THE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICAL PARTIES

The British Government consists of the Prime Minister and other ministers. All the ministers are appointed formally by the Queen, but she makes the appointment on the Prime Minister's advice. All the ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords, and a minister may speak only in the House of which he is a member. The Cabinet consists of the heads of the most important Departments together with a few ministers without departments. The Prime Minister lives and works in the official residence, Downing Street 10. This is a large house in a small street, where many of the departments have their offices, a very short distance from the Houses of Parliament.
Until 1914 a two-party system developed in Great Britain and politics was domonated by the Tory (Conservative) and Whig (Liberal) Parties. Later the new Labour Party took the place of the Liberals. Since 1945 the Conservative and Labour parties have been in power by turns. But at present Great Britain has a new coalition government of Conservatives and Liberal Democrats.