and House of Commons (659 seats;
members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms unless
the House is dissolved earlier)
elections: House of Lords - no elections; note - the newly-forming
House of Lords may call for some elected seats; House of Commons -
last held 1 May 1997 (next to be held by NA May 2002); note - in 1998
elections were held for a Northern Ireland Parliament (because of
unresolved disputes among existing parties, the transfer of power from
London to Northern Ireland came only at the end of 1999 and was
rescinded in February 2000); in 1999 there were elections for a new
Scottish Parliament and a new Welsh Assembly
election results: House of Commons - percent of vote by party - Labor
45%, Conservative and Unionist 31%, Liberal Democratic 17%, other 7%;
seats by party - Labor 418, Conservative and Unionist 165, Liberal
Democrat 46, other 30
note: in 1999, the government ended the right of most hereditary
members, except for life members and 92 hereditary members, to sit in
the House of Lords; they will sit until final reforms are made

Judicial branch: House of Lords, several Lords of Appeal in Ordinary
are appointed by the monarch for life

Political parties and leaders: Alliance Party (Northern Ireland)
; Conservative and Unionist Party ;
Democratic Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) ; Labor
Party ; Liberal Democrats ;
Scottish National Party ; Sinn Fein (Northern Ireland)
; Social Democratic and Labor Party or SDLP (Northern
Ireland) ; Ulster Unionist Party (Northern Ireland) [David
TRIMBLE]; Welsh National Party (Plaid Cymru)

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

International organization participation: AfDB, AsDB, Australia Group,
BIS, C, CCC, CDB (non-regional), CE, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECA
(associate), ECE, ECLAC, EIB, ESA, ESCAP, EU, FAO, G- 5, G- 7, G-10,
IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD,
OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIKOM, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA,
UNTAET, UNU, UPU, WCL, WEU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, ZC

Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Sir Christopher J. R. MEYER
chancery: 3100 Massachuse