chapter 6 - the british constitution

• government - the government runs the country and is made up from elected members of the house of commons and sometimes unelected members of the house of lords
• the queen/king is the UKs sovereign
• parliament - the decision-maling body of the uk, made up of the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch
• Legislature - the name for parliament as a whole and where laws are made
• Parliamentary sovereignty - parliament is the supreme law-making in the UK
• Executive - this is the real powerhouse of the government
• judiciary - the system of courts and judges through which the law is applied
• uncodified constitution - a constitution in which not all parts are collected together in one document, but are found in many different sources.
• civil servents make sure that the government runs properly and that decisions are carried out
• a monarch is the head of state who has usually inherited their position
• bicameral - the UK parliament has the House of Commons and the House of Lords
• Scrutiny - the process of checking the work of a public body to ensure that it is being carried out properly
• Bill - a bill is a document that is published by the government.
• white paper - a document that outlines a government's policy on a particular issue or subject
• an act of parliament is a new law. a bill becomes an act once it has recieved royal assent
• to 'veto' something is the power to reject a proposal even if the others might agree with it
• oversight - the process of checking that something is being carried out properly
• accountability - the responsibility to explain how or why something is being done
• different branches of government hold each other to account
• official opposition is the non-government party with the largest number of seats in the House of Commons
• the Commons speaker is a special MP who is the highest authority in the House of Commons
• party whips are MPs whose role it is to enforce party discipline and ensure that party members vote in line with the party whip
• black rod - an officer of the House of Lords who is responsible for security and controlling access to the House