Week 6: London

England, our final destination. The New York of Europe. Although England is similar to the United States, there are some key differences. I am on a Global Diplomacy study abroad, my ability to understand politics is very minimal. If it wasn't for our tour guide Nick, I probably would still be trying to wrap my head around what parliament was and how the Queen plays a role. 

Parliament is the lawmakers in Great Britain. The government leader of this group is the Prime Minister. Different than U.S., this person is always a member of Parliament. The two houses that make up Britain's Parliament is the House of Lords and House of Commons. There are 800 members of the House of Lords  and 650 members of the House of Commons. The House of Lords used to be made of up nobles or people who were born into it. However, in recent years, this has changed. Now people are able to apply and are often chosen to due to their achievements. The main requirement is that they are England citizens. The member in charge of this house is called the lord chancellor. 

The House of Commons is more similar to the U.S. as the people vote for who is apart of the house. They have an election every five years. 

Parliaments main role is to make laws. They propose, debate, make changes, approve, and deny laws as a group. The houses are meant to act as a check and balance. 

The obvious difference between the U.S. and U.K. is the Queen. She opens and dissolves Parliament and approves Bills before they become laws. The Queen or King rules until they pass away. Right now, the Queen is Queen Elizabeth 2. She just entered her 70th year and her platinum jubilee. This is a big deal in history as it is the first time in history that a monarch has reigned for so long. 

I am thankful for our tour guide Nick who took us through Parliament and explain their system. I find in some ways the U.K. still lives in the U.S. government system. We are still more alike than different. However, the differences are what make both countries special. 

My main goal was to learn more about politics on this study abroad. I feel like I have done just that!