6.1 Uk Parliamentary Electoral system. Who may vote and who cannot vote in the uk?

First Past the Post is the current system for electing MPs (Member of Parliament) to the House of Commons. It is a plurality system with 650 separate constituencies each electing a single Member of Parliament. Winning candidates simply need to gain more votes than any other candidate; this need not be an absolute majority of all the votes cast in a constituency. The party with the most MPs after a general election and The First Past the Post voting usually forms the Government. The next largest party becomes the official Opposition. If an MP does not have a political party, they are known as an 'Independent'.

To be able to vote in a UK Parliamentary election, you must be:

 Aged 18 or over,

 A citizen of the UK, a Commonwealth country or the Republic of Ireland,

 Resident in a constituency and on the electoral register, and

 Not in a category barred from voting:

 Members of the House of Lords

 Those in prison

 People convicted of electoral malpractice are barred for five years.

 "idiots" may not vote and "lunatics" only during their lucid periods. Those compulsorily detained in psychiatric hospitals, for example, cannot vote.

6.2 What is a by-election?

- an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections. Usually, it occurs when the incumbent has died or resigned, but it may also occur when the incumbent becomes ineligible to continue in office, for example because of a recall, ennoblement (возведение в дворянский титул), or a sufficiently serious criminal conviction.

6.3 The Political Party system. Which political party is in power now?

Nearly all MPs represent political parties. The party with the most MPs after a general election and The First Past the Post voting usually forms the Government. The next largest party becomes the official Opposition. If an MP does not have a political party, they are known as an 'Independent'.

As of 17 September 2010 (2010 -09-17) it shows the number of registered (in The Electoral Commission's Register of Political Parties) political parties as 392 in Great Britain, and 43 in Northern Ireland

Today there are three major political parties in the British system of politics:

• The Labour Party (often called New Labour) – the centre-Left party currently led by Ed Miliband - 258 seats at the last General Election held in May 2010 - Opposition

• The Conservative Party (frequently called the Tories) – the centre-Right party currently led by David Cameron - 306 seats - Ruling

• The Liberal Democrat Party (known as the Lib Dems) – the centrist, libertarian party currently led by Nick Clegg - 57 seats

7.1 Westminster Parliament. Its functions and composition.

Functions of Parliament are to:

• make all UK law

• provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government

• protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals

• examine government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure (money spent by government)

• examine European proposals before they become law

• hear appeals in the House of Lords, the highest Court of Appeal in Britain

• debate the major issues of the day.

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years.