1.
House of Commons of the United Kingdom
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The House of Commons of the United Kingdom is the lower house of the countrys parliament. Like the upper house, the House of Lords, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. The House is a body consisting of 650 members known as Members of Parliament. Members are elected to represent constituencies by first-past-the-post and hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved, under the Parliament Act 1911, the Lords power to reject legislation was reduced to a delaying power. The Government is primarily responsible to the House of Commons and the prime minister stays in office only as long as he or she retains the support of a majority of its members. Although it does not formally elect the prime minister, the position of the parties in the House of Commons is of overriding importance, by convention, the prime minister is answerable to, and must maintain the support of, the House of Commons. Since 1963, by convention, the minister is always a member of the House of Commons. The Commons may indicate its lack of support for the Government by rejecting a motion of confidence or by passing a motion of no confidence, confidence and no confidence motions are sometimes phrased explicitly, for instance, That this House has no confidence in Her Majestys Government. Many other motions were considered confidence issues, even though not explicitly phrased as such, in particular, important bills that form a part of the Governments agenda were formerly considered matters of confidence, as is the annual Budget. Parliament normally sits for a term of five years. Subject to that limit, the minister could formerly choose the timing of the dissolution of parliament. By this second mechanism, the government of the United Kingdom can change without a general election. In such circumstances there may not even have been a party leadership election, as the new leader may be chosen by acclaim. A prime minister may resign if he or she is not defeated at the polls. In such a case, the premiership goes to whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, in practice this is usually the new leader of the outgoing prime ministers party. Until 1965, the Conservative Party had no mechanism for electing a new leader, when Anthony Eden resigned as PM in 1957 without recommending a successor and it fell to the Queen to appoint Harold Macmillan as the new prime minister, after taking the advice of ministers. By convention, all ministers must be members of the House of Commons or of the House of Lords, a handful have been appointed who were outside Parliament, but in most cases they then entered Parliament either in a by-election or by receiving a peerage. Since 1902, all ministers have been members of the Commons
2.
Robert Peel
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Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, FRS, PC, a British statesman and member of the Conservative Party, served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and twice as Home Secretary. He is regarded as the father of modern British policing and as one of the founders of the modern Conservative Party and he entered the House of Commons in 1809 under the tutelage of his father and of Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington. Peel was widely seen as a star in the Conservative Party and served in various junior ministerial offices, becoming Chief Secretary for Ireland. He cut tariffs to stimulate trade, to replace the lost revenue he pushed through a 3% income tax and he played a central role in making free trade a reality and set up a modern banking system. In 1830 the Whigs finally returned to power and Peel became a member of the Opposition for the first time, Peel then issued the Tamworth Manifesto, laying down the principles upon which the modern British Conservative Party is based. His first ministry was a minority government, dependent on Whig support, after only four months, his government collapsed and he served as Leader of the Opposition during the second government of the Viscount Melbourne. Peel declined to head another minority government in May 1839, prompting a political crisis and he finally became Prime Minister again after the 1841 general election. His second government ruled for five years - its major legislation included the Mines and Collieries Act 1842, the Income Tax Act 1842, the Factories Act 1844, Peels government was weakened by anti-Irish and anti-Catholic sentiment following the controversial Maynooth Grant of 1845. After the outbreak of the Great Irish Potato Famine, his decision to join with Whigs, Peel remained an influential backbench MP and leader of the Peelite faction until his death in 1850. Peel often started from a traditional Tory position in opposition to a measure, then reversed his stance, Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party. Many critics accordingly saw him as a traitor to the Tory cause, or as a Liberal wolf in sheeps clothing, taylor says, Peel was in the first rank of 19th century statesman. He carried Catholic Emancipation, he repealed the Corn Laws, he created the modern Conservative Party on the ruins of the old Toryism. Peel was born at Chamber Hall, Bury, Lancashire, to the industrialist and parliamentarian Sir Robert Peel, 1st Baronet and his father was one of the richest textile manufacturers of the early Industrial Revolution. Peel was educated briefly at Bury Grammar School, at Hipperholme Grammar School, then at Harrow School and finally Christ Church, Oxford and he was a law student at Lincolns Inn in 1809 before entering Parliament. Peel saw part-time military service as a Captain in the Manchester Regiment of Militia in 1808, Peel entered politics in 1809 at the age of 21, as MP for the Irish rotten borough of Cashel, Tipperary. With a scant 24 electors on the rolls, he was elected unopposed and his sponsor for the election was the Chief Secretary for Ireland, Sir Arthur Wellesley, the future Duke of Wellington, with whom Peels political career would be entwined for the next 25 years. Peel made his speech at the start of the 1810 session. His speech was a sensation, famously described by the Speaker, Charles Abbot, as chief secretary in Dublin in 1813, he proposed the setting up of a specialist police force, later called peelers
3.
