CitizenReadyThe machine
The shape to remember: voters choose MPs → the majority leader becomes PM → government governs from inside Parliament → the monarch signs what Parliament passes. Nobody in the machine is elected to two of those jobs at once, and the monarch’s part is constitutional, not political.
The courts — a separate ladder
The courts are not run by the government. Judges are independent, and ordinary citizens sit in judgment as juries:
The devolved nations — local machines
🏴 Scotland
🏴 Wales
☘️ Northern Ireland
These bodies run health, education, transport and much more locally. Westminster keeps the UK-wide matters: defence, foreign affairs, immigration and most taxes. England has no parliament of its own — Westminster is its parliament too. (Devolution numbers follow the official handbook, as the test expects.)
How the machine moves, link by link
The heartbeat: general elections
A general election must come at least every five years. Everyone registered and aged 18 or over votes in their constituency; if an MP dies or resigns mid-term, a by-election fills just that seat.
🧠 Five years maximum — the machine’s parts are re-chosen on a heartbeat, not for life.
First past the post
Each constituency elects one MP: whoever gets the most votes there wins, even by a single vote. A party can win millions of votes across the country yet few seats — the system rewards local wins, not national shares.
🧠 Win the seat, not the country: that one idea explains most British election results.
The PM is chosen by the machine, not the ballot
Voters never vote directly for a Prime Minister. After an election the monarch invites the leader of the party that can command a majority in the Commons to form a government — that leader becomes PM and picks the Cabinet.
🧠 You elect MPs; MPs make a PM possible; the monarch does the inviting. Three steps, no direct vote.
A bill’s journey
A proposed law — a bill — is debated and voted through the Commons and the Lords, who can revise and delay it. Once both houses agree, Royal Assent makes it an Act of Parliament. In practice the monarch always assents; the real argument happens in the two houses.
🧠 Commons → Lords → Assent: three stamps, in that order.
Why the courts sit apart
Politicians cannot tell judges how to decide, and judges cannot be sacked for unpopular rulings. Criminal guilt is decided by juries of ordinary people, and everyone is entitled to a fair trial — the separation that keeps the machine honest.
🧠 The machine governs; the ladder judges — and never the twain shall take orders.