The political system of Great Britain

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Practical work #49 (второй час)

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The state system of Great Britain

Great Britain is a parliamentary monarchy (1). The power of the Queen is limited by the Parliament. It means that the sovereign reigns (2) but does not rule. Britain does not have a written constitution, but a set of laws (3). Parliament is the most important authority in. Britain. It comprises (4) the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch in her constitutional role. In reality the House of Commons is the only one of the three, which has true power.

The Monarch serves formally (5) as head of state. But the Monarch is expected to be politically neutral (6) and should not make political decisions. The present sovereign of Great Britain is Queen Elizabeth II (the second). She was crowned (7) in Westminster Abbey in 1953.

The House of Commons has 650 elected Members of Parliament (MPs), each representing a local constituency (8).

They are elected by secret ballot. General elections are held every five years. The country is divided into 650 constituencies. All citizens aged 18 have the right to vote (9), but voting is not compulsory in Britain. The candidate polling the largest number (10) of votes in a constituency is elected. The functions of the House of Commons are legislation and scrutiny (11) of government activities. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. The Government appoints the Speaker.

The House of Lords comprises about 1,200 peers (12). It is presided over by the Lord Chancellor. The House of Lords is made up of hereditary (13) and life peers and peeresses and the two archbishops (14) and 24 most senior bishops of the established Church of England. The House of Lords has no real power. It acts rather as an advisory council (15).

There are few political parties in Great Britain thanks to the British electoral system. They are the Conservative Party, the Labour Party and the Liberal Democratic Alliance (16). Each political party puts up one candidate for each constituency. The one who wins the most votes is elected MP for that area. The party which wins the most seats in Parliament forms the Government. Its leader becomes the Prime Minister. As head of the Government the Prime Minister appoints ministers, of whom about 20 are in the Cabinet — the senior group which takes major policy decisions (17). Ministers are collectively responsible (18) for government decisions and individually responsible for their own departments.

The second largest party forms the official Opposition, with its own leader and 'shadow cabinet' (19). The Opposition has a duty to criticise government policies and to present an alternative programme (20).

The new bills are introduced and debated in the House of Commons. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated. The House of Lords has the right to reject a new bill twice. But after two rejections they are obliged to accept it. And finally the bill goes to the Monarch to be signed. Only then it becomes a law.

Parliament is responsible for British national policy. Much legislation applies through out Britain. England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have their own legal systems with differences in law and practice.

Vocabulary

1. monarchy ['mnk] - монархия

2. sovereign reigns - монарх царит

3. set of laws - свод законов

4. comprise [km'praz] - содержать в себе

5. serves formally -В формально выступает

6. neutral ['njutr()l] - нейтральный

7. to be crowned - быть коронованным

8. a local constituency [kn'sttjun(t)s] - местный избирательный округ

9. vote - голосовать

10. polling the largest number - тот, который получил наибольшее количество голосов

11. scrutiny - внимательное изучение

12. peer - пэр (почетный титул в Великобритании)

13. hereditary - потомственный

14. archbishop - архиепископ

15. it acts rather as an advisory council - действует более как консультативный совет

16. alliance - союз

17. to take decisions - принимать решения

18. to be (responsible for) - быть ответственным (по)

19. 'shadow cabinet - "теневой кабинет"

20. to present an alternative programme - вносить альтернативную программу

Questions

1. What is the most important authority in Great Britain?

2. Is the Monarch expected to be politically active?

3. How are the Members of Parliament elected?

4. What are the main political parties in Great Britain?

5. What are the functions of the House of Commons?

The 2^nd of February

Practical work #50

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