Government

How the country is run: Parliament, the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and devolution.

The constitution & the monarchy

The British constitution is unwritten: it is built from statutes, common law and convention rather than one single document
Constitutional institutions include the monarchy, Parliament and the judiciary
The UK is a parliamentary democracy: the public elect MPs to the House of Commons
The monarch is the head of state, a largely ceremonial role, and appoints the government
Acts of Parliament are made in the monarch's name
The national anthem is God Save the King, played at national occasions; the citizenship ceremony includes an oath of allegiance to the monarch

No single rulebook: Crown, Commons, Lords and courts share the constitution between them.

6 questions

Parliament has two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords
The House of Commons is made up of elected MPs, each representing a constituency
The House of Lords is not elected; it includes life peers, some hereditary peers and bishops
Life peers are nominated by the Prime Minister and other party leaders, then appointed by the monarch
The Speaker chairs Commons debates, keeps order and stays politically neutral
General elections are held roughly every five years using the first past the post system
Constituents can contact their MP through local surgeries or official contact details

Commons is elected and vocal, Lords is appointed and reviews, and the Speaker keeps the Commons in order.

7 questions

The Prime Minister leads the party (or coalition) with the most support in the Commons, and works from 10 Downing Street
A PM can be replaced by their own party's MPs, by resigning, or after losing a general election
The PM appoints about 20 senior MPs as Cabinet ministers to head government departments
The Cabinet makes key policy decisions, which often need Parliament's debate and approval
The largest party not in government forms the Opposition, which challenges government policy
The Opposition appoints a Shadow Cabinet to mirror and challenge government ministers
Major parties include the Conservative Party, Labour Party and Liberal Democrats; some MPs sit as independents

The PM picks a Cabinet to run departments, while the Opposition's shadow cabinet keeps them honest.

8 questions

Since 1997, referendums led to devolution, giving Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland their own governments for certain matters
The Scottish Parliament, established in 1999, can pass laws on many non-reserved matters
The Welsh Assembly (Senedd) gained wider law-making powers in 2011
The Northern Ireland Assembly resumed after the Good Friday Agreement and covers matters like education and the environment
Devolved matters typically include education and healthcare; defence and foreign policy stay with the UK Parliament
Members of the public can visit and observe the devolved administrations as well as the UK Parliament, with some planning

Devolution handed Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland their own local matters, while Westminster keeps the national reins.

6 questions

To vote in UK public elections you must be 18 or over and a UK, Commonwealth or Irish Republic citizen on the electoral register
The electoral register is updated annually
Most UK citizens aged 18+ can stand for public office, with some exceptions such as members of the armed forces
The UK belongs to the Commonwealth, a voluntary association of 56 countries with the monarch as ceremonial head
The Council of Europe has 47 member countries, is separate from the EU, and promotes human rights through the European Convention on Human Rights
The UK is a member of both the United Nations (a permanent UN Security Council member) and NATO, a defence alliance of European and North American countries
The UK left the European Union on 31 January 2020, having joined in 1973

Vote at 18 on the register; beyond Westminster the UK sits in the Commonwealth, Council of Europe, UN and NATO.

8 questions