Whigs (British political party)
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The Whigs were a political faction and then a political party in the parliaments of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom. Between the 1680s and 1850s, they contested power with their rivals, the Whigs origin lay in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute monarchy. The Whigs played a role in the Glorious Revolution of 1688, and were the standing enemies of the Stuart kings and pretenders. The Whigs took full control of the government in 1715, and remained dominant until King George III, coming to the throne in 1760. The Whig Supremacy was enabled by the Hanoverian succession of George I in 1714, the Whigs thoroughly purged the Tories from all major positions in government, the army, the Church of England, the legal profession, and local offices. The Partys hold on power was so strong and durable, historians call the period from roughly 1714 to 1783 the age of the Whig Oligarchy. The first great leader of the Whigs was Robert Walpole, who maintained control of the government through the period 1721–1742, his protégé was Henry Pelham, who led from 1743 to 1754. Both parties were founded on rich politicians, more than on votes, there were elections to the House of Commons. The Whig Party slowly evolved during the 18th century, later on, the Whigs drew support from the emerging industrial interests and wealthy merchants, while the Tories drew support from the landed interests and the royal family. The term Whig was originally short for whiggamor, a term meaning cattle driver used to describe western Scots who came to Leith for corn. In the reign of Charles I the term was used during Wars of the Three Kingdoms to refer derisively to a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who called themselves the Kirk Party. It was then applied to Scottish Presbyterian rebels who were against the Kings Episcopalian order in Scotland, Whig was a term of abuse applied to those who wanted to exclude James on the grounds that he was a Roman Catholic. The fervent Tory Samuel Johnson often joked that the first Whig was the Devil, the Whigs, under Lord Shaftesburys leadership, wished to exclude the Duke of York from the throne due to his Catholicism, his favouring of monarchical absolutism and his connections to France. They believed the Duke, if allowed to inherit the throne, would endanger the Protestant religion, liberty, the first Exclusion Bill was supported by a substantial majority on its second reading in May 1679. In response, King Charles prorogued Parliament and then dissolved it and this new parliament did not meet for thirteen months, because Charles wanted to give passions a chance to die down. When it met in October 1680, an Exclusion Bill was introduced and passed in the Commons without major resistance, Charles dissolved Parliament in January 1681, but the Whigs did not suffer serious losses in the ensuing election. The next Parliament first met in March, at Oxford, but Charles dissolved it only after a few days, when he made an appeal to the country against the Whigs, and determined to rule without Parliament. In February, Charles had made a deal with the French King Louis XIV, without Parliament, the Whigs gradually crumbled, mainly due to the Rye House Plot
4.
