Overview The UK is a constitutional monarchy. The King is the Head of State. As well as performing ceremonial duties and acting as the figurehead for the nation, she performs a number of constitutional functions. These may be largely nominal or formal, and are only exercised according to constitutional conventions, but they clearly distinguish the UK from a republic. The head of government is the Prime Minister, normally representing the largest political party or coalition in Parliament. The Parliament at Westminster is bicameral, comprising the directly elected House of Commons and the largely appointed House of Lords.“United Kingdom,” in CIA World Factbook, https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/united-kingdom/#government. Key features of the British political and governmental system are the Prime Minister and the cabinet. These are in essence political organs that have come into being through evolution since the 18th century. Their powers derive neither from statute nor the common law. It is the cabinet, comprising the ministers in charge of the main government departments, that co-ordinates administrative action and settles the legislative agenda, so can be said to be the body that in effect governs the country. Traditionally, the cabinet is also said to take collective responsibility for political decisions. The extent to which that has lessened in recent years as a result of the “management styles” of Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair has been subject to much comment. The observation is often made that “Prime Ministerial government” akin to a “presidential” form of government has gained the ascendancy over cabinet government.“The Cabinet and the Prime Minister,” Politics Shed, https://sites.google.com/site/thepoliticsteacherorg/the-cabinet-and-the-prime-minister. The House of Lords was historically entirely hereditary, with the peers forming its members being drawn from the nobility, with ranks ranging from dukes down to barons. The first small dent in the hereditary principle was in 1876, when the judicial function of the House of Lords was put on a statutory footing. The Appellate Jurisdiction Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Vict/39-40/59/contents/enacted) allowed for the creation of (latterly 12) “Lords of Appeal in Ordinary” (or colloquially “law lords”) as peers for life only in order to sit on the Appellate Committee and hear appeals. The Life Peerages Act 1958 (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/Eliz2/6-7/21/contents) permitted generally the appointment of members of the House of Lords other than by inheritance.UK Parliament, “History of the House of Lords,” https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/lords-history/history-of-the-lords/; UK Parliament, “Diverse Experience,” https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/members-and-their-roles/diverse-experience/. Today, ‘life peers’ may be appointed to the House of Lords by other means than inheritance. Life peers are still titled “Lord” and take the rank of baron, but the title dies with them. Many life peers are former MPs, but others are appointed from the ranks of industry, the arts and so on. The number of peers today is about 800.UK Parliament, “Diverse Experience,” https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/members-and-their-roles/diverse-experience/. As well as passing legislation, both Houses through a variety of committees perform a wide range of scrutiny and investigative functions.UK Parliament, “Committees,” https://www.parliament.uk/about/how/committees/. The judicial system plays a central role in the government of Great Britain.Richard Ward, Amanda Wragg & R. J. Walker, Walker & Walker’s English Legal System, 11th ed. (Oxford; New York: Oxford University Press, 2011). In the UK treaties are ratified by the executive, but in 2010 the long-standing constitutional convention that treaties should be laid before Parliament first was put on a statutory footing by the Constitutional Reform and Governance Act 2010 Part 2, https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/25/contents (ss. 20-25). Parliament does not approve ratification but in some circumstances could block it; nor can Parliament amend a treaty. Treaties ratified by the UK have no effect in domestic law unless expressly incorporated by legislation – the UK is “dualist” not “monist” in respect of the interaction between international and national law.House of Commons Library, “How Parliament Treats Treaties,” (2021), https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/cbp-9247/. Foundational Documents The UK does not have a single document that constitutes a Constitution, employing instead a collection of sources that serve as the constitutional framework of the state. These documents include: “legislation (e.g. the Scotland Act 1998, the European Communities Act 1972, the Human Rights Act 1998), court decisions (e.g. R (Jackson) v Attorney‐General (2006) dealing with the scope of parliamentary sovereignty), conventions of the constitution (non‐legal rules and customs regulating matters such as ministerial responsibility), and the royal prerogative, which is the basis of powers such as the giving of the royal assent to legislation.”Brian Thompson, "United Kingdom" in The New Oxford Companion to Law (Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press, 2008), https://www.oxfordreference.com/display/10.1093/acref/9780199290543.001.0001/acref-9780199290543-e-2262. More information: Peter Leyland, The Constitution of the United Kingdom: A Contextual Analysis, 2d ed. (Oxford; Portland, OR: Hart Publishing, 2012). Martin Loughlin, The British Constitution: A Very Short Introduction, (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013). Anthony King, The British Constitution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009). Civic Participation Parliament did not begin as a representative body. Welsh representatives appeared in the House of Commons in 1535, followed by Scottish representatives in 1707, and Irish representation in 1801. The modern constituency system dates from the Reform Act 1832, which enlarged the franchise and abolished many corrupt practices. In 1918, the right to vote was extended to all men over 21 and all women over 30. In 1928, the law was amended to provide all women and men over 21 the right to vote. The minimum age to vote was further reduced to 18 in 1969.UK Parliament, “Key Dates,” https://www.parliament.uk/about/living-heritage/transformingsociety/electionsvoting/chartists/keydates/.