Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy 


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Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy



Parliament

Government

House of Commons

House of Lords

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. Although the power of the monarch (king or queen) is limited by Parliament, political stability owes much to the monarchy, the continuity of which has been interrupted only once (the republic of 1649- 1660) in over a thousand years. The queen (king) reigns, but she (he) doesn’t rule. The acts on the advice of her (his) Prime Minister and doesn’t make any major political decisions. The monarch summons and dissolves the Parliament, opens the annual session of the Parliament and addresses to the MPs with the speech from the throne. The Royal residences are Buckingham Palace in London, Holy Roodhouse in Edinburgh and Windsor Castle in the suburbs of London.

In law the Queen is Head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, the Commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crow and the “supreme governor” of the established Church of England. As a result of a long process of evolution, during which the monarchy’s absolute power has been progressively reduced, the Queen is impartial and acts on the advice of her ministers.

The Queen and the royal family take part in many traditional ceremonies. Their visits to different parts of Britain and to many other countries attract considerable interest and publicity, and they are also closely involved in the work of many charities.

The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen as its head.

Parliament

Parliament is a supreme legislative body. England was the first country to have a Parliament. British Parliament consists of the monarch, the House of Lords (Upper Chamber) and the House of Commons (Lower Chamber). British Parliament holds its sittings in the Palace of Westminster. The Palace of Westminster mostly known as the House of Parliament is situated on the embankment of the Thames. It is famous for its two great towers: Big Ben and Victoria tower. Big Ben belongs to the part of Westminster Palace which comprises the House of Commons. Victoria Tower is situated in the part of Westminster Palace which belongs to the House of Lords. When Parliament has a session there is a national flag on the Tower of Victoria. Besides two main chambers the Palace of Westminster has a number of working rooms for secretariat and deputies, rooms for the meeting of parliament committees, cafes, restaurants and libraries.

The main functions of the Parliament are law-making, control of the government, granting sanctions to taxes and state expenses. but as far as the law making function is concerned, only the House of Commons can propose the law. A proposed law, which is called a bill, is introduced by ministers on behalf of the British Government. Some deputies can also bring in bills. Such bills are called private members’ bills. In order to become an Act of Parliament a bill must pass through both Houses and the Royal assent.

Government

The British Parliamentary system depends on political parties. Most members of the government comprise representatives of the party which wins a majority of the seats in the House of Commons at a general election. The leader of the majority party becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister forms the government which usually consists of 60 or 70 ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in the government. From these 60 or 70 ministers the Prime Minister chooses a small group of 20 representatives. This group i9s called the Cabinet of Ministers or just the Cabinet. The Cabinet is appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet Ministers are the holders of the most important offices, for example, Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, Foreign Secretary, the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Health.

The Cabinet defines the main trends of the British Government policy. The Cabinet works under the head of the Prime Minister. Frequent Cabinet meetings take place in the Prime Minister’s residence of (10, Downing Street). The power of the Cabinet is controlled by Parliament, for no bill which a minister prepares can become law until it is passed by an Act of Parliament.

House of Commons

The House of Commons comprises 650 elected members, who are known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members of the Parliament are the representatives of local communities. At a general election held every five years, ordinary people elect one person from their constituency to be their Member of Parliament. That is why Lower Chamber of Parliament is called the House of Commons. The House of Commons hold sessions which last for 160-170 days. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and they have to attend the sittings.

The House of Commons is presided by the Speaker. The speaker is elected by the House of Commons. Although the Speaker belongs to one of the parties he has to be unprejudiced. His function is to keep order. He controls who speaks and for how long. The speaker wears a long wig and sits in the Speaker’s Chair in the Hall of the House of Commons.

