Political system

The power of the Queen of Great Britain is not absolute but constitutional, though there is no written Constitution in the country. The Queen and the British Parliament have different roles, and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as coronation of the new monarch or the opening of Parliament.

British Parliament. The Parliament in Britain exists since 1265. Having been organized in the reign of King Edward I (1212-1307) it is the eldest Parliament in the world. The British Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The division of Parliament into two Houses goes back over some 700 years when feudal assembly ruled the country. In modem times real political power rests in the House of Commons, although the members of the House of Lords still occupy important cabinet posts.

The House of Commons is made up of 659 (June 2001) elected members, known as Members of Parliament each of whom represents a definite area of the United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. They are elected at a general election every five years. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker, a member acceptable to the whole House. The first two rows of seats are occupied by the leading members of the governing party and its opposition. Each session of the House of Commons lasts for 160-175 days. It's here where proposed laws or bills are introduced and debated, and the most important events of internal and foreign policy are discussed. A bill has to go through three stages (or readings) to become an Act of Parliament. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill it goes to the House of Lords to be debated and finally to the Monarch to be signed. Only then does it become the Law of the Land. Although a bill must be supported by all three bodies, the House of Lords has limited powers, and the Monarch hasn't refused to sign one since the modern political system began over 200 years ago.

The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chamber among all the democracies in the world. It has 675 members: 557 life peers and 118 hereditary members (June 2001). However, only about 250 of them take an active part in the work of the House. Unlike the Members of the House of Commons they don ‘t receive a salary. They debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor, and he sits on a special seat called the Woolsack. Changes may be recommended, and agreement between the two Houses is reached by negotiations. The Lords ‘main power consists of being able to delay non-financial bills for a period of the year, but they can also introduce certain types of bills.

The Government is built by the party which wins the majority at elections, and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister appoints about twenty ministers from his party to compose the Government. New ministers are presented to the Queen for the approval. Each minister is responsible for a particular area of the Government - defence policy, financial policy, law and order, immigration, etc.

Notes

a chamber - палата парламента-парламент палатасы

the House of Lords - палата лордов (верхняя палата парламента)-лордтар палатасы

elect, elections - выбирать, выборы-сайлау

general election - всеобщие выборы-жалпы сайлау

to preside (over) – председательствовать-басшылық ету, бақылауда ұстау

a bill - билль, законопроект-заң жобасы

internal (home) policy / foreign policy - внутренняя политика / внешняя политика –ішкі саясат/ сыртқы саясат

а majority – большинство-көпшілік

a peer - пэр, лорд

a chairman - председатель (собрания)-басшы (жиналыстың)

Lord Chancellor - лорд-канцлер

negotiations - переговоры-келіссөз

a government –правительство-үкімет

Exercise 1. Answer the following questions:

1. Does the Queen of Great Britain have an absolute power in the country? 2. Does there exist a written constitution in Great Britain? 3. What are the functions of the British Parliament? 4. When was the British Parliament organized? 5. Which chambers does the British Parliament consist of? 6. Which chamber has the real political power in the country? 7. How many members are there in the House of Commons? 8. Which areas represent the Members of Parliament? 9. How are they elected? 10. Who presides at the House of Commons? 11. What are the duties of the Members of the House of Commons? 12. Which events do they discuss? 13. How are the Acts of Parliament adopted? 14.Is the House of Lords an elected chamber? 15. How many members are there in the House of Lords? 16. Who has the right to be the Member of the House of Lords? 17. What are the duties of the Members of the House of Lords? 18. Who is the chairman of the House of Lords? 19. How is the agreement between the two Houses reached? 20. Can the Members of the House of Lords introduce any types of bills? 21 How is the Government built? 22. By whom are the ministers appointed? 23. What is each minister responsible for? 24. Who is the last Prime Minister of the UK? 25. Which party does he represent?

