The election system in the UK

We are in London, capital of the United Kingdom! Danni! Look out! Here, cars drive on the left side of the road. You...

want to change this? Well, you'd need a new law. If you want to write laws you have to be elected to parliament. How do you do that? Well, first you have to become a citizen of the United Kingdom.

Alright, that was fast! Then you must decide which parliament we are talking about. The United Kingdom consist of four countries: England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own parliaments so in those countries you vote twice. Once for the country's own assembly.

And once for the UK parliament. Those who live in England have to get by with only one parliament, for both England and for the United Kingdom. The regional parliaments have a good deal of influence, but if you really want power, you need to stand for the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Okay: the United Kingdom is divided into many electoral districts, or constituencies. Each constituency has a seat in parliament.

And it's here that you stand for election. The people who live in your constituency cast their votes, either for you, or for one of the other candidates standing in the same constituency. The same thing happens in all the other constituencies. Now you need to get more votes than any of the other candidates in your constituency. Congratulations Danni!

You won a seat! Now you're a Member of Parliament, or MP. It's you and no one else who represents the people of your constituency in parliament. This system for elections is called first past the post, in single member constituencies. As you can see: it's important to win your constituency.

If some political party were to finish second in every constituency in the entire country, they still wouldn't get a single seat in parliament. It's only the winner in each constituency that counts. But you won, and as an MP, you now have a seat in the lower chamber of Parliament: the House of Commons. Here they write the laws. Yes, like a law that people should drive on the other side of the road.

But even if the House of Commons approves your law that drivers should change sides, it won't automatically become a new law. This is because the UK parliament consists of two chambers, two houses: The lower house - The House of Commons And the upper house - The House of Lords. In the upper house - The Lords - they can change or delay proposals. Of course, Danni, you want to be in the upper house, don't you? Hmm, that won't be easy.

You can't get elected to the House of Lords. The members of the House of Lords -- the peers -- are bishops, titled people, like dukes, barons... They have their seats for life. Do you want to become a peer: a member of the House of Lords? Then the Prime Minister has to suggest you, and the head of state can appoint you.

But it's not the upper house that has the most power in the UK. It's the Prime Minister, who sits in the lower house. So... you want to be Prime Minister, then? Thought so.

First, you have to get your party to elect you party leader. And: your party has to win the majority of the seats in the Commons. So your party has to win more than half of the constituencies. The party that wins a majority of the constituencies gets to form a government. If no party has a majority, then you must try to cooperate with some other party, and form a coalition.

Now that you've formed a government, you are going to have to visit the head of state and kiss her hand. Yes, you have to! Even though this is mostly a symbolic act, a ceremony, it's still the formality that the head of state appoints the Prime Minister. There you go. Now you're the Prime Minister, congratulations!

You can now appoint ministers, Represent the UK in negotiations with the EU, declare war (try not to) and you may suggest who should become a peer. (Yes, you may suggest yourself.) The thing with the cars? Well maybe it's easiest just to look both ways before you cross the road.