Conservative Party (UK)
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The Conservative Party, officially the Conservative and Unionist Party, is a political party in the United Kingdom. It is currently the party, having won a majority of seats in the House of Commons at the 2015 general election. The partys leader, Theresa May, is serving as Prime Minister. It is the largest party in government with 8,702 councillors. The Conservative Party is one of the two major political parties in the United Kingdom, the other being its modern rival. The Conservative Partys platform involves support for market capitalism, free enterprise, fiscal conservatism, a strong national defence, deregulation. In the 1920s, the Liberal vote greatly diminished and the Labour Party became the Conservatives main rivals, Conservative Prime Ministers led governments for 57 years of the twentieth century, including Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher. Thatchers tenure led to wide-ranging economic liberalisation, the Conservative Partys domination of British politics throughout the twentieth century has led to them being referred to as one of the most successful political parties in the Western world. The Conservatives are the joint-second largest British party in the European Parliament, with twenty MEPs, the party is a member of the Alliance of Conservatives and Reformists in Europe Europarty and the International Democrat Union. The party is the second-largest in the Scottish Parliament and the second-largest in the Welsh Assembly, the party is also organised in the British Overseas Territory of Gibraltar. The Conservative Party traces its origins to a faction, rooted in the 18th century Whig Party and they were known as Independent Whigs, Friends of Mr Pitt, or Pittites. After Pitts death the term Tory came into use and this was an allusion to the Tories, a political grouping that had existed from 1678, but which had no organisational continuity with the Pittite party. From about 1812 on the name Tory was commonly used for the newer party, the term Conservative was suggested as a title for the party by a magazine article by J. Wilson Croker in the Quarterly Review in 1830. The name immediately caught on and was adopted under the aegis of Sir Robert Peel around 1834. Peel is acknowledged as the founder of the Conservative Party, which he created with the announcement of the Tamworth Manifesto, the term Conservative Party rather than Tory was the dominant usage by 1845. In 1912, the Liberal Unionists merged with the Conservative Party, in Ireland, the Irish Unionist Alliance had been formed in 1891 which merged anti-Home Rule Unionists into one political movement. Its MPs took the Conservative whip at Westminster, and in essence formed the Irish wing of the party until 1922. The Conservatives served with the Liberals in an all-party coalition government during World War I, keohane finds that the Conservatives were bitterly divided before 1914, especially on the issue of Irish Unionism and the experience of three consecutive election losses
5.
House of Lords
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The House of Lords of the United Kingdom, referred to ceremonially as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster, officially, the full name of the house is, The Right Honourable the Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament assembled. Unlike the elected House of Commons, all members of the House of Lords are appointed, the membership of the House of Lords is drawn from the peerage and is made up of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. The Lords Spiritual are 26 bishops in the established Church of England, of the Lords Temporal, the majority are life peers who are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, or on the advice of the House of Lords Appointments Commission. However, they include some hereditary peers including four dukes. Very few of these are female since most hereditary peerages can only be inherited by men, while the House of Commons has a defined 650-seat membership, the number of members in the House of Lords is not fixed. There are currently 805 sitting Lords, the House of Lords is the only upper house of any bicameral parliament to be larger than its respective lower house. The House of Lords scrutinises bills that have approved by the House of Commons. It regularly reviews and amends Bills from the Commons, while it is unable to prevent Bills passing into law, except in certain limited circumstances, it can delay Bills and force the Commons to reconsider their decisions. In this capacity, the House of Lords acts as a check on the House of Commons that is independent from the electoral process, Bills can be introduced into either the House of Lords or the House of Commons. Members of the Lords may also take on roles as government ministers, the House of Lords has its own support services, separate from the Commons, including the House of Lords Library. The Queens Speech is delivered in the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament, the House also has a Church of England role, in that Church Measures must be tabled within the House by the Lords Spiritual. This new parliament was, in effect, the continuation of the Parliament of England with the addition of 45 MPs and 16 Peers to represent Scotland, the Parliament of England developed from the Magnum Concilium, the Great Council that advised the King during medieval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, the first English Parliament is often considered to be the Model Parliament, which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs of it. The power of Parliament grew slowly, fluctuating as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined, for example, during much of the reign of Edward II, the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1569, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, further developments occurred during the reign of Edward IIs successor, Edward III. It was during this Kings reign that Parliament clearly separated into two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the fifteenth century
6.
