Government and power in the United Kingdom

Who leads the United Kingdom, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary parliamentary constitutional monarchy with devolution to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Who leads the United Kingdom?

• Head of state: King Charles III (King)
• Head of government: Andrew Burnham (Prime Minister and First Lord of the Treasury of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)
• Foreign minister: Ed Miliband (Foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in the United Kingdom

Government

• GOV.UK
  Publications, policy papers, guidance, press releases, transparency data and statistics from all UK government departments and many agencies.

Parliament

• Hansard (UK Parliament Official Report)
  The substantially verbatim record of everything said in the House of Commons, House of Lords and Westminster Hall.
• Members of Parliament and Lords
  Who holds which seat, party, posts held, constituency history and contact details.

Elections

• Electoral Commission
  Investigations and sanctions against parties and campaigners, election reports and electoral registration data.

Courts

• UK Supreme Court
  Judgments, press summaries, case details and hearing recordings of the UK's final court of appeal.
• Find Case Law (The National Archives)
  The official public record of judgments from the Supreme Court, Privy Council, Court of Appeal, High Court and upper tribunals.

Public audit

• National Audit Office (NAO)
  Independent audits of government spending, value-for-money reports and departmental accounts audits.

Ombudsman

• Parliamentary and Health Service Ombudsman
  Investigation reports into UK government departments and the NHS in England, including reports laid before Parliament.

Laws and the official gazette

• legislation.gov.uk
  The official text of all UK Acts and statutory instruments, including Scottish, Welsh and NI legislation, in original and revised versions.
• The Gazette (London, Edinburgh and Belfast)
  The UK's official public record: insolvencies, company winding-up petitions, deceased estates, honours, state notices and planning notices.

Government below the national level

• Devolved governments (Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland): Elected parliaments/assembly; First Minister chosen by them
• England: strategic authorities (combined authorities, combined county authorities, Greater London Authority): Most have a directly elected mayor; boards made up of leaders of member councils
• England: county councils and district councils (two-tier areas), or single-tier unitary councils (unitary authorities, metropolitan boroughs, London boroughs): Councillors elected (first past the post); the council picks a leader, or in some places voters elect a mayor
• Scotland: 32 councils: Councillors elected by single transferable vote (STV) in multi-member wards
• Wales: 22 principal councils, plus four corporate joint committees: Councillors elected; committees made up of council leaders
• Northern Ireland: 11 councils (since 2015): Councillors elected by STV
• Parish and town councils (England), community and town councils (Wales), community councils (Scotland): Elected (often unopposed); Scottish community councils are elected under council-run schemes

How local power works in the United Kingdom

Places in the United Kingdom

• All 12 region of Englands
• Official statistics for the United Kingdom

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.