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How the UK is governed

Crown, Parliament
and the people.

Who holds each office today, how the two Houses of Parliament are made up, how a bill becomes an Act, what the devolved parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland may legislate on, and how councils are layered — each rule linked to the statute that sets it.

I

Head of state

The Crown

The Monarch is head of state. Bills become Acts of Parliament on Royal Assent, and a Parliament dissolves automatically on the fifth anniversary of the day it first met unless dissolved earlier.

Monarch

Charles III, since 8 September 2022

Parliament
A Parliament dissolves at the beginning of the day that is the fifth anniversary of the day on which it first met, if not dissolved earlier (Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022, s.4).
Royal Assent
The final stage of every bill — see making law below.
II

The executive

Prime Minister & Cabinet

The government front bench sits opposite His Majesty's Official Opposition and its shadow front bench. Both lists below come straight from Parliament's own records.

Prime Minister Andy Burnham Lab · Makerfield · since 20 July 2026

Government · 28 posts

The government front bench

Every post in Parliament's government-posts feed, with its holder.

  • Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury Andy Burnham Makerfield · since 20 Jul 2026
  • First Secretary of State, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and Minister for the Cabinet Office Louise Haigh Sheffield Heeley · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Chancellor of the Exchequer John Healey Rawmarsh and Conisbrough · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Foreign Secretary Ed Miliband Doncaster North · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood Birmingham Ladywood · since 5 Sep 2025
  • Secretary of State for Defence Wes Streeting Ilford North · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Yvette Cooper Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice Alex Norris Nottingham North and Kimberley · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Education Lucy Powell Manchester Central · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Pat McFadden Wolverhampton South East · since 5 Sep 2025
  • Secretary of State for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade Jonathan Reynolds Stalybridge and Hyde · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Angela Rayner Ashton-under-Lyne · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Transport Heidi Alexander Swindon South · since 29 Nov 2024
  • Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Miatta Fahnbulleh Peckham · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Lisa Nandy Wigan · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Dame Angela Eagle Wallasey · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Bryant Rhondda and Ogmore · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Secretary of State for Scotland Mr Douglas Alexander Lothian East · since 5 Sep 2025
  • Secretary of State for Wales Stephen Kinnock Aberafan Maesteg · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury (Chief Whip) Anneliese Midgley Knowsley · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Leader of the House of Lords and Lord Privy Seal Baroness Smith of Basildon House of Lords · since 5 Jul 2024
  • Lord President of the Council and Leader of the House of Commons Sir Alan Campbell Tynemouth · since 5 Sep 2025
  • Minister for Women and Equalities Bridget Phillipson Houghton and Sunderland South · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Chief Secretary to the Treasury Emma Reynolds Wycombe · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Attorney General Ellie Reeves Lewisham West and East Dulwich · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office) Mr Hamish Falconer Lincoln · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Minister of State (Cabinet Office) (Jointly with the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Technology) Kanishka Narayan Vale of Glamorgan · since 20 Jul 2026
  • Minister of State (Housing, Communities and Local Government) Matthew Pennycook Greenwich and Woolwich · since 20 Jul 2026
Official Opposition · 27 posts Shadow cabinet of Mrs Kemi Badenoch
  • Leader of HM Official Opposition Mrs Kemi Badenoch North West Essex
  • Shadow Minister without Portfolio Kevin Hollinrake Thirsk and Malton
  • Shadow Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster Alex Burghart Brentwood and Ongar
  • Shadow Minister (Policy Renewal and Development) Neil O'Brien Harborough, Oadby and Wigston
  • Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer Andrew Griffith Arundel and South Downs
  • Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury Richard Fuller North Bedfordshire
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Tom Tugendhat Tonbridge
  • Shadow Home Secretary Chris Philp Croydon South
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Defence James Cartlidge South Suffolk
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Education Laura Trott Sevenoaks
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Justice Nick Timothy West Suffolk
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government Katie Lam Weald of Kent
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Damian Hinds East Hampshire
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Work and Pensions Helen Whately Faversham and Mid Kent
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Victoria Atkins Louth and Horncastle
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero Andrew Bowie West Aberdeenshire and Kincardine
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Rebecca Paul Reigate
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Transport Mr Richard Holden Basildon and Billericay
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Wales Mims Davies East Grinstead and Uckfield
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Scotland Harriet Cross Gordon and Buchan
  • Shadow Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Alex Burghart Brentwood and Ongar
  • Shadow Leader of the House of Commons Jesse Norman Hereford and South Herefordshire
  • Shadow Leader of the House of Lords Lord True House of Lords
  • Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Joy Morrissey Beaconsfield
  • Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities Baroness Cash House of Lords
  • Opposition Chief Whip (Commons) Rebecca Harris Castle Point
  • Shadow Chief Whip (Lords) Baroness Williams of Trafford House of Lords

Posts as of 4 November 2026.

Photos: UK Parliament, CC BY 3.0 (54 portraits) . Others public domain. Via UK Parliament (official portraits) and Wikimedia Commons.

III

The elected chamber

House of Commons

650 constituencies, one MP each, elected by first past the post.

