British Government

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GhostWriter16

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Well, apparently, the UK elections just took place and conservative politicians won a lot of votes (:goodjob: voters) anyways, there was something in the post about it that said something about majority government, minority government, and coalition government each based on the number of votes each member of parliament gets. Just for curiosity, how does the British government work?

First off, Britain has a Queen, but I don't think IIRC she has any power. Is there an executive that has power like the US?

Second, can Parliament be compared with the US Congress? How does it differ.
 
Oh hai everybody.

So, I herd Brits have a queen (lol, a woman in charge amirite?) and a royal family. Do they have the powa? I remember England falling into chaos after Diana died...no one was there to lead.

Anyways, I'm confused; I remember the news saying once that Bush had a cute labradoodle named Tony Blair. But that puppy wasn't really house trained and so Britain scolded him and then got a new puppy. In fact, they might be getting new puppies right now too. But did those puppies ever have any power?

Okays, but I still am confused; I herd Parliament does stuff there- you know, the place Guy Fawkes tried to bomb. Do they do stuff? Is it like the U.S. Congress? How many republicans and Democrats are there in Parliament right now?

Also, do Brits really need that big clock tower to remind them of the time? :crazyeye: Such a silly place.
 
Every time I look at the nonsensical and inherently incoherent British government I get a stronger urge to just burn it all in a bloody republican revolution.
 
Domination3000 said:
Well, apparently, the UK elections just took place and conservative politicians won a lot of votes (:goodjob: voters) anyways, there was something in the post about it that said something about majority government, minority government, and coalition government each based on the number of votes each member of parliament gets. Just for curiosity, how does the British government work?

First off, Britain has a Queen, but I don't think IIRC she has any power. Is there an executive that has power like the US?

Second, can Parliament be compared with the US Congress? How does it differ.
Click to expand...

Why are you happy about a government party winning that you don't even understand? Better yet, how do you even know that they're conservative if you don't even understand how there system works?

Dont you think your being a little bit pugnacious?
 
Hey guyz i hurd that in england everyone has bad teeth lol is this true? also my friend told me that the guys who stand in front of the queens palace have to look ahead all the time and cant laugh how doe that work like if theres a bombing or something (b/c i hurd that there are some irish people who don't like england) do they have to just stand there or what? also how does the queen thing work can she just come into your home and order you to get down on all fours and then she can ride yo uaround town? that seems wierd, i dont think i want to live under a queen but can youi tell me how it works?
 
Domination3000 said:
First off, Britain has a Queen, but I don't think IIRC she has any power. Is there an executive that has power like the US?
Click to expand...
Yes. As Queen, she is the Lord Keeper of the Seal of the United Kingdom. This means, in effect, the Queen can issue edicts (effectively making her a dictator, if she chose to), and veto any legislation she doesn't like. As head of state, the Queen also has the power to set the rates charged by public utilities and state-owned corporations like the BBC.

The Queen is also Grand Admiral of the Royal Navy and personally selects each ships' new name, for both military and civilian vessels. It is a time-honored tradition in Britain to, upon purchasing a boat, receive a handwritten letter from the Queen herself decreeing the name of the boat. Due to the Act of Union, however, she is prohibited from commanding any land force and that task is left up to the Lord Privy Council at the Ministry of Defence.

Domination3000 said:
Second, can Parliament be compared with the US Congress? How does it differ.
Click to expand...
It's a bit different. I'll explain the biggest differences.

First, there is a House of Commons, where a permanent 51% majority is reserved by the Queen for the Commons Party (now known as the Labour Party) and the House of Lords, where the reverse is true and the Conservative Party retains at least 51% majority. Sometimes you hear Britons complain about the somewhat undemocratic nature of their government -- this is what they're usually talking about.

Second, bills cannot be written or sponsored by the opposition parties. This is to prevent them from trying to get anything they want while the voting public has given, in this case, a broad mandate to the Conservative Party and its leader David Cameron.

Third, and perhaps least importantly, powdered wigs are mandated for the leaders of each political party. This practice dates back to the 18th century when the Whig Party governed and in the interest of protecting Britain's horsehair industry.

Also, members of Parliament are frequently given "peerage." This means that they can enter Parliament without having to be an MP to watch, or "peer" them.
 
amadeus said:
Yes. As Queen, she is the Lord Keeper of the Seal of the United Kingdom. This means, in effect, the Queen can issue edicts (effectively making her a dictator, if she chose to), and veto any legislation she doesn't like. As head of state, the Queen also has the power to set the rates charged by public utilities and state-owned corporations like the BBC.