Speaker’s Chair stands at the North end. In front of it there stands the Table of the House which is occupied by the Clerk of the House and two Clerk assistants. There are benches for the Government and its supporters to the right of the Speaker. To the left of the Speaker there are benches occupied by the Opposition. There are also Cross benches at the South end of the Hall which is occupied by the members of any other parties. The front bench of the Government is called the Treasury Bench and used by the Prime Minister and other ministers. The front benches of the Opposition are occupied by its leaders. Those who sit on the front benches of both parties are called front benchers. The back benches belong to the rank-and-file MPs (back benchers).

The House of Commons plays the major part in law making. A Bill may be introduced by any MP, in practice it is generally introduced by a Minister. In order to become a law a bill has to go through three stages of reading in the House of Commons, then have the Agreement of the House of Lords and the Royal assent.

The first reading is just publication and distribution of the proposal among the MPs. There is no debate or discussion. The second reading includes debate, discussion and criticizing. The Speaker asks the House to vote. If bill passes the second reading it goes to a committee. The third reading is called a report stage. The Bill is discussed in detail and many alterations may be made. Then the Speaker receives the report of the Committee and asks the House to vote again. If the Bill gets a majority vote, it goes to the House of Lords.

House of Lords

The House of Lords consists of more than 1000 members, but only 250 take an active part in the work of the House. The members of the House are the Lords “Temporal” (i.e. Barons, Earls, Marquises and Dukes) and the Lords “Spiritual”(i.e. the Archbishops of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, and twenty- four Bishops).

The Lords “Temporal” can be hereditary peers and peeresses and life peers and peeresses. Life peers and peeresses receive their peerages as a reward for service and their children do not inherit the title.

Members of the House of Lords are not elected. They sit there because of their rank. The Chairman of the Upper Chamber is the Lord Chancellor. He sits on a special picturesque seat which is called the Woolsack. It is a large bag of wool covered with red cloth. This tradition goes back to the period of the reign of Edward III (XIYc.). The Woolsack is a reminder of the time when England’s commercial prosperity was founded on her wool exports.

The Lords debate a bill if it has passed by the House of Commons. They only have power to delay a bill (if it isn’t a financial one). They can throw it out once, but if the bill is presented a second time they must pass it.

Lecture 4

Education system in the UK

PLAN: 1.School education

a) Primary education

b) Secondary education

2.Post-school education

3.University education

 

There are 3 stages of education in GREAT BRITAIN: primary, secondary and further education. Primary and secondary stages are school education. Further education means post-school education. Compulsory school education lasts 11 years, from the age of 5 to 16.

After the age of 16 young people can take further education. They can leave school but continue their education in a further education college, or they can continue studying at school until 18 years and then enter institutions of higher education or universities.

SCHOOL EDUCATION

There is compulsory secondary education inGreat Britain. All children must, by law,begin their school education at the age of 5 the minimum age for leaving school is 16.

There are schools maintained by state and private. Maintained schools in Great Britain are free. In private (or independent) schools parents have to pay for their children’s education. The fees vary from 250 pounds a term for day.

Education in the maintained schools usually consists of two-stages-primary and secondary or three stages – first schools, middle schools and upper schools. In most schools boys and girls are taught together. Pre-schools education can be taken from three to five in nursery schools or nursery classes of primary schools.

Great Britain has a great number of various types of schools, primary schools, middle schools, grammar, technical,secondary modern schools, comprehensive schools and other.

A) PRIMARY EDUCATION

On the first stage of school education – primary stage children study in primary school from the age of 5 to 11.The primary school may be divided into two parts: infant and junior.

The infant school takes children from 5 to 7,after which they continue studying in the junior school from 7 to 11.

At infant school children learn reading, writing and arithmetic. They also sing, draw, do physical exercises. At junior school children have arithmetic, reading, composition, history, geography, nature study, art and music, physical education.

At 11, after finishing primary school course, children go to second stage of school education-secondary school.

Middle school teach children between 8 and 14 (8-12,9-13,9-14)after which pupils go to comprehensive school.

B) SECONDARY EDUCATION

Secondary education is compulsory for all up to the age of 16.There are different types of secondary schools: grammar, technical, modern and comprehensive schools.

