does england have a president
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Politics of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom is a unitary state with devolution that is governed within the framework of a parliamentary democracy under a constitutional monarchy in which the monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the head of state while the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, currently Boris Johnson, is the head of government. Executive power is exercised by the British government, on behalf of and by the consent of the monarch, and the devolved governments of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Legislative power is vested in the two chambers of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, the House of Commons and the House of Lords, as well as in the Scottish and Welsh parliaments. The British political system is a two party system. Since the 1920s, the two dominant parties have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.
Liberal Democrats
Before the Labour Party rose in British politics, the Liberal Party was the other major political party, along with the Conservatives. While coalition and minority governments have been an occasional feature of parliamentary politics, the first-past-the-post electoral system used for general elections tends to maintain the dominance of these two parties, though each has in the past century relied upon a third party, such as the Liberal Democrats, to deliver a working majority in Parliament. A Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government held office from 2010 until 2015, the first coalition since 1945.
The coalition ended following parliamentary elections on 7 May 2015, 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.
1970s
With the partition of Ireland, Northern Ireland received home rule in 1920, though civil unrest 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, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland each possess a legislature and executive, with devolution in Northern Ireland being conditional on participation in certain all-Ireland institutions. The British government remains responsible for non-devolved matters and, in the case of Northern Ireland, co-operates with the government of the Republic of Ireland.
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Devolution of executive and legislative powers may have contributed to increased support for independence in the constituent parts of the United Kingdom. The principal Scottish pro-independence party, the Scottish National Party, became a minority government in 2007 and then went on to win an overall majority of MSPs at the 2011 Scottish parliament elections and forms the current Scottish Government administration. Referendum on independence 44.7% of voters voted for independence versus 55.3% against in 2014. In Northern Ireland, Irish nationalist parties such as Sinn Féin advocate Irish reunification. In Wales Plaid Cymru support Welsh independence.
British Empire
The constitution of the United Kingdom is uncodified, being made up of constitutional conventions, statutes and other elements. This system of government, known as the Westminster system, has been adopted by other countries, especially those that were formerly parts of the British Empire.
The United Kingdom is also responsible for several dependencies, which fall into two categories: the Crown Dependencies, in the immediate vicinity of the UK, are strictly-speaking subject to the Crown (ie, the Monarch) but not part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom (though de facto British territory), and British Overseas Territories, as British colonies were re-designated in 1983, which are part of the sovereign territory of the United Kingdom, in most of which aspects of internal governance have been delegated to local governments, though they remain subject to the Parliament of the United Kingdom (when United Kingdom is used to refer only to that part of the British Realm, or sovereign British territory, which is governed directly by the British Government, and not via local subsidiary governments, United Kingdom logically refers to a local government area, though the national government performs the role of local government within that area).
Difference between US President vs. UK Prime Minister
The PM is the head of the British government and the President is the head of the American government. Both leaders make lots of important decisions that affect people in each country.
Whilst the Prime Minister is the head of the government, it’s the ruling monarch who’s the head of state. The head of state is the person who has the finally say about what happens in the country. Technically, the ruling monarch at Buckingham Palace could overrule the Prime Minister… but that doesn’t tend to happen nowadays.
In the US, the President is the head of the government – and the head of state! It’s two jobs in one, which is why it’s particularly important.
Another key difference between the two roles is that people in the UK haven’t actually voted for the Prime Minister. Not quite, anyway. Instead, they vote for a local Member of Parliament – an MP that represents their hometown. There are hundreds of MPs all across the country and they meet in London to discuss how they can make things better for everyone.
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PM
Each MP is also a member of a political party. A party is a group of people who believe in the same things. In a general election, people vote for the party they most agree with. Then the party which has the most MPs is the one that gets to choose the PM. It’s usually the party’s leader.
That’s a bit different to things in the US. In the US, there’s two main political parties – the Democrats and the Republicans. Both parties decide who they want to run for President. Then it’s up to the American public to pick their favourite.
Although it does get a bit complex…
Basically, Americans are voting for people called electors in each state. These electors are each supporting a different person to be President. The process is known as the Electoral College. The more people who live in a state, the more electors it has.
270 electoral votes
The candidate with the most electors wins the whole state. Then, the first person to win enough states to reach 270 electoral votes becomes the President.
So whereas in the UK, it’s the party that picks the leader… in the US, it’s the people. That’s why the President can make most decisions on their own whereas almost everything the Prime Minister does has to go through the Houses of Parliament.
Who is the President of Great Britain?
Hopefully, you’ll answer correctly that Great Britain doesn’t have a President, they have a Prime Minister. But do you know the difference between a President and a Prime Minister? If you’re curious, I’ll give you a basic run down so that you can win your next game of trivia.
Britain held an election yesterday (am I the only person in Tallahassee who cared about it? Alas, I believe so, but this is the price one pays for emigrating to a foreign land!), and it was a close one.
I’m glad you asked.
Which means enquiring minds want to know, how is a President different from a Prime Minister?
The Prime Minister is chosen by her party (Conservatives) and becomes the leader of that party. In an election one votes for a party, and the party that gets the majority of votes forms the government. The leader of that party becomes the Prime Minister.
The President is voted in by people (this is not the place for a debate on the Electoral College!).
5 years
On a British election ballot, you’d find 3 names of 3 political parties (with the leaders’ names attached in smaller print). On an American election ballot, you’d find 3 names of 3 individuals (with party name attached).
The Prime Minister leads the operations of the government for 5 years. She answers to Parliament (if you’ve ever observed weekly Question Time, you’ll realize it’s a regular accountability hearing.) The majority party (Conservative) passes legislation. She is a member of that Legislative body chosen by that legislature to lead. She serves at the pleasure of the Queen who is the Head of State. The majority Conservative party recommended her for the job of Prime Minister, so the Queen went ahead and appointed her.
4 years
The President is the Head of State and the main representative for the country for 4 years. He leads the Executive branch but is separate from the Legislative branch. The President has to encourage Congress (the Legislative branch) to pass his legislation and hope the Supreme Court (the Judicial branch) doesn’t over turn it. He does not answer to the legislature the way the Prime Minister does (particularly not on a weekly, public forum – catch British Question Time on C-Span sometime!).
Those are the very basic differences. Hope it was helpful and will win you a point on your next trivia game.
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Parliament and Crown
Along with the House of Commons and the House of Lords, the Crown is an integral part of the institution of Parliament. The Queen plays a constitutional role in opening and dissolving Parliament and approving Bills before they become law.
Parliament
The highest legislative authority in the United Kingdom. Made up of the House of Commons, House of Lords and the Queen (who is the UK’s current hereditary monarch).
Crown
This is another way of referring to the monarchy – which is the oldest part of the system of government in this country. Time has reduced the power of the monarchy, and today it is broadly ceremonial. The current UK monarch is Queen Elizabeth II.
does england have a president
Appointing a government
The day after a general election the Queen invites the leader of the party that won the most seats in the House of Commons to become Prime Minister and to form a government.
Queen’s Speech
The Crown informs Parliament of the government’s policy ideas and plans for new legislation in a speech delivered from the throne in the House of Lords. Although the Queen makes the speech the government draws up the content.
Royal Assent
When a Bill has been approved by a majority in the House of Commons and the House of Lords it is formally agreed to by the Crown. This is known as the Royal Assent. This turns a Bill into an Act of Parliament, allowing it to become law in the UK.
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