"><a href="https://hi.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%A4%AF%E0%A5%82%E0%A4%A8%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%87%E0%A4%9F%E0%A5%87%E0%A4%A1_%E0%A4%95%E0%A4%BF%E0%A4%82%E0%A4%97%E0%A4%A1%E0%A4%AE_%E0%A4%95%E0%A5%80_%E0%A4%B0%E0%A4%BE%E0%A4%9C%E0%A4%A8%E0%A5%80%E0%A4%A4%E0%A4%BF" title="यूनाइटेड किंगडम की राजनीति – Hindi" lang="hi" hreflang="hi" data-title="यूनाइटेड किंगडम की राजनीति" data-language-autonym="हिन्दी" data-language-local-name="Hindi" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>हिन्दी</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-id mw-list-item"><a href="https://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politik_Britania_Raya" title="Politik Britania Raya – Indonesian" lang="id" hreflang="id" data-title="Politik Britania Raya" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Indonesia" data-language-local-name="Indonesian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Indonesia</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-is mw-list-item"><a href="https://is.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bresk_stj%C3%B3rnm%C3%A1l" title="Bresk stjórnmál – Icelandic" lang="is" hreflang="is" data-title="Bresk stjórnmál" data-language-autonym="Íslenska" data-language-local-name="Icelandic" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Íslenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-it mw-list-item"><a href="https://it.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politica_del_Regno_Unito" title="Politica del Regno Unito – Italian" lang="it" hreflang="it" data-title="Politica del Regno Unito" data-language-autonym="Italiano" data-language-local-name="Italian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Italiano</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-he mw-list-item"><a href="https://he.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D7%A4%D7%95%D7%9C%D7%99%D7%98%D7%99%D7%A7%D7%94_%D7%A9%D7%9C_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%9E%D7%9C%D7%9B%D7%94_%D7%94%D7%9E%D7%90%D7%95%D7%97%D7%93%D7%AA" title="פוליטיקה של הממלכה המאוחדת – Hebrew" lang="he" hreflang="he" data-title="פוליטיקה של הממלכה המאוחדת" data-language-autonym="עברית" data-language-local-name="Hebrew" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>עברית</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ka mw-list-item"><a href="https://ka.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E1%83%92%E1%83%90%E1%83%94%E1%83%A0%E1%83%97%E1%83%98%E1%83%90%E1%83%9C%E1%83%94%E1%83%91%E1%83%A3%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98_%E1%83%A1%E1%83%90%E1%83%9B%E1%83%94%E1%83%A4%E1%83%9D%E1%83%A1_%E1%83%9E%E1%83%9D%E1%83%9A%E1%83%98%E1%83%A2%E1%83%98%E1%83%99%E1%83%A3%E1%83%A0%E1%83%98_%E1%83%9B%E1%83%9D%E1%83%AC%E1%83%A7%E1%83%9D%E1%83%91%E1%83%90" title="გაერთიანებული სამეფოს პოლიტიკური მოწყობა – Georgian" lang="ka" hreflang="ka" data-title="გაერთიანებული სამეფოს პოლიტიკური მოწყობა" data-language-autonym="ქართული" data-language-local-name="Georgian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>ქართული</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-lt mw-list-item"><a href="https://lt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jungtin%C4%97s_Karalyst%C4%97s_politin%C4%97_sistema" title="Jungtinės Karalystės politinė sistema – Lithuanian" lang="lt" hreflang="lt" data-title="Jungtinės Karalystės politinė sistema" data-language-autonym="Lietuvių" data-language-local-name="Lithuanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Lietuvių</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ms mw-list-item"><a href="https://ms.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politik_United_Kingdom" title="Politik United Kingdom – Malay" lang="ms" hreflang="ms" data-title="Politik United Kingdom" data-language-autonym="Bahasa Melayu" data-language-local-name="Malay" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Bahasa Melayu</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ja mw-list-item"><a href="https://ja.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E3%82%A4%E3%82%AE%E3%83%AA%E3%82%B9%E3%81%AE%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB" title="イギリスの政治 – Japanese" lang="ja" hreflang="ja" data-title="イギリスの政治" data-language-autonym="日本語" data-language-local-name="Japanese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>日本語</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-no mw-list-item"><a href="https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storbritannias_politiske_system" title="Storbritannias politiske system – Norwegian Bokmål" lang="nb" hreflang="nb" data-title="Storbritannias politiske system" data-language-autonym="Norsk bokmål" data-language-local-name="Norwegian Bokmål" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Norsk bokmål</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uz mw-list-item"><a href="https://uz.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buyuk_Britaniya_siyosati" title="Buyuk Britaniya siyosati – Uzbek" lang="uz" hreflang="uz" data-title="Buyuk Britaniya siyosati" data-language-autonym="Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча" data-language-local-name="Uzbek" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Oʻzbekcha / ўзбекча</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ps mw-list-item"><a href="https://ps.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D8%AF_%D8%A8%D8%B1%DB%8C%D8%AA%D8%A7%D9%86%DB%8C%D8%A7_%D8%B3%DB%8C%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%AA" title="د بریتانیا سیاست – Pashto" lang="ps" hreflang="ps" data-title="د بریتانیا سیاست" data-language-autonym="پښتو" data-language-local-name="Pashto" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>پښتو</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pl mw-list-item"><a href="https://pl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ustr%C3%B3j_polityczny_Wielkiej_Brytanii" title="Ustrój polityczny Wielkiej Brytanii – Polish" lang="pl" hreflang="pl" data-title="Ustrój polityczny Wielkiej Brytanii" data-language-autonym="Polski" data-language-local-name="Polish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Polski</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-pt mw-list-item"><a href="https://pt.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pol%C3%ADtica_do_Reino_Unido" title="Política do Reino Unido – Portuguese" lang="pt" hreflang="pt" data-title="Política do Reino Unido" data-language-autonym="Português" data-language-local-name="Portuguese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Português</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ro mw-list-item"><a href="https://ro.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politica_Regatului_Unit" title="Politica Regatului Unit – Romanian" lang="ro" hreflang="ro" data-title="Politica Regatului Unit" data-language-autonym="Română" data-language-local-name="Romanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Română</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-ru mw-list-item"><a href="https://ru.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%93%D0%BE%D1%81%D1%83%D0%B4%D0%B0%D1%80%D1%81%D1%82%D0%B2%D0%B5%D0%BD%D0%BD%D1%8B%D0%B9_%D1%81%D1%82%D1%80%D0%BE%D0%B9_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D0%B1%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B8" title="Государственный строй Великобритании – Russian" lang="ru" hreflang="ru" data-title="Государственный строй Великобритании" data-language-autonym="Русский" data-language-local-name="Russian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Русский</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sq mw-list-item"><a href="https://sq.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sistemi_shtet%C3%ABror_n%C3%AB_Mbret%C3%ABrin%C3%AB_e_Bashkuar" title="Sistemi shtetëror në Mbretërinë e Bashkuar – Albanian" lang="sq" hreflang="sq" data-title="Sistemi shtetëror në Mbretërinë e Bashkuar" data-language-autonym="Shqip" data-language-local-name="Albanian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Shqip</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-si mw-list-item"><a href="https://si.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B6%91%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%83%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%8A_%E0%B6%BB%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%B0%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%BA%E0%B7%9A_%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%9A%E0%B7%81%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%8F%E0%B6%BD%E0%B6%B1%E0%B6%BA" title="එක්සත් රාජධානියේ දේශපාලනය – Sinhala" lang="si" hreflang="si" data-title="එක්සත් රාජධානියේ දේශපාලනය" data-language-autonym="සිංහල" data-language-local-name="Sinhala" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>සිංහල</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sk mw-list-item"><a href="https://sk.wikipedia.org/wiki/Politick%C3%BD_syst%C3%A9m_Spojen%C3%A9ho_kr%C3%A1%C4%BEovstva" title="Politický systém Spojeného kráľovstva – Slovak" lang="sk" hreflang="sk" data-title="Politický systém Spojeného kráľovstva" data-language-autonym="Slovenčina" data-language-local-name="Slovak" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Slovenčina</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-sv mw-list-item"><a href="https://sv.wikipedia.org/wiki/Storbritannien#Statsskick_och_politik" title="Storbritannien – Swedish" lang="sv" hreflang="sv" data-title="Storbritannien" data-language-autonym="Svenska" data-language-local-name="Swedish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Svenska</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-tr mw-list-item"><a href="https://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birle%C5%9Fik_Krall%C4%B1k%27ta_siyaset" title="Birleşik Krallık'ta siyaset – Turkish" lang="tr" hreflang="tr" data-title="Birleşik Krallık'ta siyaset" data-language-autonym="Türkçe" data-language-local-name="Turkish" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Türkçe</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-uk mw-list-item"><a href="https://uk.wikipedia.org/wiki/%D0%94%D0%B5%D1%80%D0%B6%D0%B0%D0%B2%D0%BD%D0%B8%D0%B9_%D0%BB%D0%B0%D0%B4_%D0%92%D0%B5%D0%BB%D0%B8%D0%BA%D0%BE%D1%97_%D0%91%D1%80%D0%B8%D1%82%D0%B0%D0%BD%D1%96%D1%97" title="Державний лад Великої Британії – Ukrainian" lang="uk" hreflang="uk" data-title="Державний лад Великої Британії" data-language-autonym="Українська" data-language-local-name="Ukrainian" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Українська</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-vi mw-list-item"><a href="https://vi.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ch%C3%ADnh_tr%E1%BB%8B_V%C6%B0%C6%A1ng_qu%E1%BB%91c_Li%C3%AAn_hi%E1%BB%87p_Anh_v%C3%A0_B%E1%BA%AFc_Ireland" title="Chính trị Vương quốc Liên hiệp Anh và Bắc Ireland – Vietnamese" lang="vi" hreflang="vi" data-title="Chính trị Vương quốc Liên hiệp Anh và Bắc Ireland" data-language-autonym="Tiếng Việt" data-language-local-name="Vietnamese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>Tiếng Việt</span></a></li><li class="interlanguage-link interwiki-zh mw-list-item"><a href="https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E8%8B%B1%E5%9B%BD%E6%94%BF%E6%B2%BB" title="英国政治 – Chinese" lang="zh" hreflang="zh" data-title="英国政治" data-language-autonym="中文" data-language-local-name="Chinese" class="interlanguage-link-target"><span>中文</span></a></li> </ul> <div class="after-portlet after-portlet-lang"><span class="wb-langlinks-edit wb-langlinks-link"><a href="https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Special:EntityPage/Q678363#sitelinks-wikipedia" title="Edit 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a{color:var(--color-progressive)!important}}@media print{body.ns-0 .mw-parser-output .sidebar{display:none!important}}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><table class="sidebar sidebar-collapse nomobile vcard hlist" style="width:20em;"><tbody><tr><td class="sidebar-pretitle">This article is part of <a href="/wiki/Category:Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Politics of the United Kingdom">a series</a> on</td></tr><tr><th class="sidebar-title-with-pretitle"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Politics of the United Kingdom</a></th></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-image"><span class="notpageimage" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(2022,_lesser_arms).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Lesser arms of the United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/135px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="135" height="118" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/203px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/270px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1567" data-file-height="1366" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Constitution of the United Kingdom">Constitution</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Magna_Carta" title="Magna Carta">Magna Carta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689" title="Bill of Rights 1689">Bill of Rights</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Union" title="Treaty of Union">Treaty of Union</a> <small>(<a href="/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1707" title="Acts of Union 1707">Acts of Union</a>)</small></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_sovereignty_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliamentary sovereignty in the United Kingdom">Parliamentary sovereignty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rule_of_law_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Rule of law in the United Kingdom">Rule of law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Separation_of_powers_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Separation of powers in the United Kingdom">Separation of powers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom#Principles" title="Constitution of the United Kingdom">Other constitutional principles</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">The Crown</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(2022,_variant_2).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg/45px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="45" height="41" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg/68px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg/90px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_variant_2%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1500" data-file-height="1371" /></a></span> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">The Monarch</a></b> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_British_monarchs" title="List of British monarchs">list</a>)</li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/King_Charles_III" class="mw-redirect" title="King Charles III">King Charles III</a> </p><p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Prince of Wales's feathers" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg/30px-Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="34" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg/45px-Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7a/Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg/60px-Prince_of_Wales%27s_feathers_Badge.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="339" data-file-height="383" /></a></span> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Succession_to_the_British_throne" title="Succession to the British throne">Heir apparent</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/William,_Prince_of_Wales" title="William, Prince of Wales">William, Prince of Wales</a> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_royal_family" title="British royal family">Royal family</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Succession_to_the_British_throne" title="Succession to the British throne">Succession</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom">Prerogative</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Counsellor_of_State" title="Counsellor of State">Counsellors of State</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Republicanism in the United Kingdom">Republicanism in the United Kingdom</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Executive_(government)" title="Executive (government)">Executive</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Privy_Council_(United_Kingdom)" title="Privy Council (United Kingdom)">Privy Council</a></b></li></ul> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Royal_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(2022,_Crown_%26_Garter).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Royal_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_Crown_%26_Garter%29.svg/20px-Royal_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_Crown_%26_Garter%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="20" height="39" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a0/Royal_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_Crown_%26_Garter%29.svg/40px-Royal_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_Crown_%26_Garter%29.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="1199" /></a></span> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a><br /><b>(<a href="/wiki/King-in-Council" title="King-in-Council">King-in-Council</a>)</b> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Government of the United Kingdom">HM Government</a></b></li></ul> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_(2022,_lesser_arms).svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Royal coat of arms of the United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/30px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="26" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/45px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4d/Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg/60px-Coat_of_arms_of_the_United_Kingdom_%282022%2C_lesser_arms%29.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1567" data-file-height="1366" /></a></span> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cabinet of the United Kingdom">Cabinet</a></b> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_British_governments" title="List of British governments">list</a>)<br /></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Starmer_ministry" title="Starmer ministry">Starmer ministry</a> (<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">L</a>)<br /> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a></b> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom">list</a>)<br /></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a> (<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">L</a>)<br /> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Deputy Prime Minister</a></b><br /></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Angela_Rayner" title="Angela Rayner">Angela Rayner</a> (<a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">L</a>)<br /> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Departments_of_the_Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom">Departments</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_government_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of government ministers of the United Kingdom">Ministers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Executive_agency" title="Executive agency">Agencies</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Legislatures_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Legislatures of the United Kingdom">Legislature</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">UK Parliament</a></b></li></ul> <p>(<a href="/wiki/King-in-Parliament" title="King-in-Parliament">King-in-Parliament</a>)<br /> <span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Crowned_Portcullis.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Crowned portcullis" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Crowned_Portcullis.svg/50px-Crowned_Portcullis.svg.png" decoding="async" width="50" height="60" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Crowned_Portcullis.svg/75px-Crowned_Portcullis.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/af/Crowned_Portcullis.svg/100px-Crowned_Portcullis.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="460" data-file-height="550" /></a></span> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">King</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a></b></li></ul> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:House_of_Lords_composition.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Composition diagram of the House of Lords" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/House_of_Lords_composition.svg/120px-House_of_Lords_composition.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="63" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/90/House_of_Lords_composition.svg/250px-House_of_Lords_composition.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="227" /></a></span> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Lord_Speaker" title="Lord Speaker">Lord Speaker</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/John_McFall,_Baron_McFall_of_Alcluith" title="John McFall, Baron McFall of Alcluith">The Lord McFall of Alcluith</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a></b></li></ul> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:House_of_Commons_UK.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Composition diagram of the House of Commons" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/House_of_Commons_UK.svg/100px-House_of_Commons_UK.svg.png" decoding="async" width="100" height="46" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/House_of_Commons_UK.svg/150px-House_of_Commons_UK.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6a/House_of_Commons_UK.svg/200px-House_of_Commons_UK.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="360" data-file-height="164" /></a></span> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)" title="Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)">Speaker</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/Lindsay_Hoyle" title="Lindsay Hoyle">Sir Lindsay Hoyle</a></li></ul> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(United_Kingdom)" title="Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)">Leader of the Opposition</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/Kemi_Badenoch" title="Kemi Badenoch">Kemi Badenoch</a> (<a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">C</a>)<br /></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_MPs_elected_in_the_2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election">59th Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Most_Loyal_Opposition" title="His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition">Opposition</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)" title="Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)">MPs</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_MPs_elected_in_the_2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="List of MPs elected in the 2024 United Kingdom general election">List of MPs</a></li></ul></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Judiciaries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Judiciaries of the United Kingdom">Judiciary</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"><a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a><br /><b>(<a href="/wiki/Court_of_King%27s_Bench_(England)" title="Court of King's Bench (England)">King-on-the-Bench</a>)</b> <hr /> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court</a></b></li></ul> <p><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Badge_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Badge of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Badge_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/40px-Badge_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="30" height="40" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c0/Badge_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/60px-Badge_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x" data-file-width="512" data-file-height="691" /></a></span> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/President_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">President</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Robert_Reed,_Baron_Reed_of_Allermuir" title="Robert Reed, Baron Reed of Allermuir">The Lord Reed</a> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Deputy_President_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Deputy President of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Deputy President</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Patrick_Hodge,_Lord_Hodge" title="Patrick Hodge, Lord Hodge">The Lord Hodge</a> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Justice_of_the_Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Justice of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Justices of the Supreme Court</a></b></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Judiciaries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Judiciaries of the United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales" title="Courts of England and Wales">England and Wales</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courts_of_Scotland" title="Courts of Scotland">Scotland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Courts_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Courts of Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Bank_of_England" title="Bank of England">Bank of England</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Governor_of_the_Bank_of_England" title="Governor of the Bank of England">Governor</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Andrew_Bailey_(banker)" title="Andrew Bailey (banker)">Andrew Bailey</a> </p> <ul><li><b><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Governor_of_the_Bank_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Deputy Governor of the Bank of England">Deputy governors</a></b></li></ul> <p><a href="/wiki/Monetary_Policy_Committee_(United_Kingdom)" title="Monetary Policy Committee (United Kingdom)">Monetary Policy Committee</a> </p> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_currencies" title="List of British currencies">Currencies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Banknotes_of_the_pound_sterling" title="Banknotes of the pound sterling">Banknotes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coins_of_the_pound_sterling" title="Coins of the pound sterling">Coins</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">Elections</a> and <a href="/wiki/Referendums_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Referendums in the United Kingdom">referendums</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Constituencies_of_the_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Constituencies of the Parliament of the United Kingdom">UK Parliament constituencies</a> (<a href="/wiki/2023_Periodic_Review_of_Westminster_constituencies" class="mw-redirect" title="2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies">2023 Periodic Review of Westminster constituencies</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of political parties in the United Kingdom">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Political_Parties,_Elections_and_Referendums_Act_2000" title="Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000">Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Dissolution_and_Calling_of_Parliament_Act_2022" title="Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022">Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament_constituencies_and_electoral_regions" title="Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions">Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Senedd_constituencies_and_electoral_regions" title="Senedd constituencies and electoral regions">Senedd constituencies and electoral regions</a></li></ul> <p><br /> </p> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_general_elections" title="List of United Kingdom general elections">UK general elections</a></b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/First_Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="First Parliament of the United Kingdom">1801 co-option</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1802_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1802 United Kingdom general election">1802</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1806_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1806 United Kingdom general election">1806</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1807_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1807 United Kingdom general election">1807</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1812_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1812 United Kingdom general election">1812</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1818_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1818 United Kingdom general election">1818</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1820_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1820 United Kingdom general election">1820</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1826_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1826 United Kingdom general election">1826</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1830_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1830 United Kingdom general election">1830</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1831_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1831 United Kingdom general election">1831</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1832_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1832 United Kingdom general election">1832–33</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1835_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1835 United Kingdom general election">1835</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1837_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1837 United Kingdom general election">1837</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1841_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1841 United Kingdom general election">1841</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1847_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1847 United Kingdom general election">1847</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1852_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1852 United Kingdom general election">1852</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1857_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1857 United Kingdom general election">1857</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1859_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1859 United Kingdom general election">1859</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1865_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1865 United Kingdom general election">1865</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1868_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1868 United Kingdom general election">1868</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1874_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1874 United Kingdom general election">1874</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1880_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1880 United Kingdom general election">1880</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1885_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1885 United Kingdom general election">1885</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1886_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1886 United Kingdom general election">1886</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1892_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1892 United Kingdom general election">1892</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1895_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1895 United Kingdom general election">1895</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1900_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1900 United Kingdom general election">1900</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1906 United Kingdom general election">1906</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/January_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="January 1910 United Kingdom general election">1910 (Jan–Feb)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/December_1910_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="December 1910 United Kingdom general election">1910 (Dec)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1918_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1918 United Kingdom general election">1918</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1922_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1922 United Kingdom general election">1922</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1923_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1923 United Kingdom general election">1923</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1924_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1924 United Kingdom general election">1924</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1929_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1929 United Kingdom general election">1929</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1931_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1931 United Kingdom general election">1931</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1935_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1935 United Kingdom general election">1935</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1945 United Kingdom general election">1945</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1950_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1950 United Kingdom general election">1950</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1951 United Kingdom general election">1951</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1955_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1955 United Kingdom general election">1955</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1959_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1959 United Kingdom general election">1959</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1964_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1964 United Kingdom general election">1964</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1966_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1966 United Kingdom general election">1966</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1970_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1970 United Kingdom general election">1970</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/February_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="February 1974 United Kingdom general election">1974 (Feb)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/October_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="October 1974 United Kingdom general election">1974 (Oct)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1979_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1979 United Kingdom general election">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1983 United Kingdom general election">1983</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1987 United Kingdom general election">1987</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1992_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1992 United Kingdom general election">1992</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1997 United Kingdom general election">1997</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2001_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2001 United Kingdom general election">2001</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2005_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2005 United Kingdom general election">2005</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">2015</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2017_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2017 United Kingdom general election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>Endorsements</b></div> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Endorsements_in_the_2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="Endorsements in the 2010 United Kingdom general election">2010</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Endorsements_in_the_2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="Endorsements in the 2015 United Kingdom general election">2015</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Endorsements_in_the_2017_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="Endorsements in the 2017 United Kingdom general election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Endorsements_in_the_2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="Endorsements in the 2019 United Kingdom general election">2019</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Endorsements_in_the_2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="Endorsements in the 2024 United Kingdom general election">2024</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>European Parliament elections (1979–2019)</b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1979_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1979 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1984 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1989 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1994 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2009</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2014</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2019</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>Scottish Parliament elections</b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1999_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="1999 Scottish Parliament election">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2003 Scottish Parliament election">2003</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2007_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2007 Scottish Parliament election">2007</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2011 Scottish Parliament election">2011</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2016 Scottish Parliament election">2016</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2021 Scottish Parliament election">2021</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Next_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="Next Scottish Parliament election">Next</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>Northern Ireland Assembly elections</b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1998_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="1998 Northern Ireland Assembly election">1998</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2003 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2003</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2007_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2007 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2007</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2011 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2011</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2016 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2016</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2017_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2017 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2017</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2022_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="2022 Northern Ireland Assembly election">2022</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Next_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election" title="Next Northern Ireland Assembly election">Next</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>Senedd elections</b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1999_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="1999 National Assembly for Wales election">1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2003_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="2003 National Assembly for Wales election">2003</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2007_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="2007 National Assembly for Wales election">2007</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="2011 National Assembly for Wales election">2011</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="2016 National Assembly for Wales election">2016</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2021_Senedd_election" title="2021 Senedd election">2021</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Next_Senedd_election" title="Next Senedd election">Next</a></li></ul> </div><br /> <div class="center"><b>UK referendums</b></div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1975_United_Kingdom_European_Communities_membership_referendum" title="1975 United Kingdom European Communities membership referendum">1975</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2011_United_Kingdom_Alternative_Vote_referendum" title="2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum">2011</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum" title="2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">2016</a></li></ul> </div></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Devolution_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Devolution in the United Kingdom">Devolution</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Intergovernmental_relations_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom">Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Legislative_consent_motion" title="Legislative consent motion">Legislative consent motions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_and_Heads_of_Devolved_Governments_Council" title="Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council">Prime Minister and Heads of Devolved Governments Council</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Council_of_the_Nations_and_Regions" title="Council of the Nations and Regions">Council of the Nations and Regions</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Governance_of_England" title="Governance of England">Governance of England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_votes_for_English_laws" title="English votes for English laws">English votes for English laws</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_London_Authority" title="Greater London Authority">Greater London Authority</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1998_Greater_London_Authority_referendum" title="1998 Greater London Authority referendum">1998 referendum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_London_Authority_Act_1999" title="Greater London Authority Act 1999">Greater London Authority Act 1999</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/Greater_London_Authority_Act_2007" title="Greater London Authority Act 2007">2007 Act</a>)</li></ul></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/Mayor_of_London" title="Mayor of London">Mayor of London</a></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sadiq_Khan" title="Sadiq Khan">Sadiq Khan</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Deputy_Mayor_of_London" title="Deputy Mayor of London">Mayoral cabinet</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Plan" title="London Plan">London Plan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Combined_authority" class="mw-redirect" title="Combined authority">Combined authorities</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Directly_elected_mayors_in_England#Combined_Authority_("Metro")_Mayors" title="Directly elected mayors in England">Metro mayors</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Act_1998" title="Northern Ireland Act 1998">Northern Ireland Act 1998</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_(St_Andrews_Agreement)_Act_2006" title="Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006">2006 Act</a>)</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">First Minister</a> </b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Michelle_O%27Neill" title="Michelle O'Neill">Michelle O'Neill</a></li></ul></li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">deputy First Minister</a> </b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Emma_Little-Pengelly" title="Emma Little-Pengelly">Emma Little-Pengelly</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Executive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Assembly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_acts_of_the_Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="List of acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly">Act