United Kingdom Government - 1986

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Official name. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland

Type-constitutional monarchy

Capital: London

Political subdivisions: 54 counties in England and Wales, 12 regions in Scotland and islands area, 26 districts in Northern Ireland

Legal system: common law tradition with early Roman and modern continental influences; no judicial review of Acts of Parliament; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations

National holiday: Birthday of the Queen, 16 June

Branches: legislative authority resides in Parliament (House of Lords, House of Commons); executive authority lies with collectively responsible Cabinet led by Prime Minister; House of Lords is supreme judicial authority and highest court of appeal

Government leader: ELIZABETH II, Queen (since 1952); Margaret THATCHER, Prime Minister (since 1979)

Suffrage: universal over age 18

Elections: at discretion of Prime Minister but must be held before expiration of a five-year electoral mandate, last election held 9 June 1983

Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labor, Neil Kinnock; Social Democratic, David Owen; Communist, Gordon McLennan; Scottish National, Donald Stewart; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Wigley; Official Unionist, James Molyneaux;

Democratic Unionist, Ian Paisley; Social Democratic and Labor, John Hume; Provisional Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams; Alliance, John Cushnahan; Liberal, David Steel

Voting strength: (1983 election' House of Commons—Conservative, 394 seats (42.4%); I ,abor, 210seats (27.6%); Social DemocraticLiberal Alliance, 23 seats (18 Liberal 7 SDP) (25.4%); Scottish National Party, 2 seats; Plaid Cymru (Welsh Nationalist), 2 seats; Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland), 10 seats; Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland), 3 seats; Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland), 2 seats; Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland), 1 seat; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), 1 seat

Communists: 15,961  .

Other political or pressure groups- Trades Union Congress, Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers’ Union, Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Member of: ADB, CENTO, Colombo Plan, Council of Europe, DAC, EC, ELDO, ESCAP, ESRO, FAO, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, 1CAC, ICAO, ICES, ICO, IDA, 1DB—InterAmerican Development Bank, 1EA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, International Lead and Zinc Study Group, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOOC, IPU, IRC, ISO, ITC, ITU, IWC—International Whaling Commission, IWC—International Wheat Council, NATO, OECD, UN, UPU, WEU, WHO, WIPO, W)4O, WSG

NOTE: The information regarding United Kingdom on this page is re-published from the 1986 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of United Kingdom 1986 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about United Kingdom 1986 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.