approximately 500 life peers, 92 hereditary peers and 26 clergy) and
House of Commons (646 seats since 2005 elections; members are
elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless the House is
dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections (note - in 1999, as
provided by the House of Lords Act, elections were held in the House
of Lords to determine the 92 hereditary peers who would remain
there; elections are held only as vacancies in the hereditary
peerage arise); House of Commons - last held 5 May 2005 (next to be
held by May 2010)
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party -
Labor 35.2%, Conservative 32.3%, Liberal Democrats 22%, other 10.5%;
seats by party - Labor 356, Conservative 197, Liberal Democrat 62,
other 31; note - as of 10 February 2006 party by seat in the House
of Commons: Labor 353, Conservative 196, Liberal Democrat 63,
Scottish National Party/Plaid Cymru 9, Democratic Unionist 9, Sinn
Fein 5 (but refuse to vote), other 11
note: in 1998 elections were held for a Northern Ireland Assembly
(because of unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer
of power from London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of
1999 and has been suspended four times the latest occurring in
October 2002); in 1999 there were elections for a new Scottish
Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly

Judicial branch:
House of Lords (highest court of appeal; several Lords of Appeal in
Ordinary are appointed by the monarch for life); Supreme Courts of
England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (comprising the Courts of
Appeal, the High Courts of Justice, and the Crown Courts);
Scotland's Court of Session and Court of the Justiciary

Political parties and leaders:
Conservative and Unionist Party [David CAMERON]; Democratic
Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Rev. Ian PAISLEY]; Labor Party
[Anthony (Tony) BLAIR]; Liberal Democrats [Sir Menzies CAMPBELL];
Party of Wales (Plaid Cymru) [Ieuan Wyn JONES]; Scottish National
Party or SNP [Alex SALMOND]; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland) [Gerry
ADAMS]; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern Ireland)
[Mark DURKAN]; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [Sir Reg
EMPEY]

Political pressure groups and leaders:
Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament; Confederation of British
Industry; National Farmers' Union; Trades Union Congress

International organization participat