Life in the UK test (2021) ✅️ (episode 10) 🎓 'UK Democracy ' 🗳✏️

hi are you taking the life in the uk test this video is part 10 on democracy in the uk in my series containing all of the facts that you need to know to prepare for and pass the test first time for my course with the complete episodes in this series and my full audio book with everything you need to know to pass the life and uk test first time just click on the link in the description below and this course contains all of the knowledge and facts you need to know for the test see you in the course the development of british democracy democracy is a system of government where the whole adult population gets a say this might be from direct voting or by choosing representatives to make decisions on their behalf at the turn of the 19th century britain was not a democracy as we know it today although there were elections to select members of parliament mps only a small group of people could vote they were men who were over 21 years of age and who owned a certain amount of property the franchise that is the number of people who had the right to vote grew over the course of the 19th century and political parties began to involve ordinary men and women as members in the 1830s and 1840s a group called the chartists campaigned for reform they wanted six changes one for every man to have the vote two elections every year three for all regions to be equal in the electoral system four secret ballots five for any man to be able to stand as an mp six for mps to be paid at the time the campaign was generally seen as a failure however by 1918 most of these reforms had been adopted the voting franchise was also extended to women over 30 and then in 1928 to men and women over 21. in 1969 the voting age was reduced to 18 for men and women the british constitution a constitution is a set of principles by which a country is governed it includes all of the institutions that are responsible for running the country and how their power is kept in check the constitution also includes laws and conventions the british constitution is not written down in any single document and therefore it is described as unwritten this is mainly because the uk unlike america or france has never had a revolution which led permanently to a totally new system of government our most important institutions have developed over hundreds of years some people believe that there should be a single document but others believe an unwritten constitution allows for more flexibility and better government constitutional institutions in the uk there are several different parts of government the main ones are one the monarchy two parliament that is the house of commons and the house of lords three the prime minister four the cabinet five the judiciary in other words the courts six the police seven the civil service eight local government in addition there are devolved governments in scotland wales and northern ireland that have the power to legislate on certain issues the monarchy queen elizabeth ii is the head of state of the uk she is also the monarch or head of state for many countries in the commonwealth the uk has a constitutional monarchy this means that the king or queen does not rule the country but appoints the government which the people have chosen in a democratic election the monarch invites the leader of the party with the largest number of mps or the leader of a coalition between more than one party to become the prime minister the monarch has regular meetings with the prime minister and can advise warn and encourage but the decisions on government policies are made by the prime minister and cabinet the queen has reigned since her father's death in 1952 and in 2012 she celebrated her diamond jubilee 60 years as queen she is married to prince philip the duke of edinburgh her eldest son prince charles the prince of wales is the heir to the throne the queen has important ceremonial roles such as the opening of the new parliamentary session each year on this occasion the queen makes a speech which summarizes the government's policies for the year ahead all acts of parliament are made in her name the queen represents the uk to the rest of the world she receives foreign ambassadors and high commissioners entertains visiting heads of state and makes state visits overseas in support of diplomatic and economic relationships with other countries the queen has an important role in providing stability and continuity while governments and prime ministers change regularly the queen continues as head of state she provides a focus for national identity and pride which was demonstrated through the celebrations of her jubilee the national anthem the national anthem of the uk is god save the queen it is played at important national occasions and at events attended by the queen or the royal family the first verse is god save our gracious queen long live our noble queen god save the queen send her victorious happy and glorious long to reign over us god save the queen new citizens swear or affirm loyalty to the queen as part of the citizenship ceremony the oath of allegiance is this i swear by almighty god that on becoming a british citizen i will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her majesty queen elizabeth ii her heirs and successors according to law the affirmation of allegiance is i do solemnly sincerely and truly declare and affirm that on becoming a british citizen i will be faithful and bear true allegiance to her majesty queen elizabeth ii her heirs and successors according to law system of government the system of government in the uk is a parliamentary democracy the uk is divided into parliamentary constituencies voters in each constituency elect their member of parliament mp in a general election all of the elected mps form the house of commons most mps belong to a political party and the party with the majority of mps forms the government if one party does not get a majority two parties can join together to form a coalition the house of commons the house of commons is regarded as the more important of the two chambers in parliament because its members are democratically elected the prime minister and almost all the members of the cabinet are members of the house of commons each mp represents a parliamentary constituency which is a small area of the country mps have a number of different responsibilities they represent everyone in their constituency help to create new laws scrutinize and comment on what the government is doing and debate important national issues the house of lords members of the house of lords known as peers are not elected by the people and do not represent a constituency the role and membership of the house of lords has changed over the last 50 years until 1958 all peers were hereditary which means they inherited their title or senior judges or they were bishops of the church of england since 1958 the prime minister has had the power to nominate peers just for their own lifetime these are called life peers they usually had an important career in politics business law or another profession life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister they also include people nominated by the leaders of the other main political parties or by an independent appointments commission for non-party peers since 1999 hereditary peers have lost their automatic rights to attend the house of lords they now elect a few of their number to represent them in the house of lords the house of lords is normally more independent of government than the house of commons it can suggest amendments or propose new laws which are then discussed by mps the house of lords checks laws that have been passed by the house of commons to ensure