Volume Two The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Norther(7)

Parliament at all. They speak and vote as individuals, not as representatives of the greater interests of the country. (Lai, 33-34) A lord is not allowed to join any political party, he can not stand for election to become a member of the Lower House which means he can never become the Prime Minister. Only by giving up his noble title can a lord enjoy all the political rights granted to common citizens.

The House of Commons and the Cabinet

The House of Commons, also known as the Lower House, is the other chamber of Parliament. It is a representative assembly because all its members are elected by voters through general elections. It currently consists of about 651 Members of Parliament (MPs: representing the 651 geographical areas

or “constituencies” into which the United Kingdom is divided). The number of seats varies a little bit because of changes in the population. MPs represent voters in a particular area, known as a constituency or seat. Unlike the Lords, MPs receive a salary of about ￡31 000 a year.The annual salary of each Member is currently ￡63,291. Members may also receive additional salaries in right of other offices they hold (for instance, the Speakership). Most Members also claim between ￡100,000 and ￡150,000 for various office expenses (staff costs, postage, travelling, etc.) and, in the case of non-London Members, for the costs of maintaining a home in the

capital. （2009 statistics）

（http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_House_of_Commons）This is about the same pay as an average middle class professional such as a doctor or an accountant would earn and it is thought that MPs will thus be able to identify with the “typical” voter they represent. Most MPs belong to political parties—Labour, the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats are the major ones. The Prime Minister is of course the leader of the political party which wins the most seats in a general election. His or her Cabinet nowadays consists of usually around 20 MPs in the governing party who are chosen by the Prime Minister to become government ministers in the Cabinet. The Cabinet is the nucleus of the government which performs a central role. Most of the important bills under debate in parliament originate in the

Cabinet. The Minister of Defence, the Foreign Secretary and the Chancellor of the Exchequer are certain members of the Cabinet. The Cabinet carries out the functions of policy-making, the coordination of government departments and the supreme control of government. The Cabinet practices collective responsibility which means the Cabinet members must act unanimously on all matters. The House of Commons is the real centre of British political life.

The Constitution

British governance today is based upon the terms and conditions of the constitution. Israel and Britain are the only two countries without written constitutions of the sort which most countries have. The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law（成文法）, that is , laws passed by Parliament; the common laws（普通法）, which are laws that have been established through common practice in the courts, not because Parliament has written them; and conventions（习惯法）, which are rules and practices that do not exist legally, but are regarded as vital to the workings of government.

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