of the Northern Ireland Assembly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Law of Northern Ireland">Law of Northern Ireland</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_devolution" title="Scottish devolution">Scottish devolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1997_Scottish_devolution_referendum" title="1997 Scottish devolution referendum">1997 referendum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_1998" title="Scotland Act 1998">Scotland Act 1998</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_2012" title="Scotland Act 2012">2012 Act</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_2016" title="Scotland Act 2016">2016 Act</a>)</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">First Minister</a></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/John_Swinney" title="John Swinney">John Swinney</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_the_Scottish_Parliament" title="Act of the Scottish Parliament">Act of the Scottish Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_statutory_instrument" title="Scottish statutory instrument">Scottish statutory instrument</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Scots law</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_devolution" title="Welsh devolution">Welsh devolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1997_Welsh_devolution_referendum" title="1997 Welsh devolution referendum">1997 referendum</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/2011_Welsh_devolution_referendum" title="2011 Welsh devolution referendum">2011 referendum on law-making powers</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998" title="Government of Wales Act 1998">Government of Wales Act 1998</a><br />(<a href="/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006" title="Government of Wales Act 2006">2006 Act</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales_Act_2014" title="Wales Act 2014">Wales Act 2014</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales_Act_2017" title="Wales Act 2017">Wales Act 2017</a>)</li> <li><b><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Wales" title="First Minister of Wales">First Minister</a></b> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Eluned_Morgan,_Baroness_Morgan_of_Ely" class="mw-redirect" title="Eluned Morgan, Baroness Morgan of Ely">Eluned Morgan</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_Government" title="Welsh Government">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Measure_of_the_National_Assembly_for_Wales" title="Measure of the National Assembly for Wales">Measure of the National Assembly for Wales</a> (1999–2011)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Act_of_Senedd_Cymru" title="Act of Senedd Cymru">Act of Senedd Cymru</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_law" title="Welsh law">Welsh law</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Administrative_geography_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Administrative geography of the United Kingdom">Administration</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"><div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">England</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_local_government_in_England" title="History of local government in England">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subdivisions_of_England" title="Subdivisions of England">Subdivisions</a>: <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">Regions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ceremonial_counties_of_England" title="Ceremonial counties of England">Ceremonial counties</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_ceremonial_counties_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="List of ceremonial counties of England">list</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_and_non-metropolitan_counties_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties of England">Metropolitan and non-metropolitan counties</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_county" title="Metropolitan county">Metropolitan county</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_county" title="Non-metropolitan county">Non-metropolitan county</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Greater_London" title="Greater London">Greater London</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Unitary_authorities_of_England" title="Unitary authorities of England">Unitary authorities</a> (<a href="/wiki/Template:Unitary_authorities_of_England" title="Template:Unitary authorities of England">list</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_England" title="Districts of England">Districts</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_English_districts" title="List of English districts">list</a>) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Metropolitan_borough" title="Metropolitan borough">Metropolitan Borough</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-metropolitan_district" title="Non-metropolitan district">Non-metropolitan District</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_boroughs" title="London boroughs">London Borough</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_parish" title="Civil parish">Civil parishes</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_civil_parishes_in_England" title="List of civil parishes in England">list</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_England" title="Historic counties of England">Historic counties</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Northern_Ireland" title="Local government in Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Northern_Ireland#History" title="Local government in Northern Ireland">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Subdivisions of Northern Ireland">Subdivisions</a>: <a href="/wiki/Counties_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Counties of Northern Ireland">Counties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Districts_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Districts of Northern Ireland">Districts</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Scotland" title="Local government in Scotland">Scotland</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_local_government_in_Scotland" title="History of local government in Scotland">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Subdivisions_of_Scotland" title="Subdivisions of Scotland">Subdivisions</a>: <a href="/wiki/Sheriffdom" title="Sheriffdom">Sheriffdoms</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Council_areas_of_Scotland" class="mw-redirect" title="Council areas of Scotland">Council areas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_community_council_areas_in_Scotland" title="List of community council areas in Scotland">Community council areas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_civil_parishes_in_Scotland" title="List of civil parishes in Scotland">Civil parishes</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Shires_of_Scotland" title="Shires of Scotland">Shires of Scotland</a></li></ul> <hr /> <div class="center"><b><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Wales" title="Local government in Wales">Wales</a></b></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_local_government_in_Wales" title="History of local government in Wales">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Preserved_counties_of_Wales" title="Preserved counties of Wales">Preserved counties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Wales" title="Local government in Wales">Principal areas</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Community_(Wales)" title="Community (Wales)">Communities</a> (<a href="/wiki/List_of_communities_in_Wales" title="List of communities in Wales">list</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Historic_counties_of_Wales" title="Historic counties of Wales">Historic counties</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Crown_Dependencies" title="Crown Dependencies">Crown Dependencies</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"><div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bailiwick_of_Guernsey" title="Bailiwick of Guernsey">Bailiwick of Guernsey</a> <br /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Guernsey" title="Guernsey">Guernsey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alderney" title="Alderney">Alderney</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sark" title="Sark">Sark</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bailiwick_of_Jersey" class="mw-redirect" title="Bailiwick of Jersey">Bailiwick of Jersey</a></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <div class="hlist"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Isle_of_Man" title="Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_Islands" title="British Islands">British Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Common_Travel_Area" title="Common Travel Area">Common Travel Area</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom%E2%80%93Crown_Dependencies_Customs_Union" title="United Kingdom–Crown Dependencies Customs Union">UK-CD Customs Union</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories" title="British Overseas Territories">Overseas Territories</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"><div class="hlist"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Akrotiri_and_Dhekelia" title="Akrotiri and Dhekelia">Akrotiri and Dhekelia</a></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anguilla" title="Anguilla">Anguilla</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bermuda" title="Bermuda">Bermuda</a></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/British_Antarctic_Territory" title="British Antarctic Territory">British Antarctic Territory</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/British_Indian_Ocean_Territory" title="British Indian Ocean Territory">British Indian Ocean Territory</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/British_Virgin_Islands" title="British Virgin Islands">British Virgin Islands</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Cayman_Islands" title="Cayman Islands">Cayman Islands</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Falkland_Islands" title="Falkland Islands">Falkland Islands</a></span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Montserrat" title="Montserrat">Montserrat</a></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Pitcairn_Islands" title="Pitcairn Islands">Pitcairn Islands</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Saint_Helena,_Ascension_and_Tristan_da_Cunha" title="Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha">Saint Helena, Ascension and Tristan da Cunha</a></span> <ul><li><small><span class="nowrap" style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Saint_Helena" title="Saint Helena">Saint Helena</a></span></small></li> <li><small><span class="nowrap" style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Ascension_Island" title="Ascension Island">Ascension Island</a></span></small></li> <li><small><span class="nowrap" style="font-size:85%;"><a href="/wiki/Tristan_da_Cunha" title="Tristan da Cunha">Tristan da Cunha</a></span></small></li></ul></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/South_Georgia_and_the_South_Sandwich_Islands" title="South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands">South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><a href="/wiki/Turks_and_Caicos_Islands" title="Turks and Caicos Islands">Turks and Caicos Islands</a></span></li></ul> </div> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories_citizen" title="British Overseas Territories citizen">British Overseas Territories citizen</a></li> <li><a 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dispute">Falkland Islands sovereignty dispute</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-content"> <div class="sidebar-list mw-collapsible mw-collapsed"><div class="sidebar-list-title" style="text-align:left; background:lavender;;color: var(--color-base)"><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Foreign relations of the United Kingdom">Foreign relations</a></div><div class="sidebar-list-content mw-collapsible-content" style="text-align:centre"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Foreign,_Commonwealth_and_Development_Office" title="Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office">Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreign_policy_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Foreign policy of the United Kingdom">Foreign policy</a> (<a href="/wiki/History_of_the_foreign_relations_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom">history</a>)</li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a 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title="Japan–United Kingdom relations">Japan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Kenya%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Kenya–United Kingdom relations">Kenya</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malaysia%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Malaysia–United Kingdom relations">Malaysia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Malta%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Malta–United Kingdom relations">Malta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Netherlands%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Netherlands–United Kingdom relations">Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/New_Zealand%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="New Zealand–United Kingdom relations">New Zealand</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Norway%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Norway–United Kingdom relations">Norway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Russia%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Russia–United Kingdom relations">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Saudi_Arabia%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Saudi Arabia–United Kingdom relations">Saudi Arabia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Singapore%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Singapore–United Kingdom relations">Singapore</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Spain%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Spain–United Kingdom relations">Spain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_Africa%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="South Africa–United Kingdom relations">South Africa</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Palestine%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Palestine–United Kingdom relations">Palestine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pakistan%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Pakistan–United Kingdom relations">Pakistan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Poland–United Kingdom relations">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Portugal%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Portugal–United Kingdom relations">Portugal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom%E2%80%93United_States_relations" title="United Kingdom–United States relations">United States</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom%E2%80%93Zimbabwe_relations" title="United Kingdom–Zimbabwe relations">Zimbabwe</a></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Ireland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_relations" title="Ireland–United Kingdom relations">Ireland</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Politics of Northern Ireland">politics of Northern Ireland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement" title="Good Friday Agreement">Good Friday Agreement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland%E2%80%93United_Kingdom_border" title="Republic of Ireland–United Kingdom border">UK–Ireland border</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Protocol" title="Northern Ireland Protocol">Northern Ireland Protocol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British%E2%80%93Irish_Council" title="British–Irish Council">British–Irish Council</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom%E2%80%93European_Union_relations" title="United Kingdom–European Union relations">European Union</a> (<a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_membership_of_the_European_Union" title="United Kingdom membership of the European Union">history</a>) <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">Brexit</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Post-Brexit_United_Kingdom_relations_with_the_European_Union" title="Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union">Post-Brexit United Kingdom relations with the European Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brexit_withdrawal_agreement" title="Brexit withdrawal agreement">UK–EU withdrawal agreement</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations" title="Commonwealth of Nations">The Commonwealth</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Member_states_of_the_Commonwealth_of_Nations" title="Member states of the Commonwealth of Nations">member states</a></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_and_the_United_Nations" title="United Kingdom and the United Nations">United Kingdom and the United Nations</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Nations_Security_Council" title="United Nations Security Council">United Nations Security Council</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Permanent_members_of_the_United_Nations_Security_Council" title="Permanent members of the United Nations Security Council">P5</a></li></ul></li></ul></li></ul> <hr /> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/NATO" title="NATO">NATO</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/G20" title="G20">G20</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Group_of_Seven" class="mw-redirect" title="Group of Seven">G7</a></li></ul></div></div></td> </tr><tr><td class="sidebar-below"> <span class="nowrap"><span class="mw-image-border noviewer" typeof="mw:File"><span><img alt="flag" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/21px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="21" height="11" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/32px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/42px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></span></span> </span><a href="/wiki/Portal:United_Kingdom" title="Portal:United Kingdom">United Kingdom portal</a><div style="font-size:85%;width:auto; margin-left:auto; margin-right:auto;" class="center hlist"> <ul><li><span class="nowrap"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/England" title="England"><img alt="England" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/23px-Flag_of_England.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/b/be/Flag_of_England.svg/35px-Flag_of_England.svg.png 1.5x, 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class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Politics_of_Scotland" title="Category:Politics of Scotland">Scotland</a></span></li> <li><span class="nowrap"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales"><img alt="Wales" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/23px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/35px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/46px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="480" /></a></span></span> <a href="/wiki/Category:Politics_of_Wales" title="Category:Politics of Wales">Wales</a></span></li></ul> </div><div class="hlist" style="text-align:center;font-weight:normal;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_political_science#Politics_by_region" title="Outline of political science">Other countries</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="sidebar-navbar"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239400231">.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:inline;font-size:88%;font-weight:normal}.mw-parser-output .navbar-collapse{float:left;text-align:left}.mw-parser-output .navbar-boxtext{word-spacing:0}.mw-parser-output .navbar ul{display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;line-height:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::before{margin-right:-0.125em;content:"[ "}.mw-parser-output .navbar-brackets::after{margin-left:-0.125em;content:" ]"}.mw-parser-output .navbar li{word-spacing:-0.125em}.mw-parser-output .navbar a>span,.mw-parser-output .navbar a>abbr{text-decoration:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-mini abbr{font-variant:small-caps;border-bottom:none;text-decoration:none;cursor:inherit}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-full{font-size:114%;margin:0 7em}.mw-parser-output .navbar-ct-mini{font-size:114%;margin:0 4em}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}@media(prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .navbar li a abbr{color:var(--color-base)!important}}@media print{.mw-parser-output .navbar{display:none!important}}</style><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template:Politics of the United Kingdom"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template talk:Politics of the United Kingdom"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Politics of the United Kingdom"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div></td></tr></tbody></table> <figure class="mw-default-size" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:UK_Political_System.png" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/UK_Political_System.png/280px-UK_Political_System.png" decoding="async" width="280" height="201" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/UK_Political_System.png/420px-UK_Political_System.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e3/UK_Political_System.png/560px-UK_Political_System.png 2x" data-file-width="770" data-file-height="552" /></a><figcaption>Organisational chart of the UK political system</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> is a <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_monarchy" title="Constitutional monarchy">constitutional monarchy</a> which, by legislation and <a href="/wiki/Convention_(norm)" title="Convention (norm)">convention</a>, operates as a <a href="/wiki/Unitary_state" title="Unitary state">unitary</a> <a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_democracy" class="mw-redirect" title="Parliamentary democracy">parliamentary democracy</a>. A <a href="/wiki/Hereditary_monarchy" title="Hereditary monarchy">hereditary</a> <a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">monarch</a>, currently King <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a>, serves as <a href="/wiki/Head_of_state" title="Head of state">head of state</a> while the <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a>, currently Sir <a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a> since <a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024</a>, serves as the head of the <a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">elected</a> government. </p><p>Under the United Kingdom's parliamentary system, executive power is exercised by <a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="His Majesty's Government">His Majesty's Government</a>, whose Prime Minister is formally appointed by the King to act in his name. The King must appoint a <a href="/wiki/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)" title="Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)">member of parliament</a> that can <a href="/wiki/Motion_of_no_confidence" title="Motion of no confidence">command the confidence</a> of the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a>, usually the leader of the majority party or apparent majority party, though the King may choose to appoint an alternative if they say that they cannot expect the confidence of the House. Having taken office, the Prime Minister can then appoint all other ministers from parliament. </p><p>The Parliament has two houses: the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a> and the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>. The Crown in Parliament is the UK's supreme <a href="/wiki/Legislative_body" class="mw-redirect" title="Legislative body">legislative body</a>, with unlimited powers of legislation subject only to convention. Normally bills passed by both Houses become law when presented for Royal Assent. However, there is provision in the Parliament Acts by which the democratically elected House of Commons could exceptionally obtain Royal Assent to a bill which the House of Lords has repeatedly failed or refused to pass. However, any use of this Parliament Acts procedure could provoke a constitutional crisis. </p><p>Parliament has <a href="/wiki/Devolved" class="mw-redirect" title="Devolved">devolved</a> some legislative powers to the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">parliaments of Scotland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Wales</a> and the assembly of <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland</a>. Many other limited powers are granted by statute to the <a href="/wiki/Privy_Council_(United_Kingdom)" title="Privy Council (United Kingdom)">Privy Council</a>, H.M.Ministers or other authorities, to make delegated legislation on particular subjects. </p><p>The British political system is a <a href="/wiki/Multi-party_system" title="Multi-party system">multiple-party system</a><sup id="cite_ref-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-1"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>1<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and was according to the <a href="/wiki/V-Dem_Democracy_Indices" title="V-Dem Democracy Indices">V-Dem Democracy Indices</a> 2023 the 22nd most electorally democratic in the world.<sup id="cite_ref-vdem_dataset_2-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-vdem_dataset-2"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>2<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> From the 1920s to date, the two dominant parties have been the <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative Party</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a>. Before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK)" title="Liberal Party (UK)">Liberal Party</a> was the other major political party, along with the Conservatives. While <a href="/wiki/Coalition_government" title="Coalition government">coalition</a> and <a href="/wiki/Minority_government" title="Minority government">minority governments</a> have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the <a href="/wiki/First-past-the-post" class="mw-redirect" title="First-past-the-post">first-past-the-post</a> electoral system used for <a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">general elections</a> tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a <a href="/wiki/Third_party_(politics)" class="mw-redirect" title="Third party (politics)">third party</a>, such as the <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)" title="Liberal Democrats (UK)">Liberal Democrats</a>, to deliver a working majority in Parliament. A <a href="/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_government" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government">Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government</a> held office from 2010 until 2015, the first coalition since 1945.<sup id="cite_ref-BBC2005_3-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-BBC2005-3"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>3<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The coalition ended following <a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015</a>, in which the Conservative Party won an outright majority of seats, 330 of the 650 seats in the House of Commons, while their coalition partners lost all but eight seats.<sup id="cite_ref-4" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-4"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>4<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>With the <a href="/wiki/Partition_of_Ireland" title="Partition of Ireland">partition of Ireland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Ireland_Act_1920" title="Government of Ireland Act 1920">received home rule</a> in 1920, though <a href="/wiki/The_Troubles" title="The Troubles">civil unrest</a> meant direct rule was restored in 1972. Support for nationalist parties in Scotland and Wales led to proposals for devolution in the 1970s, though only in the 1990s did devolution happen. Today, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> and Northern Ireland each possess a parliament and government, with devolution in Northern Ireland being conditional on participation in <a href="/wiki/North/South_Ministerial_Council" title="North/South Ministerial Council">certain all-Ireland institutions</a>. The British government remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the <a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Government of the Republic of Ireland">government of the Republic of Ireland</a>. Devolution of executive and legislative powers may have contributed to increased support for <a href="/wiki/Separatism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Separatism in the United Kingdom">independence in the constituent parts of the United Kingdom</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-5" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-5"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>5<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The principal <a href="/wiki/Scottish_independence" title="Scottish independence">Scottish pro-independence</a> party, the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a>, became a <a href="/wiki/Minority_government" title="Minority government">minority government</a> in 2007 and then went on to win an overall majority of <a href="/wiki/MSPs" class="mw-redirect" title="MSPs">MSPs</a> at the <a href="/wiki/2011_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2011 Scottish Parliament election">2011 Scottish Parliament elections</a> which formed the current <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Government</a> administration. In a <a href="/wiki/2014_Scottish_independence_referendum" title="2014 Scottish independence referendum">2014 referendum on independence</a> 44.7% of voters voted for independence versus 55.3% against.<sup id="cite_ref-6" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-6"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>6<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In Northern Ireland, <a href="/wiki/Irish_nationalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish nationalist">Irish nationalist</a> parties such as <a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a> advocate <a href="/wiki/Irish_reunification" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish reunification">Irish reunification</a>. In Wales, <a href="/wiki/Welsh_nationalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Welsh nationalist">Welsh nationalist</a> parties such as <a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a> support <a href="/wiki/Welsh_independence" title="Welsh independence">Welsh independence</a>. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Constitution of the United Kingdom">constitution of the United Kingdom</a> is <a href="/wiki/Uncodified_constitution" title="Uncodified constitution">uncodified</a>, being made up of <a href="/wiki/Convention_(political_norm)" title="Convention (political norm)">constitutional conventions</a>, <a href="/wiki/Statute" title="Statute">statutes</a> and other elements. This system of government, known as the <a href="/wiki/Westminster_system" title="Westminster system">Westminster system</a>, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the <a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">British Empire</a>. The United Kingdom is also responsible for several other territories, which fall into two categories: the <a href="/wiki/Crown_Dependencies" title="Crown Dependencies">Crown Dependencies</a>, in the immediate vicinity of the UK, are strictly-speaking subject to the British Crown (i.e., the Monarch) but not part of the United Kingdom (though <i>de facto</i> British territory), and <a href="/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories" title="British Overseas Territories">British Overseas Territories</a>, as British colonies were re-designated in 1983, which are part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom, in which different aspects of internal governance have been delegated to local governments, with each territory having its own first minister, (though the titles differ, such as in the case of the Chief Minister of Gibraltar). They remain subject to the Parliament of the United Kingdom (which refers only to Great Britain and Northern Ireland, governed directly by the British Government, and not via local subsidiary governments or officers. </p> <meta property="mw:PageProp/toc" /> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="History">History</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=1" title="Edit section: History"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Post-war_Britain_(1945%E2%80%931979)" title="Post-war Britain (1945–1979)">Post-war Britain (1945–1979)</a>, <a href="/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom#Victorian_era" title="History of the United Kingdom">History of the United Kingdom § Victorian era</a>, <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Political_history_of_the_United_Kingdom_(1979%E2%80%93present)" title="Political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)">Political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)</a></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Union" title="Treaty of Union">Treaty of Union</a> agreed by commissioners for each parliament on 22 July 1706.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1707" title="Acts of Union 1707">Acts of Union 1707</a>, passed by both the Parliament of England and the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Scotland" title="Parliament of Scotland">Parliament of Scotland</a> to form the <a href="/wiki/Kingdom_of_Great_Britain" title="Kingdom of Great Britain">Kingdom of Great Britain</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1800" title="Acts of Union 1800">Acts of Union 1800</a>, passed by both the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Great_Britain" title="Parliament of Great Britain">Parliament of Great Britain</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_Ireland" title="Parliament of Ireland">Parliament of Ireland</a> to form the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland" title="United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland">United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Government_of_Ireland_Act_1920" title="Government of Ireland Act 1920">Government of Ireland Act 1920</a>, passed by the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Parliament of the United Kingdom</a> and created the <a href="/wiki/Partition_of_Ireland" title="Partition of Ireland">partition of Ireland</a>. The republican southern part of Ireland became <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a> (also known as Éire), leaving <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> part of the union.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Accession_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_the_European_Communities" title="Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities">The Accession of the United Kingdom to the European Communities (EC)</a> took effect on 1 January 1973.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">The United Kingdom withdrew from the European Union (EU)</a> on 31 January 2020.</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="The_Crown">The Crown</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=2" title="Edit section: The Crown"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">Monarchy of the United Kingdom</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Republicanism in the United Kingdom">Republicanism in the United Kingdom</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/British_monarch" class="mw-redirect" title="British monarch">British monarch</a>, currently King <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a>, is the <a href="/wiki/Head_of_state" title="Head of state">head of state</a> of the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>. Though he takes little direct part in government, the Crown remains the fount in which ultimate power over the executive government, the judiciary, the legislature and the established Church of England formally lies. These powers are known as the <a href="/wiki/Royal_prerogative" title="Royal prerogative">royal prerogative</a> and cover a vast amount of things, such as the issue or withdrawal of passports, the appointment or dismissal of the <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">prime minister</a> or even the declaration of war. The powers are delegated from the Crown primarily to the Prime Minister, who may freely appoint privy councillors, junior ministers and other officers and servants of the Crown, (civil, military, diplomatic, and others such as the secret services) to exercise them. All powers are subject to the <a href="/wiki/Rule_of_Law" class="mw-redirect" title="Rule of Law">Rule of Law</a>, so that the legality of their exercise may always be judicially reviewed and quashed by the <a href="/wiki/High_Court" class="mw-redirect" title="High Court">High Court</a>, and their exercise is supervised by Parliament when it is sitting. The exercise of most powers by His Majesty's Government generally does not require the consent of Parliament; but certain statutory powers are subject to positive or negative resolutions of Parliament, notably the powers to make delegated legislation by Statutory Instruments, and to make certain Rules and Orders. </p><p>The head of <a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="His Majesty's Government">His Majesty's Government</a>, the prime minister, has weekly meetings to consult the sovereign, when they may express their feelings, warn, or advise the prime minister in the government's work.<sup id="cite_ref-7" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-7"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>7<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>According to the uncodified constitution of the United Kingdom, the monarch has the following powers:<sup id="cite_ref-8" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-8"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>8<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><b>Domestic powers</b> </p> <ul><li>The power to appoint (and theoretically to dismiss) a prime minister</li> <li>The powers to appoint members to the Privy Council, to dismiss privy councillors, and to summon only selected privy councillors to meetings of the <a href="/wiki/Cabinet_(government)" title="Cabinet (government)">Cabinet</a></li> <li>The powers to summon, prorogue and dissolve Parliament</li> <li>The power to grant (or theoretically to refuse) Royal Assent to parliamentary bills, making them legal Acts of Parliament</li> <li>The power to create new peers, to be summoned to parliament as members of the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a></li> <li>The powers to commission officers in the Armed Forces, and to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom</li> <li>The powers to create and grant offices and employments to exercise royal powers, including the senior judiciary, and to dismiss most other officers at the pleasure of the Crown.</li> <li>The power to issue and withdraw passports</li> <li>The power to exercise the <a href="/wiki/Prerogative_of_mercy" class="mw-redirect" title="Prerogative of mercy">prerogative of mercy</a> to pardon criminal convictions or reduce sentences</li> <li>The powers to grant honours, ranks, titles, decorations, medals and patronage</li> <li>The power to create corporations by <a href="/wiki/Royal_charter" title="Royal charter">Royal charter</a></li></ul> <p><br /> <b>Foreign powers</b> </p> <ul><li>The power to make and ratify treaties</li> <li>The power to declare war and peace</li> <li>The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas</li> <li>The power to recognise states</li> <li>The power to accredit and receive diplomats</li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Executive">Executive</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=3" title="Edit section: Executive"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Executive_power" class="mw-redirect" title="Executive power">Executive power</a> in the United Kingdom is exercised by the Sovereign, King <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">Charles III</a>, via <a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="His Majesty's Government">His Majesty's Government</a> and the devolved national authorities – the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Government</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Government" title="Welsh Government">Welsh Government</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Northern Ireland Executive</a>; and by up to three more layers of elected local authorities, often County Councils, District Councils, and Parish Councils. For example, the Corporation of The City of London, which administers only about one square mile of the capital historicalu enjoys some exceptional local powers, to the exclusion of all other local authorities below Parliament. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="His_Majesty's_Government"><span id="His_Majesty.27s_Government"></span>His Majesty's Government</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=4" title="Edit section: His Majesty's Government"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Government of the United Kingdom">Government of the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_(7141493275).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg/220px-The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="163" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg/330px-The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5b/The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg/440px-The_Queen_and_Gordon_Brown_11_May_2010_%287141493275%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="511" data-file-height="378" /></a><figcaption>HM <a href="/wiki/Queen_Elizabeth_II" class="mw-redirect" title="Queen Elizabeth II">Queen Elizabeth II</a> and her prime minister <a href="/wiki/Gordon_Brown" title="Gordon Brown">Gordon Brown</a>, the head of <a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Government_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom">Her Majesty's Government</a> (2010)</figcaption></figure> <p>The monarch appoints a <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a> as the head of <a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Government_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom">His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom</a>, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a> most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House. In practice, this means that the leader of any <a href="/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">political party</a> with an majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. If no party has an absolute majority, the leader of the largest party is given the first opportunity to form a coalition. The Prime Minister then selects other <a href="/wiki/Minister_(government)" title="Minister (government)">Ministers</a> who make up the Government and act as political heads of various <a href="/wiki/Ministry_(government_department)" title="Ministry (government department)">Government Departments</a>. About twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the <a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cabinet of the United Kingdom">Cabinet</a> and approximately 100 ministers in total comprise the government. In accordance with <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_convention_(political_custom)" class="mw-redirect" title="Constitutional convention (political custom)">constitutional convention</a>, all ministers within the government are either <a href="/wiki/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)" title="Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)">Members of Parliament</a> or <a href="/wiki/Peerage" title="Peerage">peers</a> in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (November 2023)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>As in some other <a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_system" title="Parliamentary system">parliamentary systems</a> of government (especially those based upon the <a href="/wiki/Westminster_system" title="Westminster system">Westminster system</a>), the executive (called "the government") is drawn from and is answerable to Parliament – a successful <a href="/wiki/Vote_of_no_confidence" class="mw-redirect" title="Vote of no confidence">vote of no confidence</a> will force the government either to resign or to seek a <a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_dissolution" class="mw-redirect" title="Parliamentary dissolution">parliamentary dissolution</a> and a <a href="/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_general_elections" title="List of United Kingdom general elections">general election</a>. In practice, members of parliament of all major parties are strictly controlled by <a href="/wiki/Whip_(politics)" title="Whip (politics)">whips</a> who try to ensure they vote according to party policy. If the government has a large majority, then they are very unlikely to lose enough votes to be unable to pass legislation. