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Great Britain Today

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The British constitution is not a single document. It consists partly of statutes (laws passed by Parliament) and of documents such as the Magna Carta (a charter passed in 1215 to limit the monarchs power). It also includes common law (laws based on custom and supported in the courts). Much of the Constitution is not even written. These unwritten parts include many important ideas and practices that have developed over the years.

Queen Elizabeth II is Britain's head of state. Her powers are largely ceremonial, however, and a Cabinet of ministers actually rules the country. The Cabinet is responsible to Parliament, which makes the laws of GB.

The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen as its head.

The House of Commons plays the major role in lawmaking. It consists of Members of Parliament (called MPs for short), each of whom represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. MPs are elected cither at a general election, or at a by- election following the death or retirement of an MP.

Parliamentary elections must be held every five years, but the Prime Minister can decide on the exact date within those five years. The minimum voting age is 18, and the voting is taken by secret ballot.

The election campaign lasts about three weeks. The election is decided on a simple majority - the candidate with most votes wins. An MP who wins by a small number of votes may have more votes against him (that is, for the other candidates) that for him. Many people think that it is unfair because the wishes of those who voted for the unsuccessful candidates are not represented at all.

The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The political parties choose candidates in elections. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the Government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his or her party to become the Cabinet of Ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area of the government. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and "Shadow cabinet". Leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

Great Britain is a densely populated country, and about 93 per cent of the people live in urban areas. English is the official language, but some people in Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland speak their national language.

Most of the British are descendants of the many early people who invaded Great Britain, including the Celts, Romans, Angles, Saxons, Scandinavians, and Normans. However, since the late 1950s, many immigrants from Commonwealth countries have settled in Great Britain. Their arrival has created housing and a racial problem in the country's crowded urban areas.

There are many divisions in British life. Scotland and England have their national churches, and there are separate legal and education systems in England and Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. For centuries, the British people were also separated by a rigid class system. Most of these class barriers were greatly reduced during World War II. Britain has an open economy, in which international trade plays a vital part. About one-quarter of its gross domestic product comes from the export of goods and services, a high share among major economies. Private enterprise accounts for three-quarters of gross domestic product and over two-thirds of total employment. The rate of inflation fell sharply the in the early 1980s. It raised again after earlyl988, then fellto9.3 per cent at an annual rate by December 1990. Services now account for 60 per cent of gross domestic product and manufacturing for 25 per cent.

Shedding surplus labor and renewed growth have led to gains in productivity. In 1980-1989 output per head rose by 23 per cent in the economy as a whole, and by 57 per cent in manufacturing alone.

In December 1989 Britain's total workforce in employment was a record 27 million. It had increased by 3.5 million since March 1983. Of people working for an employer in 1989, 69 per cent were in manufacturing, 4.7 per cent in construction and 3.4 per cent in the primary sector (agriculture, forestry, fishing, energy and water supply). Self-employment (11.3 per cent of the workforce) increased to 3.3 million inl989, a rise of 70 per cent since June 1979.

As in other industrialized countries, unemployment has been a major problem, but had fallen from its peak of 3.2 million in 1986 to about 1.7 million in August 1990.