The Queen is also Grand Admiral of the Royal Navy and personally selects each ships' new name, for both military and civilian vessels. It is a time-honored tradition in Britain to, upon purchasing a boat, receive a handwritten letter from the Queen herself decreeing the name of the boat. Due to the Act of Union, however, she is prohibited from commanding any land force and that task is left up to the Lord Privy Council at the Ministry of Defence.


It's a bit different. I'll explain the biggest differences.

First, there is a House of Commons, where a permanent 51% majority is reserved by the Queen for the Commons Party (now known as the Labour Party) and the House of Lords, where the reverse is true and the Conservative Party retains at least 51% majority. Sometimes you hear Britons complain about the somewhat undemocratic nature of their government -- this is what they're usually talking about.

Second, bills cannot be written or sponsored by the opposition parties. This is to prevent them from trying to get anything they want while the voting public has given, in this case, a broad mandate to the Conservative Party and its leader David Cameron.

Third, and perhaps least importantly, powdered wigs are mandated for the leaders of each political party. This practice dates back to the 18th century when the Whig Party governed and in the interest of protecting Britain's horsehair industry.

Also, members of Parliament are frequently given "peerage." This means that they can enter Parliament without having to be an MP to watch, or "peer" them.
Click to expand...

:goodjob::lol:


Domination3000 said:
Second, can Parliament be compared with the US Congress? How does it differ.
Click to expand...

In the UK, we have not yet made serious steps towards trying to rename corruption as lobbying.
So people have to be more discrete about it, and some people don't realise it goes on.


TheAlamo said:
Hey guyz i hurd that in england everyone has bad teeth lol is this true? also my friend told me that the guys who stand in front of the queens palace have to look ahead all the time and cant laugh how doe that work like if theres a bombing or something (b/c i hurd that there are some irish people who don't like england) do they have to just stand there or what? also how does the queen thing work can she just come into your home and order you to get down on all fours and then she can ride yo uaround town? that seems wierd, i dont think i want to live under a queen but can youi tell me how it works?
Click to expand...

Soldiers are renowned for their cruelty, and have bad tempers because of the perennial toothache they experience.
If you allowed them to respond to people who have been allowed to vote before being required to spell correctly, they might be a bit unkind.

Kennigit said:
Okays, but I still am confused;
Click to expand...
Okays. :wavey:
 
Harbringer said:
Why are you happy about a government party winning that you don't even understand? Better yet, how do you even know that they're conservative if you don't even understand how there system works?

Dont you think your being a little bit pugnacious?
Click to expand...

Well, Paradigm shifter compared them to the Republicans, which seemed to be the best option IMO, of course, with limited knowledge. I can't believe a thumbs up sign led to so much discussion:lol:
 
Domination3000 said:
Well, Paradigm shifter compared them to the Republicans, which seemed to be the best option IMO, of course, with limited knowledge. I can't believe a thumbs up sign led to so much discussion:lol:
Click to expand...

It wasn't so much the thumbs up as you not doing any research at all before making the post.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, every post here was mocking you.
 
Owen Glyndwr said:
It wasn't so much the thumbs up as you not doing any research at all before making the post.

Also, in case you haven't noticed, every post here was mocking you.
Click to expand...

Well, duh. I have learned not to be offended by people who do not know me at all in real life making fun of me.

And besides, perhaps I'm right and everyone else is wrong;)
 
What is there to be right or wrong about? You started a thread without consulting wikipedia first. What discussion is there to be had besides "go to wikipedia." I mean, "Is there an executive that has power like the US?"

Seriously? You can't do half a second of research? I'd like to think this thread is a troll, but I don't know if even the most dedicated trolls are consistently making the vague conservative claims you have 334 times.
 
Wrong about what? You not doing any research? ;)

Lots of info in the 3 threads about the election I started. And the "Will Labour win again on 6 May".

And there was a thread started by TanicusFox about the British Monarchy recently.

And there is wikipedia.

I'm sure Conservapedia will have some information on it as well :lol:
 
Domination3000 said:
And besides, perhaps I'm right and everyone else is wrong;)
Click to expand...

Right about what? You haven't made any arguments in this thread.

*EDIT* Darn, Paradigm and Kennigit beat me to the punch.
 
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