UK

The United Kingdom, made up of England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, is a parliamentary democracy. There is no written constitution. Queen Elizabeth II is the head of state, with the Prime Minister, Tony Blair, being Leader of the Government. He has a cabinet of 22 people, who are each responsible for different departments, such as Education, International Development, The Treasury, and so on. The cabinet is part of the parliamentary system.

There are two Houses within Parliament: the Commons, which has 659 elected Members of Parliament, and the Lords, which i s made up of 703 judges, churchmen, hereditary and 'elected' (by parliament) peers. They all sit in Westminster. Within the House of Commons, there are currently 118 women, and in the House of Lords, there are 116 women.

Since 1999, there has been a move towards devolution, with Scotland and Wales now having their own assemblies. This may be expanded to include regional assemblies.