query: legislative_body united kingdom
supports: Ireland, also described as the Republic of Ireland ('), is a sovereign state in north-western Europe occupying about five-sixths of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, which is located on the eastern part of the island, and whose metropolitan area is home to around a third of the country's 4.75 million inhabitants. The state shares its only land border with Northern Ireland, a part of the United Kingdom. It is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, with the Celtic Sea to the south, Saint George's Channel to the south-east, and the Irish Sea to the east. It is a unitary, parliamentary republic. The legislature, the ', consists of a lower house, ', an upper house, ', and an elected President (') who serves as the largely ceremonial head of state, but with some important powers and duties. The head of government is the ' (Prime Minister, literally 'Chief', a title not used in English), who is elected by the Dáil and appointed by the President, and appoints other government ministers. An upper house, sometimes called a Senate, is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature (or one of three chambers of a tricameral legislature), the other chamber being the lower house. The house formally designated as the upper house is usually smaller, and often has more restricted power, than the lower house. Examples of upper houses in countries include the UK's House of Lords, Canada's Senate, India's Rajya Sabha, Russia's Federation Council, Ireland's Seanad, Germany's Bundesrat and the United States Senate. The Netherlands  is the main constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It is a densely populated country located in Western Europe with three island territories in the Caribbean. The European part of the Netherlands borders Germany to the east, Belgium to the south, and the North Sea to the northwest, sharing maritime borders with Belgium, the United Kingdom, and Germany. The largest cities in the Netherlands are Amsterdam, Rotterdam, The Hague and Utrecht. Amsterdam is the country's capital, while The Hague holds the Dutch seat of government and parliament. The name "Holland" is used to refer informally to the whole of the country of the Netherlands. The Northern Ireland Assembly (Ulster Scots: "Norlin Airlan Assemblie") is the devolved legislature of Northern Ireland. It has power to legislate in a wide range of areas that are not explicitly reserved to the Parliament of the United Kingdom, and to appoint the Northern Ireland Executive. It sits at Parliament Buildings at Stormont in Belfast. Northern Ireland (; Ulster Scots: "") is a top-level constituent unit of the United Kingdom in the northeast of Ireland. It is variously described as a country, province, region, or "part" of the United Kingdom, amongst other terms. Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland. In 2011, its population was 1,810,863, constituting about 30% of the island's total population and about 3% of the UK's population. Established by the Northern Ireland Act 1998 as part of the Good Friday Agreement, the Northern Ireland Assembly holds responsibility for a range of devolved policy matters, while other areas are reserved for the British government. Northern Ireland co-operates with the Republic of Ireland in some areas, and the Agreement granted the Republic the ability to "put forward views and proposals" with "determined efforts to resolve disagreements between the two governments". A lower house is one of two chambers of a bicameral legislature, the other chamber being the upper house. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland , commonly known as the United Kingdom ( UK ) or Britain , is a sovereign state in Europe . Lying off the north - western coast of the European mainland , it includes the island of Great Britain -- a term also applied loosely to refer to the whole country -- the north - eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands . Northern Ireland is the only part of the UK that shares a land border with another state -- the Republic of Ireland . Apart from this land border , the UK is surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean , with the North Sea to its east , the English Channel to its south and the Celtic Sea to its south - southwest . The Irish Sea lies between Great Britain and Ireland . With an area of 93,800 square miles ( 243,000 km2 ) , the UK is the 80th - largest sovereign state in the world and the 11th - largest in Europe . It is also is the 21st-most populous country , with an estimated 64.5 million inhabitants . The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy with a parliamentary system of governance . Its capital city is London , an important global city and financial centre with an urban population of 10,310,000 , the fourth - largest in Europe and second - largest in the European Union . The current monarch -- since 6 February 1952 -- is Queen Elizabeth II. The UK consists of four countries : England , Scotland , Wales , and Northern Ireland . The latter three have devolved administrations , each with varying powers , based in their capitals , Edinburgh , Cardiff , and Belfast , respectively . The nearby Isle of Man , Bailiwick of Guernsey and Bailiwick of Jersey are not part of the United Kingdom , being Crown dependencies with the British Government responsible for defence and international representation . The relationships among the countries of the United Kingdom have changed over time . Wales was annexed by the Kingdom of England under the Acts of Union of 1536 and 1542 . A treaty between England and Scotland resulted in 1707 in a unified Kingdom of Great Britain , which merged in 1801 with the Kingdom of Ireland to form the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland . In 1922 , five - sixths of Ireland seceded from the country , leaving the present formulation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland . The UK has fourteen Overseas Territories . These are the remnants of the British Empire which , at its height in the 1920s , encompassed almost a quarter of the world 's land mass and was the largest empire in history . British influence can be observed in the language , culture , and legal systems of many of its former colonies . The United Kingdom is a developed country and has the world 's fifth - largest economy by nominal GDP and tenth - largest economy by purchasing power parity . The UK is considered to have a high - income economy and is categorised as very high in the Human Development Index , currently ranking 14th in the world . It was the world 's first industrialised country and the world 's foremost power during the 19th and early 20th centuries . The UK remains a great power with considerable economic , cultural , military , scientific , and political influence internationally . It is a recognised nuclear weapons state and its military expenditure ranks fifth or sixth in the world . The UK has been a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council since its first session in 1946 . It has been a member state of the European Union ( EU ) and its predecessor , the European Economic Community ( EEC ) , since 1973 ; it is also a member of the Commonwealth of Nations , the Council of Europe , the G7 finance ministers , the G7 forum , the G20 , NATO , the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development ( OECD ) , and the World Trade Organization ( WTO ) . The Northern Ireland Act 1998 (c.47) is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which established a devolved legislature for Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Assembly, after decades of direct rule from Westminster. A parliamentary republic is a republic that operates under a parliamentary system of government where the executive branch (the government) derives its legitimacy from and is accountable to the legislature (the parliament). There are a number of variations of parliamentary republics. Most have a clear differentiation between the head of government and the head of state, with the head of government holding real power, much like constitutional monarchies. Some have combined the roles of head of state and head of government, much like presidential systems, but with a dependency upon parliamentary power. The Acts of Union were two Acts of Parliament: the Union with Scotland Act 1706 passed by the Parliament of England, and the Union with England Act passed in 1707 by the Parliament of Scotland. They put into effect the terms of the Treaty of Union that had been agreed on 22 July 1706, following negotiation between commissioners representing the parliaments of the two countries. By the two Acts, the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotlandwhich at the time were separate states with separate legislatures, but with the same monarchwere, in the words of the Treaty, "United into One Kingdom by the Name of Great Britain". The North Sea is a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean located between Great Britain, Scandinavia, Germany, the Netherlands, Belgium, and France. An epeiric (or "shelf") sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian Sea in the north. It is more than long and wide, with an area of around . The Kingdom of Great Britain, officially Great Britain , was a sovereign state in western Europe from 1 May 1707 to 31 December 1800. The state came into being following the Treaty of Union in 1706, ratified by the Acts of Union 1707, which united the kingdoms of England and Scotland to form a single kingdom encompassing the whole island of Great Britain and its outlying islands. It did not include Ireland, which remained a separate realm. The unitary state was governed by a single parliament and government that was based in Westminster. The former kingdoms had been in personal union since James VI, King of Scots, became King of England and King of Ireland in 1603 following the death of Queen Elizabeth I, bringing about a "Union of the Crowns". Also after the accession of George I to the throne of Great Britain in 1714, the kingdom was in a personal union with the Electorate of Hanover.
candidates: bicameral legislature northern ireland assembly parliament parliament of england parliament of the united kingdom senate
answer: parliament of the united kingdom