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="The_Prime_Minister_and_the_Cabinet">The Prime Minister and the Cabinet</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=5" title="Edit section: The Prime Minister and the Cabinet"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister of the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cabinet of the United Kingdom">Cabinet of the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_(53838994618).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg/220px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg/330px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/5d/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg/440px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_hosts_first_Cabinet_%2853838994618%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5717" data-file-height="3813" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Starmer_ministry" title="Starmer ministry">Starmer ministry</a>, incumbent cabinet of the United Kingdom</figcaption></figure> <p>The Prime Minister, currently Sir Keir Starmer, is the most senior minister in the Cabinet. Their tenure begins when they are appointed by the monarch. The Prime Minister is responsible for chairing Cabinet meetings, selecting Cabinet ministers (and all other positions in His Majesty's government), and formulating government policy. The Prime Minister being the <i>de facto</i> leader of the UK, exercises executive functions that are nominally vested in the sovereign (by way of the Royal Prerogatives). Historically, the British monarch was the sole source of executive powers in the government. However, following the lead of the Hanoverian monarchs, an arrangement of a "Prime Minister" chairing and leading the Cabinet began to emerge. Over time, this arrangement became the effective executive branch of government, as it assumed the day-to-day functioning of the British government away from the sovereign. </p><p>Theoretically, the Prime Minister is <i><a href="/wiki/Primus_inter_pares" title="Primus inter pares">primus inter pares</a></i> (i.e., Latin for "first among equals") among their Cabinet colleagues. While the Prime Minister is the senior Cabinet Minister, they are theoretically bound to make executive decisions in a collective fashion with the other Cabinet ministers. The Cabinet, along with the PM, consists of Secretaries of State from the various government departments, the <a href="/wiki/Lord_High_Chancellor_of_Great_Britain" class="mw-redirect" title="Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain">Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Lord_Privy_Seal" title="Lord Privy Seal">Lord Privy Seal</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Lord_President_of_the_Council" title="Lord President of the Council">Lord President of the Council</a>, the <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_Board_of_Trade" title="President of the Board of Trade">President of the Board of Trade</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Duchy_of_Lancaster" title="Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster">Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster</a> and <a href="/wiki/Minister_without_portfolio_(United_Kingdom)" title="Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom)">Ministers without portfolio</a>. Cabinet meetings are typically held weekly, while Parliament is in session. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Government_departments_and_the_Civil_Service">Government departments and the Civil Service</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=6" title="Edit section: Government departments and the Civil Service"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Departments_of_the_Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom">Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="/wiki/List_of_government_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of government ministers of the United Kingdom">List of government ministers of the United Kingdom</a></div> <p>The Government of the United Kingdom contains a number of <a href="/wiki/Ministry_(government_department)" title="Ministry (government department)">ministries</a> known mainly, though not exclusively as departments, e.g., <a href="/wiki/Department_for_Education" title="Department for Education">Department for Education</a>. These are politically led by a <a href="/wiki/Government_Minister" class="mw-redirect" title="Government Minister">Government Minister</a> who is often a <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_State_(United_Kingdom)" title="Secretary of State (United Kingdom)">Secretary of State</a> and member of the <a href="/wiki/Cabinet_(government)" title="Cabinet (government)">Cabinet</a>. The minister may also be supported by a number of junior ministers. In practice, several government departments and ministers have responsibilities that cover England alone, with devolved bodies having responsibility for Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, (for example – the <a href="/wiki/Department_of_Health_and_Social_Care" title="Department of Health and Social Care">Department of Health</a>), or responsibilities that mainly focus on England (such as the <a href="/wiki/Department_for_Education" title="Department for Education">Department for Education</a>). </p><p>Implementation of the Minister's decisions is carried out by a permanent politically neutral <a href="/wiki/Organisation" class="mw-redirect" title="Organisation">organisation</a> known as the <a href="/wiki/Civil_Service_(United_Kingdom)" title="Civil Service (United Kingdom)">Civil Service</a>. Its constitutional role is to support the Government of the day regardless of which political party is in power. Unlike some other democracies, senior civil servants remain in post upon a change of Government. Administrative management of the department is led by a head civil servant known in most Departments as a <a href="/wiki/Permanent_secretary" title="Permanent secretary">Permanent secretary</a>. The majority of the civil service staff in fact work in <a href="/wiki/Executive_agencies" class="mw-redirect" title="Executive agencies">executive agencies</a>, which are separate operational organisations reporting to Departments of State. </p><p>"Whitehall" is often used as a <a href="/wiki/Metonym" class="mw-redirect" title="Metonym">metonym</a> for the central core of the Civil Service. This is because most Government Departments have headquarters in and around the former Royal Palace <a href="/wiki/Whitehall" title="Whitehall">Whitehall</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Heads_of_governments">Heads of governments</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=7" title="Edit section: Heads of governments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p><a href="/wiki/HM_Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="HM Government of the United Kingdom">HM Government of the United Kingdom</a> is the central government of the United Kingdom. Based in <a href="/wiki/London" title="London">London</a>, it is headed by the <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">prime minister</a>. As England does not have its own separate government, it is governed directly by the prime minister and UK Government. The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Government</a> is the <a href="/wiki/Devolved_government" class="mw-redirect" title="Devolved government">devolved government</a> of <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and is based in the capital city of Scotland <a href="/wiki/Edinburgh" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>. The Scottish Government is headed by the <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">first minister</a> and is supported by their <a href="/wiki/Deputy_First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="Deputy First Minister of Scotland">deputy first minister</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Northern Ireland Executive</a>, based in <a href="/wiki/Belfast" title="Belfast">Belfast</a>, is headed by both the <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland</a> under the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement" title="Good Friday Agreement">Good Friday Agreement</a> (1998), whilst the <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Wales" title="First Minister of Wales">first minister of Wales</a> serves as the leader of the <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Government" title="Welsh Government">Welsh Government</a>, located in the Welsh capital, <a href="/wiki/Cardiff" title="Cardiff">Cardiff</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Current_heads_of_government">Current heads of government</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=8" title="Edit section: Current heads of government"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul class="gallery mw-gallery-traditional"> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 150px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="United Kingdom Keir Starmer Prime Minister"><img alt="United Kingdom Keir Starmer Prime Minister" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg/86px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="86" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg/129px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/9/91/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg/172px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_Portrait_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="1507" data-file-height="2103" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom"><img alt="United Kingdom" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/23px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="12" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/35px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/a/ae/Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg/46px-Flag_of_the_United_Kingdom.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1200" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a><br /><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a></div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 150px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_(53720492021)_(cropped).jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Scotland John Swinney First Minister"><img alt="Scotland John Swinney First Minister" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/93px-John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="93" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/139px-John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg/186px-John_Swinney_-_First_Minister_%2853720492021%29_%28cropped%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="2382" data-file-height="3076" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland"><img alt="Scotland" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/23px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/35px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/10/Flag_of_Scotland.svg/46px-Flag_of_Scotland.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="1000" data-file-height="600" /></a></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/John_Swinney" title="John Swinney">John Swinney</a><br /><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">First Minister</a></div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 150px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly,_March_2024.jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly First Minister and Deputy First Minister"><img alt="Northern Ireland Michelle O'Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly First Minister and Deputy First Minister" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg/120px-O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg" decoding="async" width="120" height="79" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg/180px-O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f3/O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg/240px-O%E2%80%99Neill_and_Little-Pengelly%2C_March_2024.jpg 2x" data-file-width="620" data-file-height="410" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext"> <b><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/Michelle_O%27Neill" title="Michelle O'Neill">Michelle O'Neill</a> and <a href="/wiki/Emma_Little-Pengelly" title="Emma Little-Pengelly">Emma Little-Pengelly</a><br /><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_Deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" title="First Minister and Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">First Minister and Deputy First Minister</a></div> </li> <li class="gallerybox" style="width: 155px"> <div class="thumb" style="width: 150px; height: 150px;"><span typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/File:Official_photograph_of_First_Minister_Eluned_Morgan_MS_(Portrait).jpg" class="mw-file-description" title="Wales Eluned Morgan First Minister"><img alt="Wales Eluned Morgan First Minister" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Official_photograph_of_First_Minister_Eluned_Morgan_MS_%28Portrait%29.jpg/120px-Official_photograph_of_First_Minister_Eluned_Morgan_MS_%28Portrait%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="80" height="120" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/83/Official_photograph_of_First_Minister_Eluned_Morgan_MS_%28Portrait%29.jpg/250px-Official_photograph_of_First_Minister_Eluned_Morgan_MS_%28Portrait%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="3388" data-file-height="5081" /></a></span></div> <div class="gallerytext"><span class="flagicon"><span class="mw-image-border" typeof="mw:File"><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales"><img alt="Wales" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/23px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png" decoding="async" width="23" height="14" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/35px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Flag_of_Wales.svg/46px-Flag_of_Wales.svg.png 2x" data-file-width="800" data-file-height="480" /></a></span></span> <b><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a></b><br /><a href="/wiki/Eluned_Morgan" title="Eluned Morgan">Eluned Morgan</a><br /><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Wales" title="First Minister of Wales">First Minister</a></div> </li> </ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Timeline_of_leaders">Timeline of leaders</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=9" title="Edit section: Timeline of leaders"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <div class="timeline-wrapper"><map name="timeline_574zmppq721ifdytm4odlm6c8luov5a"><area shape="rect" href="/wiki/Huw_Irranca%2DDavies" coords="920,349,1034,370" title="Huw Irranca-Davies" alt="Huw Irranca-Davies" /><area shape="rect" href="/wiki/Ieuan_Wyn_Jones" coords="404,349,468,370" title="Ieuan Wyn Jones" alt="Ieuan Wyn Jones" /><area shape="rect" href="/wiki/Mike_German%2C_Baron_German" coords="164,349,234,370" title="Mike German, Baron German" alt="Mike German, Baron German" /><area shape="rect" 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shape="rect" href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First%20Secretary%20of%20State" coords="0,157,70,147" alt="" /><area shape="rect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deputy%20Prime%20Minister%20of%20the%20United%20Kingdom" coords="0,122,70,112" alt="" /><area shape="rect" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime%20Minister%20of%20the%20United%20Kingdom" coords="0,88,70,78" alt="" /></map><img usemap="#timeline_574zmppq721ifdytm4odlm6c8luov5a" src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/timeline/574zmppq721ifdytm4odlm6c8luov5a.png" /></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Devolved_national_governments">Devolved national governments</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=10" title="Edit section: Devolved national governments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Devolution_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Devolution in the United Kingdom">Devolution in the United Kingdom</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Scottish_Government">Scottish Government</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=11" title="Edit section: Scottish Government"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Government</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_(53711442674).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg/220px-New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="111" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg/330px-New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/2e/New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg/440px-New_Scottish_Cabinet_meet_at_Bute_House_%2853711442674%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5784" data-file-height="2931" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Swinney_government" title="Swinney government">incumbent Scottish Government</a> under first minister <a href="/wiki/John_Swinney" title="John Swinney">John Swinney</a> meets for a meeting of the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_cabinet" class="mw-redirect" title="Scottish cabinet">cabinet</a> at <a href="/wiki/Bute_House" title="Bute House">Bute House</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The Scottish Government is responsible for all issues that are not explicitly <a href="/wiki/Devolved,_reserved_and_excepted_matters" title="Devolved, reserved and excepted matters">reserved</a> to the United Kingdom Parliament at <a href="/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster" title="Palace of Westminster">Westminster</a>, by the <a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_1998" title="Scotland Act 1998">Scotland Act</a>; including <a href="/wiki/NHS_Scotland" title="NHS Scotland">NHS Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Education_in_Scotland" title="Education in Scotland">education</a>, <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">justice</a>, rural affairs, agriculture, forestry and fisheries, some aspects of the <a href="/wiki/Benefits_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Benefits system">benefits system</a>, elections to the Scottish Parliament and local government, some aspects of the <a href="/wiki/Energy_in_Scotland" title="Energy in Scotland">energy network</a>, the environment, the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Fire_and_Rescue_Service" title="Scottish Fire and Rescue Service">Scottish Fire and Rescue Service</a>, some aspects of equality legislation, housing, planning, <a href="/wiki/Sport_in_Scotland" title="Sport in Scotland">sport</a>, <a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Scotland" title="Culture of Scotland">culture</a>, <a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_Scotland" title="Tourism in Scotland">tourism</a>, <a href="/wiki/Crown_Estate_Scotland" title="Crown Estate Scotland">the Crown Estate</a>, <a href="/wiki/Oil_industry_in_Scotland" title="Oil industry in Scotland">onshore oil and gas licensing</a>, some aspects of <a href="/wiki/Income_tax_in_Scotland" title="Income tax in Scotland">taxation</a> including <a href="/wiki/Council_Tax" title="Council Tax">Scottish council tax</a> and <a href="/wiki/Transport_in_Scotland" title="Transport in Scotland">transport</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-9" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-9"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>9<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In the 2024–25 financial year, its annual budget was almost £60 billion.<sup id="cite_ref-10" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-10"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>10<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The government is led by the <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">first minister</a>, assisted by the <a href="/wiki/Deputy_First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="Deputy First Minister of Scotland">deputy first minister</a> alongside various Ministers with individual <a href="/wiki/Ministry_(government_department)" title="Ministry (government department)">portfolios</a> and remits. The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a> nominates a Member to be appointed as First Minister by the <a href="/wiki/Charles_III" title="Charles III">King</a>. The first minister then appoints their Ministers (known as Cabinet Secretaries) and junior Ministers, subject to approval by the Parliament. The first minister, the Ministers (but not <a href="/wiki/Junior_ministers" class="mw-redirect" title="Junior ministers">junior ministers</a>), the <a href="/wiki/Lord_Advocate" title="Lord Advocate">Lord Advocate</a> and <a href="/wiki/Solicitor_General_for_Scotland" title="Solicitor General for Scotland">Solicitor General</a> are the Members of the Scottish Government and attend meetings of the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_cabinet" class="mw-redirect" title="Scottish cabinet">Scottish cabinet</a>, as set out in the <a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_1998" title="Scotland Act 1998">Scotland Act 1998</a>. They are collectively known as "the Scottish Ministers". </p><p>The Scottish Government has been described as "one of the world's most powerful devolved administrations".<sup id="cite_ref-11" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-11"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>11<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Welsh_Government">Welsh Government</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=12" title="Edit section: Welsh Government"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Government" title="Welsh Government">Welsh Government</a></div> <p>The Welsh Government and <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a> have more limited powers than those devolved to Scotland,<sup id="cite_ref-12" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-12"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>12<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> although following the passing of the <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006" title="Government of Wales Act 2006">Government of Wales Act 2006</a> and the <a href="/wiki/2011_Welsh_devolution_referendum" title="2011 Welsh devolution referendum">2011 Welsh devolution referendum</a>, the Senedd can now legislate in some areas through an <a href="/wiki/Act_of_Senedd_Cymru" title="Act of Senedd Cymru">Act of Senedd Cymru</a>. The current <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Wales" title="First Minister of Wales">First Minister of Wales</a>, or <i>Prif Weinidog Cymru</i> in Welsh, is <a href="/wiki/Eluned_Morgan" title="Eluned Morgan">Eluned Morgan</a> of <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Labour" title="Welsh Labour">Welsh Labour</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Northern_Ireland_Executive">Northern Ireland Executive</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=13" title="Edit section: Northern Ireland Executive"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Northern Ireland Executive</a></div> <p><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Assembly</a> have powers closer to those already devolved to Scotland. The Northern Ireland Executive is led by a <a href="/wiki/Diarchy" title="Diarchy">diarchy</a>, most recently <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">First Minister</a> <a href="/wiki/Michelle_O%27Neill" title="Michelle O'Neill">Michelle O'Neill</a> (<a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a>) and <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">deputy First Minister</a> <a href="/wiki/Emma_Little-Pengelly" title="Emma Little-Pengelly">Emma-Little Pengelly</a> (<a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a>) </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Legislatures">Legislatures</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=14" title="Edit section: Legislatures"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/British_Parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="British Parliament">British Parliament</a> is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom (i.e., there is <a href="/wiki/Parliamentary_sovereignty" title="Parliamentary sovereignty">parliamentary sovereignty</a>), and government is drawn from and answerable to it. Parliament is <a href="/wiki/Bicameral" class="mw-redirect" title="Bicameral">bicameral</a>, consisting of the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a> and the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>. There are also devolved Scottish and Welsh parliaments and a devolved assembly in Northern Ireland, with varying degrees of legislative authority. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="British_Parliament">British Parliament</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=15" title="Edit section: British Parliament"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Parliament of the United Kingdom</a></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="House_of_Commons">House of Commons</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=16" title="Edit section: House of Commons"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons of the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg/250px-UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg/330px-UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/5/53/UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg/500px-UK_Parliament_HDR.jpg 2x" data-file-width="5184" data-file-height="3456" /></a><figcaption>Parliament meets at the <a href="/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster" title="Palace of Westminster">Palace of Westminster</a></figcaption></figure> <p>The four <a href="/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Countries of the United Kingdom">countries of the United Kingdom</a> are divided into parliamentary <a href="/wiki/Constituencies" class="mw-redirect" title="Constituencies">constituencies</a> of broadly equal population by the four <a href="/wiki/Boundary_commissions_(United_Kingdom)" title="Boundary commissions (United Kingdom)">Boundary Commissions</a>. Each constituency elects a <a href="/wiki/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)" title="Member of Parliament (United Kingdom)">Member of Parliament</a> (MP) to the House of Commons at general elections and, if required, at by-elections. As of the <a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">2010 general election</a> there are 650 constituencies (there were 646 before that year's <a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">general election</a>). At the <a href="/wiki/2017_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2017 United Kingdom general election">2017 general election</a>, of the 650 MPs, all but one – <a href="/wiki/Sylvia_Hermon" title="Sylvia Hermon">Sylvia Hermon</a> – were elected as representatives of a <a href="/wiki/Political_party" title="Political party">political party</a>. However, as of the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">2019 general election</a>, there are currently 11 independent MPs, who have either chosen to leave their political party or have had the whip withdrawn. </p><p>In modern times, all prime ministers and <a href="/wiki/Leader_of_the_Opposition_(United_Kingdom)" title="Leader of the Opposition (United Kingdom)">leaders of the opposition</a> have been drawn from the Commons, not the Lords. <a href="/wiki/Alec_Douglas-Home" title="Alec Douglas-Home">Alec Douglas-Home</a> resigned from his peerages days after becoming prime minister in 1963, and the last prime minister before him from the Lords left in 1902 (the <a href="/wiki/Robert_Gascoyne-Cecil,_3rd_Marquess_of_Salisbury" title="Robert Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury">Marquess of Salisbury</a>). </p><p>One party usually has a majority in parliament, because of the use of the <a href="/wiki/First_Past_the_Post_electoral_system" class="mw-redirect" title="First Past the Post electoral system">First Past the Post electoral system</a>, which has been conducive in creating the current <a href="/wiki/Two-party_system" title="Two-party system">Two-party system</a>. The monarch normally asks a person commissioned to form a government simply whether it can <i>survive</i> in the House of Commons, something which majority governments are expected to be able to do. In exceptional circumstances the monarch asks someone to 'form a government' <i>with a parliamentary minority</i><sup id="cite_ref-13" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-13"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>13<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which in the event of no party having a majority requires the formation of a <a href="/wiki/Coalition_government" title="Coalition government">coalition government</a> or 'confidence and supply' arrangement. This option is only ever taken at a time of national emergency, such as war-time. It was given in 1916 to <a href="/wiki/Bonar_Law" title="Bonar Law">Bonar Law</a>, and when he declined, to <a href="/wiki/David_Lloyd_George" title="David Lloyd George">David Lloyd George</a> and in 1940 to <a href="/wiki/Winston_Churchill" title="Winston Churchill">Winston Churchill</a>. A government is not formed by a vote of the House of Commons, it is a commission from the monarch. The House of Commons gets its first chance to indicate confidence in the new government when it votes on the <a href="/wiki/Speech_from_the_throne" title="Speech from the throne">Speech from the throne</a> (the legislative programme proposed by the new government). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="House_of_Lords">House of Lords</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=17" title="Edit section: House of Lords"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Reform_of_the_House_of_Lords" title="Reform of the House of Lords">Reform of the House of Lords</a></div> <p>The House of Lords was previously a largely <a href="/wiki/Hereditary" class="mw-redirect" title="Hereditary">hereditary</a> <a href="/wiki/Aristocratic" class="mw-redirect" title="Aristocratic">aristocratic</a> chamber, although including <a href="/wiki/Life_peer" title="Life peer">life peers</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Lords_Spiritual" title="Lords Spiritual">Lords Spiritual</a>. It is currently midway through extensive reforms, the most recent of these being enacted in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords_Act_1999" title="House of Lords Act 1999">House of Lords Act 1999</a>, in which it sought to reduce the number of hereditary peers within the Lords to remove their automatic right to sit and vote. Although, through negotiation, 92 peers remain temporarily in the Lords. However, in September 2024, Starmer's Labour government introduced the House of Lords (Hereditary Peers) Bill.<sup id="cite_ref-14" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-14"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>14<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The bill strives to remove all individuals who hold legislative positions, resulting from birthright, to improve democratic representation within the legislative system - this is expected to become law by the end of 2025 (or early 2026). The house consists of two very different types of member, the <a href="/wiki/Lords_Temporal" title="Lords Temporal">Lords Temporal</a> and Lords Spiritual. Lords Temporal include appointed members (life peers with no hereditary right for their descendants to sit in the house) and ninety-two remaining hereditary peers, elected from among, and by, the holders of titles which previously gave a seat in the House of Lords. The Lords Spiritual represent the <a href="/wiki/State_religion" title="State religion">established</a> <a href="/wiki/Church_of_England" title="Church of England">Church of England</a> and number twenty-six: the Five Ancient Sees (<a href="/wiki/Archbishop_of_Canterbury" title="Archbishop of Canterbury">Canterbury</a>, <a href="/wiki/Archbishop_of_York" title="Archbishop of York">York</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bishop_of_London" title="Bishop of London">London</a>, <a href="/wiki/Bishop_of_Winchester" title="Bishop of Winchester">Winchester</a> and <a href="/wiki/Bishop_of_Durham" title="Bishop of Durham">Durham</a>), and the 21 next-most senior bishops. Secular organisations such as <a href="/wiki/Humanists_UK" title="Humanists UK">Humanists UK</a> oppose bishops sitting in the House of Lords.<sup id="cite_ref-15" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-15"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>15<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The movement to end the Church of England's status as the official state religion of the United Kingdom is known as <a href="/wiki/Disestablishmentarianism" title="Disestablishmentarianism">disestablishmentarianism</a>. Alternatives include a <a href="/wiki/Secular_state" title="Secular state">secular state</a> in which the state purports to be officially neutral in matters of religion. </p><p>The House of Lords currently acts to review legislation initiated by the House of Commons, with the power to propose amendments, and can exercise a <a href="/wiki/Suspensive_veto" class="mw-redirect" title="Suspensive veto">suspensive veto</a>. This allows it to delay legislation if it does not approve it for twelve months. However, the use of vetoes is limited by convention and by the operation of the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_Acts_1911_and_1949" title="Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949">Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949</a>: the Lords may not veto the "money bills" or major manifesto promises (see <a href="/wiki/Salisbury_convention" class="mw-redirect" title="Salisbury convention">Salisbury convention</a>). Persistent use of the veto can also be overturned by the Commons, under a provision of the <a href="/wiki/Parliament_Act_1911" title="Parliament Act 1911">Parliament Act 1911</a>. Often governments will accept changes in legislation in order to avoid both the time delay, and the negative publicity of being seen to clash with the Lords. However the Lords still retain a full veto in acts which would extend the life of parliament beyond the 5-year term limit introduced by the Parliament Act 1911. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Constitutional_Reform_Act_2005" title="Constitutional Reform Act 2005">Constitutional Reform Act 2005</a> outlined plans for a <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court of the United Kingdom</a> to replace the role of the Law Lords. </p><p>The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom replaced the House of Lords as the <a href="/wiki/Final_court_of_appeal" class="mw-redirect" title="Final court of appeal">final court of appeal</a> on civil cases within the United Kingdom on 1 October 2009. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Devolved_national_parliaments">Devolved national parliaments</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=18" title="Edit section: Devolved national parliaments"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Devolution_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Devolution in the United Kingdom">Devolution in the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_(54059291918).jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg/220px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="147" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg/330px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/22/Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg/440px-Prime_Minister_Keir_Starmer_host_Council_of_Nations_and_Regions_%2854059291918%29.jpg 2x" data-file-width="7987" data-file-height="5327" /></a><figcaption>A meeting of the <a href="/wiki/Council_of_the_Nations_and_Regions" title="Council of the Nations and Regions">Council of the Nations and Regions</a> which brings together the prime minister, first ministers of Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales as well as the regional mayors in England</figcaption></figure> <p>Though the British parliament remains the sovereign parliament, <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a> and <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> have devolved parliaments and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> has an assembly. Each can have its powers broadened, narrowed or changed by an act of the UK Parliament. Both the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a> and the Welsh <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a> gained legislative power over some forms of taxation between 2012 and 2016. Their power over economic issues is significantly constrained by an act of parliament passed in 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-UKIM_22-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-UKIM-22"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>22<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The UK is a <a href="/wiki/Unitary_state" title="Unitary state">unitary state</a> with a devolved system of government. This contrasts with a <a href="/wiki/Federal_republic" title="Federal republic">federal</a> system, in which sub-parliaments or state parliaments and assemblies have a clearly defined constitutional <i>right</i> to exist and a <i>right</i> to exercise certain constitutionally guaranteed and defined functions and cannot be unilaterally abolished by acts of the central parliament. All three devolved parliaments are elected by <a href="/wiki/Proportional_representation" title="Proportional representation">proportional representation</a>: the <a href="/wiki/Additional-member_system" title="Additional-member system">additional-member system</a> is used in Scotland and Wales, and <a href="/wiki/Single_transferable_vote" title="Single transferable vote">single transferable vote</a> is used in Northern Ireland. <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, therefore, is the only country in the UK not to have <a href="/wiki/Devolved_English_parliament" title="Devolved English parliament">its own devolved parliament</a>. However, senior politicians of all main parties have voiced concerns in regard to the <a href="/wiki/West_Lothian_question" title="West Lothian question">West Lothian question</a>,<sup id="cite_ref-23" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-23"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>23<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-24" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-24"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>24<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which is raised where certain policies for England are set by MPs from all four constituent nations whereas similar policies for Scotland or Wales might be decided in the devolved assemblies by legislators from those countries alone. Alternative proposals for English <a href="/wiki/English_regions" class="mw-redirect" title="English regions">regional</a> government have stalled, following a poorly received referendum on devolved government for the <a href="/wiki/North_East_of_England" class="mw-redirect" title="North East of England">North East of England</a>, which had hitherto been considered the region most in favour of the idea, with the exception of <a href="/wiki/Cornwall" title="Cornwall">Cornwall</a>, where there is widespread support for a <a href="/wiki/Cornish_Assembly" title="Cornish Assembly">Cornish Assembly</a>, including all five Cornish MPs.<sup id="cite_ref-25" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-25"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>25<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-26" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-26"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>26<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> England is therefore governed according to the balance of parties across the whole of the United Kingdom. </p><p>The government has no plans to establish an English parliament or assembly although several pressure groups<sup id="cite_ref-27" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-27"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>27<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> are calling for one. One of their main arguments is that MPs (and thus voters) from different parts of the UK have inconsistent powers. Currently an MP from Scotland can vote on legislation which affects only England but MPs from England (or indeed Scotland) cannot vote on matters devolved to the Scottish parliament. Indeed, the former Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Gordon_Brown" title="Gordon Brown">Gordon Brown</a>, who was an MP for a Scottish constituency until the 2015 general election, introduced some laws that only affect England and not his own constituency. This anomaly is known as the <a href="/wiki/West_Lothian_question" title="West Lothian question">West Lothian question</a>. </p><p>The policy of the British Government in England was to establish elected <a href="/wiki/Regional_assembly_(England)" title="Regional assembly (England)">regional assemblies</a> with no legislative powers. The <a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a> was the first of these, established in 2000, following a <a href="/wiki/1998_Greater_London_Authority_referendum" title="1998 Greater London Authority referendum">referendum</a> in 1998, but further plans were abandoned following rejection of a proposal for an elected assembly in <a href="/wiki/North_East_England" title="North East England">North East England</a> in a <a href="/wiki/2004_North_East_England_devolution_referendum" title="2004 North East England devolution referendum">referendum</a> in 2004. Unelected regional assemblies remain in place in eight <a href="/wiki/Regions_of_England" title="Regions of England">regions of England</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Scottish_Parliament">Scottish Parliament</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=19" title="Edit section: Scottish Parliament"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a></div> <figure typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Edinburgh_Scottish_Parliament01crop2_2006-04-29.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Edinburgh_Scottish_Parliament01crop2_2006-04-29.jpg/250px-Edinburgh_Scottish_Parliament01crop2_2006-04-29.jpg" decoding="async" width="250" height="166" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1b/Edinburgh_Scottish_Parliament01crop2_2006-04-29.jpg/500px-Edinburgh_Scottish_Parliament01crop2_2006-04-29.jpg 1.5x" data-file-width="1889" data-file-height="1253" /></a><figcaption>The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament_Building" title="Scottish Parliament Building">Scottish Parliament Building</a> in <a href="/wiki/Holyrood,_Edinburgh" title="Holyrood, Edinburgh">Holyrood</a>, <a href="/wiki/Edinburgh" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>, seat of the Scottish Parliament.