Life in the UK test (2021) ✅️ (episode 11) 🏛️ 'UK Government ' 🇬🇧

hi are you taking the life in the uk test this video is part 11 on the uk government in this series containing all of the facts that you need to know to prepare for and pass the test first time for my full course with complete episodes in this series and my full audio book with everything you need to know to pass the life in the 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 the government the prime minister the prime minister or pm is the leader of the political party in power he or she appoints the members of the cabinet and has control over many important public appointments the official home of the prime minister is 10 downing street in central london near the houses of parliament he or she also has a country house outside london called checkers the prime minister can be changed if the mps in the governing party decide to do so or if he or she wishes to resign the prime minister usually resigns if his or her political party loses a general election the cabinet the prime minister appoints about 20 senior mps to become ministers in charge of departments these include the chancellor of the exchequer who's responsible for the economy the home secretary responsible for crime policing and immigration the foreign secretary responsible for managing relationships with foreign countries and other ministers called secretaries of state responsible for subjects such as education health and defence these ministers form the cabinet a committee which usually meets weakly and makes important decisions about government policy many of the decisions have to be debated or approved by parliament each department also has a number of other ministers called ministers of state and parliamentary under secretaries of state who take charge of particular areas of the department's work the opposition the second largest party in the house of commons is called the opposition the leaders of the opposition usually become prime minister if his or her party wins the next general election the leader of the opposition leads his or her party in pointing out what they see as the government's failures and weaknesses one important opportunity to do this is at prime minister's questions which takes place every week while parliament is sitting the leader of the opposition also appoints senior opposition mps to be shadow ministers they form the shadow cabinet and their role is to challenge the government and put forward alternative policies party system anyone aged 18 or over can stand for election as an mp but they are unlikely to win unless they have been nominated to represent one of the major political parties these are the conservative party the labour party the liberal democrats or one of the parties representing scottish welsh or northern irish interests there are a few mps who do not represent any of the main political parties they are called independence and usually represent an issue important to their constituency the main political parties actively look for members of the public to join their debates contribute to their costs and help at elections for parliament or for local government they have branches in most constituencies and hold policy making conferences every year pressure and lobby groups are organizations which try to influence government policy they play an important role in politics some are representative organizations such as the cbi confederation of british industry which represents the views of british business others campaign on particular topics such as the environment for example greenpeace or human rights for example liberty the civil service civil servants support the government in developing and implementing its policies they also deliver public services civil servants are accountable to ministers they are chosen on merit and are politically neutral they are not political appointees people can apply to join the civil service through an application process like other jobs in the uk civil servants are expected to carry out their role with a dedication and commitment to the civil service and its core values these are integrity honesty objectivity and impartiality including being politically neutral local government towns cities and rural areas in the uk are governed by democratically elected councils often called local authorities some areas have both district and county councils which have different functions most large towns and cities have a single local authority local authorities provide a range of services in their areas they are funded by money from central government and by local taxes many local authorities appoint a mayor who is the ceremonial leader of the council in some towns a mayor is elected to be the effective leader of the administration london has 33 local authorities with the greater london authority and the mayor of london coordinating policies across the capital for most local authorities local elections for councillors are held in may every year many candidates stand for council election as members of a political party devolved administrations since 1997 some powers have been devolved from the central government to give people in wales scotland and northern ireland more control over matters that directly affect them there has been a welsh assembly and a scottish parliament since 1999 there is also a northern ireland assembly although this has been suspended on a few occasions policy and laws governing defence foreign affairs immigration taxation and social security all remain under central uk government control however many other public services such as education are controlled by the devolved administrations the devolved administrations each have their own civil service the welsh government the welsh government and national assembly for wales are based in cardiff the capital city of wales the national assembly has 60 assembly members and elections are held every four years using a form of proportional representation members can speak in either welsh or english and all of the assembly's publications are in both languages the assembly has the power to make laws for wales in 20 areas including education and training health and social services economic development and housing since 2011 the national assembly for wales has been able to pass laws on these topics without the agreement of the uk parliament the scottish parliament the scottish parliament was formed in 1999 it sits in edinburgh the capital city of scotland there are 129 members of the scottish parliament msps elected by a form of proportional representation the scottish parliament can pass laws for scotland of all matters which are not specifically reserved to the uk parliament the matters on which the scottish parliament can legislate include civil and criminal law health education planning and additional tax raising powers the northern ireland assembly a northern ireland parliament was established in 1922 when ireland was divided but it was abolished in 1972 shortly after the troubles broke out in 1969 the northern ireland assembly was established soon after the belfast agreement or good friday agreement in 1998 there is a power sharing agreement which distributes ministerial offices amongst the main parties the assembly has 108 elected members known as mlas or members of the legislative assembly they are elected with a form of proportional representation the northern ireland assembly can make decisions on issues such as education agriculture the environment health and social services the uk government has the power to suspend all devolved assemblies it has used this power several times in northern ireland when local political leaders found it difficult to work together however the assembly has been running successfully since 2007. the media and government proceedings in parliament are broadcast on television and published in official reports called hansard written reports can be found in large libraries and at www.parliament.uk most people get information about political issues and events from newspapers often called the press television radio and the internet the uk has a free press this means that what is written in newspapers is free from government control some newspaper owners and editors hold strong political opinions and run campaigns to try to influence government policy and public opinion by law radio and television coverage of the political parties must be balanced and so equal time has to be given to rival viewpoints who can vote the uk has had a fully democratic voting system since 1928 the present voting age of 18 was set in 1969 and with a few exceptions all uk-born and naturalized adult citizens have the right to vote adult citizens of the uk and citizens of the commonwealth and ireland who are resident in the uk can vote