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 John MAJOR (since 28 November
1990)

_#_Political parties and leaders:
Conservative and Unionist Party, John MAJOR;
Labor Party, Neil KINNOCK;
Social and Liberal Democratic Party (SLDP; formed from the merger of the
Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party), Jeremy (Paddy) ASHDOWN;
Scottish National Party, Alex SALMOND;
Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru), Dafydd THOMAS;
Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James MOLYNEAUX;
Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), Rev. Ian PAISLEY;
Ulster Popular Unionist Party (Northern Ireland), James KILFEDDER;
Social Democratic and Labor Party (SDLP, Northern Ireland), John HUME;
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland), Gerry ADAMS;
Alliance Party (Northern Ireland), John ALDERDICE;
Communist Party, Nina TEMPLE

_#_Suffrage: universal at age 18

_#_Elections:

House of Commons--last held 11 June 1987 (next to be held
by June 1992);
results--Conservative 43%, Labor 32%, Liberal/Social Democratic
23%, other 2%;
seats--(650 total) Conservative 376, Labor 228,
Liberal/Social Democratic 22,
Ulster Unionist (Northern Ireland) 9,
Scottish National 4,
Welsh National 3,
Democratic Unionist (Northern Ireland) 3,
Social Democratic and Labor (Northern Ireland) 3,
Ulster Popular Unionist (Northern Ireland) 1,
Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) 1;
note--the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party merged
to become the Social and Liberal Democratic Party in 1988

_#_Communists: 15,961

_#_Other political or pressure groups: Trades Union Congress,
Confederation of British Industry, National Farmers' Union, Campaign for
Nuclear Disarmament

_#_Member of: AfDB, AG (observer), AsDB, BIS, C,
CCC, CDB, CE, CERN, COCOM, CP, CSCE, EBRD, EC, ECA (associate), ECE,
ECLAC, EIB, ESCAP, ESA, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, GATT, IADB, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT,
INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, LORCS, NATO, NEA, OECD,
PCA, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNRWA, UN Security Council,
UN Trusteeship Council, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO

_#_Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Sir Antony ACLAND; Chancery
at 3100 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington DC 20008; te