</figcaption></figure> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a> is the national, <a href="/wiki/Unicameral" class="mw-redirect" title="Unicameral">unicameral</a> legislature of <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>, located in the <a href="/wiki/Holyrood,_Edinburgh" title="Holyrood, Edinburgh">Holyrood</a> area of the capital <a href="/wiki/Edinburgh" title="Edinburgh">Edinburgh</a>. The Parliament, informally referred to as "Holyrood"<sup id="cite_ref-HolyroodName_28-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-HolyroodName-28"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>28<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> (cf. "<a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Westminster</a>"), is a <a href="/wiki/Democratically" class="mw-redirect" title="Democratically">democratically</a> elected body comprising 129 members who are known as <a href="/wiki/Members_of_the_Scottish_Parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="Members of the Scottish Parliament">Members of the Scottish Parliament</a>, or MSPs. Members are elected for four-year terms under the <a href="/wiki/Mixed-member_proportional_representation" title="Mixed-member proportional representation">mixed-member proportional representation</a> system. As a result, 73 MSPs represent individual geographical <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament_constituencies_and_electoral_regions" title="Scottish Parliament constituencies and electoral regions">constituencies</a> elected by the <a href="/wiki/Plurality_voting" title="Plurality voting">plurality</a> ("first past the post") system, with a further 56 returned from eight <a href="/wiki/Additional-member_system" title="Additional-member system">additional member</a> regions, each electing seven MSPs.<sup id="cite_ref-ConstituencyMSPs_29-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-ConstituencyMSPs-29"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>29<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The current Scottish Parliament was established by the <a href="/wiki/Scotland_Act_1998" title="Scotland Act 1998">Scotland Act 1998</a> and its first meeting as a <a href="/wiki/Devolved" class="mw-redirect" title="Devolved">devolved</a> <a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislature</a> was on 12 May 1999. The parliament has the power to pass laws and has limited tax-varying capability. Another of its roles is to hold the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Scottish Government</a> to account. The "devolved matters" over which it has responsibility include <a href="/wiki/Education_in_Scotland" title="Education in Scotland">education</a>, <a href="/wiki/Health_in_Scotland" title="Health in Scotland">health</a>, agriculture, and <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">justice</a>. A degree of domestic authority, and all foreign policy, remains with the British Parliament in <a href="/wiki/Palace_of_Westminster" title="Palace of Westminster">Westminster</a>. The public take part in Parliament in a way that is not the case at Westminster through Cross-Party Groups on policy topics which the interested public join and attend meetings of alongside Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs). </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Celtic_Revival" title="Celtic Revival">resurgence in Celtic language and identity</a>, as well as 'regional' politics and development, has contributed to forces pulling against the unity of the state.<sup id="cite_ref-30" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-30"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>30<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This was clearly demonstrated when – although some argue it was influenced by general public disillusionment with Labour – the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a> (SNP) became the largest party in the Scottish Parliament by one seat. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Alex_Salmond" title="Alex Salmond">Alex Salmond</a> (leader of SNP between 2004 and 2014) made history becoming the first <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">First Minister of Scotland</a> from a party other than Labour following the <a href="/wiki/2007_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2007 Scottish Parliament election">2007 Scottish Parliament election</a>. The SNP <a href="/wiki/First_Salmond_government" title="First Salmond government">governed as a minority government</a> following this election. <a href="/wiki/Scottish_nationalism" title="Scottish nationalism">Scottish nationalism</a> which advocates for <a href="/wiki/Scottish_independence" title="Scottish independence">Scotland regaining its independence</a> has experienced a dramatic rise in popularity in recent years, with a pivotal moment coming at the <a href="/wiki/2011_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2011 Scottish Parliament election">2011 Scottish Parliament election</a> where the SNP capitalised on the collapse of the Liberal Democrat support to improve on their 2007 performance to win the first ever outright majority at Holyrood (despite the voting system being specifically designed to prevent majorities), with Labour remaining the largest opposition party. </p> <figure class="mw-default-size mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg/220px-Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg" decoding="async" width="220" height="146" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg/330px-Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/cc/Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg/440px-Scottish_Parliament_Debating_Chamber_2.jpg 2x" data-file-width="4544" data-file-height="3024" /></a><figcaption>The debating chamber of the Scottish Parliament.</figcaption></figure> <p>This election result prompted the leader of the three main opposition parties to resign. <a href="/wiki/Iain_Gray" title="Iain Gray">Iain Gray</a> was succeeded as Scottish Labour leader by <a href="/wiki/Johann_Lamont" title="Johann Lamont">Johann Lamont</a>, Scottish Conservative and Unionist leader, <a href="/wiki/Annabel_Goldie" title="Annabel Goldie">Annabel Goldie</a> was replaced by <a href="/wiki/Ruth_Davidson" title="Ruth Davidson">Ruth Davidson</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Tavish_Scott" title="Tavish Scott">Tavish Scott</a>, leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats was replaced by <a href="/wiki/Willie_Rennie" title="Willie Rennie">Willie Rennie</a>. </p><p>A major SNP manifesto pledge was to hold a <a href="/wiki/2014_Scottish_independence_referendum" title="2014 Scottish independence referendum">referendum on Scottish Independence</a>, which was duly granted by the British Government and held on 18 September 2014. When the nationalists came to power in 2011, opinion polls placed support for independence at around 31%, but in 2014, 45% voted to leave the union. In the wake of the referendum defeat, membership of the SNP surged to over 100,000, overtaking the Liberal Democrats as the third largest political party in the UK by membership, and in the general election of May 2015 the SNP swept the board and took 56 of the 59 Westminster constituencies in Scotland (far surpassing their previous best of 11 seats in the late 1970s) and winning more than 50% of the Scottish vote. </p><p>Salmond resigned as first minister and leader of the SNP following the country's rejection of independence in September 2014, and was succeeded in both roles by his <a href="/wiki/Deputy_First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="Deputy First Minister of Scotland">deputy first minister</a> and deputy leader of the SNP, <a href="/wiki/Nicola_Sturgeon" title="Nicola Sturgeon">Nicola Sturgeon</a>. Additionally, following the independence referendum, Lamont stood down as Scottish Labour leader and <a href="/wiki/Jim_Murphy" title="Jim Murphy">Jim Murphy</a> was elected to replace her. Murphy remained leader until the general election in 2015 in which he lost his seat in Westminster. After the defeat, he resigned his position MSP <a href="/wiki/Kezia_Dugdale" title="Kezia Dugdale">Kezia Dugdale</a> became leader of the party. In 2017, Dugdale unexpectedly resigned and was replaced as Scottish Labour leader by <a href="/wiki/Richard_Leonard" title="Richard Leonard">Richard Leonard</a>. He held the post until resigning in January 2021, with <a href="/wiki/Anas_Sarwar" title="Anas Sarwar">Anas Sarwar</a> replacing him the following month. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Senedd">Senedd</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=20" title="Edit section: Senedd"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Senedd.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Senedd.JPG/200px-Senedd.JPG" decoding="async" width="200" height="142" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Senedd.JPG/300px-Senedd.JPG 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c3/Senedd.JPG/400px-Senedd.JPG 2x" data-file-width="2132" data-file-height="1514" /></a><figcaption>The Senedd building in Cardiff Bay</figcaption></figure> <p>The Senedd (formerly the National Assembly for Wales) is the <a href="/wiki/Devolved" class="mw-redirect" title="Devolved">devolved</a> <a href="/wiki/Legislature" title="Legislature">legislature</a> of <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a> with power to make legislation and vary taxes. The Parliament comprises 60 members, who are known as <a href="/wiki/Members_of_the_Senedd" class="mw-redirect" title="Members of the Senedd">Members of the Senedd</a>, or MSs (<a href="/wiki/Welsh_language" title="Welsh language">Welsh</a>: <i lang="cy">Aelodau o'r Senedd, ASau</i>). Members are elected for four-year terms under an <a href="/wiki/Mixed-member_proportional_representation" title="Mixed-member proportional representation">additional members system</a>, where 40 MSs represent geographical <a href="/wiki/Senedd_constituencies_and_electoral_regions" title="Senedd constituencies and electoral regions">constituencies</a> elected by the <a href="/wiki/Plurality_voting" title="Plurality voting">plurality</a> system, and 20 MSs from <a href="/wiki/Senedd_constituencies_and_electoral_regions" title="Senedd constituencies and electoral regions">five electoral regions</a> using the <a href="/wiki/D%27Hondt_method" title="D'Hondt method">d'Hondt method</a> of <a href="/wiki/Proportional_representation" title="Proportional representation">proportional representation</a>. </p><p>The Welsh Parliament was created by the <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_1998" title="Government of Wales Act 1998">Government of Wales Act 1998</a>, which followed a <a href="/wiki/1997_Welsh_devolution_referendum" title="1997 Welsh devolution referendum">referendum</a> in 1997. On its creation, most of the powers of the <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Office" title="Welsh Office">Welsh Office</a> and <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_State_for_Wales" title="Secretary of State for Wales">Secretary of State for Wales</a> were transferred to it. The Senedd had no powers to initiate <a href="/wiki/Primary_legislation" class="mw-redirect" title="Primary legislation">primary legislation</a> until limited law-making powers were gained through the <a href="/wiki/Government_of_Wales_Act_2006" title="Government of Wales Act 2006">Government of Wales Act 2006</a>. Its primary law-making powers were enhanced following a Yes vote in the <a href="/wiki/2011_Welsh_devolution_referendum" title="2011 Welsh devolution referendum">referendum</a> on 3 March 2011, making it possible for it to legislate without having to consult the British <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">parliament</a>, nor the <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_State_for_Wales" title="Secretary of State for Wales">Secretary of State for Wales</a> in the 20 areas that are devolved.<sup id="cite_ref-31" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-31"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>31<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading4"><h4 id="Northern_Ireland_Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</h4><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=21" title="Edit section: Northern Ireland Assembly"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-left" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG" class="mw-file-description"><img src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG/250px-Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG" decoding="async" width="250" height="176" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/45/Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG/500px-Stormont_Parliamentary_Building_01.JPG 1.5x" data-file-width="1701" data-file-height="1199" /></a><figcaption><a href="/wiki/Parliament_Buildings_(Northern_Ireland)" title="Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)">Parliament Buildings</a> in <a href="/wiki/Stormont,_Belfast" class="mw-redirect" title="Stormont, Belfast">Stormont, Belfast</a>, seat of the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>.</figcaption></figure> <p>The government of Northern Ireland was established as a result of the 1998 <a href="/wiki/Good_Friday_Agreement" title="Good Friday Agreement">Good Friday Agreement</a>. This created the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>. The Assembly is a unicameral body consisting of 90 members elected under the <a href="/wiki/Single_transferable_vote" title="Single transferable vote">single transferable vote</a> form of <a href="/wiki/Proportional_representation" title="Proportional representation">proportional representation</a>. The Assembly is based on the principle of power-sharing, in order to ensure that both communities in Northern Ireland, <a href="/wiki/Unionists_(Ireland)" class="mw-redirect" title="Unionists (Ireland)">unionist</a> and <a href="/wiki/Irish_nationalism" title="Irish nationalism">nationalist</a>, participate in governing the region. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas and to elect the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Northern Ireland Executive</a> (cabinet). It sits at <a href="/wiki/Parliament_Buildings_(Northern_Ireland)" title="Parliament Buildings (Northern Ireland)">Parliament Buildings</a> at Stormont in <a href="/wiki/Belfast" title="Belfast">Belfast</a>. </p><p>The Assembly has authority to legislate in a field of competences known as "transferred matters". These matters are not explicitly enumerated in the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Act_1998" title="Northern Ireland Act 1998">Northern Ireland Act 1998</a> but instead include any competence not explicitly retained by the Parliament at Westminster. Powers reserved by Westminster are divided into "excepted matters", which it retains indefinitely, and "reserved matters", which may be transferred to the competence of the Northern Ireland Assembly at a future date. Health, criminal law and education are "transferred" while royal relations are all "excepted". </p><p>While the Assembly was in suspension, due to issues involving the main parties and the <a href="/wiki/Provisional_Irish_Republican_Army" title="Provisional Irish Republican Army">Provisional Irish Republican Army</a> (IRA), its legislative powers were exercised by the UK government, which effectively had power to legislate by decree. Laws that would normally be within the competence of the Assembly were passed by the UK government in the form of <a href="/wiki/Orders-in-Council" class="mw-redirect" title="Orders-in-Council">Orders-in-Council</a> rather than legislative acts. There has been a significant decrease in violence over the last twenty years, though the situation remains tense, with the more hard-line parties such as <a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">Democratic Unionist Party</a> now holding the most parliamentary seats (see <a href="/wiki/Demographics_and_politics_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland">Demographics and politics of Northern Ireland</a>). </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Judiciary">Judiciary</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=22" title="Edit section: Judiciary"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Judiciaries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Judiciaries of the United Kingdom">Judiciaries of the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="/wiki/Law_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Law of the United Kingdom">Law of the United Kingdom</a></div> <p>The United Kingdom does not have a single legal system due to it being created by the political union of previously independent countries with the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Union" title="Treaty of Union">Treaty of Union</a> guaranteeing the continued existence of Scotland's separate legal system. Today the UK has three distinct <a href="/wiki/Systems_of_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Systems of law">systems of law</a>: <a href="/wiki/English_law" title="English law">English law</a>, <a href="/wiki/Courts_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Courts of Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland law</a> and <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Scots law</a>. Recent constitutional changes saw a new <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court of the United Kingdom</a> come into being in October 2009 that took on the appeal functions of the Appellate Committee of the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-32" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-32"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>32<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Judicial_Committee_of_the_Privy_Council" title="Judicial Committee of the Privy Council">Judicial Committee of the Privy Council</a>, comprising the same members as the Supreme Court, is the highest court of appeal for several independent Commonwealth countries, the UK overseas territories, and the British crown dependencies. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="England,_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland"><span id="England.2C_Wales_and_Northern_Ireland"></span>England, Wales and Northern Ireland</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=23" title="Edit section: England, Wales and Northern Ireland"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/English_law" title="English law">English law</a> and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_law" class="mw-redirect" title="Northern Ireland law">Northern Ireland law</a></div> <p>Both English law, which applies in <a href="/wiki/England_and_Wales" title="England and Wales">England and Wales</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Courts_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Courts of Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland law</a> are based on <a href="/wiki/Common-law" class="mw-redirect" title="Common-law">common-law</a> principles. The essence of common-law is that law is made by <a href="/wiki/Judge" title="Judge">judges</a> sitting in courts, applying their common sense and knowledge of <a href="/wiki/Legal_precedent" class="mw-redirect" title="Legal precedent">legal precedent</a> (<i><a href="/wiki/Stare_decisis" class="mw-redirect" title="Stare decisis">stare decisis</a></i>) to the facts before them. The <a href="/wiki/Courts_of_England_and_Wales" title="Courts of England and Wales">Courts of England and Wales</a> are headed by the Senior Courts of England and Wales, consisting of the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Appeal_(England_and_Wales)" title="Court of Appeal (England and Wales)">Court of Appeal</a>, the <a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_Justice" title="High Court of Justice">High Court of Justice</a> (for civil cases) and the <a href="/wiki/Crown_Court" title="Crown Court">Crown Court</a> (for criminal cases). The <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court of the United Kingdom</a> is the highest court in the land for both criminal and civil cases in <a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> and any decision it makes is binding on every other court in the hierarchy. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Scotland">Scotland</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=24" title="Edit section: Scotland"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Scots law</a></div> <p>Scots law, a hybrid system based on both common-law and <a href="/wiki/Civil_law_(legal_system)" title="Civil law (legal system)">civil-law</a> principles, applies in <a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a>. The chief courts are the <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Session" title="Court of Session">Court of Session</a>, for civil cases, and the <a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_Justiciary" title="High Court of Justiciary">High Court of Justiciary</a>, for criminal cases. The Supreme Court of the United Kingdom serves as the highest court of appeal for civil cases under Scots law. Sheriff courts deal with most civil and criminal cases including conducting criminal trials with a jury, known that as Sheriff solemn Court, or with a Sheriff and no jury, known as (Sheriff summary Court). The <a href="/wiki/Sheriff_court" title="Sheriff court">Sheriff courts</a> provide a local court service with 49 Sheriff courts organised across six <a href="/wiki/Sheriffdom" title="Sheriffdom">Sheriffdoms</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Electoral_systems">Electoral systems</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=25" title="Edit section: Electoral systems"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">Elections in the United Kingdom</a></div> <p>Various electoral systems are used in the UK: </p> <ul><li>The <a href="/wiki/First-past-the-post" class="mw-redirect" title="First-past-the-post">first-past-the-post</a> system is used for <a href="/wiki/List_of_United_Kingdom_general_elections" title="List of United Kingdom general elections">general elections</a> to the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a> and also for some <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Local government in the United Kingdom">local government</a> elections in <a href="/wiki/England_and_Wales" title="England and Wales">England and Wales</a>. The first-past-the-post system elects members to parliament through individual elections in each of the 650 constituencies in the UK. To be elected to the House of Commons, candidates require the biggest share of votes. Each constituency can only elect one member to parliament; voters are given a ballot paper with a list of candidates from which they can select one. [1]</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Plurality-at-large_voting" class="mw-redirect" title="Plurality-at-large voting">plurality-at-large voting</a> (the bloc vote) is also used for some local government elections in England and Wales. The plurality system is a simple way of election; the winner requires only to gain more votes than any other candidate.[2]</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Additional-member_system" title="Additional-member system">additional-member system</a> is used for elections to the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a>, <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a>, and <a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a>. The system is implemented differently in each of the three locations. The additional member's system used when electing members of parliament is a combination of the first-past-the-post system and the party-list system. Voters are given two ballots: one is for the candidates running to be elected as MP, and the other has a list of parties that are running for a seat in parliament. Voters choose their preferred party. [3]</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Single_transferable_vote" title="Single transferable vote">single transferable vote</a> system is used in <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a> to elect the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>, local councils, and <a href="/wiki/Members_of_the_European_Parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="Members of the European Parliament">Members of the European Parliament</a>, and in Scotland to elect local councils. The single transferrable vote is a form of proportional representation; the strength of a party in parliament is equal to the number of votes they received during a general election. Areas elect a team of representatives rather than the traditional one; they also represent a larger area. Voters rank their choices; they can rank as many as they choose since parties will run more than one candidate in each area. To be elected, candidates have to receive a specific number of votes, the quota, which is decided based on the number of vacancies and the number of people that can vote.[4]</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Alternative_vote" class="mw-redirect" title="Alternative vote">alternative vote</a> system is used for by-elections in <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Scotland" title="Local government in Scotland">Scottish local councils</a>. The alternative vote system is designed to deal with vote splitting. Under the first-past-the-post system, a candidate can win even when the majority votes against them if this majority is split over several other candidates. Voters rank the candidates from their preferred to their least preferred; if a candidate is the first choice for more than half of the votes cast, they win. But when there is no majority, the loser is removed, and the second choice becomes the first. This process is repeated until one candidate receives the majority. [5]</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/D%27Hondt_method" title="D'Hondt method">D'Hondt method</a> of <a href="/wiki/Party-list_proportional_representation" title="Party-list proportional representation">party-list proportional representation</a> was used for <a href="/wiki/European_Parliament_elections" class="mw-redirect" title="European Parliament elections">European Parliament elections</a> in England, Scotland, and Wales between <a href="/wiki/1999_European_Parliament_election" title="1999 European Parliament election">1999</a> and <a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election" title="2019 European Parliament election">2019</a> (the last such election before '<a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">Brexit</a>').</li> <li>The <a href="/wiki/Supplementary_vote" class="mw-redirect" title="Supplementary vote">supplementary vote</a> was used to elect <a href="/wiki/Mayors_in_England" title="Mayors in England">directly elected mayors</a> in England, including the <a href="/wiki/Mayor_of_London" title="Mayor of London">mayor of London</a> before <a href="/wiki/Elections_Act_2022" title="Elections Act 2022">2022</a>.</li></ul> <p>The use of the first-past-the-post to elect members of Parliament is unusual among European nations. The use of the system means that when three or more candidates receive a significant share of the vote, MPs are often elected from individual constituencies with a <a href="/wiki/Plurality_(voting)" title="Plurality (voting)">plurality</a> (receiving more votes than any other candidate), but not an <a href="/wiki/Absolute_majority" class="mw-redirect" title="Absolute majority">absolute majority</a> (50 percent plus one vote). </p><p>Elections and political parties in the United Kingdom are affected by <a href="/wiki/Duverger%27s_law" title="Duverger's law">Duverger's law</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Political_science" title="Political science">political science</a> <a href="/wiki/Law_(principle)" title="Law (principle)">principle</a> that states that <a href="/wiki/Plurality_voting_system" class="mw-redirect" title="Plurality voting system">plurality voting systems</a>, such as first-past-the-post, tend to lead to the development of <a href="/wiki/Two-party_system" title="Two-party system">two-party systems</a>. The UK, like several other states, has sometimes been called a "<a href="/wiki/Two-and-a-half_party_system" title="Two-and-a-half party system">two-and-a-half party system</a>" because parliamentary politics is dominated by the Labour Party and Conservative Party, while the Liberal Democrats used to hold a significant number of seats (but still substantially less than Labour and the Conservatives), and several small parties (some of them regional or <a href="/wiki/Nationalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Nationalist">nationalist</a>) trailed far behind in the number of seats, although this changed in the 2015 general election. </p><p>In the last few general elections, voter mandates for Westminster in the 30–40% ranges have been swung into 60% parliamentary majorities. No single party has won a majority of the popular vote since the <a href="/wiki/Third_National_Government" class="mw-redirect" title="Third National Government">Third National Government</a> of <a href="/wiki/Stanley_Baldwin" title="Stanley Baldwin">Stanley Baldwin</a> in <a href="/wiki/1935_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1935 United Kingdom general election">1935</a>. On two occasions since <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> – <a href="/wiki/1951_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1951 United Kingdom general election">1951</a> and <a href="/wiki/February_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="February 1974 United Kingdom general election">February 1974</a> – a party that came in second in the popular vote came out with the largest number of seats. </p><p><a href="/wiki/Electoral_reform" title="Electoral reform">Electoral reform</a> for parliamentary elections has been proposed many times. Calls for reforms to the first-past-the-post electoral system comes from the significant disproportionate representation that emerges with elections, diminishing the idea of fair elections, also resulting in candidates winning a constituency vote without the majority vote. Leaving smaller parties without representation in Parliament. The plurality rule (first-past-the-post) voting system states that candidates do not require the majority vote (of 50% + 1), but only more votes than any other candidate which gives leading parties the advantage while heavily discriminating against smaller parties who may rely on dispersed national support.<sup id="cite_ref-33" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-33"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>33<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/Jenkins_Commission_(UK)" title="Jenkins Commission (UK)">Jenkins Commission</a> report in October 1998 suggested implementing the <a href="/wiki/Alternative_Vote_Top-up" class="mw-redirect" title="Alternative Vote Top-up">Alternative Vote Top-up</a> (also called alternative vote plus or AV+) in parliamentary elections. Under this proposal, most MPs would be directly elected from constituencies by the <a href="/wiki/Alternative_vote" class="mw-redirect" title="Alternative vote">alternative vote</a>, with a number of <a href="/wiki/Additional-member_system" title="Additional-member system">additional members</a> elected from "top-up lists." However, no action was taken by the Labour government at the time. There are several groups in the UK campaigning for electoral reform, including the <a href="/wiki/Electoral_Reform_Society" title="Electoral Reform Society">Electoral Reform Society</a>, Make Votes Count Coalition, and Fairshare. The boundary commission for England has also suggested in its 2023 boundary review that constituency lines should be redrawn to allow constituencies to have a similar number of residents. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">2010 general election</a> resulted in a <a href="/wiki/Hung_parliament" title="Hung parliament">hung parliament</a> (no single party was able to command a majority in the House of Commons). This was only the second general election since <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a> to return a hung parliament, the first being the <a href="/wiki/February_1974_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="February 1974 United Kingdom general election">February 1974 election</a>. The Conservatives gained the most seats (ending 13 years of Labour government) and the largest percentage of the popular vote but fell 20 seats short of a majority. </p><p>The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats entered into a <a href="/wiki/Cameron%E2%80%93Clegg_coalition" title="Cameron–Clegg coalition">new coalition government</a>, headed by <a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>. Under the terms of the <a href="/wiki/Conservative%E2%80%93Liberal_Democrat_coalition_agreement" title="Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement">coalition agreement</a>, the government committed itself to holding a <a href="/wiki/2011_United_Kingdom_Alternative_Vote_referendum" title="2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum">referendum in May 2011</a> on whether to change parliamentary elections from first-past-the-post to AV. Electoral reform was a major priority for the Liberal Democrats, who favour <a href="/wiki/Proportional_representation" title="Proportional representation">proportional representation</a> but were able to negotiate only a referendum on AV (the alternative vote system is not a form of proportional representation) with the Conservatives. The coalition partners campaigned on opposite sides, with the Liberal Democrats supporting AV and the Conservatives opposing it. The referendum resulted in the Conservatives' favour, and the first-past-the-post system was maintained. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Political_parties">Political parties</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=26" title="Edit section: Political parties"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of political parties in the United Kingdom">List of political parties in the United Kingdom</a></div> <figure class="mw-halign-right" typeof="mw:File/Thumb"><a href="/wiki/File:Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png" class="mw-file-description"><img alt="Graphic showing percentage of people voting for six age bands. The people voting is divided by political party. The percentage of people voting increases with age from about 35% for 18–24, 50% for 25–34, increasing to 75% for over-65. The proportion of voters voting for each party remains largely constant." src="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png/250px-Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png" decoding="async" width="250" height="149" class="mw-file-element" srcset="//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/3/35/Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png/375px-Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png 1.5x, //upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Uk_general_election_2005_by_age.png 2x" data-file-width="471" data-file-height="280" /></a><figcaption>2005 general election results by age group: voters for Conservative (blue), Labour (red), Lib Dem (yellow), other parties (green); and those not voting (grey).</figcaption></figure> <p>Since the 1920s the two main political parties in the UK, in terms of the number of seats in the <a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a>, are the <a href="/wiki/Conservative_and_Unionist_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="Conservative and Unionist Party">Conservative and Unionist Party</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a> has the second largest party membership,<sup id="cite_ref-34" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-34"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>34<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> but a smaller number of MPs as it only fields candidates for constituencies in Scotland.<sup id="cite_ref-35" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-35"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>35<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The modern day Conservative Party was founded in 1834 and is an outgrowth of the <a href="/wiki/Tories_(British_political_party)" title="Tories (British political party)">Tory</a> movement or party, which began in 1678. Today it is still colloquially referred to as the Tory Party and members/supporters are referred to as <i>Tories</i>. The Liberal Democrats (or "Lib Dems") were founded in 1988 by an amalgamation of the <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK)" title="Liberal Party (UK)">Liberal Party</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(UK)" title="Social Democratic Party (UK)">Social Democratic Party</a> (SDP), a right-wing Labour breakaway movement formed in 1981. The Liberals and SDP had contested elections together as the <a href="/wiki/SDP%E2%80%93Liberal_Alliance" title="SDP–Liberal Alliance">SDP–Liberal Alliance</a> for seven years previously. The modern Liberal Party had been founded in 1859 as an outgrowth of the <a href="/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)" title="Whigs (British political party)">Whig</a> movement or party (which began at the same time as the Tory Party and was its historical rival) as well as the <a href="/wiki/Radicals_(UK)" title="Radicals (UK)">Radical</a> and <a href="/wiki/Peelite" title="Peelite">Peelite</a> tendencies. </p><p>The Liberal Party was one of the two dominant parties (along with the Conservatives) from its founding until the 1920s, when it rapidly declined in popularity, and was supplanted on the <a href="/wiki/Left-wing_politics" title="Left-wing politics">left</a> by the Labour Party, which was founded in 1900 and formed its first minority government in 1924. Since that time, the Labour and Conservative parties have been dominant, with the Liberals (later Liberal Democrats) being the third-largest party until <a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">2015</a>, when they lost 49 of their 57 seats. They lost 1 seat in the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">2019 general election</a>, but in the <a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024 general election</a> gained 64 seats and are, once again, the third-largest party in the House of Commons, with a total of 72 seats. </p><p>From the 2015 general election until the 2024 general election, the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a> was the third-largest party. They gained 56 seats in 2015. Founded in 1934, the SNP advocates <a href="/wiki/Scottish_independence" title="Scottish independence">Scottish independence</a> and has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1967. The SNP currently leads a <a href="/wiki/Minority_government" title="Minority government">minority government</a> in the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a>, and after the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">2019 general election</a> had 48 MPs in the House of Commons. This number was significantly reduced to just 9 MPs in the <a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024 general election</a>, making the SNP the fourth-largest party. </p><p>Minor parties also hold seats in parliament: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Reform_UK" title="Reform UK">Reform UK</a>, a right-wing party, currently has five MPs, all elected in the 2024 general election. It was formerly known as the Brexit Party and is a supplantation of the now extraparliamentary <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_Independence_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="United Kingdom Independence Party">United Kingdom Independence Party</a> (UKIP)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a>, the centre-left to left <a href="/wiki/Welsh_nationalist" class="mw-redirect" title="Welsh nationalist">Welsh nationalist</a> party, has had continuous representation in Parliament since 1974, and currently hold four of the 32 Welsh seats. They currently have four MPs. Plaid has the third highest number of seats in the <a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a>, after <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Labour" title="Welsh Labour">Welsh Labour</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/Welsh_Conservatives" title="Welsh Conservatives">Welsh Conservatives</a>.</li> <li>In <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>, 17 of 18 MPs are from parties that only contest elections in Northern Ireland (except for <a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a>, which contests elections in both Northern Ireland and the <a href="/wiki/Republic_of_Ireland" title="Republic of Ireland">Republic of Ireland</a>). The exception being one MP as of the 2024 UK general election who is an independent. The right-wing and <a href="/wiki/Unionism_in_Ireland" title="Unionism in Ireland">unionist</a> <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">Democratic Unionist Party</a> (DUP) (who currently hold five seats), the left-wing and <a href="/wiki/Irish_republicanism" title="Irish republicanism">republican</a> Sinn Féin (who currently hold seven seats), the <a href="/wiki/Irish_nationalism" title="Irish nationalism">nationalist</a> <a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_and_Labour_Party" title="Social Democratic and Labour Party">Social Democratic and Labour Party</a> (SDLP) (who currently hold two), the centrist non-sectarian <a href="/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Alliance Party of Northern Ireland">Alliance Party of Northern Ireland</a> (who currently hold one seat), the centre-right unionist <a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">Ulster Unionist Party</a> (UUP; who currently hold one seat), and the right-wing unionist Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV; who have one seat), all hold seats in the House of Commons. Sinn Féin has a policy of <a href="/wiki/Abstentionism" title="Abstentionism">abstentionism</a> and their MPs refuse to take their seats in Parliament, and have done so since 1918. The DUP, Sinn Féin, the <a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">Ulster Unionist Party</a> (UUP), Alliance Party and the SDLP are considered the five major political parties in Northern Ireland, holding the most seats in the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales" class="mw-redirect" title="The Green Party of England and Wales">The Green Party of England and Wales</a> has four MPs.</li> <li>There are also <a href="/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">independent</a> MPs. One is the <a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)" title="Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)">Speaker</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lindsay_Hoyle" title="Lindsay Hoyle">Lindsay Hoyle</a> who revoked his Labour affiliation after the <a href="/wiki/2019_Speaker_of_the_British_House_of_Commons_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2019 Speaker of the British House of Commons election">2019 Speaker election</a>. Others have had their whip revoked or have resigned from their political party. Six independent MPs were elected at the 2024 UK general election.