- The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland – Zjednoczone Królestwo Wielkiej Brytanii i Irlandii Północnej
- parliamentary democracy – demokracja parlamentarna
- constitutional monarchy – monarchia konstutucyjna
- the House of Commons – Izba Gmin
- the House of Lords – Izba Lordów
- Member of Parliament, MP – członek parlamentu
- constituency – okręg wyborczy
- Lords Temporal (peers) – świeccy członkowie Izby Lordów
- Lords Spiritual – przedstawiciele kościoła w Izbie Lordów
- the Speaker (of the House) – marszałek
- Conservative Party, Tories – Partia Konserwatywna
- The Liberal Democrats – Liberalni Demokraci
- Labour Party – Partia Pracy
- the Cabinet – rząd
- Prime Minister – premier
- Chancellor of the Exchequer – Minister Skarbu
- The British Queen – Królowa Wielkiej Brytanii
- Queen Elizabeth II – królowa Elżbieta II
- sovereign – władca, monarcha
- to reign – panować
- to ascend the throne – wstępować na tron
- to crown – koronować
- Head of State – głowa państwa
- the commander-in-chief – dowódca, naczelny wódz
- head of Church of England – głowa Kościoła anglikańskiego
- to summon Parliament – zwoływać parlament
- to dissolute Parliament – rozwiązywać parlament
- royal assent – królewska zgoda
- royal duties – obowiązki królewskie
- ceremonial role – ceremonialna rola
- to set an example – stanowić przykład
- model of virtue – wzór cnot
The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy, with executive power exercised on behalf of the Queen by the Prime Minister and other cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister is chosen as the MP who can command a majority in the House of Commons – usually the leader of the largest party. The current Prime Minister is Tony Blair of the Labour Party, who has been in office since 1997.
Parliament is the national legislature of the United Kingdom. It is composed of the elected House of Commons and the unelected House of Lords, whose members are mostly appointed. The House of Commons is more powerful of the two houses. It has 646 members who are directly elected from single-member constituencies based on population. The House of Lords has 724 members constituted of Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual.
Since the 1920, the two largest political parties in British politics have been the Labour Party and Conservative Party. The Liberal Democrats are the third major party in the UK Parliament.
The British Queen – Królowa Wielkiej Brytanii
In the United Kingdom the monarch has extensive theoretical powers, but his or her role is mainly ceremonial. The monarch is an integral part of Parliament (as the ‘Crown-in-Parliament’), summons Parliament and theoretically gives it the power to create legislation. An Act of Parliament does not become law until it has been signed by the Queen (being given Royal Assent), although no monarch has refused to assent to a bill since 1708. Although the abolition of the monarchy has been suggested several times, the popularity of the monarchy remains strong in spite of recent controversies.