in all public elections citizens of other eu states who are resident in the uk can vote in all elections except general elections the electoral register to be able to vote in any parliamentary local or european election you must have your name on the electoral register if you are eligible to vote you can register by contacting your local council electoral registration office this is usually based at your local council if you don't know which local authority you come under you can find out by visiting about my vote dot co dot uk and entering your postcode you can also download voter registration forms in english welsh and some other languages the electoral register is updated every year in september or october an electoral registration form is sent to every household and this has to be completed and returned with the names of everyone who is resident in the household and eligible to vote in northern ireland a different system operates this is called individual registration and all those entitled to vote must complete their own registration form once registered people stay on the register provided their personal details do not change by law each local authority has to make its electoral register available for anyone to look at although this has to be supervised the register is kept at each local electoral registration office or council office in england and wales it is also possible to see the register at some public buildings such as libraries where to vote people vote in elections at places called polling stations or polling stations in scotland before the election you will be sent a poll card this tells you where your polling station is and when the election will take place on election day the polling station or place will be open from 7 am until 10 pm when you arrive at the polling station the staff will ask for your name and address in northern ireland you will have to show your photographic identification you will then get your ballot paper which you will take to a polling booth to fill it in privately you should make up your own mind who to vote for no one has the right to make you vote for a particular candidate you should follow the instructions on the ballot paper once you have completed it put it in the ballot box if it is difficult for you to get to a polling station or polling place you can register for a postal ballot your ballot paper will be sent to your home before the election you can then fill it in and post it back you can choose to do this when you register to vote standing for office most citizens of the uk island or commonwealth aged 18 or over can stand for public office there are some exceptions including members of the armed forces civil servants people found guilty of certain criminal offences members of the house of lords may not stand for election to the house of commons but are eligible for all other public offices visiting parliament and the devolved administrations the uk parliament the public can listen to debates in the palace of westminster from public galleries in both the house of commons and the house of lords you can write to your local mp in advance to ask for tickets or you can queue on the day at the public entrance entrance is free sometimes there are long cues for the house of commons and people have to wait for at least one or two hours it is usually easier to get into the house of lords you can find further information on the uk parliament website at parliament.uk the northern ireland assembly in northern ireland elected members known as mlas meet in the northern ireland assembly at stormont in belfast there are two ways to arrange a visit to stormwand you can either contact the education service details are on the northern ireland assembly website or contact an mla the scottish parliament in scotland the elected members called msps meet in the scottish parliament building at raleigh route in edinburgh for more information see scottish.parliament.uk you can get information book tickets or arrange tours through visitor services the national assembly for wales in wales the elected members known as ams meet in the welsh assembly in cardiff bay this is an open building and you can book guided tours or seats in public galleries for the welsh assembly okay so let's have a look at some questions on this section on the government if the prime minister resigns there will be a general election called true or false the answer is false where is the official residence of the prime minister where they are expected to reside most of the time a checkers b the house of commons building ministerial quarters or c 10 downing street the answer is c 10 downing street what is the cabinet of the united kingdom a the prime minister's most valued personal and political advisers who can be chosen from their personal circles outside of their political party b the cabinet is a team of experts in various fields across medicine science education and philosophy who are members of the house of lords or c the cabinet is a team of about 20 most senior elected mps in the government who are appointed by the prime minister to be put in charge of departments such as defence health and education the answer is see the cabinet is a team of about 20 most senior elected mps in the government who are appointed by the prime minister to be put in charge of departments such as defence health and education who is the opposition in parliament a the second largest political party in parliament b the deputy prime minister or c the house of lords the answer is a the second largest political party in parliament is the opposition what is one of the things that happens at the weekly prime minister's questions a the leader of the opposition criticizes what they see as the government's failures and weaknesses b the prime minister answers questions but forward by members of the public and submits his responses to the media or c opposition party members debate with the prime minister in order to try and take their place the answer is a the leader of the opposition criticizes what they see as the government's failures and weaknesses which of the following are major political parties in the united kingdom the labour party the communist party the national liberalists the conservatives the liberal democrats the answer is labour party the conservatives and the liberal democrats pressure and lobby groups are organizations which serve to influence government policy on issues which of the following are examples of such organizations the confederation of british industry greenpeace liberty or all of the above the answer is all of the above what are the four key values of the civil service in the united kingdom a creativity dedication loyalty to the monarch and honesty b intelligence diligence openness and honesty or c objectivity impartiality integrity and honesty the answer is see objectivity impartiality integrity and honesty what are some of the powers that local authorities have a issuing local taxes providing a range of services in their jurisdiction such as rubbish collection and allotting money for local schools b requesting money from the government based on how much their jurisdiction contributed and allocating funds to organizations and community groups c calling local elections to decide important roles within the community such as head teachers and admitting solicitors to the role the answer is a issuing local taxes providing a range of services in their jurisdictions such as rubbish collection and allotting money for local schools these are some of the powers that local authorities have what is the main purpose of the devolved administrations in the united kingdom a to control the amount of power that the cabinet is able to exert over them through taxation b to give people in these regions more control over matters that directly affect them or c to reduce the cost of administration to these regions born by london the answer is b to give people in these regions more control over matters that directly affect them which of the following are matters which the scottish parliament can legislate on civil and criminal law health education immigration additional tax raising powers the answer is civil and criminal law health education and additional tax raising powers immigration is not a matter that the scottish parliament can legislate on the uk government has the power to suspend all devolved assemblies true or false the answer is true true or false in the uk television and radio outlets are legally bound to give balanced coverage of the political parties and so equal time has to be given to rival viewpoints the answer is true thanks 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 the 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: 28min 26sec (1706 seconds)

Published: Wed Sep 30 2020