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Parliamentary Democracy in the UK

Why the UK is a democracy where Members of Parliament — not the King — make the law.

The UK is a parliamentary democracy. That means voters do not elect the Prime Minister directly; they elect a local Member of Parliament for each of the 650 constituencies in the House of Commons. The leader of the political party that wins the most seats in the Commons is then invited by the monarch to form a government and become Prime Minister.

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Laws are made by Parliament. A bill must pass the Commons, the Lords and receive Royal Assent before it becomes an Act. The government cannot raise taxes or spend money without parliamentary approval. The monarch is the head of state but does not normally take part in political decisions.

You may be asked which type of democracy the UK has, the size of the Commons, or how a Prime Minister is chosen. The expected answers are parliamentary democracy, 650 elected MPs, and that the PM is the leader of the largest party in the Commons.

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