State of the parties · 4 November 2026

650 MPs · 267 women, 383 men

326 is half the House plus one. Build a majority →

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Democrat · 71 Liberal Democrat · 71 Liberal Democrat · 71 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Independent · 12 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Reform UK · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Scottish National Party · 8 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Sinn Féin · 7 Green Party · 5 Green Party · 5 Green Party · 5 Green Party · 5 Green Party · 5 Democratic Unionist Party · 4 Democratic Unionist Party · 4 Democratic Unionist Party · 4 Democratic Unionist Party · 4 Plaid Cymru · 4 Plaid Cymru · 4 Plaid Cymru · 4 Plaid Cymru · 4 Social Democratic & Labour Party · 2 Social Democratic & Labour Party · 2 Your Party · 2 Your Party · 2 Alliance · 1 Restore Britain · 1 Speaker · 1 Traditional Unionist Voice · 1 Ulster Unionist Party · 1
326 half plus one
  • Lab 404
  • Con 118
  • Lib Dem 71
  • Ind 12
  • Reform 8
  • SNP 8
  • SF 7
  • Green 5
  • DUP 4
  • Plaid 4
  • 7 others 9

How MPs are chosen

Seats
The number of constituencies in the United Kingdom shall be 650 (Parliamentary Constituencies Act 1986, Sch. 2, rule 1).
Term
Up to five years from the day a Parliament first meets.
Method
First past the post in each constituency. How the UK's voting systems compare →
IV

The revising chamber

House of Lords

Members are not elected. The House of Lords Act 1999, as it now stands, provides that no-one is a member by virtue of a hereditary peerage.

Members by group · 4 November 2026

796 members

771 life peers · 0 hereditary peers · 25 bishops, as reported by Parliament's Members API.

  • Conservative 247
  • Labour 232
  • Crossbench 154
  • Liberal Democrat 79
  • Non-affiliated 44
  • Bishops 25
  • Democratic Unionist Party 6
  • Ulster Unionist Party 3
  • Green Party 2
  • Plaid Cymru 2
  • Conservative Independent 1
  • Lord Speaker 1

Making law

From bill
to Act.

A public bill goes through first and second reading, committee, report and third reading in each House, then any disagreement is settled by passing amendments back and forth. The Parliament Act 1911, as amended in 1949, limits how long the Lords can hold up a bill the Commons has passed.

Try it · How a bill becomes an Act

Take a bill through both Houses.

Choose the kind of bill and what each House does. Stage names are Parliament's own; the limits on the Lords are the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949.

Kind of bill
Introduced in
First House at third reading
Second House
Amendments
Ping-pong
Commons response
A year since the first 2nd reading?

    The judiciary

    The Supreme Court
    and the courts.

    The judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom are appointed by the Monarch by letters patent, and no appointment may take the full-time equivalent number of judges above 12 (Constitutional Reform Act 2005, s.23). The Scotland Act 1998 reserves to Westminster the continued existence of Scotland's Court of Session and High Court of Justiciary.

    Devolution

    Three parliaments
    with their own powers.

    Scotland's Parliament, Wales's Senedd and the Northern Ireland Assembly make law on everything Westminster has not reserved. Their First Ministers, and the Mayor of London, are listed below.

    • Scottish Parliament

      First Minister of Scotland

      John Swinney, since 8 May 2024

    • Senedd Cymru

      First Minister of Wales

      Rhun ap Iorwerth, since 12 May 2026

    • Northern Ireland Assembly

      First Minister of Northern Ireland

      Michelle O'Neill, since 3 February 2024

    • Northern Ireland Assembly

      Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland

      Holder not available from our source.

    • Greater London Authority

      Mayor of London

      Sadiq Khan, since 9 May 2016

    Photos: John Swinney — Scottish Government, CC BY 2.0 · Rhun ap Iorwerth — Senedd Cymru / Welsh Parliament, CC BY 4.0 · Michelle O'Neill — Sinn Féin, CC BY 2.0 · Sadiq Khan — Raph_PH, CC BY 4.0 . Others public domain. Via Wikimedia Commons.

    Try it · Who can legislate on what

    The reserved-powers matrix.

    Each devolved legislature can make law on anything Westminster has not kept for itself. Pick a cell to see the provision that keeps it at Westminster.

    Scotland · Scottish Parliament

    An Act of the Scottish Parliament is outside its competence so far as it relates to reserved matters (s.29(2)(b)); the reserved matters are listed in Schedule 5. Everything else is devolved.

    legislation.gov.uk ↗

    Wales · Senedd Cymru

    A Senedd Act is outside competence so far as it relates to reserved matters (s.108A(2)(c)), listed in Schedule 7A. Everything else is devolved.

    legislation.gov.uk ↗

    Northern Ireland · Northern Ireland Assembly

    Matters are excepted (Schedule 2), reserved (Schedule 3) or transferred — any matter that is neither excepted nor reserved (s.4(1)).

    legislation.gov.uk ↗
    Area ScotlandWalesNorthern Ireland
    Defence of the realm and the armed forces
    International relations
    Nationality and immigration
    Currency, coinage and legal tender
    National security and official secrets
    Telecommunications

    Defence of the realm and the armed forces — Scotland: Scotland Act 1998, Sch. 5 Pt I para. 9 ↗

    Northern Ireland: excepted matters stay with Westminster; reserved matters can in principle be transferred; everything else is already transferred.

    Local government

    Councils,
    tier upon tier.

    Local government is organised differently in each nation, and differently again across England, where some areas have two tiers of council and others one. Since 2009 the Secretary of State may by order provide for an elected mayor for a combined authority's area.

    Try it · Who runs your area

    One country, many shapes of council.

    Pick a kind of area to see the layers of local government above a resident.

    England, outside London

    1. Layer 1 County council
    2. Layer 2 District council
    3. Layer 3 Parish or town council (where one exists)

    The Local Government Act 1972 divided England, outside Greater London and the Isles of Scilly, into counties and, within them, districts — each with its own council and its own functions.

    Local Government Act 1972, s.1 ↗