National holiday: Celebration of the Birthday of the Queen (second
Saturday in June), 10 June 1989
Executive branch: monarch, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch: bicameral Parliament consists of an upper house or
House of Lords and a lower house or House of Commons
Judicial branch: House of Lords
Leaders:
Chief of State—Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952);
Heir Apparent Prince CHARLES (son of the Queen, born 14 November 1948);
Head of Government—Prime Minister Margaret THATCHER (since 4 May 1979);
Deputy Prime Minister Geoffrey HOWE (since 24 July 1989)
Political parties and leaders: Conservative, Margaret Thatcher; Labour,
Neil Kinnock; Social Democratic, David Owen (disbanded 3 June 1990);
Social and Liberal Democratic Party, Jeremy (Paddy) Ashdown; Communist,
Nina Temple; Scottish National, Gordon Wilson; Plaid Cymru, Dafydd Thomas;
Ulster Unionist, James Molyneaux; Democratic Unionist, Ian Paisley; Social
Democratic and Labour, John Hume; Provisional Sinn Fein, Gerry Adams;
Alliance/Northern Ireland
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections:
House of Commons—last held 11 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results—Conservative 43%, Labour 32%, Social and Liberal Democratic
Party 23%, others 2%;
seats—(650 total) Conservative 376, Labour 228, Social and Liberal
Democratic Party 18, Ulster (Official) Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9,
Social Democratic Party 4, Scottish National Party 4, Plaid Cymru
(Welsh Nationalist) 3, Ulster Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3,
Social Democratic and Labour (Northern Ireland) 3,
Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1,
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1
Communists: 15,961