Government Structure and Bodies

 

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy: Queen Elizabeth II is the official Head of State. The Queen rules symbolically; in reality, power belongs to Parliament. So, although the Queen 'opens' Parliament each year and laws are passed in her name, the Queen herself plays no part in determining decisions made in Parliament. She and her immediate family undertake various official, ceremonial and representational duties.

The Constitution of the United Kingdom consists mostly of a collection of written sources, including statutes, judge-made law, and international treaties. The UK Parliament can perform "constitutional reform" simply by passing Acts of Parliament and thus has the power to change or abolish almost any element of the constitution.

The UK has a parliamentary government based on the Westminster system that has been emulated around the world – a legacy of the British Empire. The Parliament of the United Kingdom that meets in the Palace of Westminster has two houses: an elected House of Commons and an appointed House of Lords, and any Bill passed requires Royal Assent to become law. It is the ultimate legislative authority in the United Kingdom.

The House of Lords is made up of people who have inherited family titles and those who have been given titles because of their outstanding work in one field or another. There are 675 members of the Lords. The main job of the House of Lords is to 'double check' new laws to make sure they are fair and will work.

For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is currently divided into 650 constituencies. Each constituency elects one Member of Parliament by simple plurality. General Elections are called by the Monarch when the Prime Minister advises. Though there is no minimum term for a Parliament, the Parliament Act (1911) requires that a new election must be called within five years of the previous general election.

The position of Prime Minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the Member of Parliament who obtains the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons, usually the current leader of the largest political party in that chamber. The Prime Minister and Cabinet are formally appointed by the Monarch to form Her Majesty's Government, though the Prime Minister chooses the Cabinet, and by convention the Queen respects the Prime Minister's choices. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the Prime Minister's party in both legislative houses, and mostly from the House of Commons, to which they are responsible. The executive power is exercised by the Prime Minister and Cabinet, all of whom become Ministers of the Crown.

 

2. Answer the questions to the text:

1) Explain the statement: “Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy”.

2) What are the formal functions retained by the Queen?

3) Explain the main principles of the British Constitution by which Great Britain is governed.

4) What is the structure of the government in Great Britain?

5) Describe how the Parliament is elected.

6) Who takes the position of Prime Minister in the UK?

7) Whom is the executive power exercised by in Great Britain?

8) Who appoints the Prime Minister and Cabinet?

 

3. Do you agree with the following statements? Why?

1) Parliament is made up of three parts: the Queen, the House of Lords, the House of Commons.

2) In the British monarchy the Queen doesn’t have any recognized responsibilities.

3) Parliament is where politicians (MPs) meet to decide laws and make decisions for the United Kingdom. It is not the same as the Government (which runs the country). One of the jobs Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the country properly.

4) The election of all Members of Parliament (MPs) for each constituency (local area) is called a General Election. In the UK they vote for the best candidate in the local area to be represented in the House of Commons.

5) Each MP represents one of 650 constituencies (areas) in the UK and is a member of a political party.

6) General elections have to take place at least every four years and are called by the Prime Minister (the leader of the Government).

7) British voters do not choose their Prime Minister (PM). He/she is voted for within their political party.

8) In the 2007 General Election the Labour Party won the most seats, its leader at the time, Tony Blair, was asked to form the government.

 

 

Text 3

1.Read the text and give a brief description of the British party system.

Major Political Parties

The UK's three major political parties are the Labour Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats.

The Labour Party is the current ruling party of the United Kingdom; it won a 179-seat majority in the 1997 general election under the leadership of Tony Blair, its first general election victory since October 1974. The party's large majority in the House of Commons was slightly reduced to 167 in the 2001 general election and more substantially reduced to 66 in 2005. Labour has 13 members in the European Parliament. Its current leader is Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

The Labour Party has historically been a left-of-centre one. It emphasized social justice, equality of opportunity, economic planning and the state ownership of industries and services. It was supported by the trade unions, the working class and some of the middle class. Its electoral strongholds are historically in Scotland, south Wales and the Midland and northern English industrial cities.

But traditional class-based support has changed with more social and job mobility. Tony Blair modernized the party by moving to the centre, captured some voters from the Conservatives and distanced himself from the trade unions.

Currently the Conservatives are the largest opposition party in the United Kingdom and form Her Majesty's Loyal Opposition in the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Conservative Party is the second largest political party in the United Kingdom in terms of sitting Members of Parliament and the largest in terms of sitting councillors in local government. The current party leader is David Cameron, who acts as the Leader of the Opposition and heads the Shadow Cabinet.

The Conservative Party is a right-of-centre party. It regards itself as a national party and appeals to people across class barriers. It emphasizes personal, social and economic freedom, individual ownership of property and shares and law and order.

The party’s support comes mainly from business interests and the middle and upper classes, but a sizeable number of skilled workers and women vote Conservative. Its strongholds are in southern England, with scattered support elsewhere in the country.

The Liberal Democrats are the third-largest party in the UK Parliament, behind Labour and the Conservatives. Promoting social liberalism, Lib Dems seek to minimise state intervention in personal affairs: they oppose what they call the 'nanny state'. While objecting to state limitations of individual rights, they favour a welfare state that provides for the necessities and amenities of life.

They support multilateral foreign policy. They opposed British participation in the War in Iraq and support withdrawal of troops from the country. The Lib Dems are the most pro-EU of the three main parties in the UK. The party has strong environmentalist values – favouring renewable energy and commitments to deeper cuts in greenhouse gas emissions. Since their foundation, the Lib Dems have advocated an electoral reform to use proportional representation (a system which would increase their number of seats), replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber, and cutting government departments.

 

2. Answer the questions to the text:

1) Name the major political parties in Great Britain.

2) What is the current ruling party in the UK? Who is its leader?

3) What is the largest opposition party?

3) Analyze the modern concept of the Liberal Democrats.

 

3. Agree or disagree with the statements.

1) The main political parties represented in Parliament today are the Labor Party, the Conservative Party, and the Liberal Democrats.

2) The party with the most MPs after a general election usually forms the Government. The next largest party becomes the official Opposition.

3) The Liberal Party, under the leadership of Tony Blair, won a landslide victory in the general election of 1997.

4) The current leader of the Conservatives acts as the Leader of the Opposition, heads the Shadow Government, and is a left-of-center politician.

5) The Conservatives are a political party with centrist policies, advocating an electoral reform with a view to use proportional representation and replace the House of Lords with an elected chamber.

 

4. Get ready to discuss the following points:

1. The role of the parties in British society.

2. Is a multi-party system necessary in the political life of a country?

 

 

Text 4

1. Read the text paying special attention to where the main British industries are located.