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The head of state in the United Kingdom is Queen Elizabeth II. Her Majesty is also monarch of 15 other independent Commonwealth countries.

The UK has a unitary system of government under a constitutional monarchy. The central government of the United Kingdom is Her Majesty's Government, most commonly known as the British Government. The UK has a democratic parliamentary system of government based on the Westminster system. The Westminster system, which many outside the UK have copied, is named after the Palace of Westminster.

The Palace of Westminster is the place where the Parliament of the UK meets, parliament that has 2 houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords.

The de facto political leader of the state is the head of government, the prime minister. After the prime minister is appointed through the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons, he elects a cabinet which is after formally appointed by the Sovereign and thus the British Government is formed.

Both prime minister and cabinet have executive power and they automatically become Ministers of the Crown. All of them are sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom – Her Majesty's formal body of advisers. As per the Constitution of the United Kingdom, a new general election must be held every 5 years. The Constitution of the United Kingdom is an unmodified constitution.

The 3 major political parties in the UK are political dominants in the House of Commons. Except Northern Ireland's Conservative and Unionist Party, all notable political parties operate all through Great Britain. The Conservative and Unionist Party are center-right on the political spectrum, holding 306 seats in the House of Commons. The Labor Party has absorbed the Co-operative Party and is considered center-left, holding 258 seats. The Liberal Democrats are classified as radical-centrist, holding 57 seats in the House of Commons.