Government.   Two main parties in the UK are the Conservative party, descended from the old Tory party, and the Labour party, which was organized in 1906 and is moderately socialist. The Liberal Democrats, which is a weaker third party, was formed by the

                                           Government

     Two main parties in the UK are the Conservative party, descended from the old Tory party, and the Labour party, which was organized in 1906 and is moderately socialist. The Liberal Democrats, which is a weaker third party, was formed by the merger (слияние) of the Liberal party and the Social Democratic party.

Both Scotland and Wales have nationalist parties whose goal is independence.

 The party which wins the most seats in the General Election forms the government in Britain. The leader of the winning party becomes Prime Minister (PM). The PM chooses a committee of ministers called the Cabinet (about 15-25 members or ministers). This is made up of a selection of senior MPs (members of parliament) from the House of Commons and some members of the House of Lords. Each member of the Cabinet is a minister responsible for a government department such as Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and the Exchequer (treasury). The Secretary of State for Education and Science is responsible for all the schools, universities and teachers in Britain. The Cabinet of ministers runs the country (управляет страной) and the ministers are responsible for the principle spheres of the country’s life: foreign affairs, internal affairs, education, health care, etc. The Cabinet meets at the Prime Minister's house 10 Downing Street. Cabinet meetings are held in private and the details must remain secret for at least 30 years. Cabinet ministers cannot, however, do as they please! They are responsible to Parliament and must answer their questions. Even the Prime Minister must answer questions every Tuesday and Thursday in the Commons — this is called Prime Minister

Question Time.

The highest court in the UK is Supreme Court that consists of 12 judges that are selected by an independent commission and nominated by the Monarch. There is a range of subordinate courts and specialized tribunals all over the country.

Historical Personalities and outstanding Prime ministers

Russia’s relations with Great Britain have always been marked by chronic tension but. the bombing of British cities by the Nazi planes and the German threat to British colonies in 1941 promoted the Military Alliance between Britain, the Soviet Union, and later the United States. Winston Churchill (1874-1965) as prime minister of that period together with the Soviet Union and the USA leaders rallied the British people during WW11, and led his country from defeat to victory.

Unfortunately after the war the relations between Britain and the Soviet Union chilled again. Only a year after the Second World War in 1946 Winston Churchill delivered his Iron Curtain Speech at Westminster College in the United States, , in which he called for special relationship between the United States and the British Commonwealth against the Soviet Union. This speech was considered to be the beginning of the Cold War between the USSR and the West, The formation of two military alliances, NATO (1949) and the Warsaw Pact (1855) strengthened the Cold War, which lasted until 1989.

Among the personalities of postwar period we must remember, of course, the first female Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher who became Britain’s Conservative Party leader in1979. During her three terms, she cut social welfare programs, reduced trade union power, privatized certain industries and got the nickname “the Iron Lady”.

The years after Margaret Thatcher are characterized by the victory of the Labour Party represented by Tony Blair and David Cameron, who in their foreign policy believed in a “special relationship” with the USA. This relationship is based upon a shared language, strong Anglo -- Saxon culture, and particularly strong private relationships between Prime Minister Churchill and Roosevelt during the war and between M. Thatcher and Reagan in the 1980s. Special relations of Tony Blair and Bush led to the war in Iraq after the attack on the World Trade Center in New York in 2001) and later to Blair’s resignation.

Britain has encouraged the development of a strong arms industry to supply the armed forces, and became the second largest arms trader                         internationally. Britain still spends proportionally more on defense than other NATO members.

Since 1972 the UK has got very close relationships with the European Union and its headquarters in Brussels. The country joined the European Economic Community (EEC or “Common Market”) in 1975. But last summer a very interesting phenomenon took place. During his last electoral campaign David Cameron promised the people of the UK that in case of his victory he would launch a referendum whether to stay in the EU or leave it. The United Kingdom European Union membership referendum, also known as the EU referendum and referendum took place on Thursday 23 June 2016. Absolutely surprisingly for David Cameron and the European Union the referendum resulted in an overall vote to leave the EU, by 51. 9% to 46. 6%, on a national turnout of 72% making it the highest ever for a UK-wide referendum and also the highest turnout for any national vote since the 1992 UK General Election Scotland backed Remain by 62% to 38%, while 55. 8% in Northern Ireland voted Remain and 44. 2% Leave.