Parliament of the United Kingdom
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It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the UK and its territories. Its head is the Sovereign of the United Kingdom and its seat is the Palace of Westminster in the City of Westminster, one of the boroughs of the British capital, the parliament is bicameral, consisting of an upper house and a lower house. The Sovereign forms the third component of the legislature, prior to the opening of the Supreme Court in October 2009, the House of Lords also performed a judicial role through the Law Lords. The House of Commons is an elected chamber with elections held at least every five years. The two Houses meet in separate chambers in the Palace of Westminster in London, most cabinet ministers are from the Commons, whilst junior ministers can be from either House. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Treaty of Union by Acts of Union passed by the Parliament of England and the Parliament of Scotland. The UK parliament and its institutions have set the pattern for many throughout the world. However, John Bright – who coined the epithet – used it with reference to a rather than a parliament. In theory, the UKs supreme legislative power is vested in the Crown-in-Parliament. However, the Crown normally acts on the advice of the Prime Minister, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was created in 1801, by the merger of the Kingdoms of Great Britain and Ireland under the Acts of Union. The principle of responsibility to the lower House did not develop until the 19th century—the House of Lords was superior to the House of Commons both in theory and in practice. Members of the House of Commons were elected in an electoral system. Thus, the borough of Old Sarum, with seven voters, many small constituencies, known as pocket or rotten boroughs, were controlled by members of the House of Lords, who could ensure the election of their relatives or supporters. During the reforms of the 19th century, beginning with the Reform Act 1832, No longer dependent on the Lords for their seats, MPs grew more assertive. The supremacy of the British House of Commons was established in the early 20th century, in 1909, the Commons passed the so-called Peoples Budget, which made numerous changes to the taxation system which were detrimental to wealthy landowners. The House of Lords, which consisted mostly of powerful landowners, on the basis of the Budgets popularity and the Lords consequent unpopularity, the Liberal Party narrowly won two general elections in 1910. Using the result as a mandate, the Liberal Prime Minister, Herbert Henry Asquith, introduced the Parliament Bill, in the face of such a threat, the House of Lords narrowly passed the bill. However, regardless of the Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949, the Government of Ireland Act 1920 created the parliaments of Northern Ireland and Southern Ireland and reduced the representation of both parts at Westminster
7.
Daniel O'Connell
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Daniel OConnell, often referred to as The Liberator or The Emancipator, was an Irish political leader in the first half of the 19th century. OConnell was born at Carhan near Cahersiveen, County Kerry, to the OConnells of Derrynane, a once-wealthy Roman Catholic family, among his uncles was Daniel Charles, Count OConnell, an officer in the Irish Brigades of the French Army. A famous aunt was Eibhlín Dubh Ní Chonaill, while Sir James OConnell, in his early years, he became acquainted with the pro-democracy radicals of the time and committed himself to bringing equal rights and religious tolerance to his own country. While in Dublin studying for the law, OConnell was under his Uncle Maurices instructions not to become involved in any militia activity, when Wolfe Tones French invasion fleet entered Bantry Bay in December 1796, OConnell found himself in a quandary. Politics was the cause of his unsettlement and he desired to enter Parliament, yet every allowance that the Catholics had been led to anticipate, two years previously, was now flatly vetoed. As a law student, OConnell was aware of his own talents and he read the Jockey Club as a picture of the governing class in England and was persuaded by it that, vice reigns triumphant in the English court at this day. The spirit of liberty shrinks to protect property from the attacks of French innovators, the corrupt higher orders tremble for their vicious enjoyments. Later that month, for the sake of expediency, he joined the Lawyers Artillery Corps, on 19 May 1798, OConnell was called to the Irish Bar and became a barrister. Four days later, the United Irishmen staged their rebellion which was put down by the British with great bloodshed, OConnell did not support the rebellion, he believed that the Irish would have to assert themselves politically rather than by force. He went on the Munster circuit, and for over a decade, although he was ultimately to inherit Derrynane from his uncle Maurice, the old man lived to be almost 100 and in the event Daniels inheritance did not cover his debts. He also condemned Robert Emmets Rebellion of 1803, of Emmet, a Protestant, he wrote, A man who could coolly prepare so much bloodshed, so many murders—and such horrors of every kind has ceased to be an object of compassion. He was noted for his fearlessness in Court, if he thought poorly of a judge he had no hesitation in making this clear, OConnell returned to politics in the 1810s. In 1811, he established the Catholic Board, which campaigned for Catholic emancipation, that is, the opportunity for Irish Catholics to become members of parliament. In 1823, he set up the Catholic Association which embraced other aims to better Irish Catholics, such as, electoral reform, reform of the Church of Ireland, tenants rights, and economic development. The Association was funded by membership dues of one penny per month, the subscription was highly successful, and the Association raised a large sum of money in its first year. The money was used to campaign for Catholic emancipation, specifically funding pro-emancipation members of parliament standing for the British House of Commons. Members of the Association were liable to prosecution under a statute. OConnell was often briefed for the defence, and showed extraordinary vigour in pleading the rights of Catholics to argue for emancipation, in 1815 a serious event in his life occurred
8.
