Great Britain is a large island made

up of three countries : England,

Scotland, and Wales. With

Northern Ireland it forms the United

Kingdom

th

England

London Northern Ireland

Belfast

CardiffScotland Edinburgh Wales

United Kingdom

The flag of the UK is the Union Jack which combines three flags :

The lakes

The most beautiful lakes are Windermere, Grasmere , Coniston. They are in the Lake District a region near the Scottish-English border

The seas surrounding the UK are not very deep and they are warmed by the North Atlantic Current which comes from the Gulf of Mexico

The rivers

The longest rivers are the Severn and the Thames

Britain is a constitutional monarchy .The Queen is the Head of State but she has not real power. Elisabeth II is the present sovereign. She has the power to appoint the Prime Minister who is generally the leader of the majority party in Parliament.

The Prime Minister lives in London , at No.10

Downing Street.

He / She chooses his/her ministers.

Parliament is the real government. It is made up of the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The 650 members of the House of Commons are elected by the people over the age of 18 while the members of the House of Lords are not elected at all. Most of the members of he House of Lords are hereditary members.

The two Houses of Parliament meet in the Palace of Westminster . There are two main political parties in Great Britain : the Conservative Party and the Labour Party.

Cabinet Ministers

ParliamentHouse of Commons

House of Lords

Electorate

Prime Minister

Queen/King