1. No one in the UK votes. At least no one under the age of 80. No one I met in the UK ever did.
2. The system is a lot like here. Largely a two-party system, though they have smaller parties that are usually regional (like Plaid Cymru in Wales). And the Queen has nothing to do with it whatsoever.
3. There's the House of Commons (literally, commoners, as in, Les Mis, “let them eat cake,” non-royal piss ants) who are elected by other peasants. Then there is the House of Lords, who are royals, Lords by birth or as assigned by the Queen/King.
4. The Prime Minister belongs to the House of Commons. The prime minister’s party has to have the majority in parliament in order to gain/maintain his position. So each county/borough/Podunk election (aka the local elections voting for MPs (Members of Parliament, not the PM) has to be won by the winning political party to see their candidate become PM.
5. If there is no clear majority (as is the case now), it’s called a hung parliament, and the existing PM may choose to resign or remain in place until…this is where I get foggy…there’s another election, or two parties come together to form a majority, because if you don’t have the majority vote, nothing gets passed unless the MPs cross party lines to vote with an opposing party.
6. So as I understand it, general elections are every 5 years, or can be called at any time by the PM in cases of the MPs/country voicing no confidence in the PM and his government (which means the MPs in the PM’s party who run the show). There were calls for Brown to call for a general election a few years ago, called by Cameron, but Brown didn’t pick up the phone, or his voicemail or the message in general.
7. By our terms, Brown is now a lame duck. A place holder. He won’t get anything passed, no one takes him seriously, vote of non-confidence. One of few PMs who haven’t resigned in his current predicament. Kinda stickin’ around just in case, and to make sure the entire country doesn’t spiral into the depths of abysmal economic hell.
8. David Cameron is the leader of the Conservative party (aka the Tories), their choice for PM. He is also a Shadow Minister in the Shadow Cabinet (leader of the opposition of the current Brown/Labor government, as he is the leader of the 2nd largest party in the UK at the moment -- prior to this election.) He is also a member of the privy council (don’t ask). So had the Conservatives won the majority, Cameron would have become PM.
Tories, Whigs, Shadow Ministers…I mean, you can see where the Harry Potter lady got her fodder. I thought treacle was one of her fictitious desserts until I moved to the UK, when I found that it is indeed a golden syrup-y item to be poured on cake. Which they call sponge. Cake/sponge, what we call desserts, are, according to the Brits, in an after dinner category called pudding (dessert).
If you think their government is confusing, try going out to eat. Because there’s lunch and dinner and tea, all of which are interchangeable depending on the family you’re eating with. So if someone invites you over for tea, you may get hot liquid in porcelain or an entire evening meal (usually takeout). And if you want pudding, they ask, “what kind?” and you say chocolate, and they are confused and bring you a bar of chocolate, not J-e-l-l-o pudding. And then they say, “would you like some spotted dick instead?” and you say, “Whoa, what kind of dinner party is this? No thanks, I’m not fond of venereal diseases,” and they say, “What? Crazy American. It’s a sponge.” And you say, “You want me to do the dishes?” and they say, “Crazy American. Spotted dick is a sponge with treacle on top, it’s a pudding you have after tea.” And you scream, “is it cake or pudding or a sponge -- and you haven’t even offered me tea or coffee yet!?!”
Suffice it to say, I don't know dick about British politics. This might help:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elections_in_the_United_Kingdom