</li></ul> <p>After two years of being a minority government, the Conservatives gained a majority in the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">general election in 2019</a>, but lost this majority to the Labour Party in the <a href="/wiki/2024_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2024 United Kingdom general election">2024 general election</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Conservatives_(Tories)"><span id="Conservatives_.28Tories.29"></span>Conservatives (Tories)</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=27" title="Edit section: Conservatives (Tories)"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative Party (UK)</a></div> <p>The Conservative Party won the largest number of seats at the <a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">2015 general election</a>, returning 330 MPs, enough for an overall majority, and went on to form the first Conservative majority government since the <a href="/wiki/1992_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1992 United Kingdom general election">1992 general election</a>. The Conservatives won only 318 seats at the 2017 general election, but went on to form a <a href="/wiki/Confidence_and_supply" title="Confidence and supply">confidence and supply</a> deal with the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">Democratic Unionist Party</a> (DUP) who got 10 seats in the House of Commons, allowing the Conservative Party to remain in government. The Conservatives won a majority government in 2019, taking 365 seats and forming the first majority government since 2015–17. The party won 121 seats at the 2024 general election, making it the second-largest group in the House of Commons. </p><p>The Conservative Party can trace its origin back to 1662, with the Court Party and the Country Party being formed in the aftermath of the <a href="/wiki/English_Civil_War#Aftermath" title="English Civil War">English Civil War</a>. The Court Party soon became known as the <a href="/wiki/Tories" class="mw-redirect" title="Tories">Tories</a>, a name that has stuck despite the official name being 'Conservative'. The term "Tory" originates from the <a href="/wiki/Exclusion_Crisis" title="Exclusion Crisis">Exclusion Crisis</a> of 1678–1681 – the <a href="/wiki/Whigs_(British_political_party)" title="Whigs (British political party)">Whigs</a> were those who supported the exclusion of the Roman Catholic <a href="/wiki/James_II_of_England" title="James II of England">Duke of York</a> from the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland, and the Tories were those who opposed it. Generally, the Tories were associated with lesser gentry and the Church of England, while Whigs were more associated with trade, money, larger land holders (or "land magnates"), expansion and tolerance of Catholicism. The Rochdale <a href="/wiki/Radicals_(UK)" title="Radicals (UK)">Radicals</a> were a group of more extreme reformists who were also heavily involved in the <a href="/wiki/Cooperative_movement" class="mw-redirect" title="Cooperative movement">cooperative movement</a>. They sought to bring about a more equal society, and are considered by modern standards to be <a href="/wiki/Left-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Left-wing">left-wing</a>. </p><p>After becoming associated with repression of popular discontent in the years after 1815, the Tories underwent a fundamental transformation under the influence of <a href="/wiki/Robert_Peel" title="Robert Peel">Robert Peel</a>, himself an industrialist rather than a landowner, who in his 1834 "<a href="/wiki/Tamworth_Manifesto" title="Tamworth Manifesto">Tamworth Manifesto</a>" outlined a new "Conservative" philosophy of reforming ills while conserving the good. Though Peel's supporters subsequently split from their colleagues over the issue of free trade in 1846, ultimately joining the Whigs and the <a href="/wiki/Radical_Party_(UK)" class="mw-redirect" title="Radical Party (UK)">Radicals</a> to form what would become the <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK)" title="Liberal Party (UK)">Liberal Party</a>, Peel's version of the party's underlying outlook was retained by the remaining Tories, who adopted his label of Conservative as the official name of their party. </p><p>The Conservatives were in government for eighteen years between 1979 and 1997, under the leadership of the first-ever female prime minister, <a href="/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>, and former <a href="/wiki/Chancellor_of_the_Exchequer" title="Chancellor of the Exchequer">Chancellor of the Exchequer</a> <a href="/wiki/John_Major" title="John Major">John Major</a> (1990–97). Their landslide defeat at the <a href="/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1997 United Kingdom general election">1997 general election</a> saw the Conservative Party lose over half their seats gained in 1992, and saw the party re-align with public perceptions of them. The Conservatives lost all their seats in both Scotland and Wales, and was their worst defeat since <a href="/wiki/1906_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1906 United Kingdom general election">1906</a>. In 2008, the Conservative Party formed a pact with the <a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">Ulster Unionist Party</a> (UUP) to select joint candidates for European and House of Commons elections; this angered the DUP as by splitting the Unionist vote, republican parties will be elected in some areas.<sup id="cite_ref-36" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-36"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>36<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>After thirteen years in opposition, the Conservatives returned to power as part of a coalition agreement with the Liberal Democrats in 2010, going on to form a majority government in 2015. <a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a> resigned as prime minister in July 2016, which resulted in the appointment of the country's second female prime minister, <a href="/wiki/Theresa_May" title="Theresa May">Theresa May</a>. The Conservative Party is the only party in the history of the United Kingdom to have been governed by a female prime minister. In 2019, <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a> was appointed prime minister after May stepped down during Brexit negotiations. At one point during 2019 his party had a parliamentary minority for a short period after he ejected a large number of party members, of which some were subsequently allowed to return for the 2019 General election. Following the election the Tories returned with a majority government under Johnson. </p><p>Historically, the party has been the mainland party most pre-occupied by <a href="/wiki/British_unionism" class="mw-redirect" title="British unionism">British unionism</a>, as attested to by the party's full name, the Conservative and Unionist Party. This resulted in the merger between the Conservatives and <a href="/wiki/Joseph_Chamberlain" title="Joseph Chamberlain">Joseph Chamberlain</a>'s <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Unionist_Party" title="Liberal Unionist Party">Liberal Unionist Party</a>, composed of former Liberals who opposed <a href="/wiki/Irish_home_rule" class="mw-redirect" title="Irish home rule">Irish home rule</a>. The unionist tendency is still in evidence today, manifesting sometimes as a scepticism or opposition to devolution, firm support for the continued existence of the United Kingdom in the face of movements advocating independence from the UK, and a historic link with the cultural unionism of Northern Ireland. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Labour">Labour</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=28" title="Edit section: Labour"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party (UK)</a></div> <p>The Labour Party won the largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2024 general election, with 411 seats overall. The Party won the second-largest number of seats at the 2019 general election, with 202 seats, 60 seats less than 2017. </p><p>The history of the Labour Party goes back to 1900, when a <a href="/wiki/Labour_Representation_Committee_(1900)" title="Labour Representation Committee (1900)">Labour Representation Committee</a> was established and changed its name to "The Labour Party" in 1906. After 1918, this led to the demise of the Liberal Party as the main reformist force in British politics. The existence of the Labour Party on the left-wing of British politics led to a slow waning of energy from the Liberal Party, which has consequently assumed third place in national politics. After performing poorly at the general elections of 1922, 1923 and 1924, the Liberal Party was superseded by the Labour Party as being the party of the left. </p><p>Following two brief spells in minority governments in 1924 and 1929–1931, the party was part of the <a href="/wiki/Churchill_war_ministry" title="Churchill war ministry">Churchill war ministry</a> during <a href="/wiki/World_War_II" title="World War II">World War II</a>. When the war ended the Labour Party won a landslide victory at the 1945 "<a href="/wiki/1945_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1945 United Kingdom general election">khaki election</a>"; winning a majority for the first time ever. Throughout the rest of the twentieth century, Labour governments alternated with Conservative governments. The Labour Party suffered the "wilderness years" of 1951–1964 (three consecutive general election defeats) and 1979–1997 (four consecutive general election defeats). During this second period, <a href="/wiki/Margaret_Thatcher" title="Margaret Thatcher">Margaret Thatcher</a>, who became Leader of the Conservative Party in 1975, made a fundamental change to Conservative policies, turning the Conservative Party into an <a href="/wiki/Economically_liberal" class="mw-redirect" title="Economically liberal">economically liberal</a> party. At the <a href="/wiki/1979_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1979 United Kingdom general election">1979 general election</a>, she defeated <a href="/wiki/James_Callaghan" title="James Callaghan">James Callaghan</a>'s Labour government following the <a href="/wiki/Winter_of_Discontent" title="Winter of Discontent">Winter of Discontent</a>. For all of the 1980s and most of the 1990s, Conservative governments under Thatcher and her successor <a href="/wiki/John_Major" title="John Major">John Major</a> pursued policies of <a href="/wiki/Privatisation" class="mw-redirect" title="Privatisation">privatisation</a>, anti-<a href="/wiki/Trade-union" class="mw-redirect" title="Trade-union">trade-unionism</a>, and, for a time, <a href="/wiki/Monetarism" title="Monetarism">monetarism</a>, now known collectively as <a href="/wiki/Thatcherism" title="Thatcherism">Thatcherism</a>. </p><p>The Labour Party elected left-winger <a href="/wiki/Michael_Foot" title="Michael Foot">Michael Foot</a> as their leader in 1980, and he responded to dissatisfaction within the Labour Party by pursuing a number of radical policies developed by its grassroots members. In 1981, several centrist and right-leaning Labour MPs formed a breakaway group called the <a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(UK)" title="Social Democratic Party (UK)">Social Democratic Party</a> (SDP), a move which split Labour and is widely believed to have made the Labour Party unelectable for a decade. The SDP formed an alliance with the Liberal Party which contested the <a href="/wiki/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1983 United Kingdom general election">1983</a> and <a href="/wiki/1987_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1987 United Kingdom general election">1987</a> general elections as a pro-European, centrist alternative to Labour and the Conservatives. Following some initial success, the SDP did not prosper (partly due to its unfavourable distribution of votes by the First-Past-the-Post electoral system), and was accused by some of splitting the Labour vote. The SDP eventually merged with the Liberal Party to form the Liberal Democrats in 1988. </p><p>The Labour Party was defeated in a landslide at the <a href="/wiki/1983_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1983 United Kingdom general election">1983 general election</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Michael_Foot" title="Michael Foot">Michael Foot</a> was replaced shortly thereafter by <a href="/wiki/Neil_Kinnock" title="Neil Kinnock">Neil Kinnock</a> as party leader. Kinnock progressively expelled members of <a href="/wiki/Militant_tendency" title="Militant tendency">Militant</a>, a <a href="/wiki/Left-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Left-wing">left-wing</a> group which practised <a href="/wiki/Entryism" title="Entryism">entryism</a>, and moderated many of the party's policies. Despite these changes, as well as electoral gains and also due to Kinnock's negative media image, Labour was defeated at the 1987 and <a href="/wiki/1992_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1992 United Kingdom general election">1992</a> general elections, and he was succeeded by <a href="/wiki/Shadow_Chancellor_of_the_Exchequer" title="Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer">Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer</a>, <a href="/wiki/John_Smith_(Labour_Party_leader)" title="John Smith (Labour Party leader)">John Smith</a>. <a href="/wiki/Shadow_Home_Secretary" title="Shadow Home Secretary">Shadow Home Secretary</a> <a href="/wiki/Tony_Blair" title="Tony Blair">Tony Blair</a> became Leader of the Labour Party following Smith's sudden death from a heart attack in 1994. He continued to move the Labour Party towards the "centre" by loosening links with the <a href="/wiki/Trade_union" title="Trade union">unions</a> and continuing many of Thatcher's neoliberal policies. This, coupled with the professionalising of the party machine's approach to the media, helped Labour win a historic landslide at the <a href="/wiki/1997_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="1997 United Kingdom general election">1997 general election</a>, after eighteen consecutive years of Conservative rule. Some observers say the Labour Party had by then morphed from a <a href="/wiki/Democratic_socialist" class="mw-redirect" title="Democratic socialist">democratic socialist</a> party to a <a href="/wiki/Social_democratic" class="mw-redirect" title="Social democratic">social democratic</a> party, a process which delivered three general election victories but alienated some of its core base; leading to the formation of the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Socialist Labour Party (UK)">Socialist Labour Party</a>.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (February 2007)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> A subset of Labour MPs stand as joint <a href="/wiki/Labour_and_Co-operative" class="mw-redirect" title="Labour and Co-operative">Labour and Co-operative</a> candidates due to a long-standing <a href="/wiki/Electoral_alliance" title="Electoral alliance">electoral alliance</a> between the Labour Party and the <a href="/wiki/Co-operative_Party" title="Co-operative Party">Co-operative Party</a> – the political arm of the <a href="/wiki/British_co-operative_movement" title="British co-operative movement">British co-operative movement</a>. At the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">2019 general election</a>, 26 were elected.<sup id="cite_ref-37" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-37"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>37<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Following <a href="/wiki/Tony_Blair" title="Tony Blair">Tony Blair</a>'s election as leader of Labour, the part was reformed under the "<a href="/wiki/New_Labour" title="New Labour">New Labour</a>" branding and won the 1997 election with an overall landslide victory. Under "New Labour", the <a href="/wiki/Human_Rights_Act_1998" title="Human Rights Act 1998">Human Rights Act</a> and <a href="/wiki/National_Minimum_Wage_Act" class="mw-redirect" title="National Minimum Wage Act">National Minimum Wage Act</a> were passed in 1998.<sup id="cite_ref-38" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-38"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>38<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-39" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-39"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>39<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Liberal_Democrats">Liberal Democrats</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=29" title="Edit section: Liberal Democrats"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)" title="Liberal Democrats (UK)">Liberal Democrats (UK)</a></div> <p>The Liberal Democrats won the third largest number of seats at the 2024 general election, returning 72 MPs. </p><p>The Liberal Democrats were founded in 1988 by an amalgamation of the Liberal Party with the Social Democratic Party, but can trace their origin back to the Whigs and the Rochdale Radicals who evolved into the Liberal Party. The term '<a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK)" title="Liberal Party (UK)">Liberal Party</a>' was first used officially in 1868, though it had been in use colloquially for decades beforehand. The Liberal Party formed a government in 1868 and then alternated with the Conservative Party as the party of government throughout the late-nineteenth century and early-twentieth century. </p><p>The Liberal Democrats are a party with policies on constitutional and political reforms, including changing the voting system for general elections (<a href="/wiki/2011_United_Kingdom_Alternative_Vote_referendum" title="2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum">2011 United Kingdom Alternative Vote referendum</a>), abolishing the House of Lords and replacing it with a 300-member elected Senate, introducing fixed five-year Parliaments, and introducing a National Register of Lobbyists. They also support what they see as greater fairness and social mobility. In the coalition government, the party promoted legislation introducing a <a href="/wiki/Pupil_premium" title="Pupil premium">pupil premium</a> – funding for schools directed at the poorest students to give them an equal chance in life. They also supported <a href="/wiki/Same-sex_marriage_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Same-sex marriage in the United Kingdom">same-sex marriage</a> and increasing the <a href="/wiki/Income_Tax_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Income Tax in the United Kingdom">income tax</a> threshold to £10,000, a pre-election manifesto commitment. </p><p>In the 2010 election, <a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a> formed a <a href="/wiki/Cameron%E2%80%93Clegg_coalition" title="Cameron–Clegg coalition">coalition government</a> with <a href="/wiki/Nick_Clegg" title="Nick Clegg">Nick Clegg</a>. After the 2015 elections, the Conservative government continued with a single party rather than a coalition. </p><p>Some coalition government reforms that were proposed were for fixed term parliaments. This piece of legislation consisted of setting a five-year interval between general elections. Another piece of coalition reform that was enacted was the Scottish independence referendum. The result overall was remain.<sup id="cite_ref-40" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-40"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>40<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Scottish_National_Party">Scottish National Party</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=30" title="Edit section: Scottish National Party"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a></div> <p>The Scottish National Party won the third-largest number of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election, winning 56 MPs from the 59 constituencies in Scotland having won 50% of the popular vote. This was an increase of 50 MPs on the result achieved in 2010. At the 2017 general election, the SNP won 35 seats, a net loss of 21 seats. At the 2019 general election, the SNP won 48 seats, a net gain of 13 seats. At the 2024 general election, the SNP won 9 seats, a net loss of 38 seats. </p><p>The SNP has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1967. Following the 2007 Scottish parliamentary elections, the SNP emerged as the largest party with 47 MSPs and formed a <a href="/wiki/Minority_government" title="Minority government">minority government</a> with <a href="/wiki/Alex_Salmond" title="Alex Salmond">Alex Salmond</a> as <a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">First Minister</a>. After the 2011 Scottish parliamentary election, the SNP won enough seats to form a majority government, the first time this had ever happened since devolution was established in 1999. It won 64 of 129 seats in the Scottish Parliament in the <a href="/wiki/2021_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2021 Scottish Parliament election">2021 Scottish Parliament election</a> and currently runs a minority government in Scotland. </p><p>Members of the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru work together as a single parliamentary group<sup id="cite_ref-41" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-41"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>41<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> following a formal pact signed in 1986. This group currently has 13 MPs. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Northern_Ireland_parties">Northern Ireland parties</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=31" title="Edit section: Northern Ireland parties"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_Northern_Ireland" title="List of political parties in Northern Ireland">List of political parties in Northern Ireland</a></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">Democratic Unionist Party</a> (DUP) had 5 MPs elected at the 2024 general election. Founded in 1971 by <a href="/wiki/Ian_Paisley" title="Ian Paisley">Ian Paisley</a>, it has grown to become the larger of the two main <a href="/wiki/Unionism_in_Ireland" title="Unionism in Ireland">unionist</a> political parties in <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a>. Sinn Féin MPs had 7 MPs elected at the 2019 election, but Sinn Féin MPs traditionally abstain from the House of Commons and refuse to take their seats in what they view as a "foreign" parliament. The unionist parties <a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">Ulster Unionist Party</a>, <a href="/wiki/Traditional_Unionist_Voice" title="Traditional Unionist Voice">Traditional Unionist Voice</a>, crosscommunity <a href="/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Alliance Party of Northern Ireland">Alliance Party</a> and nationalist party <a href="/wiki/SDLP" class="mw-redirect" title="SDLP">SDLP</a> also have Commons representation. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Plaid_Cymru">Plaid Cymru</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=32" title="Edit section: Plaid Cymru"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a></div> <p>Plaid Cymru has enjoyed parliamentary representation continuously since 1974 and had 4 MPs elected at the 2019 general election, though one was suspended. Following the <a href="/wiki/2007_National_Assembly_for_Wales_election" title="2007 National Assembly for Wales election">2007 Welsh Assembly elections</a>, they joined Labour as the junior partner in a coalition government, but have fallen down to the third-largest party in the Assembly after the 2011 Assembly elections, and have become an opposition party. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Other_parliamentary_parties">Other parliamentary parties</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=33" title="Edit section: Other parliamentary parties"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>The <a href="/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales" title="Green Party of England and Wales">Green Party of England and Wales</a> had a single MP, <a href="/wiki/Caroline_Lucas" title="Caroline Lucas">Caroline Lucas</a>, from 2010 until the 2024 UK general election (the party previously had an MP in 1992; Cynog Dafis, Ceredigion, who was elected on a joint Plaid Cymru/Green Party ticket). In the 2024 UK general election the Greens won four seats. It also has three seats on the <a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a> and over 800 local councillors as of May 2024.<sup id="cite_ref-2024_local_elections_42-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-2024_local_elections-42"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>42<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Brexit_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="Brexit Party">Brexit Party</a> was founded in January 2019, with leader <a href="/wiki/Nigel_Farage" title="Nigel Farage">Nigel Farage</a> (former retired UKIP leader). It initially had 14 MEPs, all of whom had been elected as members of UKIP. In the <a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom</a>, it returned 29 MEPs. The MEPs were elected representatives of the party until 11pm on 31 January 2020 when the UK left the European Union and the position of British MEPs was subsequently abolished.<sup id="cite_ref-43" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-43"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>43<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It was reconstituted into the <a href="/wiki/Reform_UK" title="Reform UK">Reform Party</a>. Reform won 5 seats in the 2024 UK general election. </p><p>There are usually a small number of <a href="/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">independent politicians</a> in parliament with no party allegiance. In modern times, this has usually occurred when a sitting member leaves their party, and some such MPs have been re-elected as independents. Between 1950 and 2023, only two new members were elected as independents without having ever stood for a major party: </p> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Martin_Bell" title="Martin Bell">Martin Bell</a> represented the <a href="/wiki/Tatton_(UK_Parliament_constituency)" title="Tatton (UK Parliament constituency)">Tatton</a> constituency in <a href="/wiki/Cheshire" title="Cheshire">Cheshire</a> between 1997 and 2001. He was <a href="/wiki/Tatton_in_the_1997_general_election" title="Tatton in the 1997 general election">elected</a> following a "sleaze" scandal involving the-then incumbent Conservative MP, <a href="/wiki/Neil_Hamilton_(politician)" title="Neil Hamilton (politician)">Neil Hamilton</a>. Bell, a <a href="/wiki/BBC" title="BBC">BBC</a> journalist, stood as an anti-corruption independent candidate, and the Labour and Liberal Democrat parties withdrew their candidates from the election.</li> <li>Dr. <a href="/wiki/Richard_Taylor_(British_politician)" title="Richard Taylor (British politician)">Richard Taylor</a> MP was elected for the <a href="/wiki/Wyre_Forest_(UK_Parliament_constituency)" title="Wyre Forest (UK Parliament constituency)">Wyre Forest</a> constituency in 2001 on a platform opposing the closure of Kidderminster hospital. He later established <a href="/wiki/Health_Concern" class="mw-redirect" title="Health Concern">Health Concern</a>, the party under which he ran in 2005.</li></ul> <p>In the 2024 UK general election six independents were elected. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Non-Parliamentary_political_parties">Non-Parliamentary political parties</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=34" title="Edit section: Non-Parliamentary political parties"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>Other <a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom#Minor_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of political parties in the United Kingdom">political parties</a> exist, but struggle to return MPs to Parliament. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/UK_Independence_Party" title="UK Independence Party">UK Independence Party</a> (UKIP) had one MP and 24 seats in the <a href="/wiki/European_Parliament" title="European Parliament">European Parliament</a> as well as a number of local councillors. UKIP also had a MLA in the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>. UKIP had become an emerging alternative party among some voters, gaining the third-largest share of the vote in the <a href="/wiki/2015_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2015 United Kingdom general election">2015 general election</a> and the largest share of the vote of any party (27%) in the <a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2014 European elections</a>. In 2014 UKIP gained its first ever MP following the defection and re-election of <a href="/wiki/Douglas_Carswell" title="Douglas Carswell">Douglas Carswell</a> in the <a href="/wiki/2014_Clacton_by-election" title="2014 Clacton by-election">2014 Clacton by-election</a>. They campaign mainly on issues such as reducing <a href="/wiki/Modern_immigration_to_the_United_Kingdom" title="Modern immigration to the United Kingdom">immigration</a> and <a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">EU withdrawal</a>. They no longer have any MPs. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Respect_Party" title="Respect Party">Respect</a> party, a <a href="/wiki/Left-wing" class="mw-redirect" title="Left-wing">left-wing</a> group that came out of the <a href="/wiki/Anti-war_movement" title="Anti-war movement">anti-war movement</a> had a single MP, <a href="/wiki/George_Galloway" title="George Galloway">George Galloway</a> from 2005 to 2010, and again between 2012 and 2015.<sup id="cite_ref-44" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-44"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>44<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p><a href="/wiki/Change_UK" title="Change UK">Change UK</a> was a political party formed and disbanded in 2019. It had five MPs, four of whom were elected as Labour MPs, and one as Conservative MPs. </p><p>Following the <a href="/wiki/2021_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2021 Scottish Parliament election">2021 Scottish Parliament election</a> the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Greens" title="Scottish Greens">Scottish Greens</a> have 8 MSPs in the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a> and are the junior partner in the SNP/Green coalition. They also 35 local councillors. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Green_Party_in_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Green Party in Northern Ireland">Green Party in Northern Ireland</a> has previously had MLAs in the <a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a>. They currently have 8 local councillors. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Socialist_Party" title="Scottish Socialist Party">Scottish Socialist Party</a> (SSP) won its first seat in the Scottish Parliament in the <a href="/wiki/1999_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="1999 Scottish Parliament election">1999 Scottish Parliament election</a>. In the <a href="/wiki/2003_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2003 Scottish Parliament election">2003 Scottish Parliament election</a> the party increased their number of seats to 6. The party built up its support through opposing the war in Iraq and fighting for policies such as free school meals and an end to prescription charges. In the <a href="/wiki/2007_Scottish_Parliament_election" title="2007 Scottish Parliament election">2007 Scottish Parliament election</a> it lost all of its MSPs but remains politically active and continues to contest elections.<sup id="cite_ref-45" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-45"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>45<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/British_National_Party" title="British National Party">British National Party</a> (BNP) became the official opposition in the <a href="/wiki/2006_Barking_and_Dagenham_Council_election" class="mw-redirect" title="2006 Barking and Dagenham Council election">2006 Barking and Dagenham Council election</a>, won a seat in the <a href="/wiki/2008_London_Assembly_election" title="2008 London Assembly election">2008 London Assembly election</a>, two seats in the <a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2009 European elections</a>, and received the fifth-highest share of votes in the <a href="/wiki/2010_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2010 United Kingdom general election">2010 general election</a>. At their peak they had 58 local councillors. However, the early 2010s saw the BNP's support collapse and became fractured, resulting in them losing all elected representation by 2018.<sup id="cite_ref-46" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-46"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>46<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/British_Democratic_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="British Democratic Party">British Democratic Party</a> (BDP) was founded in 2013 by <a href="/wiki/Andrew_Brons" title="Andrew Brons">Andrew Brons</a>, one of the British National Party's two MEPs. In 2022, following the collapse of the BNP, a plethora of prominent ex-BNP members rapidly began coalescing around the British Democrats. It is currently the only far-right UK political party with any elected representation. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Aspire_(political_party)" title="Aspire (political party)">Aspire Party</a> has 24 out of the 45 seats in the Tower Hamlets council. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Women%27s_Equality_Party" title="Women's Equality Party">Women's Equality Party</a> (WEP) was founded in 2015. The party gained its first elected representation in the <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_local_elections" title="2019 United Kingdom local elections">2019 United Kingdom local elections</a>, winning one local councillor seat on <a href="/wiki/Congleton_Town_Council" title="Congleton Town Council">Congleton Town Council</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-47" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-47"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>47<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The party has no other elected representation at any other level of governance. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Libertarian_Party_(UK)" title="Libertarian Party (UK)">Libertarian Party</a> was founded in 2008 and has contested several local elections and parliamentary constituencies. It has no elected representatives at any level of governance. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/English_Democrats" title="English Democrats">English Democrats</a> was founded in 2002 and advocates England having its own parliament. The party's candidate was elected mayor of Doncaster in 2009, before resigning from the party in February 2013.<sup id="cite_ref-48" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-48"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>48<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>Other parties include: the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Socialist Labour Party (UK)">Socialist Labour Party (UK)</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Party_of_Great_Britain" title="Socialist Party of Great Britain">Socialist Party of Great Britain</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Communist_Party_of_Britain" title="Communist Party of Britain">Communist Party of Britain</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Party_(England_and_Wales)" title="Socialist Party (England and Wales)">Socialist Party (England and Wales)</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Socialist_Workers_Party_(UK)" title="Socialist Workers Party (UK)">Socialist Workers Party</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK,_1989)" title="Liberal Party (UK, 1989)">Liberal Party</a>, <a href="/wiki/Mebyon_Kernow" title="Mebyon Kernow">Mebyon Kernow</a> (a Cornish nationalist party) in Cornwall, the <a href="/wiki/Yorkshire_Party" title="Yorkshire Party">Yorkshire Party</a> in Yorkshire, and the <a href="/wiki/National_Health_Action_Party" title="National Health Action Party">National Health Action Party</a>. The <a href="/wiki/Pirate_Party_UK" title="Pirate Party UK">Pirate Party UK</a> existed from 2009 to 2020, before being relaunched in 2023. </p><p>Several local parties contest only within a specific area, a single county, borough or district. Examples include the Better Bedford Independent Party, which was one of the dominant parties in <a href="/wiki/Bedford_Borough_Council" title="Bedford Borough Council">Bedford Borough Council</a> and led by Bedford's former Mayor, <a href="/wiki/Frank_Branston" title="Frank Branston">Frank Branston</a>. The most notable local party is <a href="/wiki/Health_Concern" class="mw-redirect" title="Health Concern">Health Concern</a>, which controlled a single seat in the British Parliament from 2001 to 2010. </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Jury_Team" title="Jury Team">Jury Team</a>, launched in March 2009 and described as a "non-party party", is an umbrella organisation seeking to increase the number of independent MPs.<sup id="cite_ref-Independant8Mar09_49-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Independant8Mar09-49"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>49<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Official_Monster_Raving_Loony_Party" title="Official Monster Raving Loony Party">Official Monster Raving Loony Party</a> (OMRLP) was founded in 1983. The OMRLP are distinguished by having a deliberately bizarre <a href="/wiki/Manifesto" title="Manifesto">manifesto</a>, which contains things that seem to be impossible or too absurd to implement – usually to highlight what they see as real-life absurdities. It is effectively regarded as a <a href="/wiki/Political_satire" title="Political satire">satirical political party</a>. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="2015_to_2019">2015 to 2019</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=35" title="Edit section: 2015 to 2019"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>After winning the largest number of seats and votes in the 2015 general election, the Conservatives under <a href="/wiki/David_Cameron" title="David Cameron">David Cameron</a>, remained ahead of the Labour Party, led by <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Corbyn" title="Jeremy Corbyn">Jeremy Corbyn</a> since September 2015. The SNP maintained its position in Scotland, the party was just short of an overall majority at the Scottish parliamentary elections in May 2016. </p><p>However, a turbulent <a href="/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum" title="2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">referendum</a> on the United Kingdom's membership of the European Union, called for by David Cameron, led to his resignation, the appointment of a new prime minister Theresa May, and divided opinion on Europe amongst the party. </p><p>In addition, the <a href="/wiki/EU_referendum_campaign" class="mw-redirect" title="EU referendum campaign">EU referendum campaign</a> plunged the Labour Party into crisis and resulted in a motion of no confidence in the party leader <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Corbyn" title="Jeremy Corbyn">Jeremy Corbyn</a> being passed by the party's MPs in a 172–40 vote,<sup id="cite_ref-50" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-50"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>50<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which followed a significant number of resignations from the <a href="/wiki/Shadow_Cabinet_of_Jeremy_Corbyn" title="Shadow Cabinet of Jeremy Corbyn">Shadow Cabinet</a>. This led to a <a href="/wiki/2016_Labour_Party_leadership_election_(UK)" title="2016 Labour Party leadership election (UK)">leadership election</a> which began with <a href="/wiki/Angela_Eagle" title="Angela Eagle">Angela Eagle</a>, the former <a href="/wiki/First_Secretary_of_State" title="First Secretary of State">Shadow First Secretary of State</a> and <a href="/wiki/Shadow_Secretary_of_State_for_Business,_Innovation_and_Skills" class="mw-redirect" title="Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills">Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills</a> who eight days later withdrew from the leadership race, to support <a href="/wiki/Owen_Smith" title="Owen Smith">Owen Smith</a>, the former <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_State_for_Work_and_Pensions" title="Secretary of State for Work and Pensions">Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions</a>. This was won by Jeremy Corbyn with an increased majority. </p><p>Following the vote to leave the European Union, <a href="/wiki/Nigel_Farage" title="Nigel Farage">Nigel Farage</a> offered his own resignation as leader, something he had campaigned for since 1992. A leadership contest also took place in the Green Party, which led to the joint election on 2 September 2016 of <a href="/wiki/Jonathan_Bartley" title="Jonathan Bartley">Jonathan Bartley</a> and <a href="/wiki/Caroline_Lucas" title="Caroline Lucas">Caroline Lucas</a> as co-leaders, who took over the role in a job-share arrangement.<sup id="cite_ref-51" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-51"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>51<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Lucas, was previously leader until 2010 and is the party's only MP. Strategic cross-party alliances have been initiated, including a "<a href="/wiki/Progressive_alliance_(UK)" title="Progressive alliance (UK)">progressive alliance</a>" and a "Patriotic Alliance",<sup id="cite_ref-52" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-52"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>52<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-53" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-53"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>53<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> as proposed by <a href="/wiki/UKIP" class="mw-redirect" title="UKIP">UKIP</a> donor <a href="/wiki/Arron_Banks" title="Arron Banks">Arron Banks</a>. </p><p>In 2017, the prime minister, <a href="/wiki/Theresa_May" title="Theresa May">Theresa May</a>, called a general election. She hoped to increase the conservative majority to diffuse party opposition to her deal to leave the EU. In the election, the conservatives lost seats and the Labour party, under <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Corbyn" title="Jeremy Corbyn">Jeremy Corbyn</a>, gained 30 seats. This led to a minority conservative government supported by the <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a>. </p><p>In July 2019, <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a> won the leadership of the conservative party following the resignation of May. He became the prime minister by default. </p><p>In August 2019, Prime Minister Boris Johnson requested the monarch, Queen <a href="/wiki/Elizabeth_II" title="Elizabeth II">Elizabeth II</a>, to <a href="/wiki/Prorogation_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prorogation in the United Kingdom">prorogue</a> the <a href="/wiki/British_parliament" class="mw-redirect" title="British parliament">British parliament</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-54" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-54"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>54<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Although this measure is common for incoming governments to allow time to prepare the <a href="/wiki/State_Opening_of_Parliament" title="State Opening of Parliament">Queen's speech</a>, the move caused <a href="/wiki/2019_British_prorogation_controversy" class="mw-redirect" title="2019 British prorogation controversy">great controversy</a> as it was announced to last 23 days instead of the usual 4 or 5 days.<sup id="cite_ref-55" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-55"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>55<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It would end the current session of the Parliament that had been running for 2 years and prevent further parliamentary debate. The government stated that it was nothing to do with <a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">Brexit</a> and that there would still be "ample time" for debate before Brexit happens.<sup id="cite_ref-56" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-56"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>56<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Opponents believed that parliament had been suspended to force through a <a href="/wiki/No-deal_Brexit" title="No-deal Brexit">no-deal Brexit</a> and prevent parliament from being able to thwart the government's plan. Others argued that it facilitated the <a href="/wiki/Brexit_negotiations" title="Brexit negotiations">Brexit negotiations</a> by forcing the EU to modify the current proposed deal. The move is unprecedented in British politics and caused debate in the media, an attempt to stop it in the Scottish <a href="/wiki/Court_of_Session" title="Court of Session">Court of Session</a>, an attempt by ex-prime minister <a href="/wiki/John_Major" title="John Major">John Major</a> and others to stop it in the English <a href="/wiki/High_Court_of_Justice" title="High Court of Justice">High Court</a> and in the <a href="/wiki/High_Court_in_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="High Court in Northern Ireland">High Court in Northern Ireland</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-57" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-57"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>57<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> It was reported by many media sources that the move takes the UK one more step towards a full <a href="/wiki/Dictatorship" title="Dictatorship">dictatorship</a> from its current status of '<a href="/wiki/Elective_dictatorship" title="Elective dictatorship">elective dictatorship</a>'.<sup id="cite_ref-58" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-58"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>58<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The legality of the suspension of parliament was tested in courts in England and Scotland. The case was appealed to the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom. On 24 September, it ruled unanimously that the prorogation was both justiciable and unlawful. The prorogation was quashed and deemed "null and of no [legal] effect". Parliament resumed the next day. </p><p>On the return of parliament the government lost its <a href="https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/working_majority" class="extiw" title="wiktionary:working majority">majority</a> when Conservative MP <a href="/wiki/Phillip_Lee_(politician)" title="Phillip Lee (politician)">Phillip Lee</a> <a href="/wiki/Crossing_the_floor#Changing_parties" title="Crossing the floor">crossed the floor</a> of the house to join the Liberal Democrats.<sup id="cite_ref-59" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-59"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>59<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This meant that the combined votes of the Conservative and <a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a> MPs amounted to one less than the combined votes of opposition parties. The government of Boris Johnson then lost a vote, 301 to 328, giving control of the agenda of the house to the MPs, removing the control the government had over the introduction of new laws.