GRAMMAR SCHOOLS take only children who have good results of the “11 plus examination (11+)”. It is an examination for children of 11 years old or a little older(eleven plus some months). It consists of an arithmetic paper, an English paper and an intelligence test.

Grammar school gave academic education for the selected pupils from the age of 11 to 18,and prepare them for higher education. The general level of education in these school is very high. The school teaches English language and literature, modern languages, Latin, Mathematics, physics, Chemistry, Biology, history, Geography and other subjects.

TECHNICAL SCHOOLS as well as grammar schools educate selective pupils. But they are specialized in technical studies. The main subjects are science and mathematics.

Secondary modern school give a general,non-academic education up to the minimum school leaving age of 16.After finishing this school pupils cannot enter higher educational establishments.

Comprehensive school are the most popular schools in Britain today(especially in England and Wales).These schools take all the children in a given area without selecting examination.All the same time they offer all the courses taught in the three traditional schools described above-academic and practical subjects.So comprehensive schools are much bigger then the later.

COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL take the following age ranges: from 11 to 18 (after primary schools) from 12,13 or 14 to 18 years (after middle schools),and from 11 to 16 years.

All state schools have a National Curriculum. It consists of 10 subjects which all the children must study at school. The subjects are English, Mathematics, Science, a modern foreign language.(for 11-16 years olds),Technics and Design,History, Geography,Music,Art, Physical education.Pupils progress in subjects is measured by written and practical tests.

The National Curriculum aims to ensure all children study basic subjects and have a better all-round education.

After 5 years of secondary education pupils take principal examinations for the General certificate of secondary education(GCSE) After the GCSE advanced (A)level.

POST-SCHOOL EDUCATION

At the age of 16 young people can choose their further education at school or outside school. They can continue studying at school until the age of 18. They can leave school and continue their education in various colleges, polytechnics and vocationally oriented schools, such as drama schools, art schools,ballet schools or schools of librarianship and others. The most part of those institutions are private i.e. fee-charging.

These institutions do not give higher education, they prepare a variety of professions for industry and commerce such as sewing, typing, book-keeping and many others.

The UK post school institution of higher education are universities, polytechnics and other higher education colleges.

There are different universities in the country. Admission to universities is by examination or selection (interviews).British students get grants from their local education authority.

A university graduate leaves with a degree. It usually takes three years to get a BACHELOR OF ARTS or BACHELOR OF SCIENCE DEGREE.

A MA or MS degree may be got in one or two additional years.

Universities are centers of research as well as teaching and many postgraduates are engaged in research for higher education. The highest academic degree is the Doctor of Philosophy. It may take any number of years to finish the original research work necessary to get this degree.

British universities greatly differ from each other. They differ in date of foundation, size, history, traditions and general organization.

Higher education has become more available in the second half of the 20th century.

In 1960 there were less than 25 universities in Britain. By 1980 there were already more than 40,and by 1995 there were over a hundred institutions with the universities.

There are no great distinctions between different types of universities in Britain. But still there are some categories of them.First of all,Oxbridge. Oxford and Cambridge were founded in the medieval period. These universities consist of semi- independent colleges each of them having its own staff (“Fellows”).The “Fellows” teach the college students either one-to-one or in very small groups. This system is unique in the world and known as tutorials in Oxford and supervisions in Cambridge.

Then, Scottish universities. By 1600 Scotland had 4 universities-Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and St.Andrews resembles Oxbridge very much. In the other three most of the students live at home or find their rooms. There is less specialization than at Oxbridge.

During the 19th century various institutions of higher education(usually technical ones)were founded in the industrial towns and cities such as Birmingham, Manchester and Leeds. Their buildings were of local bricks so they got the name “redbrick” universities. They contrasted chiefly with Oxford and Cambridge. At first, they prepared students for London University degree, but later they were given the right to award their own degrees. They become universities themselves. Now they accept students from all over the country. These universities are financed by local authority.