Orkney and Shetland (UK Parliament constituency)
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Orkney and Shetland is a constituency of the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. It elects one Member of Parliament by the first past the post system of election, in the Scottish Parliament, Orkney and Shetland are separate constituencies. The constituency was known as Orkney and Zetland. The constituency is made up of the two groups, Orkney and Shetland. A constituency of this name has existed continuously since 1708, however before 1918 the town of Kirkwall formed part of the Northern Burghs constituency. The constituency is one of three protected constituencies, the others being Na h-Eileanan an Iar and the Isle of Wight, the constituency contains the areas of the Orkney Islands Council and the Shetland Islands Council. Before 2011 the constituency had been unique in having its boundaries protected by legislation, the constituency has the second smallest electorate of any UK parliamentary constituency, after Na h-Eileanan an Iar. The constituency has elected only Liberal and Liberal Democrat MPs since 1950, in each general election from 1955 until 1979, in 1987 and again in 2010 it was the safest Liberal Democrat seat in Britain. In the May 2015 general election it was the seat in Scotland to elect a Liberal Democrat MP. General Election 1939/40, Another general election was required to place before the end of 1940. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1918 –1949 F. W. S. Craig, British Parliamentary Election Results 1885 –1918 F. W. S. psr. keele. ac. uk/
9.
First Parliament of the United Kingdom
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The Parliament of Great Britain had held its last general election in 1796 and had last met on 5 November 1800. The final general election for the Parliament of Ireland had taken place in 1797, by a proclamation dated 5 November 1800, the members of the new united Parliament were summoned to a first meeting at Westminster on 22 January 1801. At the outset, the Tories led by Addington enjoyed a majority of 108 in the new House of Commons, Great Britain had been at war with France since 1792. The Prime Minister since 1783, William Pitt the Younger, led a wartime coalition of Whig. The principal opposition to Pitt was a relatively weak faction of Whigs, for four years after 1797 opposition attendance at Westminster had been sporadic as Fox pursued a strategy of secession from Parliament. Only a small group, led by George Tierney, had attended frequently to oppose the ministers, as Foord observes only once did the minority reach seventy-five, and it was often less than ten. The Act of Union 1800 created the United Kingdom by merging the previous Kingdoms of Great Britain, the first Parliament of the United Kingdom was composed of all the members of the last Parliament of Great Britain and some of the members of the final Parliament of Ireland. Pitt wished to grant Catholic emancipation, to reconcile the Irish Catholic majority with the Union. King George III was opposed to that policy, so Pitt was compelled to resign in March 1801, the new Tory Prime Minister was Henry Addington. He led another wartime administration of pro-government Whigs and Tories and this was however weaker than Pitts Ministry as Pitt and his faction did not join the new government. The younger opposition Whigs also became involved in Parliamentary opposition. Charles Grey, on 25 March 1801 tried to persuade the House of Commons to set up a Committee on the State of the Nation and his motion was lost, but it attracted 105 supporters. The Foxite leaders gradually ended their secession from Parliament, Pitt was generally supportive of the Addington Ministry, but was semi-detached from it. As the well known couplet tellingly observed Pitt is to Addington, as London is to Paddington, all British MPs and those Irish members representing constituencies which retained two members after the Union automatically retained their seats when the Union took effect on 1 January 1801. If one of the seats in the Irish Parliament was vacant, if both seats were vacant a by-election was held. Monmouthshire is included in Wales in these tables, sources for this period may include the county in England. Source, Dates of Elections - Footnote to Table 5.02 British Historical Facts 1760-1830, by Chris Cook, source, Types of constituencies - Great Britain His Majestys Opposition 1714-1830, by Archibald S. Foord Parliamentary Election Results in Ireland 1801-1922, edited by B. M. Source, Types of constituencies - Ireland)
10.
