Westminster system

The Westminster system is a parliamentary system of government modelled after that which developed in the United Kingdom. This term comes from the Palace of Westminster, the seat of the British parliament. The system is a series of procedures for operating a legislature. It is used, or was once used, in the national legislatures and subnational legislatures of most Commonwealth and ex-Commonwealth nations upon being granted responsible government, beginning with the first of the Canadian provinces in 1848 and the six Australian colonies between 1855 and 1890. However, some former colonies (Nigeria, for example) have since adopted the presidential system as their form of government.

Characteristics

A Westminster system of government may include some of the following features:

Westminster

Coordinates: 51°29′58″N 0°08′00″W / 51.4995°N 0.1333°W / 51.4995; -0.1333

Westminster (/ˈwɛsᵗmɪnstər/) is an area of central London within the City of Westminster on the north bank of the River Thames. Westminster's concentration of visitor attractions and historic landmarks, one of the highest in London, includes the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, Westminster Abbey and Westminster Cathedral.

Historically the area lay within St Margaret's parish, City & Liberty of Westminster, Middlesex.

The name Westminster originated from the informal description of the abbey church and royal peculiar of St Peter's (Westminster Abbey), literally West of the City of London, indeed until the Reformation there was a reference to the 'East Minster' at Minories (Holy Trinity Priory, Aldgate) east of the City; the abbey was part of the royal palace that had been created here by Edward the Confessor. It has been the home of the permanent institutions of England's government continuously since about 1200 (High Middle Ages' Plantagenet times) and is now the seat of British government.

Westminster (typeface)

Westminster is a printing and display typeface inspired by the machine-readable numbers printed on cheques. It was created in the 1960s and is named after the then Westminster Bank Limited (now NatWest), the United Kingdom bank that helped fund its production.

Since its design, the typeface has been strongly associated with computers—especially in the late 1960s and early-to-mid-1970s. It is used frequently to indicate computer involvement in television series, films, books, and comics.

The font was designed by Leo Maggs

References

See also

Westminster (disambiguation)

Westminster is an area within the City of Westminster.

Westminster may also refer to:

Government

Parliamentary constituencies

Places

London, England