Exercise 2. Continue the following sentences

1. The power of the Queen of Great Britain is................. 2. The Queen and the British Parliament…………. 3. The Parliament in Britain exists ………………4. The British Parliament consists of……………… 5. The House of Commons is made up of……….. 6. Each Member of Parliament represents………………. 7. Members of Parliament are elected……………8. The House of Commons is presided by……………. 9. The first two rows of seats are occupied by…………..10. It's in the House of Commons where…………..11. To become an Act of Parliament a bill……………… . 12. If the majority of the members are in favour of a bill……………… 13. The Monarch hasn't refused ….................. 14. The House of Lords is…………. 15. Its Members are…….. 16. They debate a bill after ................17. The chairman of the House of Lords is…….18. The agreement between the two Houses is reached.............19. The Government is built by the party ............20. Its leader usually becomes .....................21. The Prime Minister appoints .........................22. New ministers are presented to …………………. 23. Each minister is responsible for………. ....

Exercise 3. Find the English equivalents in the texts.

1. Политическая система Великобритании отражает власть монарха с одной стороны, и ведущую роль парламента с другой стороны. 2. Британскому парламенту более 700 лет, и он является старейшим парламентом в мире. 3. Британский парламент состоит из двух палат - палаты общин и палаты лордов. 4. Члены палаты общин избираются на всеобщих выборах, которые проводятся каждые пять лет. 5. Каж­дый член палаты общин представляет определенный регион Великобритании.6. Председателем пала­ты общин является спикер. 7. В палате общин обсуждаются законопроекты и важнейшие вопросы внут­ренней и внешней политики. 8. После обсуждения законопроекта в трех чтениях, решением большин­ства он становится актом, затем он передается на рассмотрение в палату лордов, и вслед за этим - на подпись главе государства. После одобрения всех трех сторон, акт становится законом страны. 9. Палата лордов Великобритании - единственная невыборная палата парламента в мире. 10. Членами палаты лордов являются 557 пэров Великобритании (их титул не передается по наследству) и 118 лор­дов (имеющих наследственное право ношения титула). 11. В отличие от членов палаты общин, члены палаты лордов не получают заработную плату за свою работу. 12. Председателем палаты лордов явля­ется лорд-канцлер, который по традиции сидит на мешке с шерстью. 13. Палата лордов может реко­мендовать палате общин сделать изменения в законопроекте; согласие между палатами достигается посредством переговоров. 14. Правительство Великобритании формируется из членов партии, которая выиграла на выборах. 15. Премьер-министр назначает кабинет министров, который представляют для одобрения главе государства.

Exercise 4.

• divide group into two parts.

• Answer each other’s questions.

• Compare the structure of government in Great Britain with the structure of government in Kazakhstan.

• Use active vocabulary and word combinations.

Reading

The British Parliament and the Electoral System

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

The House of Commons plays the major role in law­making. It consists of Members of Parliament (called MPs for short), each of whom represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. MPs are elected ei­ther at a general election, or at a by-election following the death or retirement of an MP.

Parliamentary elections must be held every five years, but the Prime Minister can decide on the exact date within those five years. The minimum voting age is 18, and the voting is taken by secret ballot.

The election campaign lasts about three weeks. The election is decided on a simple majority—the candidate with most votes wins. An MP who wins by a small num­ber of votes may have more votes against him (that is, for the other candidates) than for him. Many people think that it is unfair because the wishes of those who voted for the unsuccessful candidates are not repre­sented at all. The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The political parties choose can­didates in elections. The party which wins the major­ity of seats forms the Government and its leader usu­ally becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his or her party to be­come the Cabinet of Ministers. Each minister is respon­sible for a particular area of the government. The sec­ond largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and Shadow cabinet!. Leader of the Opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons.

References:

the Commonwealth-Содружество ( политическое и экономическое обьединение центром которого является Великобритания.Включает 49 независимых государств.В Содружество входят также зависимые территории Великобритании , Австралии и Новой Зеландии)

chamber-палата парламента

the House of Commons-палата общин (нижняя палата парламента; играет главную роль в осуществлении его законодательных функциий)

the House of Lords-палата лордов (верхняя палата парламента ;невыборное учреждение обладает правом отлагательного вето в отношении зоконопроектов, принятых паллатой общин)

bill-билль, законопроект