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Political System USA- UK

The political system has an important role in the development of each country
the U.S. and British political systems have a head of state, a court system and an
upper and lower house. Both have constitutions that lay out the rules for
government and the rights of the people. Both systems are democratic in nature in
that governments are put in place and removed from power by the will of the
people and both have systems of checks and balances to limit the power of any one
branch. In the U.S. political system, the president is the official head of state. The
president is elected under the Electoral College system. In the U.K., although the
prime minister usually has the spotlight on political matters and is the official head
of government, the queen or king is the official head of state. The queen officially
signs off on acts of parliament and, just as the U.S. president delivers the State of
the Union Address every year, the queen reads the "Speech from the Throne,"
which is written by the prime minister. In modern government, the monarch is
more of a ceremonial figurehead and it is unusual for any member of the royal
family to directly interfere with the political process. The United States has a
Senate as the upper house of the legislative branch and the U.K. has the House of
Lords. Under the U.S. system, each state, regardless of size, has two senators.
Originally, senators were appointed by the governor of the state they represented
but they are now elected to serve six-year terms. The House of Lords is very
different. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. The 792 members of the
House of Lords are members by inheritance, appointment or their rank in the
Church of England; they are not elected and cannot be removed by popular vote.
Otherwise they serve the same purpose as the U.S. Senate. They discuss, debate
and vote on legislation passed by the lower house of the legislative branch.
The U.S. House of Representatives and the British House of Commons have a
great deal in common. Each house is made up of representatives elected by the
people. In both systems control of the lower house goes to the party that has the
most seats. Under the U.K. system, the leader of the party with the most seats
becomes the Prime Minister and the official head of the government. Under the
U.S. system this person would be the Speaker of the House. One other key
difference is elections. Under the parliamentary system, the prime minister can go
to the crown at any point and ask to dissolve Parliament. If this is done an election
is called. An election can also be called if the prime minister loses "the confidence
of the house." This means that the prime minister lost a vote in Parliament on a
matter of confidence. Matters of confidence are usually, but not always, over
budgetary matters. If the prime minister loses a vote of confidence, the end result is
an election. Finally I might say that the political system creates a good economic
situation. Political system creates international cooperation between states
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