One of the developments in education in Britain is certainly the open university.It was founded in 1971. Some people don’t have an opportunity to study full-time, and this university allows them to study for degree.

This university ‘s courses are taught through television, radio and course books. Its students work individually and with tutors,to whom, they sound their papers. The students discuss their work at meetings or through correspondence. In summer they attend short courses.

OXBRIDGE

Oxford and Cambridge are the oldest universities in Great Britain. They are called Oxbridge to denote an elaterium education.

Only rich people send their children to those universities.The main characteristic feature of these universities is the tutorial (that means the individual tuition)

Oxford and Cambridge universities consist of a number of colleges, each self-governing and independent. Before 1970 most of all Oxbridge universities were single-sex(mostly for men).But now the majority admit both sexes. The administrative body of the university consists of the chancellor (who is elected for life),the vice-chancellor(who is in practice the head of the university, and is appointed by the Chancellor) and two people, whose job is to maintain discipline. Each college has its staff called “FELLOWS”

The largest colleges have more than 400 students, the smallest have less than 30.

OXFORD is one of the oldest universities in Europe. It didn’t come into being all at once. Oxford had existed as a city for at last 300 years before scholars began to resort to it.

The end of the 12th century saw the real beginning of the university. The first group of scholars were from Paris and from other parts of Britain.

A characteristic feature of Oxford is that many traditions of the middle ages are still current there. One of them is that the students have to wear gowns.

The earliest college buildings seem to have no definite plan. They expanded at the end. Nowadays there are 29 college for men, 5 for women and another 5 both men and woman members.Oxford is the place of great beauty but it is not just a shrine to the past.It is a living entity.

 

Lecture 5

The main economical regions

1. The main economical regions

2. The South industrial and agricultural region.

3.The Midlands

4. Lancashire and Yorkshire

5. National Economy of Scotland

6. Wales.

The main economic regions.

Regional differences in the country’s economy are essential despite its small territory. Historically England proper is divided into the following economic regions the South industrial and Agricultural region, Central England or the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and North England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also regarded as independent economic regions of the United Kingdom. Hence, the whole country consists of eight economic regions.

One of the main problems to emerge in Britain during the twentieth century has been the imbalance of economic activity between individual regions. This largely on the coal fields and its replacement by a new structure more closely related to accessibility and the transport and network. Attempts have been made to slow down or even reverse this process but they have failed and Britain has witnessed the emergence of what has been called the “Two Nations” – one characterized by comparative economic activity (especially of the so-called “new industries”) population growth and a strong industrial base, the other which includes most of the coalfield marked by declining industries, decaying towns and cities, and high rates of emigration. The outlying national regions of the United Kingdom, such as Wales, Scotland and especially Northern Ireland are most depressive. The traditional disparities which existed between these regions and England proper have accelerated in recent years.

The combination of an inefficient manufacturing industry, then policy of “privatization” has produced unemployment are a true reflection of the decline which has occurred in the old industries of the country. Especially hard hit are the outlying national regions such as Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Besides these regions, North England, Lancashire and Yorkshire are also experiencing difficulties. South England and the midlands are comparatively doing well.

There is the obvious relationship between unemployment and the dependence of an area on manufacturing industry. For it has been manufacturing industry which has born the brunt of the recession, and employment in this sector of the economy has actually declined to such an extent that the very existence of some of the country’s major industries is now threatened. These included several of the industries upon which the United Kingdom has traditionally dependent for prosperity – such as iron and steel, shipbuilding, textiles. Emphasis has been put recently on the development of high technology industries – in an attempt to overcome the problems of the country. However, growth did not fully offset the losses suffered by the old traditional industries. In fact the industries to show large-scale growth have been limited to those in the area of high technology. Hence those regions where there is a greater concentration of high technology industries, such as South England, The Midlands, can be regarded to be in a more favorable position. Nevertheless, this remedy is not without its problems.

 



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