they are fit for purpose it also holds the government to account to make sure that it is working in the best interests of the people there are peers who are specialists in particular areas and their knowledge is useful in making and checking laws the house of commons has powers to overrule the house of lords but these are not used often the speaker debates in the house of commons are chaired by the speaker this person is the chief officer of the house of commons the speaker is neutral and does not represent a political party even though he or she is an mp represents a constituency and deals with constituents problems like any other mp the speaker is chosen by other mps in a secret ballot the speaker keeps order through political debates to make sure the rules are followed this includes making sure the opposition has a guaranteed amount of time to debate issues which it chooses the speaker also represents parliament on ceremonial occasions elections uk elections mps are elected at a general election which is held at least every five years if an mp dies or resigns there will be a fresh election called a by-election in his or her constituency mps are elected through a system called first past the post in each constituency the candidate who gets the most votes is elected the government is usually formed by the party that wins the majority of constituencies if no party wins a majority then two parties may join together to form a coalition contacting elected members all elected members have a duty to serve and represent their constituents you can get contact details for all of your representatives and their parties from your local library and from www.parliament.uk mps assembly members members of the scottish parliament msps and meps are also listed in the phone book published by bt and yellow pages you can contact mps by letter or telephone at their constituency office or at their office in the house of commons in addition many mps assembly members msps and meps hold regular local surgeries where constituents can go in person to talk about issues that are of concern to them these surgeries are often advertised in the local newspaper so let's start with some questions on this section what is the name of the most significant group which campaigned for voting reform in the 19th century the whigs the conservative party the quakers the chartists their labour party the suffragettes the answer is the chartists when was the voting franchise in britain extended to women over 30 1842 1969 1918 1925 1900 the answer is 1918 why doesn't the uk have a written constitution like the usa or france a because the uk is not a representative democracy b oliver cromwell's constitution was not voted in c the uk has never had a lasting revolutionary change to its government the answer is see the uk has never had a lasting revolutionary change to its government what are the advantages of an unwritten constitution a the constitution is more dynamic and amenable to reform than a single document b there are multiple largely inaccessible sources behind the uk constitution c the uncodified constitution is subject to multiple interpretations the answer is a the constitution is more dynamic and amenable to reform than a single document which of the following places in the uk have devolved governments who have the power to legislate on certain issues wales windsor and maidenhead northern ireland manchester scotland or all of the above the answer is wales northern ireland and scotland what is a constitutional monarchy a a system of government in which a non-elected monarch serves as the head of state within the limits of a constitution written or unwritten b a constitution which places the monarch at the center of all judicial and parliamentary decision making or c the elected prime minister is able to serve the function of a monarch within an unwritten constitution the answer is a a system of government in which a non-elected monarch serves as the head of state within the limits of a constitution written or unwritten which of the following is a duty of the british monarch a to represent the uk in a diplomatic sense hosting ambassadors and making state visits b to have meetings with the prime ministers to advise warn and encourage c the fulfillment of ceremonial roles such as making an annual speech and opening a new parliamentary session each year or d all of the above the answer is d all of the above what is the system of government in the uk a representative democracy a monarchy or a deliberative democracy the answer is a representative democracy which of the following is the best description of the voting system in the uk a voters cast their vote for a single candidate to become prime minister from three main political parties the candidate with the most votes wins b the main political parties select candidates then the people vote for delegates who will support their favored candidate to run for presidency or c the party with the most mps becomes the government if they have a majority if not they will form a coalition with another party this is the first pass to post system the answer is see the party with the most mps becomes the government if they have a majority if not they will form a coalition with another party this is the first pass to post system what are the main responsibilities and duties of mps in the uk a to represent their constituents help create new laws scrutinize what the government is doing and debate important issues b represent their voters offer legal advice to constituents debate important issues continue political campaigning in their constituency or c attend the house of commons debates political canvassing regular meetings with the monarch to discuss constitutional issues the answer is a their main duties and responsibilities are to represent their constituents help create new laws scrutinize what the government is doing and debate important issues how has the appointment of peers in the house of lords changed since 1999 a hereditary peers have lost their automatic right to vote b all judges have automatically been appointed as peers in the house of lords or c bishops can no longer become members of the house of lords the answer is a hereditary peers have lost their automatic right to vote how does the house of lords differ from the house of commons a the house of lords scrutinizes the government and can reject legislation it considers public policy and serves to hold the house of commons to account b the house of lords are elected by the public c the house of commons has less members than the house of lords the answer is a the house of lords scrutinizes the government and can reject legislation it considers public policy and serves to hold the house of commons to account what is the role of the speaker in the house of commons a to influence a certain political party to win b to act as the neutral chief officer of the house of commons keeping order in political debates and making sure the rules are followed c making sure that the prime minister is always able to have the final say following a political debate the answer is b it's to act as the neutral chief officer of the house of commons keeping order in political debates and making sure the rules are followed thank you for watching the next episode is coming up now for my full course with the complete episodes in this series and my full audio book with everything you need to know to pass the life in uk test first time just click on the link in the description below this course contains all of the knowledge and facts you need to know for the test see you in the course

Channel: Tom Bradford

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Length: 26min 30sec (1590 seconds)

Published: Tue Sep 29 2020