<sup id="cite_ref-60" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-60"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>60<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The 21 Conservative MPs who voted against their own government had the <a href="/wiki/Whip_(politics)#United_Kingdom" title="Whip (politics)">whip</a> removed by <a href="/wiki/10_Downing_Street" title="10 Downing Street">Number 10</a>, removing them from the party. This included long-standing members of the party.<sup id="cite_ref-61" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-61"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>61<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Johnson called for a general election and following a few attempts succeeded in getting a vote approving an election through parliament. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Current_political_landscape">Current political landscape</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=36" title="Edit section: Current political landscape"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main article: <a href="/wiki/2020s_in_United_Kingdom_political_history" class="mw-redirect" title="2020s in United Kingdom political history">2020s in United Kingdom political history</a></div> <p>In the December 2019 <a href="/wiki/2019_United_Kingdom_general_election" title="2019 United Kingdom general election">general election</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative Party</a>, led by <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a>, won a large overall majority. <a href="/wiki/Jeremy_Corbyn" title="Jeremy Corbyn">Jeremy Corbyn</a> resigned as leader of the <a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour Party</a>. <a href="/wiki/Jo_Swinson" title="Jo Swinson">Jo Swinson</a> resigned as <a href="/wiki/Lib_Dem" class="mw-redirect" title="Lib Dem">Lib Dem</a> leader after losing her own seat.<sup id="cite_ref-62" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-62"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>62<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 20 December 2019, the <a href="/wiki/Brexit_withdrawal_agreement" title="Brexit withdrawal agreement">Brexit withdrawal agreement</a> was passed. The UK left the EU on 31 January 2020 at 11 p.m. GMT and entered a transition period, set to finish on 31 December 2020. </p><p>In January 2020, the Labour Party began the process of electing a new leader. On 4 April 2020, <a href="/wiki/Keir_Starmer" title="Keir Starmer">Keir Starmer</a> was elected leader of the Labour Party with 56.2% of the vote in the first round.<sup id="cite_ref-63" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-63"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>63<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In October 2020, Corbyn was suspended from the Labour Party over his comments about antisemitism. According to <i><a href="/wiki/The_Washington_Post" title="The Washington Post">The Washington Post</a></i>: </p> <dl><dd>Corbyn's ouster from a party he led in the last two national elections, in 2019 and 2017, was a stunning rebuke and mark him now as a near-outcast, at least temporarily. The suspension also shines light on a long-running feud within Europe's largest democratic socialist party over its very soul, as hard-left "Corbynistas" pushing for radical change duke it out with a more moderate wing more ideologically aligned with <a href="/wiki/Tony_Blair" title="Tony Blair">Tony Blair</a>, the centrist former Labour prime minister.<sup id="cite_ref-64" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-64"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>64<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></dd></dl> <p>The present dispute within the Labour party is likely causing the leftist political coalition to further fragment since the catastrophic result in 2019. Polling generally indicates that <i>at present</i> (August 2021) Labour has lost significant portions of its vote share to the Green party and the Liberal Democrats.<sup id="cite_ref-65" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-65"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>65<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> At Labour Conference 2021, several showdowns between the left and right of the party are expected to take place. This includes but is not limited to: a motion to give members power to approve or reject decisions over the Labour whip within the PLP, a potential rejection of the pro-Starmer interim General Secretary <a href="/wiki/David_Evans_(political_official)" class="mw-redirect" title="David Evans (political official)">David Evans</a> by unions and members alike, a debate over PR and a significant debate over the loss of members and their subscription fees since Corbyn's expulsion which has left the party in a dire state regarding its activist and financial bases.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_66-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-66"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>66<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-67" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-67"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>67<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The <a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">SNP</a> and the <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Greens" title="Scottish Greens">Scottish Greens</a> won the right to form a Scottish coalition government in May 2021. The precise arrangement is loose and allows the Greens freedom to criticise official SNP policy on key areas of disagreement. However, it provides <a href="/wiki/Nicola_Sturgeon" title="Nicola Sturgeon">FM Nicola Sturgeon</a> with a mandate to call for a new independence referendum after the failed one in 2014.<sup id="cite_ref-:0_66-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-:0-66"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>66<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Proponents of a new referendum particularly cite Brexit as changing the political situation, thus leading Scots to be more pro-independence than in 2014. As an issue, <a href="/wiki/Scottish_independence" title="Scottish independence">Scottish independence</a> is known to cross-cut across party lines, with many <a href="/wiki/Scottish_Labour" title="Scottish Labour">Scottish Labour</a> voters in particular being favourable to the prospect of independence.<sup id="cite_ref-68" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-68"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>68<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In 2022, the <a href="/wiki/Democracy_Index" class="mw-redirect" title="Democracy Index">Democracy Index</a> rated the United Kingdom as a "<a href="/wiki/Democracy_Index#Definitions" class="mw-redirect" title="Democracy Index">full democracy</a>" ranking 18th worldwide with an overall score of 8.28 out of a maximum of 10.<sup id="cite_ref-69" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-69"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>69<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The <a href="/wiki/V-Dem_Democracy_Indices" title="V-Dem Democracy Indices">V-Dem Democracy Indices</a> ranked United Kingdom 22nd worldwide on electoral democracy. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading3"><h3 id="Membership">Membership</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=37" title="Edit section: Membership"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <p>All political parties have membership schemes that allow members of the public to actively influence the policy and direction of the party to varying degrees, though particularly at a local level. Membership of British political parties is around 1% of the British electorate,<sup id="cite_ref-70" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-70"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>70<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> which is lower than in all European countries except for Poland and Latvia.<sup id="cite_ref-71" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-71"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>71<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> Overall membership to a political party has been in decline since the 1950s.<sup id="cite_ref-72" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-72"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>72<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> In 1951, the Conservative Party had 2.2 million members, and a year later in 1952 the Labour Party reached their peak of 1 million members (of an electorate of around 34 million).<sup id="cite_ref-73" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-73"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>73<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>The table below details the membership numbers of political parties that have more than 5,000 members. </p> <table class="wikitable" style="text-align:left"> <tbody><tr> <th>Party</th> <th>Members</th> <th>Date</th> <th>Regions served </th></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour</a></td> <td>366,604<sup id="cite_ref-74" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-74"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>74<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>March 2024</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Reform_UK" title="Reform UK">Reform UK</a></td> <td>150,000<sup id="cite_ref-GBNews1_75-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-GBNews1-75"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>75<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>December 2024</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative</a></td> <td>131,680<sup id="cite_ref-76" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-76"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>76<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>November 2024</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Liberal_Democrat_(UK)" class="mw-redirect" title="Liberal Democrat (UK)">Liberal Democrats</a></td> <td>90,000<sup id="cite_ref-77" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-77"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>77<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>2023</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a></td> <td>64,525<sup id="cite_ref-rev_78-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-rev-78"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>78<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>June 2024</td> <td>Scotland </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales" title="Green Party of England and Wales">Green Party of England and Wales</a></td> <td>59,000<sup id="cite_ref-July_2024_79-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-July_2024-79"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>79<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>July 2024</td> <td>England and Wales </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Women%27s_Equality_Party" title="Women's Equality Party">Women's Equality Party</a></td> <td>30,000<sup id="cite_ref-80" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-80"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>80<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>September 2020</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Co-operative_Party" title="Co-operative Party">Co-operative Party</a></td> <td>13,194<sup id="cite_ref-81" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-81"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>81<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>2022</td> <td>UK </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a></td> <td>10,000<sup id="cite_ref-82" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-82"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>82<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>2022</td> <td>Wales </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Greens" title="Scottish Greens">Scottish Greens</a></td> <td>7,646<sup id="cite_ref-Conor_Matchett_83-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Conor_Matchett-83"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>83<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>2023</td> <td>Scotland </td></tr> <tr> <td><a href="/wiki/Alba_Party" title="Alba Party">Alba Party</a></td> <td>7,475<sup id="cite_ref-84" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-84"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>84<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup></td> <td>2023</td> <td>Scotland </td></tr></tbody></table> <p>No data could be collected for the four parties of Northern Ireland: the DUP, UUP, SDLP, and Sinn Féin. However, in January 1997, it was estimated that the UUP had 10,000 – 12,000 members, and the DUP had 5,000 members.<sup id="cite_ref-85" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-85"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>85<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>In December 2020, the <a href="/wiki/UK_Independence_Party" title="UK Independence Party">UK Independence Party</a> had 3,888 members.<sup id="cite_ref-86" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-86"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>86<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Local_government">Local government</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=38" title="Edit section: Local government"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Main articles: <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Local government in the United Kingdom">Local government in the United Kingdom</a>, <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_England" title="Local government in England">Local government in England</a>, <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Scotland" title="Local government in Scotland">Local government in Scotland</a>, <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Wales" title="Local government in Wales">Local government in Wales</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_Northern_Ireland" title="Local government in Northern Ireland">Local government in Northern Ireland</a></div><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">See also: <a href="/wiki/Intergovernmental_relations_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom">Intergovernmental relations in the United Kingdom</a> and <a href="/wiki/Political_make-up_of_local_councils_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom">Political make-up of local councils in the United Kingdom</a></div> <p>The UK is divided into a complex system of local governance. </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Former_European_Union_membership">Former European Union membership</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=39" title="Edit section: Former European Union membership"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236090951" /><div role="note" class="hatnote navigation-not-searchable">Further information: <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom%E2%80%93European_Union_relations" title="United Kingdom–European Union relations">United Kingdom–European Union relations</a>, <a href="/wiki/European_Movement_UK" title="European Movement UK">European Movement UK</a>, <a href="/wiki/Euroscepticism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom">Euroscepticism in the United Kingdom</a>, <a href="/wiki/Lists_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom" title="Lists of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom">Lists of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom</a>, and <a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">Brexit</a></div> <p>The United Kingdom first joined the then <a href="/wiki/European_Communities" title="European Communities">European Communities</a> in January 1973 by the then <a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative</a> Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Edward_Heath" title="Edward Heath">Edward Heath</a>, and remained a member of the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">European Union</a> (EU) that it evolved into; British citizens, and other EU citizens resident in the UK, between 1979 and 2019 elected <a href="/wiki/Member_of_the_European_Parliament" title="Member of the European Parliament">members</a> to represent them in the <a href="/wiki/European_Parliament" title="European Parliament">European Parliament</a> in <a href="/wiki/Brussels" title="Brussels">Brussels</a> and <a href="/wiki/Strasbourg" title="Strasbourg">Strasbourg</a>. </p><p>The UK's membership in the Union has been a major topic of debate over the years and has been objected to over questions of sovereignty,<sup id="cite_ref-Times20050914_87-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Times20050914-87"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>87<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> and in recent years there have been divisions in both major parties over whether the UK should form greater ties within the EU, or reduce the EU's supranational powers. Opponents of greater European integration are known as "<a href="/wiki/Eurosceptics" class="mw-redirect" title="Eurosceptics">Eurosceptics</a>", while supporters are known as "Europhiles". Division over Europe is prevalent in both major parties, although the Conservative Party is seen as most divided over the issue, both whilst in Government up to 1997 and after 2010, and between those dates as the opposition. However, the Labour Party is also divided, with conflicting views over British adoption of the <a href="/wiki/Euro" title="Euro">euro</a> whilst in Government (1997–2010).<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (July 2010)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>British nationalists have long campaigned against <a href="/wiki/European_integration" title="European integration">European integration</a>. The strong showing of the eurosceptic <a href="/wiki/UK_Independence_Party" title="UK Independence Party">UK Independence Party</a> (UKIP) since the <a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2004 European Parliament elections</a> has shifted the debate over UK relations with the EU. </p><p>In March 2008, Parliament decided to not hold a <a href="/wiki/Referendum" title="Referendum">referendum</a> on the ratification of the <a href="/wiki/Lisbon_Treaty" class="mw-redirect" title="Lisbon Treaty">Lisbon Treaty</a>, signed in December 2007.<sup id="cite_ref-88" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-88"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>88<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-89" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-89"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>89<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> This was despite the Labour government promising in 2004 <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_European_Constitution_referendum" title="United Kingdom European Constitution referendum">to hold a referendum</a> on the previously proposed <a href="/wiki/Constitution_for_Europe" class="mw-redirect" title="Constitution for Europe">Constitution for Europe</a>.<sup id="cite_ref-90" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-90"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>90<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p><p>On 23 June 2016, the United Kingdom voted to leave the European Union in a <a href="/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum" title="2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">referendum</a>. After the referendum, it was debated as to how and when the UK should leave the EU. On 11 July 2016, the Cabinet Office Minister, John Penrose failed to deliver a final answer on whether it would be at the disposal of the <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a> and one of the <a href="/wiki/Secretary_of_State_(United_Kingdom)" title="Secretary of State (United Kingdom)">Secretaries of State</a>, through the <a href="/wiki/Royal_prerogative_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Royal prerogative in the United Kingdom">royal prerogative</a>, or of <a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Parliament</a>, through <a href="/wiki/Act_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)" title="Act of Parliament (United Kingdom)">primary legislation</a>. </p><p>In October 2016 the Conservative <a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a>, <a href="/wiki/Theresa_May" title="Theresa May">Theresa May</a>, announced that Article 50 would be invoked by "the first quarter of 2017".<sup id="cite_ref-bbc_91-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-bbc-91"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>91<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> On 24 January 2017 the <a href="/wiki/Supreme_Court_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Supreme Court of the United Kingdom">Supreme Court</a> ruled in <a href="/wiki/R_(Miller)_v_Secretary_of_State_for_Exiting_the_European_Union" title="R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union">the Miller case</a> by a majority that the process could not be initiated without an authorising <a href="/wiki/Act_of_parliament" title="Act of parliament">act of parliament</a>, but unanimously ruled against the Scottish government's claim in respect of devolution that they had a direct say in the decision to trigger Article 50. Consequently, the <a href="/wiki/European_Union_(Notification_of_Withdrawal)_Act_2017" title="European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017">European Union (Notification of Withdrawal) Act 2017</a> empowering the prime minister to invoke Article 50 was passed and enacted by <a href="/wiki/Royal_assent" title="Royal assent">royal assent</a> in March 2017. </p><p>Invocation of Article 50 by the United Kingdom government occurred on 29 March 2017, when <a href="/wiki/Sir_Tim_Barrow" class="mw-redirect" title="Sir Tim Barrow">Sir Tim Barrow</a>, the <a href="/wiki/Permanent_Representative_of_the_United_Kingdom_to_the_European_Union" title="Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union">Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the European Union</a>, formally delivered by hand a letter signed by Prime Minister <a href="/wiki/Theresa_May" title="Theresa May">Theresa May</a> to <a href="/wiki/Donald_Tusk" title="Donald Tusk">Donald Tusk</a>, the <a href="/wiki/President_of_the_European_Council" title="President of the European Council">President of the European Council</a> in Brussels. The letter also contained the <a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a>'s intention to withdraw from the <a href="/wiki/European_Atomic_Energy_Community" class="mw-redirect" title="European Atomic Energy Community">European Atomic Energy Community</a> (EAEC or Euratom). This meant that the UK would cease to be a member of the EU on 30 March 2019, unless an extension to negotiations was agreed upon by the UK and EU.<sup id="cite_ref-92" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-92"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>92<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The leaving date was subsequently revised by agreement with the EU to be 31 October 2019. This led to a change of prime minister who promised to leave the EU on this date either with a revised deal or with no-deal.<sup class="noprint Inline-Template Template-Fact" style="white-space:nowrap;">[<i><a href="/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed" title="Wikipedia:Citation needed"><span title="This claim needs references to reliable sources. (September 2019)">citation needed</span></a></i>]</sup> </p><p>The UK withdrew from the EU at 23.00 <a href="/wiki/GMT" class="mw-redirect" title="GMT">GMT</a> on 31 January 2020, beginning a transition period that was set to end on 31 December 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-Bennett_93-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bennett-93"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>93<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> During the 11-month transition period, the UK and EU negotiated their future relationship which resulted in the <a href="/wiki/EU%E2%80%93UK_Trade_and_Cooperation_Agreement" title="EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement">EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement</a> which was agreed on 24 December 2020 just days before the end of the transition period.<sup id="cite_ref-Bennett_93-1" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Bennett-93"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>93<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> The UK ended the transition period which ended the incorporation of <a href="/wiki/European_Union_law" class="mw-redirect" title="European Union law">European Union law</a> into UK law, and ended its membership of the <a href="/wiki/EU_Customs_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="EU Customs Union">EU Customs Union</a>, and the <a href="/wiki/European_single_market" title="European single market">European single market</a> at 23:00 <a href="/wiki/GMT" class="mw-redirect" title="GMT">GMT</a> on 31 December 2020.<sup id="cite_ref-Edgington_94-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-Edgington-94"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>94<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup><sup id="cite_ref-QAEC_95-0" class="reference"><a href="#cite_note-QAEC-95"><span class="cite-bracket">[</span>95<span class="cite-bracket">]</span></a></sup> </p> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="International_organisation_participation">International organisation participation</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=40" title="Edit section: International organisation participation"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1184024115">.mw-parser-output .div-col{margin-top:0.3em;column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .div-col-small{font-size:90%}.mw-parser-output .div-col-rules{column-rule:1px solid #aaa}.mw-parser-output .div-col dl,.mw-parser-output .div-col ol,.mw-parser-output .div-col ul{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .div-col li,.mw-parser-output .div-col dd{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}</style><div class="div-col" style="column-width: 20em;"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/African_Development_Bank" title="African Development Bank">African Development Bank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Asian_Development_Bank" title="Asian Development Bank">Asian Development Bank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Australia_Group" title="Australia Group">Australia Group</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bank_for_International_Settlements" title="Bank for International Settlements">Bank for International Settlements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Commonwealth_of_Nations" title="Commonwealth of Nations">Commonwealth of Nations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Caribbean_Development_Bank" title="Caribbean Development Bank">Caribbean Development Bank</a> (non-regional)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Council_of_Europe" title="Council of Europe">Council of Europe</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/CERN" title="CERN">CERN</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Euro-Atlantic_Partnership_Council" title="Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council">Euro-Atlantic Partnership Council</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Bank_for_Reconstruction_and_Development" title="European Bank for Reconstruction and Development">European Bank for Reconstruction and Development</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Investment_Bank" title="European Investment Bank">European Investment Bank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Space_Agency" title="European Space Agency">European Space Agency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Food_and_Agriculture_Organization" title="Food and Agriculture Organization">Food and Agriculture Organization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Group_of_Five" title="Group of Five">G5</a>, <a href="/wiki/G7" title="G7">G6</a>, <a href="/wiki/G7" title="G7">G7</a>, <a href="/wiki/G8" title="G8">G8</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Group_of_Ten_(IMF)" title="Group of Ten (IMF)">G10</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Mobile_Satellite_Organization" title="International Mobile Satellite Organization">Inmarsat</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Inter-American_Development_Bank" title="Inter-American Development Bank">Inter-American Development Bank</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Atomic_Energy_Agency" title="International Atomic Energy Agency">International Atomic Energy Agency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Bank_for_Reconstruction_and_Development" title="International Bank for Reconstruction and Development">International Bank for Reconstruction and Development</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Civil_Aviation_Organization" title="International Civil Aviation Organization">International Civil Aviation Organization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Chamber_of_Commerce" title="International Chamber of Commerce">International Chamber of Commerce</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Confederation_of_Free_Trade_Unions" title="International Confederation of Free Trade Unions">International Confederation of Free Trade Unions</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Court" title="International Criminal Court">International Criminal Court</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Criminal_Police_Organization_%E2%80%93_Interpol" class="mw-redirect" title="International Criminal Police Organization – Interpol">International Criminal Police Organization – Interpol</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Development_Association" title="International Development Association">International Development Association</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Energy_Agency" title="International Energy Agency">International Energy Agency</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Federation_of_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Societies" title="International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies">International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Finance_Corporation" title="International Finance Corporation">International Finance Corporation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Fund_for_Agricultural_Development" title="International Fund for Agricultural Development">International Fund for Agricultural Development</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Hydrographic_Organization" title="International Hydrographic Organization">International Hydrographic Organization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Labour_Organization" title="International Labour Organization">International Labour Organization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Maritime_Organization" title="International Maritime Organization">International Maritime Organization</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Monetary_Fund" title="International Monetary Fund">International Monetary Fund</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Olympic_Committee" title="International Olympic Committee">International Olympic Committee</a> (IOC)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Organization_for_Migration" title="International Organization for Migration">International Organization for Migration</a> (IOM) (observer)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Organization_for_Standardization" title="International Organization for Standardization">International Organization for Standardization</a> (ISO)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Red_Cross_and_Red_Crescent_Movement" title="International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement">International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Telecommunications_Satellite_Organization" title="International Telecommunications Satellite Organization">International Telecommunications Satellite Organization</a> (Intelsat)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Telecommunication_Union" title="International Telecommunication Union">International Telecommunication Union</a> (ITU)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/International_Whaling_Commission" title="International Whaling Commission">International Whaling Commission</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/MONUC" class="mw-redirect" title="MONUC">MONUC</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-Aligned_Movement" title="Non-Aligned Movement">Non-Aligned Movement</a> (NAM) (guest)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Atlantic_Treaty_Organization" class="mw-redirect" title="North Atlantic Treaty Organization">North Atlantic Treaty Organization</a> (NATO)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Nuclear_Energy_Agency" title="Nuclear Energy Agency">Nuclear Energy Agency</a> (NEA)</li> <li><a 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id="Overviews_by_period">Overviews by period</h3><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=42" title="Edit section: Overviews by period"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/2010s_in_United_Kingdom_political_history" class="mw-redirect" title="2010s in United Kingdom political history">2010s in United Kingdom political history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2020s_in_United_Kingdom_political_history" class="mw-redirect" title="2020s in United Kingdom political history">2020s in United Kingdom political history</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom_in_the_19th_century" title="Politics of the United Kingdom in the 19th century">Politics of the United Kingdom in the 19th century</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Margaret_Thatcher" title="Premiership of Margaret Thatcher">Premiership of Margaret Thatcher</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_John_Major" title="Premiership of John Major">Premiership of John Major</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Tony_Blair" title="Premiership of Tony Blair">Premiership of Tony Blair</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Gordon_Brown" title="Premiership of Gordon Brown">Premiership of Gordon Brown</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_David_Cameron" title="Premiership of David Cameron">Premiership of David Cameron</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Theresa_May" title="Premiership of Theresa May">Premiership of Theresa May</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Boris_Johnson" title="Premiership of Boris Johnson">Premiership of Boris Johnson</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Liz_Truss" title="Premiership of Liz Truss">Premiership of Liz Truss</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Premiership_of_Rishi_Sunak" title="Premiership of Rishi Sunak">Premiership of Rishi Sunak</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="References">References</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=43" title="Edit section: References"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1239543626">.mw-parser-output .reflist{margin-bottom:0.5em;list-style-type:decimal}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .reflist{font-size:90%}}.mw-parser-output .reflist .references{font-size:100%;margin-bottom:0;list-style-type:inherit}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-2{column-width:30em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns-3{column-width:25em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns{margin-top:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns ol{margin-top:0}.mw-parser-output .reflist-columns li{page-break-inside:avoid;break-inside:avoid-column}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-alpha{list-style-type:upper-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-upper-roman{list-style-type:upper-roman}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-alpha{list-style-type:lower-alpha}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-greek{list-style-type:lower-greek}.mw-parser-output .reflist-lower-roman{list-style-type:lower-roman}</style><div class="reflist"> <div class="mw-references-wrap mw-references-columns"><ol class="references"> <li id="cite_note-1"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-1">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1238218222">.mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit;word-wrap:break-word}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"\"""\"""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation:target{background-color:rgba(0,127,255,0.133)}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-free.id-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Lock-green.svg")right 0.1em center/9px no-repeat}.mw-parser-output .id-lock-limited.id-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output 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.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:none;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{color:var(--color-error,#d33)}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#085;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right{padding-right:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .citation .mw-selflink{font-weight:inherit}@media screen{.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}html.skin-theme-clientpref-night .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}@media screen and (prefers-color-scheme:dark){html.skin-theme-clientpref-os .mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{color:#18911f}}</style><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.britannica.com/topic/two-party-system">"two-party system | Features, Advantages, & Problems"</a>. <i>Encyclopædia Britannica</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">12 March</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=humanists.uk&rft.atitle=Bishops+in+the+House+of+Lords&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fhumanists.uk%2Fcampaigns%2Fsecularism%2Fconstitutional-reform%2Fbishops-in-the-lords%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Keating21-16"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Keating21_16-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFKeating2021" class="citation journal cs1">Keating, Michael (2 February 2021). "Taking back control? Brexit and the territorial constitution of the United Kingdom". <i><a href="/wiki/Journal_of_European_Public_Policy" title="Journal of European Public Policy">Journal of European Public Policy</a></i>. <b>28</b> (4). Abingdon: <a href="/wiki/Taylor_%26_Francis" title="Taylor & Francis">Taylor & Francis</a>: <span class="nowrap">6–</span>7. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F13501763.2021.1876156">10.1080/13501763.2021.1876156</a>. <a href="/wiki/Hdl_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Hdl (identifier)">hdl</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://hdl.handle.net/1814%2F70296">1814/70296</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:234066376">234066376</a>. <q>The UK Internal Market Act gives ministers sweeping powers to enforce mutual recognition and non-discrimination across the four jurisdictions. Existing differences and some social and health matters are exempted but these are much less extensive than the exemptions permitted under the EU Internal Market provisions. Only after an amendment in the House of Lords, the Bill was amended to provide a weak and non-binding consent mechanism for amendments (equivalent to the Sewel Convention) to the list of exemptions. The result is that, while the devolved governments retain regulatory competences, these are undermined by the fact that goods and services originating in, or imported into, England can be marketed anywhere.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Journal+of+European+Public+Policy&rft.atitle=Taking+back+control%3F+Brexit+and+the+territorial+constitution+of+the+United+Kingdom&rft.volume=28&rft.issue=4&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E6-%3C%2Fspan%3E7&rft.date=2021-02-02&rft_id=info%3Ahdl%2F1814%2F70296&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A234066376%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1080%2F13501763.2021.1876156&rft.aulast=Keating&rft.aufirst=Michael&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-KenMcEw21-17"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-KenMcEw21_17-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFKennyMcEwen2021" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/wiki/Michael_Kenny_(political_scientist)" title="Michael Kenny (political scientist)">Kenny, Michael</a>; McEwen, Nicola (1 March 2021). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F20419058211000996">"Intergovernmental Relations and the Crisis of the Union"</a>. <i>Political Insight</i>. <b>12</b> (1). <a href="/wiki/SAGE_Publishing" class="mw-redirect" title="SAGE Publishing">SAGE Publishing</a>: <span class="nowrap">12–</span>15. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F20419058211000996">10.1177/20419058211000996</a></span>. <a href="/wiki/S2CID_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="S2CID (identifier)">S2CID</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:232050477">232050477</a>. <q>That phase of joint working was significantly damaged by the UK Internal Market Act, pushed through by the Johnson government in December 2020...the Act diminishes the authority of the devolved institutions, and was vehemently opposed by them.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Political+Insight&rft.atitle=Intergovernmental+Relations+and+the+Crisis+of+the+Union&rft.volume=12&rft.issue=1&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E12-%3C%2Fspan%3E15&rft.date=2021-03-01&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1177%2F20419058211000996&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fapi.semanticscholar.org%2FCorpusID%3A232050477%23id-name%3DS2CID&rft.aulast=Kenny&rft.aufirst=Michael&rft.au=McEwen%2C+Nicola&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1177%252F20419058211000996&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-WolffeDevol-18"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-WolffeDevol_18-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFWolffe2021" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/wiki/James_Wolffe" title="James Wolffe">Wolffe, W James</a> (7 April 2021). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://academic.oup.com/slr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/slr/hmab003/6213886">"Devolution and the Statute Book"</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Statute_Law_Review" title="Statute Law Review">Statute Law Review</a></i>. Oxford: <a href="/wiki/Oxford_University_Press" title="Oxford University Press">Oxford University Press</a>. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fslr%2Fhmab003">10.1093/slr/hmab003</a><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 April</span> 2021</span>. <q>the Internal Market Bill—a Bill that contains provisions which, if enacted, would significantly constrain, both legally and as a matter of practicality, the exercise by the devolved legislatures of their legislative competence; provisions that would be significantly more restrictive of the powers of the Scottish Parliament than either EU law or Articles 4 and 6 of the Acts of the Union...The UK Parliament passed the European Union (Withdrawal Agreement) Act 2020 and the Internal Market Act 2020 notwithstanding that, in each case, all three of the devolved legislatures had withheld consent.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Statute+Law+Review&rft.atitle=Devolution+and+the+Statute+Book&rft.date=2021-04-07&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1093%2Fslr%2Fhmab003&rft.aulast=Wolffe&rft.aufirst=W+James&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Facademic.oup.com%2Fslr%2Fadvance-article%2Fdoi%2F10.1093%2Fslr%2Fhmab003%2F6213886&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Wincott21-19"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Wincott21_19-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFWincottMurrayDavies2021" class="citation journal cs1"><a href="/wiki/Daniel_Wincott" title="Daniel Wincott">Wincott, Daniel</a>; Murray, C. R. G.; Davies, Gregory (17 May 2021). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F21622671.2021.1921613">"The Anglo-British imaginary and the rebuilding of the UK's territorial constitution after Brexit: unitary state or union state?"</a>. <i>Territory, Politics, Governance</i>. <b>10</b> (5). Abingdon/Brighton: <a href="/wiki/Taylor_%26_Francis" title="Taylor & Francis">Taylor & Francis</a>; <a href="/wiki/Regional_Studies_Association" title="Regional Studies Association">Regional Studies Association</a>: <span class="nowrap">696–</span>713. <a href="/wiki/Doi_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="Doi (identifier)">doi</a>:<span class="id-lock-free" title="Freely accessible"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.1080%2F21622671.2021.1921613">10.1080/21622671.2021.1921613</a></span>. <q>Taken as a whole, the Internal Market Act imposes greater restrictions upon the competences of the devolved institutions than the provisions of the EU Single Market which it replaced, in spite of pledges to use common frameworks to address these issues. <a href="/wiki/David_Hope,_Baron_Hope_of_Craighead" title="David Hope, Baron Hope of Craighead">Lord Hope</a>, responsible for many of the leading judgments relating to the first two decades of devolution, regarded the legislation's terms as deliberately confrontational: 'this Parliament can do what it likes, but a different approach is essential if the union is to hold together'.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Territory%2C+Politics%2C+Governance&rft.atitle=The+Anglo-British+imaginary+and+the+rebuilding+of+the+UK%27s+territorial+constitution+after+Brexit%3A+unitary+state+or+union+state%3F&rft.volume=10&rft.issue=5&rft.pages=%3Cspan+class%3D%22nowrap%22%3E696-%3C%2Fspan%3E713&rft.date=2021-05-17&rft_id=info%3Adoi%2F10.1080%2F21622671.2021.1921613&rft.aulast=Wincott&rft.aufirst=Daniel&rft.au=Murray%2C+C.+R.+G.&rft.au=Davies%2C+Gregory&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fdoi.org%2F10.1080%252F21622671.2021.1921613&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-DouganMcEwen20-20"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-DouganMcEwen20_20-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFDouganHaywardHuntMcEwen2020" class="citation report cs1"><a href="/wiki/Michael_Dougan" title="Michael Dougan">Dougan, Michael</a>; <a href="/wiki/Katy_Hayward" title="Katy Hayward">Hayward, Katy</a>; Hunt, Jo; <a href="/wiki/Nicola_McEwen" title="Nicola McEwen">McEwen, Nicola</a>; McHarg, Aileen; <a href="/wiki/Daniel_Wincott" title="Daniel Wincott">Wincott, Daniel</a> (2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.centreonconstitutionalchange.ac.uk/publications/uk-and-internal-market-devolution-and-union">UK and the Internal Market, Devolution and the Union</a>. 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United Kingdom Internal Market Bill: Implications for Devolution</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> (Report). Liverpool: <a href="/wiki/University_of_Liverpool" title="University of Liverpool">University of Liverpool</a>. pp. <span class="nowrap">4–</span>5. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.liverpool.ac.uk/media/livacuk/law/2-research/eull/UKIM,Briefing,Paper,-,Prof,Michael,Dougan,15,September,2020.pdf">the original</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span> on 26 October 2020<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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London. Archived from <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2006/01/17/nscot17.xml">the original</a> on 18 July 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 May</span> 2006</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Daily+Telegraph&rft.atitle=Baker+seeks+end+to+West+Lothian+question&rft.date=2006-01-17&rft.aulast=Jones&rft.aufirst=George&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fmain.jhtml%3Fxml%3D%2Fnews%2F2006%2F01%2F17%2Fnscot17.xml&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-24"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-24">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/4792120.stm">"No English parliament – Falconer"</a>. BBC. 10 March 2006<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">16 May</span> 2006</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=No+English+parliament+%E2%80%93+Falconer&rft.date=2006-03-10&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F1%2Fhi%2Fuk_politics%2F4792120.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-25"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-25">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/1704112.stm">"Blair gets Cornish assembly call"</a>. BBC News. 11 December 2001.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Blair+gets+Cornish+assembly+call&rft.date=2001-12-11&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fuk_news%2Fengland%2F1704112.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-26"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-26">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/2810789.stm">"Prescott pressed on assembly poll"</a>. BBC News. 1 March 2003.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Prescott+pressed+on+assembly+poll&rft.date=2003-03-01&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fnews.bbc.co.uk%2F2%2Fhi%2Fuk_news%2Fengland%2F2810789.stm&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-27"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-27">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text">including <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.thecep.org.uk/">The Campaign for an English Parliament</a></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-HolyroodName-28"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-HolyroodName_28-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/vli/education/resources/teachingResources/wordBank.htm">"Scottish Parliament Word Bank"</a>. 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Retrieved 22 May 2006</span> </li> <li id="cite_note-33"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-33">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFDunleavy2018" class="citation book cs1">Dunleavy, Patrick (2018). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://doi.org/10.31389/book1"><i>The UK's Changing Democracy: The 2018 Democratic Audit</i></a>. London: LSE Press. <a href="/wiki/ISBN_(identifier)" class="mw-redirect" title="ISBN (identifier)">ISBN</a> <a href="/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-909890-44-2" title="Special:BookSources/978-1-909890-44-2"><bdi>978-1-909890-44-2</bdi></a><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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BBC News. 19 August 2011.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Can+UK+political+parties+be+saved+from+extinction%3F&rft.date=2011-08-19&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fuk-politics-12934148&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-73"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-73">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.parliament.uk/briefing-papers/SN05125.pdf">"Parliament UK – Membership of British Political Parties"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Parliament+UK+%E2%80%93+Membership+of+British+Political+Parties&rft_id=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.parliament.uk%2Fbriefing-papers%2FSN05125.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-74"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-74">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFHelm2024" class="citation news cs1">Helm, Toby (30 March 2024). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/mar/30/labour-membership-falls-by-23000-over-gaza-and-green-policies">"Labour membership falls by 23,000 over Gaza and green policies"</a>. <i>The Guardian</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">3 November</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Kemi+Badenoch+wins+Tory+leadership+election&rft.date=2024-11-02&rft.issn=0261-3077&rft.aulast=Walker&rft.aufirst=Peter&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fpolitics%2F2024%2Fnov%2F02%2Fkemi-badenoch-wins-tory-leadership-election&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-77"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-77">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.libdems.org.uk/">"Liberal Democrats website"</a>. <i>libdems.org.uk</i>. 29 April 2023<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 August</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=STV+News&rft.atitle=SNP+membership+continues+to+plummet+as+10%2C000+leave+in+a+year&rft.date=2024-08-22&rft.aulast=Meighan&rft.aufirst=Craig&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fnews.stv.tv%2Fpolitics%2Fsnp-membership-continues-to-plummet-as-10000-leave-in-a-year&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-July_2024-79"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-July_2024_79-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://join.greenparty.org.uk/">"Green Party website"</a>. <i>greenparty.org.uk</i>. 16 July 2024. <q>By joining the Green Party today, you are becoming part of a Green community of over 59,000 members working together to create a fairer, greener future.</q></cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=greenparty.org.uk&rft.atitle=Green+Party+website&rft.date=2024-07-16&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fjoin.greenparty.org.uk%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-80"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-80">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFBrooks2020" class="citation news cs1">Brooks, Libby (17 September 2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/sep/17/womens-equality-party-runs-consultation-on-self-identification-for-trans-people">"Women's Equality party runs consultation on self-identification for trans people"</a>. <i>The Guardian</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">14 November</span> 2021</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Guardian&rft.atitle=Women%27s+Equality+party+runs+consultation+on+self-identification+for+trans+people&rft.date=2020-09-17&rft.aulast=Brooks&rft.aufirst=Libby&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fsociety%2F2020%2Fsep%2F17%2Fwomens-equality-party-runs-consultation-on-self-identification-for-trans-people&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-81"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-81">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://party.coop/publication/board-report-2022">"BOARD REPORT & ANNUAL ACCOUNTS 2022"</a>. <i>Co-operative Party</i>. 19 September 2024<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">22 September</span> 2024</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=Co-operative+Party&rft.atitle=BOARD+REPORT+%26+ANNUAL+ACCOUNTS+2022&rft.date=2024-09-19&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fparty.coop%2Fpublication%2Fboard-report-2022&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-82"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-82">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFBurtonTunnicliffe2022" class="citation web cs1">Burton, Matthew; Tunnicliffe, Richard (30 August 2022). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN05125/SN05125.pdf">"Membership of political parties in Great Britain"</a> <span class="cs1-format">(PDF)</span>. <i>UK Parliament House of Commons Library</i><span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">18 September</span> 2022</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=unknown&rft.jtitle=UK+Parliament+House+of+Commons+Library&rft.atitle=Membership+of+political+parties+in+Great+Britain&rft.date=2022-08-30&rft.aulast=Burton&rft.aufirst=Matthew&rft.au=Tunnicliffe%2C+Richard&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fresearchbriefings.files.parliament.uk%2Fdocuments%2FSN05125%2FSN05125.pdf&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Conor_Matchett-83"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Conor_Matchett_83-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFConor_Matchett2023" class="citation web cs1">Conor Matchett [@conor_matchett] (24 April 2023). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://x.com/conor_matchett/status/1650490185350623235">"Scottish Greens state their membership stands at 7,646"</a> (<a href="/wiki/Tweet_(social_media)" title="Tweet (social media)">Tweet</a>)<span class="reference-accessdate">. Retrieved <span class="nowrap">24 April</span> 2023</span> – via <a href="/wiki/Twitter" title="Twitter">Twitter</a>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Abook&rft.genre=unknown&rft.btitle=Scottish+Greens+state+their+membership+stands+at+7%2C646&rft.date=2023-04-24&rft.au=Conor+Matchett&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fx.com%2Fconor_matchett%2Fstatus%2F1650490185350623235&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-84"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-84">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation web cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://search.electoralcommission.org.uk/Api/Accounts/Documents/25309">"ALBA PARTY Annual Report and Statement of Accounts for the year ended 31st December 2022"</a>. <i>electoralcommission.org.uk</i>. 31 December 2022<span class="reference-accessdate">. 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Retrieved <span class="nowrap">29 March</span> 2017</span>.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=Daily+Mirror&rft.atitle=Brexit+Day+recap%3A+Article+50+officially+triggered+on+historic+day+as+Theresa+May+warns%3A+%27No+turning+back%27&rft.date=2017-03-29&rft.aulast=Bloom&rft.aufirst=Dan&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.mirror.co.uk%2Fnews%2Fpolitics%2Farticle-brexit-recap-theresa-ambassador-10118594&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Bennett-93"><span class="mw-cite-backlink">^ <a href="#cite_ref-Bennett_93-0"><sup><i><b>a</b></i></sup></a> <a href="#cite_ref-Bennett_93-1"><sup><i><b>b</b></i></sup></a></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFAsa_Bennett2020" class="citation news cs1">Asa Bennett (27 January 2020). <span class="id-lock-subscription" title="Paid subscription required"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/brexit-2020-transition-period/">"How will the Brexit transition period work?"</a></span>. <i>The Daily Telegraph</i>. London. <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220111/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/0/brexit-2020-transition-period/">Archived</a> from the original on 11 January 2022.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.jtitle=The+Daily+Telegraph&rft.atitle=How+will+the+Brexit+transition+period+work%3F&rft.date=2020-01-27&rft.au=Asa+Bennett&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fpolitics%2F0%2Fbrexit-2020-transition-period%2F&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-Edgington-94"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-Edgington_94-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite id="CITEREFTom_Edgington2020" class="citation news cs1">Tom Edgington (31 January 2020). <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-politics-50838994">"Brexit: What is the transition period?"</a>. BBC News.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Brexit%3A+What+is+the+transition+period%3F&rft.date=2020-01-31&rft.au=Tom+Edgington&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bbc.com%2Fnews%2Fuk-politics-50838994&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> <li id="cite_note-QAEC-95"><span class="mw-cite-backlink"><b><a href="#cite_ref-QAEC_95-0">^</a></b></span> <span class="reference-text"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1238218222" /><cite class="citation news cs1"><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/qanda_20_104">"Questions and Answers on the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union on 31 January 2020"</a>. European Commission. 24 January 2020.</cite><span title="ctx_ver=Z39.88-2004&rft_val_fmt=info%3Aofi%2Ffmt%3Akev%3Amtx%3Ajournal&rft.genre=article&rft.atitle=Questions+and+Answers+on+the+United+Kingdom%27s+withdrawal+from+the+European+Union+on+31+January+2020&rft.date=2020-01-24&rft_id=https%3A%2F%2Fec.europa.eu%2Fcommission%2Fpresscorner%2Fdetail%2Fen%2Fqanda_20_104&rfr_id=info%3Asid%2Fen.wikipedia.org%3APolitics+of+the+United+Kingdom" class="Z3988"></span></span> </li> </ol></div></div> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="Further_reading">Further reading</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=44" title="Edit section: Further reading"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><i><a href="/wiki/Oxford_Dictionary_of_National_Biography" class="mw-redirect" title="Oxford Dictionary of National Biography">Oxford Dictionary of National Biography</a></i> (2004) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.oxforddnb.com/search/people/index.jsp">online</a>; short scholarly biographies of all the major people who died by 2009</li> <li>Addison, Paul and Harriet Jones, eds. <i>A Companion to Contemporary Britain: 1939–2000</i> (2005) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Companion-Contemporary-Britain-Companions-ebook/dp/B000VSOY4Y/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>Brown, David, Robert Crowcroft, and Gordon Pentland, eds. <i>The Oxford Handbook of Modern British Political History, 1800–2000</i> (2018) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Handbook-British-Political-1800-2000-Handbooks/dp/0198714890/">excerpt</a></li> <li>Budge, Ian, et al. eds. <i>The New British Politics</i> (4th ed. 2007) 712pp</li> <li>Butler, David. <i>British General Elections Since 1945</i> (1995) 195pp; <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/British-General-Elections-Since-1945/dp/0631198288/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>Cannon, John, ed. <i>The Oxford Companion to British History</i> (2003), historical encyclopedia; 4000 entries in 1046pp <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-British-History/dp/0198605145/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>Childs, David. <i>Britain since 1945: A Political History</i> (2012) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Britain-since-1945-Political-History/dp/0415519527/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>Cook, Chris and John Stevenson, eds. <i>Longman Companion to Britain Since 1945</i> (1995) 336pp</li> <li>Fairlie, Henry. "Oratory in Political Life," <i>History Today</i> (Jan 1960) 10#1 pp 3–13. A survey of political oratory in Britain from 1730 to 1960.</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Jonathan_Freedland" title="Jonathan Freedland">Jonathan Freedland</a>, "A Feigned Reluctance" (review of <a href="/wiki/Rory_Stewart" title="Rory Stewart">Rory Stewart</a>, <i>How Not to Be a Politician</i>, Penguin Press, 2024, 454 pp.), <i><a href="/wiki/The_New_York_Review_of_Books" title="The New York Review of Books">The New York Review of Books</a></i>, vol. LXXI, no. 19 (5 December 2024), pp. 26–28. "Perhaps what galled [Rory] Stewart and his <a href="/wiki/Tory" title="Tory">Tory</a> allies most, just as it infuriated their <a href="/wiki/Never_Trump" class="mw-redirect" title="Never Trump">Never Trump</a> counterparts in the <a href="/wiki/Republican_Party_(United_States)" title="Republican Party (United States)">Republican Party</a>, was the flight from <a href="/wiki/Truth" title="Truth">truth</a>. The embodiment of the malaise was <a href="/wiki/Boris_Johnson" title="Boris Johnson">Boris Johnson</a>... [Stewart] might also have mentioned <a href="/wiki/Humor" class="mw-redirect" title="Humor">humor</a>, which was a secret weapon for Johnson just as it remains for <a href="/wiki/Donald_Trump" title="Donald Trump">Trump</a>. US readers are likely to think of Trump when Stewart reflects that Johnson was dangerous precisely because 'he alone could cloak a darker narrative in clowning.' Both men allowed and, in Trump's case, still allow 'the public to indulge ever more offensive opinions under the excuse that some of it might be a <a href="/wiki/Joke" title="Joke">joke</a>.'... The grief that runs through [Stewart's] book is not for his party only. It is for his country.... Britain's international influence is now at the margins, especially after the country's exit from the <a href="/wiki/European_Union" title="European Union">EU</a>.... [Stewart] has contempt for the <a href="/wiki/Media_(communication)" class="mw-redirect" title="Media (communication)">media</a>'s fixation on the trivial and the personal... Stewart discovered that, in contemporary <a href="/wiki/Politics" title="Politics">politics</a>, the liar who is brazen about his <a href="/wiki/Lie" title="Lie">lies</a> is seen as refreshingly honest, while the honest candidate who errs, but fails to brag about it, is the liar.... The reluctant, introspective, intellectual pol[itician] can flourish for a while; they can even capture the imagination, especially of those voters who pride themselves on not falling for anything so shallow as <a href="/wiki/Charisma" title="Charisma">charisma</a>. But they rarely win." (p. 28.)</li> <li>Hennessy, Peter. <i>The Prime Minister: The Office and Its Holders Since 1945</i> (2001) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/The-Prime-Minister-Office-Holders/dp/0312293135/">except and text search</a>; Attlee to Blair; 688pp</li> <li>Jones, Harriet, and Mark Clapson, eds. <i>The Routledge Companion to Britain in the Twentieth Century</i> (2009) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Routledge-Companion-Britain-Twentieth-Companions/dp/0415275350/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>King, Anthony. <i>The British Constitution</i> (2011) 464pp</li> <li>Leventhal, F.M. <i>Twentieth-Century Britain: An Encyclopedia</i> (2nd ed. 2002) 640pp; short articles by scholars</li> <li>Marr, Andrew. <i>A History of Modern Britain</i> (2009); also published as <i>The Making of Modern Britain</i> (2010), popular history 1945–2005</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Martin_Pugh_(author)" class="mw-redirect" title="Martin Pugh (author)">Pugh, Martin</a>. <i><a href="/wiki/Speak_for_Britain!:_A_New_History_of_the_Labour_Party" class="mw-redirect" title="Speak for Britain!: A New History of the Labour Party">Speak for Britain!: A New History of the Labour Party</a></i> (2011) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Speak-Britain-History-Labour-Party/dp/0099520788/">excerpt and text search</a></li> <li>Ramsden, John, ed. <i>The Oxford Companion to Twentieth-Century British Politics</i> (2005) <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.amazon.com/Oxford-Companion-Twentieth-Century-British-Politics/dp/0198601344/">excerpt and text search</a></li></ul> <div class="mw-heading mw-heading2"><h2 id="External_links">External links</h2><span class="mw-editsection"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">[</span><a href="/w/index.php?title=Politics_of_the_United_Kingdom&action=edit&section=45" title="Edit section: External links"><span>edit</span></a><span class="mw-editsection-bracket">]</span></span></div> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/">Prospect Magazine – UK based political magazine focussing on British and international politics, cultural essays and arguments</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20181004032355/http://www.prospect-magazine.co.uk/">Archived</a> 4 October 2018 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.palgrave-journals.com/bp/">British Politics – the only academic journal devoted purely to the study of political issues in Britain</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/">Directgov, main entry point for citizens to the UK government</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20070123222233/http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Gtgl1/GuideToGovernment/index.htm">Archived</a> 23 January 2007 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a> <ul><li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.direct.gov.uk/en/Governmentcitizensandrights/UKgovernment/index.htm">Directgov – Guide to Government</a></li></ul></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.parliament.uk/">Official UK parliament website</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.parliament.uk/commons/lib/state.htm">Official UK parliamentary membership by party</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.keele.ac.uk/depts/por/ukbase.htm">British Government and Politics on the Internet</a> from the Keele University School of Politics</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/politicsandpolicy/">British Politics and Policy at LSE</a> The London School of Economics' UK politics and policy blog</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.epolitix.com/EN/">ePolitix – UK Politics news website</a> <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://web.archive.org/web/20081122133212/http://www.epolitix.com/en">Archived</a> 22 November 2008 at the <a href="/wiki/Wayback_Machine" title="Wayback Machine">Wayback Machine</a></li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.sylviamilne.co.uk/gov.htm">British Government and Politics</a> Compiled by a retired English Librarian</li> <li><a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="http://www.wpradio.co.uk">Women's Parliamentary Radio</a> Interviews and resources about women politicians in the UK</li></ul> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r1236075235">.mw-parser-output .navbox{box-sizing:border-box;border:1px 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.navbox{display:none!important}}</style></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom518" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template:Political parties in the United Kingdom"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Template talk:Political parties in the United Kingdom"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li 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style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour</a> (404, including 43 <a href="/wiki/Labour_and_Co-operative_Party" title="Labour and Co-operative Party">Labour Co-op</a>*)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative</a> (121)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)" title="Liberal Democrats (UK)">Liberal Democrats</a> (72)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">SNP</a> (9)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a><sup>†</sup> (7)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a> (5)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reform_UK" title="Reform UK">Reform</a> (5)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales" title="Green Party of England and Wales">Green (E&W)</a> (4)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a> (4)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_and_Labour_Party" title="Social Democratic and Labour Party">SDLP</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Alliance Party of Northern Ireland">Alliance</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Traditional_Unionist_Voice" title="Traditional Unionist Voice">TUV</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">UUP</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">Independents</a> (13)<sup>‡</sup></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Speaker_of_the_House_of_Commons_(United_Kingdom)" title="Speaker of the House of Commons (United Kingdom)">Speaker</a> (1)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a> (830)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Conservative_Party_(UK)" title="Conservative Party (UK)">Conservative</a> (279)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crossbencher" title="Crossbencher">Crossbenchers</a> (183)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Labour_Party_(UK)" title="Labour Party (UK)">Labour</a> (213)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberal_Democrats_(UK)" title="Liberal Democrats (UK)">Liberal Democrats</a> (77)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a> (6)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">UUP</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Green_Party_of_England_and_Wales" title="Green Party of England and Wales">Green (E&W)</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lord_Speaker" title="Lord Speaker">Lord Speaker</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-affiliated_members_of_the_House_of_Lords#List_of_Non-affiliated_Peers" title="Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords">Non-affiliated</a> (39)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Non-affiliated_members_of_the_House_of_Lords#List_of_Independent_Peers" title="Non-affiliated members of the House of Lords">Independents</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lords_Spiritual" title="Lords Spiritual">Lords Spiritual</a> (24)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Scottish Parliament</a> (129)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_National_Party" title="Scottish National Party">Scottish National Party</a> (63)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Conservatives" title="Scottish Conservatives">Scottish Conservatives</a> (31)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Labour" title="Scottish Labour">Scottish Labour</a> (22)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Greens" title="Scottish Greens">Scottish Greens</a> (7)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Liberal_Democrats" title="Scottish Liberal Democrats">Scottish Liberal Democrats</a> (4)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alba_Party" title="Alba Party">Alba</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Presiding_Officer_of_the_Scottish_Parliament" title="Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament">Presiding Officer</a> (1)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a> (60)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_Labour" title="Welsh Labour">Welsh Labour</a> (30)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_Conservatives" title="Welsh Conservatives">Welsh Conservatives</a> (16)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Plaid_Cymru" title="Plaid Cymru">Plaid Cymru</a> (12)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_Liberal_Democrats" title="Welsh Liberal Democrats">Welsh Liberal Democrats</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Independent_politician" title="Independent politician">Independent</a> (1)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Northern Ireland Assembly</a> (90)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Sinn_F%C3%A9in" title="Sinn Féin">Sinn Féin</a> (27)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Democratic_Unionist_Party" title="Democratic Unionist Party">DUP</a> (24)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Alliance_Party_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Alliance Party of Northern Ireland">Alliance</a> (17)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ulster_Unionist_Party" title="Ulster Unionist Party">Ulster Unionist</a> (9)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_and_Labour_Party" title="Social Democratic and Labour Party">SDLP</a> (7)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Independent_Unionist" title="Independent Unionist">Independent Unionists</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Traditional_Unionist_Voice" title="Traditional Unionist Voice">Traditional Unionist Voice</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/People_Before_Profit" title="People Before Profit">People Before Profit</a> (1)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Independent_Nationalist" title="Independent Nationalist">Independent Nationalist</a> (1)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/London_Assembly" title="London Assembly">London Assembly</a> (25)</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/London_Labour" title="London Labour">London Labour</a> (11)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Conservatives" title="London Conservatives">London Conservatives</a> (8)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Green_Party" title="London Green Party">London Greens</a> (3)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_Liberal_Democrats" title="London Liberal Democrats">London Liberal Democrats</a> (2)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reform_UK" title="Reform UK">Reform UK</a> (1)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other parties</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Abolish_the_Welsh_Assembly_Party" title="Abolish the Welsh Assembly Party">Abolish the Welsh Assembly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Animal_Welfare_Party" title="Animal Welfare Party">Animal Welfare</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Aspire_(political_party)" title="Aspire (political party)">Aspire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Britain_First" title="Britain First">Britain First</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Christian_Peoples_Alliance" title="Christian Peoples Alliance">Christian Peoples Alliance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_Democrats" title="English Democrats">English Democrats</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Green_Party_Northern_Ireland" title="Green Party Northern Ireland">Green (NI)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Heritage_Party_(UK)" title="Heritage Party (UK)">Heritage Party</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/The_Justice_%26_Anti-Corruption_Party" title="The Justice & Anti-Corruption Party">Justice & Anti-Corruption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Liberal_Party_(UK,_1989)" title="Liberal Party (UK, 1989)">Liberal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lincolnshire_Independents" title="Lincolnshire Independents">Lincolnshire Independents</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Propel_(political_party)" title="Propel (political party)">Propel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Reclaim_Party" title="Reclaim Party">Reclaim</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rejoin_EU" title="Rejoin EU">Rejoin EU</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_Democratic_Party_(UK,_1990%E2%80%93present)" title="Social Democratic Party (UK, 1990–present)">Social Democratic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/UK_Independence_Party" title="UK Independence Party">UKIP</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Workers_Party_of_Britain" title="Workers Party of Britain">Workers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yorkshire_Party" title="Yorkshire Party">Yorkshire</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em">*<a href="/wiki/Co-operative_Party" title="Co-operative Party">Co-operative Party</a> candidates stand jointly with the Labour Party. <sup>‡</sup>5 independent MPs work together in the <a href="/wiki/Independent_Alliance_(UK)" title="Independent Alliance (UK)">Independent Alliance</a> <a href="/wiki/Technical_group" title="Technical group">technical group</a>. <sup>†</sup>Sinn Féin have elected members and offices at Westminster, but as <a href="/wiki/Abstentionism" title="Abstentionism">abstentionists</a> do not take their seats.</div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_representation" title="List of political parties in the United Kingdom by representation">List of political parties by representation</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Politics of the United Kingdom</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Elections_to_the_European_Parliament_in_the_United_Kingdom_(1979–2019)372" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:British_European_Parliament_elections" title="Template:British European Parliament elections"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:British_European_Parliament_elections" title="Template talk:British European Parliament elections"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:British_European_Parliament_elections" title="Special:EditPage/Template:British European Parliament elections"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Elections_to_the_European_Parliament_in_the_United_Kingdom_(1979–2019)372" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Elections_to_the_European_Parliament" title="Elections to the European Parliament">Elections to the European Parliament</a> in the United Kingdom (1979–2019)</div></th></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">Elections in the United Kingdom</a></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Legislation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/European_Assembly_Elections_Act_1978" title="European Assembly Elections Act 1978">European Assembly Elections Act 1978</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Parliamentary_Elections_Act_1993" title="European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993">European Parliamentary Elections Act 1993</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Parliamentary_Elections_Act_1999" title="European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999">European Parliamentary Elections Act 1999</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/European_Parliamentary_Elections_Act_2002" title="European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002">European Parliamentary Elections Act 2002</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_European_Union" class="mw-redirect" title="Elections in the European Union">Elections</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/1979_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1979 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1979</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1984_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1984 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1984</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1989_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1989 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1989</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1994_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1994 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1994</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1999_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">1999</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Results_of_the_1999_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Results of the 1999 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">Results</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2004 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2004</a> <span style="font-size: 85%;">(<a href="/wiki/2004_European_Parliament_election_in_Gibraltar" title="2004 European Parliament election in Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2009 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2009</a> <span style="font-size: 85%;">(<a href="/wiki/2009_European_Parliament_election_in_Gibraltar" title="2009 European Parliament election in Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2014 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2014</a> <span style="font-size: 85%;">(<a href="/wiki/2014_European_Parliament_election_in_Gibraltar" title="2014 European Parliament election in Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2019</a> (<a href="/wiki/Results_of_the_2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Results of the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">Results</a>) <span style="font-size: 85%;">(<a href="/wiki/2019_European_Parliament_election_in_Gibraltar" title="2019 European Parliament election in Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>)</span></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Members</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1973%E2%80%9379" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1973–79">1973–79</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1979%E2%80%9384" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1979–84">1979–84</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1984-89" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1984-89">1984–89</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1989%E2%80%9394" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1989–94">1989–94</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1994-99" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1994-99">1994–99</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_1999-2004" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 1999-2004">1999–2004</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_2004%E2%80%9309" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 2004–09">2004–09</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_2009%E2%80%9314" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 2009–14">2009–14</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_2014%E2%80%9319" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 2014–19">2014–19</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom,_2019%E2%80%9320" class="mw-redirect" title="List of members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom, 2019–20">2019–20</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_female_members_of_the_European_Parliament_for_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of female members of the European Parliament for the United Kingdom">Women</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/European_Parliament_constituencies_in_the_United_Kingdom_(1979-2020)" class="mw-redirect" title="European Parliament constituencies in the United Kingdom (1979-2020)">Constituencies (1999–2020)</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/East_Midlands_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="East Midlands (European Parliament constituency)">East Midlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/East_of_England_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="East of England (European Parliament constituency)">East of England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/London_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="London (European Parliament constituency)">London</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_East_England_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="North East England (European Parliament constituency)">North East England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="Northern Ireland (European Parliament constituency)">Northern Ireland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_West_England_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="North West England (European Parliament constituency)">North West England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scotland_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="Scotland (European Parliament constituency)">Scotland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_East_England_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="South East England (European Parliament constituency)">South East England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/South_West_England_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="South West England (European Parliament constituency)">South West England</a> <span style="font-size: 85%;">(including <a href="/wiki/Gibraltar" title="Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a>)</span></li> <li><a href="/wiki/West_Midlands_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="West Midlands (European Parliament constituency)">West Midlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Yorkshire_and_the_Humber_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="Yorkshire and the Humber (European Parliament constituency)">Yorkshire and the Humber</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wales_(European_Parliament_constituency)" title="Wales (European Parliament constituency)">Wales</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Electoral_system" title="Electoral system">Voting systems</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/D%27Hondt_method" title="D'Hondt method">D'Hondt</a> (Great Britain, 1999–2019)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Single_Transferable_Vote" class="mw-redirect" title="Single Transferable Vote">Single Transferable Vote (STV)</a> (Northern Ireland, 1979–2019)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/First-past-the-post_voting" title="First-past-the-post voting">First-past-the-post (FPTP)</a> (Great Britain, 1979–1994)</li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Repealing legislation</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/European_Union_(Withdrawal)_Act_2018" title="European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018">European Union (Withdrawal) Act 