ondon is the capital of the United Kingdom. It ranks as one of the world?s most historic cities, tracing its roots back nearly 2000 years. London has long been a great world port and trading center. The port of London consists of two huge docks and 43 miles of wharves along the Thames River. London also has a remarkable transportation system. Expressways, and underground and surface railways carry more than one million commuters between the outlying areas and central London each workday. More than 350,000 commuters travel by subway, about 400,000 take surface trains and more than 100,000 go by bus. About 100,000 people drive their cars to work. The London subway system (the ?tube?), is the largest subway system in the world. It includes
he two largest political parties in the United Kingdom are the Conservative Party and the Labour Party. Much of the Labour Party?s support comes from labor unions, known as trade unions. The Conservative Party (lead by John Major) stems from the Tory Party, which commenced in the late 1600?s. The Labour Party (lead by Tony Blair) began in 1900. Other parties like the Liberal Democrats (Jeremy Ashdown) are minute in comparison to the Conservative or Labour parties. There are a few nationalist parties in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (Scottish National Party, lead by Alex Salmond) that favor independence from the United Kingdom. he monarchy in Britain can be traced back almost 1,200 years. The monarch must approve all bills passed by Parliament before they can become laws. No monarch has rejected a bill passed by Parliament since the early 1700?s. he Prime Minister is usually the leader of the political party that has the most seats in the House of Commons. The king or Queen appoints the Prime Minister after each general election. The monarch asks the Prime Minister to form a government, meaning he has to select ministers to head governmental departments and to hold various offices. The Prime Minister picks about 100 ministers. From them, the Prime Minister selects a special group of about 20 ministers to make up the cabinet. he Cabinet is usually composed of ministers who head the most important governmental departments (the Treasury,