United Kingdom general election, 1832
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The 1832 United Kingdom general election, the first after the Reform Act, saw the Whigs win a large majority, with the Tories winning less than 30% of the vote. The Earl Grey had been Prime Minister since 22 November 1830 and his headed the first predominantly Whig administration since the Ministry of all the Talents in 1806–1807. In addition to the Whigs themselves, Grey was supported by Radical, the government Leader of the House of Commons since 1830, was Viscount Althorp, who also served as Chancellor of the Exchequer. The last Tory Prime Minister, at the time of the 1832 election, was the Duke of Wellington, after leaving government office, Wellington continued to lead the Tory peers and was the overall Leader of the Opposition. The Tory Leader of the Opposition in the House of Commons, was Sir Robert Peel, john Wilson Croker had used the term conservative in 1830, but the Tories at the time of this general election had not yet become generally known as the Conservative Party. This distinction would finally take hold after the Liberal Party was officially created, in Irish politics, Daniel OConnell was continuing his campaign for repeal of the Act of Union. He had founded the Irish Repeal Association and it presented candidates independent of the two principal parties, the new Parliament was summoned to meet on 29 January 1833, for a maximum seven-year term from that date. The maximum term could be and normally was curtailed, by the monarch dissolving the Parliament, at this period there was not one election day. After receiving a writ for the election to be held, the returning officer fixed the election timetable for the particular constituency or constituencies he was concerned with. Polling in seats with contested elections could continue for many days, the general election took place between December 1832 and January 1833. The first nomination was on 8 December, with the first contest on 10 December and it was usual for polling in the University constituencies and in Orkney and Shetland to take place about a week after other seats. Disregarding contests in the Universities and Orkney and Shetland, the last poll was on 1 January 1833, for the distribution of constituencies in the Unreformed House of Commons, before this general election, see the United Kingdom general election,1831. In some cases the county and borough seats had remained unaltered since the thirteenth century, welsh constituencies had been unchanged since the sixteenth century. Those in Scotland had remained the same since 1708 and in Ireland since 1801, in 1832 politicians were facing an unfamiliar electoral map, as well as an electorate including those qualified under a new uniform householder franchise in the boroughs. However the reform legislation had not removed all the anomalies in the electoral system, monmouthshire is included in Wales in these tables. Sources for this period may include the county in England, walker Spartacus, Political Parties and Election Results
11.
Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
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The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is the head of Her Majestys Government in the United Kingdom. The prime minister and Cabinet are collectively accountable for their policies and actions to the Monarch, to Parliament, to their political party, the office is one of the Great Offices of State. The current prime minister, Theresa May, leader of the Conservative Party, was appointed by the Queen on 13 July 2016. The position of Prime Minister was not created, it evolved slowly and erratically over three hundred years due to acts of Parliament, political developments, and accidents of history. The office is therefore best understood from a historical perspective, the origins of the position are found in constitutional changes that occurred during the Revolutionary Settlement and the resulting shift of political power from the Sovereign to Parliament. The political position of Prime Minister was enhanced by the development of political parties, the introduction of mass communication. By the start of the 20th century the modern premiership had emerged, prior to 1902, the prime minister sometimes came from the House of Lords, provided that his government could form a majority in the Commons. However as the power of the aristocracy waned during the 19th century the convention developed that the Prime Minister should always sit in the lower house. As leader of the House of Commons, the Prime Ministers authority was further enhanced by the Parliament Act of 1911 which marginalised the influence of the House of Lords in the law-making process. The Prime Minister is ex officio also First Lord of the Treasury, certain privileges, such as residency of 10 Downing Street, are accorded to Prime Ministers by virtue of their position as First Lord of the Treasury. As the Head of Her Majestys Government the modern Prime Minister leads the Cabinet, in addition the Prime Minister leads a major political party and generally commands a majority in the House of Commons. As such the incumbent wields both legislative and executive powers, under the British system there is a unity of powers rather than separation. In the House of Commons, the Prime Minister guides the process with the goal of enacting the legislative agenda of their political party. The Prime Minister also acts as the face and voice of Her Majestys Government. The British system of government is based on an uncodified constitution, in 1928, Prime Minister H. H. Asquith described this characteristic of the British constitution in his memoirs, In this country we live. Our constitutional practices do not derive their validity and sanction from any Bill which has received the assent of the King, Lords. They rest on usage, custom, convention, often of slow growth in their early stages, not always uniform, the relationships between the Prime Minister and the Sovereign, Parliament and Cabinet are defined largely by these unwritten conventions of the constitution. Many of the Prime Ministers executive and legislative powers are actually royal prerogatives which are still vested in the Sovereign
12.
Elections in the United Kingdom
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Within each of those categories, there may be by-elections as well as general elections. Elections are held on Election Day, which is conventionally a Thursday, the Electoral Commission sets standards for and issues guidelines to Returning Officers and Electoral Registration Officers, and is responsible for nationwide electoral administration. The total number of names in the United Kingdom appearing in Electoral Registers published on 1 December 2010 and based on a qualifying date of 15 October 2010 was 45,844,691. In Scotland, anyone who will be aged 16 or over on polling day can register to vote as the age for voting in Scottish local elections and elections to the Scottish Parliament is 16. However, voters in Scotland under 18 are not entitled to vote in European Elections or UK General Elections, a person can still register at his/her ordinary address if he/she will be away temporarily. A person who has two homes may be able to register to vote at both addresses as long as they are not in the electoral area. Remand prisoners, voluntary patients in hospitals and people without a fixed place of residence can register to vote by making a declaration of local connection. Members of HM Forces and their family members have the option of registering as a service voter. British citizens residing outside the United Kingdom can register as an overseas voter provided that they were on the Electoral Register in the UK within the previous 15 years, the 15 years period begins when they no longer appeared in the electoral register, not the date they moved abroad. Overseas voters can vote in European Parliamentary and UK Parliamentary elections in the constituency of their last registered UK address. British citizens who are away overseas temporarily do not need to register as overseas electors, Crown servants and British Council employees employed in a post outside the UK can register by making a Crown Servant declaration, allowing them to vote in all UK elections. The right of Commonwealth and Irish citizens to vote is a legacy of the Representation of the People Act 1918, which limited the vote to British subjects. At that time, British subjects included the people of Ireland — then part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland — and all other parts of the British Empire. Though most of Ireland and the majority of the colonies became independent nations, in theory, members of the Royal Family who are not members of the House of Lords are eligible to vote, although in practice they do not exercise that right. In Great Britain, most electors are enrolled during the course of the annual canvass, canvass forms are sent to all households, and must be returned, otherwise a fine of £1000 can be imposed. Between December and early August, the registration procedure applies instead. Applications must be submitted individually using registration forms available from local Electoral Registration Officers or the Electoral Commissions website, application forms can be returned to the local Electoral Registration Officer by post, by fax or by e-mail as a scanned attachment. As of June 2014, as part of the Governments Digital By Default policy, voters in England, special category electors do not register through the annual canvass procedure
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