2018</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Matthews_v_United_Kingdom" title="Matthews v United Kingdom">Matthews v United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_European_Parliament_by-elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of European Parliament by-elections in the United Kingdom">By-elections (1979–1998)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/1975_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum" class="mw-redirect" title="1975 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">1975 EC membership referendum</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/2016_United_Kingdom_European_Union_membership_referendum" title="2016 United Kingdom European Union membership referendum">2016 EU membership referendum</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Brexit" title="Brexit">Brexit</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Party_lists_in_the_2019_European_Parliament_election_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Party lists in the 2019 European Parliament election in the United Kingdom">2019 party lists</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2"><div> <ul><li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Politics of the United Kingdom</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="Politics_of_Europe123" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:Politics_of_Europe" title="Template:Politics of Europe"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:Politics_of_Europe" title="Template talk:Politics of Europe"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:Politics_of_Europe" title="Special:EditPage/Template:Politics of Europe"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="Politics_of_Europe123" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Europe" title="Politics of Europe">Politics of Europe </a></div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Sovereign states</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Albania" title="Politics of Albania">Albania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Andorra" title="Politics of Andorra">Andorra</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Armenia" title="Politics of Armenia">Armenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Austria" title="Politics of Austria">Austria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Azerbaijan" title="Politics of Azerbaijan">Azerbaijan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Belarus" title="Politics of Belarus">Belarus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Belgium" title="Politics of Belgium">Belgium</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Bosnia_and_Herzegovina" title="Politics of Bosnia and Herzegovina">Bosnia and Herzegovina</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Bulgaria" title="Politics of Bulgaria">Bulgaria</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Croatia" title="Politics of Croatia">Croatia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Cyprus" title="Politics of Cyprus">Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Czech_Republic" title="Politics of the Czech Republic">Czech Republic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Denmark" title="Politics of Denmark">Denmark</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Estonia" title="Politics of Estonia">Estonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Finland" title="Politics of Finland">Finland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_France" title="Politics of France">France</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Georgia_(country)" title="Politics of Georgia (country)">Georgia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Germany" title="Politics of Germany">Germany</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Greece" title="Politics of Greece">Greece</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Hungary" title="Politics of Hungary">Hungary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Iceland" title="Politics of Iceland">Iceland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Republic_of_Ireland" title="Politics of the Republic of Ireland">Ireland</a></li> <li class="mw-empty-elt"></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Italy" title="Politics of Italy">Italy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Kazakhstan" title="Politics of Kazakhstan">Kazakhstan</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Latvia" title="Politics of Latvia">Latvia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Liechtenstein" title="Politics of Liechtenstein">Liechtenstein</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Lithuania" title="Politics of Lithuania">Lithuania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Luxembourg" title="Politics of Luxembourg">Luxembourg</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Malta" title="Politics of Malta">Malta</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Moldova" title="Politics of Moldova">Moldova</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Monaco" title="Politics of Monaco">Monaco</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Montenegro" title="Politics of Montenegro">Montenegro</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Netherlands" title="Politics of the Netherlands">Netherlands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_North_Macedonia" title="Politics of North Macedonia">North Macedonia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Norway" title="Politics of Norway">Norway</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Poland" title="Politics of Poland">Poland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Portugal" title="Politics of Portugal">Portugal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Romania" title="Politics of Romania">Romania</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Russia" title="Politics of Russia">Russia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_San_Marino" title="Politics of San Marino">San Marino</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Serbia" title="Politics of Serbia">Serbia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Slovakia" title="Politics of Slovakia">Slovakia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Slovenia" title="Politics of Slovenia">Slovenia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Spain" title="Politics of Spain">Spain</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Sweden" title="Politics of Sweden">Sweden</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Switzerland" title="Politics of Switzerland">Switzerland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Turkey" title="Politics of Turkey">Turkey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Ukraine" title="Politics of Ukraine">Ukraine</a></li> <li><a class="mw-selflink selflink">United Kingdom</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_England" title="Politics of England">England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Politics of Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Scotland" title="Politics of Scotland">Scotland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Wales" title="Politics of Wales">Wales</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Vatican_City" title="Politics of Vatican City">Vatican City</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">States with limited<br />recognition</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Abkhazia" title="Politics of Abkhazia">Abkhazia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Kosovo" title="Politics of Kosovo">Kosovo</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Cyprus" title="Politics of Northern Cyprus">Northern Cyprus</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_South_Ossetia" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of South Ossetia">South Ossetia</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Transnistria" title="Politics of Transnistria">Transnistria</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Dependencies and<br />other entities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_%C3%85land" title="Politics of Åland">Åland</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Faroe_Islands" title="Politics of the Faroe Islands">Faroe Islands</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Gibraltar" title="Politics of Gibraltar">Gibraltar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Guernsey" class="mw-redirect" title="Politics of Guernsey">Guernsey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_Isle_of_Man" title="Politics of the Isle of Man">Isle of Man</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Jersey" title="Politics of Jersey">Jersey</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Svalbard" title="Politics of Svalbard">Svalbard</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%">Other entities</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even hlist" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_the_European_Union" title="Politics of the European Union">European Union</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table></div> <div class="navbox-styles"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1236075235" /><style data-mw-deduplicate="TemplateStyles:r886047488">.mw-parser-output .nobold{font-weight:normal}</style><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r886047488" /></div><div role="navigation" class="navbox" aria-labelledby="United_Kingdom_articles631" style="padding:3px"><table class="nowraplinks hlist mw-collapsible autocollapse navbox-inner" style="border-spacing:0;background:transparent;color:inherit"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1129693374" /><link rel="mw-deduplicated-inline-style" href="mw-data:TemplateStyles:r1239400231" /><div class="navbar plainlinks hlist navbar-mini"><ul><li class="nv-view"><a href="/wiki/Template:United_Kingdom_topics" title="Template:United Kingdom topics"><abbr title="View this template">v</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-talk"><a href="/wiki/Template_talk:United_Kingdom_topics" title="Template talk:United Kingdom topics"><abbr title="Discuss this template">t</abbr></a></li><li class="nv-edit"><a href="/wiki/Special:EditPage/Template:United_Kingdom_topics" title="Special:EditPage/Template:United Kingdom topics"><abbr title="Edit this template">e</abbr></a></li></ul></div><div id="United_Kingdom_articles631" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom" title="United Kingdom">United Kingdom</a> articles</div></th></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of the United Kingdom">History</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_British_history" title="Timeline of British history">Chronology</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Formation_of_the_United_Kingdom_of_Great_Britain_and_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="Formation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland">Formation</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Union_of_England_and_Scotland_Act_1603" title="Union of England and Scotland Act 1603">Union of England and Scotland Act 1603</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Treaty_of_Union" title="Treaty of Union">Treaty of Union</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Acts_of_Union_1707" title="Acts of Union 1707">Acts of Union 1707</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Union_with_Scotland_(Amendment)_Act_1707" title="Union with Scotland (Amendment) Act 1707">Union with Scotland (Amendment) Act 1707</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Georgian_era" title="Georgian era">Georgian era</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Victorian_era" title="Victorian era">Victorian era</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Edwardian_era" title="Edwardian era">Edwardian era</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_United_Kingdom_during_the_First_World_War" title="History of the United Kingdom during the First World War">First World War</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Interwar_Britain" title="Interwar Britain">Interwar</a></li> <li>Second World War <ul><li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_home_front_during_World_War_II" class="mw-redirect" title="United Kingdom home front during World War II">civilian</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_Kingdom_during_World_War_II" title="Military history of the United Kingdom during World War II">military</a></li></ul></li> <li>Postwar <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Postwar_Britain_(1945%E2%80%931979)" class="mw-redirect" title="Postwar Britain (1945–1979)">political</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_history_of_Postwar_Britain_(1945%E2%80%931979)" class="mw-redirect" title="Social history of Postwar Britain (1945–1979)">social</a></li></ul></li> <li>Since 1979 <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Political_history_of_the_United_Kingdom_(1979%E2%80%93present)" title="Political history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)">political</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_history_of_the_United_Kingdom_(1979%E2%80%93present)" title="Social history of the United Kingdom (1979–present)">social</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;">By topic</th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Economic_history_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Economic history of the United Kingdom">Economic</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Empire" title="British Empire">Empire</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_the_foreign_relations_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of the foreign relations of the United Kingdom">Foreign relations</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/International_relations_(1814%E2%80%931919)" title="International relations (1814–1919)">1814–1919</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_law_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of law enforcement in the United Kingdom">Law enforcement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Maritime_history_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Maritime history of the United Kingdom">Maritime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_mass_surveillance_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of mass surveillance in the United Kingdom">Mass surveillance</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Military_history_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Military history of the United Kingdom">Military</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_taxation_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of taxation in the United Kingdom">Taxation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/History_of_women_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="History of women in the United Kingdom">Women's history</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Geography of the United Kingdom">Geography</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Administrative_geography_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Administrative geography of the United Kingdom">Administrative</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Counties_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Counties of the United Kingdom">Counties of the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Countries of the United Kingdom">Countries of the United Kingdom</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crown_Dependencies" title="Crown Dependencies">Crown Dependencies</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Overseas_Territories" title="British Overseas Territories">Overseas territories</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/City_status_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="City status in the United Kingdom">City status</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_towns_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of towns in the United Kingdom">Towns</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_countries_that_have_gained_independence_from_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of countries that have gained independence from the United Kingdom">Former colonies</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Geography of the United Kingdom">Physical</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/British_Isles" title="British Isles">British Isles</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Terminology_of_the_British_Isles" title="Terminology of the British Isles">terminology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Great_Britain" title="Great Britain">Great Britain</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Climate_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Climate of the United Kingdom">Climate</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Climate_change_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Climate change in the United Kingdom">change</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coastline_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Coastline of the United Kingdom">Coastline</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geology_of_Great_Britain" title="Geology of Great Britain">Geology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_lakes_and_lochs_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of lakes and lochs of the United Kingdom">Lakes and lochs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Lists_of_mountains_and_hills_in_the_British_Isles" title="Lists of mountains and hills in the British Isles">Mountains</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_rivers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of rivers of the United Kingdom">Rivers</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_volcanoes_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of volcanoes in the United Kingdom">Volcanoes</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/List_of_renewable_resources_produced_and_traded_by_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of renewable resources produced and traded by the United Kingdom">Resources</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Agriculture_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Agriculture in the United Kingdom">Agriculture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Energy_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Energy in the United Kingdom">Energy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Biodiesel_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Biodiesel in the United Kingdom">biodiesel</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Coal_mining_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Coal mining in the United Kingdom">coal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geothermal_power_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Geothermal power in the United Kingdom">geothermal</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hydraulic_fracturing_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Hydraulic fracturing in the United Kingdom">hydraulic frac.</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hydroelectricity_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Hydroelectricity in the United Kingdom">hydroelectricity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United_Kingdom#Ocean_power" title="Renewable energy in the United Kingdom">marine</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/North_Sea_oil" title="North Sea oil">North Sea oil</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Renewable_energy_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Renewable energy in the United Kingdom">Renewable energy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Solar_power_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Solar power in the United Kingdom">solar</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Wind_power_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Wind power in the United Kingdom">wind</a></li></ul></li> <li>Fishing <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fishing_industry_in_England" title="Fishing industry in England">English</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fishing_industry_in_Scotland" title="Fishing industry in Scotland">Scottish</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Fishing_industry_in_Wales" title="Fishing industry in Wales">Welsh</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hunting_and_shooting_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Hunting and shooting in the United Kingdom">Hunting</a></li> <li>Materials <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Forestry_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Forestry in the United Kingdom">forestry</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mining_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Mining in the United Kingdom">mining</a></li></ul></li> <li>Wildlife <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Fauna_of_Great_Britain" title="Fauna of Great Britain">fauna</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Flora_of_Great_Britain_and_Ireland" title="Flora of Great Britain and Ireland">flora</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a class="mw-selflink selflink">Politics</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Constitution_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Constitution of the United Kingdom">Constitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Corruption_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Corruption in the United Kingdom">Corruption</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Devolution_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Devolution in the United Kingdom">Devolution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Elections in the United Kingdom">Elections</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/UK_parliamentary_by-elections" title="UK parliamentary by-elections">By-elections</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Foreign_relations_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Foreign relations of the United Kingdom">Foreign relations</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Human_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Human rights in the United Kingdom">Human rights</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/LGBT_rights_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="LGBT rights in the United Kingdom">LGBT</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Judiciaries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Judiciaries of the United Kingdom">Judiciary</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Law of the United Kingdom">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_enforcement_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Law enforcement in the United Kingdom">Law enforcement</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Local_government_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Local government in the United Kingdom">Local government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Monarchy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Monarchy of the United Kingdom">Monarchy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_monarchs" title="List of British monarchs">monarchs</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Republicanism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Republicanism in the United Kingdom">republicanism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_nationality_law" title="British nationality law">Nationality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Parliament_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Parliament of the United Kingdom">Parliament</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/House_of_Commons_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="House of Commons of the United Kingdom">House of Commons</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/House_of_Lords" title="House of Lords">House of Lords</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_parties_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of political parties in the United Kingdom">Political parties</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_female_leaders_of_British_political_parties" title="List of female leaders of British political parties">Female party leaders</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_political_scandals_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of political scandals in the United Kingdom">Political scandals</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Official_Opposition_Shadow_Cabinet_(United_Kingdom)" title="Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)">Shadow Cabinet</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Government of the United Kingdom">Government</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cabinet_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cabinet of the United Kingdom">Cabinet</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_governments" title="List of British governments">list</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Civil_Service_(United_Kingdom)" title="Civil Service (United Kingdom)">Civil service</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Departments_of_the_Government_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Departments of the Government of the United Kingdom">Departments</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sunak_ministry" title="Sunak ministry">Ministers</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_government_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of government ministers of the United Kingdom">list</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prime Minister of the United Kingdom">Prime Minister</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_prime_ministers_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of prime ministers of the United Kingdom">list</a></li></ul></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:6.5em;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/British_Armed_Forces" title="British Armed Forces">Military</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/His_Majesty%27s_Naval_Service" title="His Majesty's Naval Service">His Majesty's Naval Service</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_Army" title="British Army">British Army</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Royal_Air_Force" title="Royal Air Force">Royal Air Force</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/United_Kingdom_and_weapons_of_mass_destruction" title="United Kingdom and weapons of mass destruction">Weapons of mass destruction</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Economy of the United Kingdom">Economy</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_banks_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of banks in the United Kingdom">Banks</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Bank_of_England" title="Bank of England">Bank of England</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Budget_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Budget of the United Kingdom">Budget</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economic_geography_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Economic geography of the United Kingdom">Economic geography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Free_trade_agreements_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Free trade agreements of the United Kingdom">Free trade agreements</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Income_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Income in the United Kingdom">Income</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Manufacturing_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Manufacturing in the United Kingdom">Manufacturing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Pound_sterling" title="Pound sterling">Pound sterling <span style="font-size: 85%;">(currency)</span></a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Science_and_technology_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Science and technology in the United Kingdom">Science and technology</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_stock_exchanges_in_the_United_Kingdom,_the_British_Crown_Dependencies_and_United_Kingdom_Overseas_Territories" title="List of stock exchanges in the United Kingdom, the British Crown Dependencies and United Kingdom Overseas Territories">Stock exchanges</a> (<a href="/wiki/London_Stock_Exchange" title="London Stock Exchange">London Exchange</a>)</li> <li><a href="/wiki/Taxation_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Taxation in the United Kingdom">Taxation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Telecommunications_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Telecommunications in the United Kingdom">Telecommunications</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Tourism in the United Kingdom">Tourism</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Transport_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Transport in the United Kingdom">Transport</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Air_transport_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Air transport in the United Kingdom">Air transport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Bus_transport" class="mw-redirect" title="Bus transport">Bus transport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Driving_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Driving in the United Kingdom">Driving</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Roads_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Roads in the United Kingdom">Roads</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_United_Kingdom" class="mw-redirect" title="Rail transport in the United Kingdom">Rail transport</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Category:Society_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Category:Society of the United Kingdom">Society</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Cannabis_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cannabis in the United Kingdom">Cannabis</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Crime_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Crime in the United Kingdom">Crime</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Demographics_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Demographics of the United Kingdom">Demography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Drug_policy_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Drug policy of the United Kingdom">Drug policy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Education in the United Kingdom">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Environmental_inequality_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Environmental inequality in the United Kingdom">Environmental inequality</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Environmental_issues_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Environmental issues in the United Kingdom">Environmental issues</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Ethnic_groups_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Ethnic groups in the United Kingdom">Ethnic groups</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Health_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Health in the United Kingdom">Health</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Homelessness in the United Kingdom">Homelessness</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_England" title="Homelessness in England">England</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_Scotland" title="Homelessness in Scotland">Scotland</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Housing_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Housing in the United Kingdom">Housing</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Hunger_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Hunger in the United Kingdom">Hunger</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Modern_immigration_to_the_United_Kingdom" title="Modern immigration to the United Kingdom">Immigration</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_innovations_and_discoveries" title="List of British innovations and discoveries">Innovation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Languages_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Languages of the United Kingdom">Languages</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_British_regions_by_life_expectancy" title="List of British regions by life expectancy">Life expectancy</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mental_health_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Mental health in the United Kingdom">Mental health</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Poverty_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Poverty in the United Kingdom">Poverty</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Prostitution_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Prostitution in the United Kingdom">Prostitution</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Public_holidays_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Public holidays in the United Kingdom">Public holidays</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Racism_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Racism in the United Kingdom">Racism</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_care_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Social care in the United Kingdom">Social care</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Social_class_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Social class in the United Kingdom">Social class</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Suicide_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Suicide in the United Kingdom">Suicide</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Universal_basic_income_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Universal basic income in the United Kingdom">Universal basic income (UBI)</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Water supply and sanitation in the United Kingdom">Water supply and sanitation</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Waste_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Waste in the United Kingdom">Waste</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welfare_state_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Welfare state in the United Kingdom">Welfare state</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%;padding-left:0.5em;padding-right:0.5em;font-weight:normal;"><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Culture of the United Kingdom">Culture</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Art_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Art of the United Kingdom">Art</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/God_Save_the_King" title="God Save the King">Anthem</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Cinema_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Cinema of the United Kingdom">Cinema</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_cuisine" title="British cuisine">Cuisine</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Wine_from_the_United_Kingdom" title="Wine from the United Kingdom">Wine</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_national_identity" title="British national identity">Identity</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/British_literature" title="British literature">Literature</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Mass_media_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Mass media in the United Kingdom">Media</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Music_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Music of the United Kingdom">Music</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Religion in the United Kingdom">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Sport_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="Sport in the United Kingdom">Sport</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_national_symbols_of_the_United_Kingdom,_the_Channel_Islands_and_the_Isle_of_Man" title="List of national symbols of the United Kingdom, the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man">Symbols</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Theatre_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Theatre of the United Kingdom">Theatre</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Stereotypes_of_the_British" class="mw-redirect" title="Stereotypes of the British">Stereotypes of the British</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/List_of_World_Heritage_Sites_in_the_United_Kingdom" title="List of World Heritage Sites in the United Kingdom">World Heritage Sites</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Anglosphere" title="Anglosphere">Anglosphere</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks mw-collapsible mw-collapsed navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="col" class="navbox-title" colspan="2"><div id="Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom0" style="font-size:114%;margin:0 4em"><a href="/wiki/Countries_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Countries of the United Kingdom">Countries of the United Kingdom</a></div></th></tr><tr><td colspan="2" class="navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"></div><table class="nowraplinks navbox-subgroup" style="border-spacing:0"><tbody><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/England" title="England">England</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_England" title="History of England">History</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/English_society" title="English society">social</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_English_history" title="Timeline of English history">timeline</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_England" title="Geography of England">Geography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_England" title="Politics of England">Politics</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/English_law" title="English law">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_England" title="Economy of England">Economy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_England" title="Tourism in England">tourism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_England" title="Education in England">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Healthcare_in_England" title="Healthcare in England">Health care</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_England" title="Homelessness in England">Homelessness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_England" title="Culture of England">Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_England" title="Religion in England">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_symbols_of_England" title="National symbols of England">Symbols</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland" title="Northern Ireland">Northern Ireland</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Northern_Ireland" title="History of Northern Ireland">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland#Geography_and_climate" title="Northern Ireland">Geography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Politics of Northern Ireland">Politics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Assembly" title="Northern Ireland Assembly">Assembly</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland_Executive" title="Northern Ireland Executive">Executive</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_and_deputy_First_Minister_of_Northern_Ireland" class="mw-redirect" title="First Minister and deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland">First Minister and deputy</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Law_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Law of Northern Ireland">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Economy of Northern Ireland">Economy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/List_of_tourist_attractions_in_Ireland" title="List of tourist attractions in Ireland">tourism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Northern_Ireland" title="Education in Northern Ireland">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Health_and_Social_Care_(Northern_Ireland)" title="Health and Social Care (Northern Ireland)">Health care</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Northern_Ireland" title="Culture of Northern Ireland">Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Northern_Ireland" title="Religion in Northern Ireland">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Northern_Ireland#Symbols" title="Northern Ireland">Symbols</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Scotland" title="Scotland">Scotland</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-odd" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Scotland" title="History of Scotland">History</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Timeline_of_Scottish_history" title="Timeline of Scottish history">timeline</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Scotland" title="Geography of Scotland">Geography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Scotland" title="Politics of Scotland">Politics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Parliament" title="Scottish Parliament">Parliament</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scottish_Government" title="Scottish Government">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Scotland" title="First Minister of Scotland">First Minister</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Scots_law" title="Scots law">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Scotland" title="Economy of Scotland">Economy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_Scotland" title="Tourism in Scotland">tourism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Scotland" title="Education in Scotland">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Healthcare_in_Scotland" title="Healthcare in Scotland">Health care</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Homelessness_in_Scotland" title="Homelessness in Scotland">Homelessness</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Scotland" title="Culture of Scotland">Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Scotland" title="Religion in Scotland">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_symbols_of_Scotland" title="National symbols of Scotland">Symbols</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr><tr><th scope="row" class="navbox-group" style="width:1%"><a href="/wiki/Wales" title="Wales">Wales</a></th><td class="navbox-list-with-group navbox-list navbox-even" style="width:100%;padding:0"><div style="padding:0 0.25em"> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/History_of_Wales" title="History of Wales">History</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Geography_of_Wales" title="Geography of Wales">Geography</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Politics_of_Wales" title="Politics of Wales">Politics</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Senedd" title="Senedd">Senedd</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_Government" title="Welsh Government">Government</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/First_Minister_of_Wales" title="First Minister of Wales">First Minister</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Welsh_law" title="Welsh law">Law</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Economy_of_Wales" title="Economy of Wales">Economy</a> <ul><li><a href="/wiki/Tourism_in_Wales" title="Tourism in Wales">tourism</a></li></ul></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Education_in_Wales" title="Education in Wales">Education</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Healthcare_in_Wales" title="Healthcare in Wales">Health care</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Culture_of_Wales" title="Culture of Wales">Culture</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/Religion_in_Wales" title="Religion in Wales">Religion</a></li> <li><a href="/wiki/National_symbols_of_Wales" title="National symbols of Wales">Symbols</a></li></ul> </div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr></tbody></table><div></div></td></tr><tr><td class="navbox-abovebelow" colspan="2" style="font-weight:bold;"><div><div style="margin-bottom:-0.4em;"><ul><li><span class="nobold"><a href="/wiki/Outline_of_the_United_Kingdom" title="Outline of the United Kingdom">Outline</a></span></li><li><span class="nobold"><a 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