The structure of local government outside London

Local government in Britain is organized according to its four constituent parts.

There are 32 local authorities in Scotland, 22 in Wales, and 26 in Northern Ireland

(from 2011, just 11). In England outside London, there are hundreds of local units,

more than 120, which answer directly to central government. (Apart from the

Greater London Authority, there are no 'regional' government authorities.)

Counties are the oldest divisions of the country in England and Wales. Most of

them existed before the Norman conquest (1066). Many are still used today for

local government purposes. Many counties have 'shire' in their name (e.g.

Hampshire, Leicestershire). 'Shires' is what the counties were originally called.

Parishes were originally villages centred around a local church. They became a

unit of local government in the nineteenth century. Today, they are the smallest

unit of local government in England and have very few powers.

Boroughs were originally towns that had grown large and important enough to be

given their own powers, free of county control. These days, the name is used for

local government purposes in London and only occasionally elsewhere.

MORE INFORMATION ON THE TOPIC

Ministers and departments

Most heads of government departments have the title 'Secretary of State' (as in, for

example, 'Secretary of State for the Environment'). The minister in charge of

Britain's relations with the outside world is known to everybody as the 'Foreign

Secretary'. The one in charge of public safety inside the country is the 'Home

Secretary'. Their departments are called 'The Foreign and Commonwealth Office'

and 'The Home Office' respectively (the words 'exterior' and 'interior' are not used).

The words 'secretary' and 'office' reflect the history of government in Britain, in

which government departments were once part of the domestic arrangements of the

monarch.

Another important person is the 'Chancellor of the Exchequer', who is the head of

the Treasury (in other words, a sort of Minister of Finance).

The cabinet

The history of the cabinet is a good example of the tendency toward secrecy in

British politics. It started in the eighteenth century as an informal grouping of

Important ministers and officials of the royal household. It had no formal status.

Officially, the government was run by the Privy Council, a body of a hundred or

more people (including chose belonging to 'the cabinet') who reported directly to

the monarch (but not to each other). Over the years, the cabinet gradually took over

effective power. The Privy Council is now a merely ceremonial body. Among

others, it includes all the present ministers and the most important past ministers.

No. 10 Downing Street

This is the official residence of the Prime Minister, It is an example of the

traditional fiction that Prime Ministers are not especially important people. As you

can see, it does not have a special name. Nor, from the outside, does it look very

special. It is not even a detached house! Inside, though, it is much larger than it

looks. The cabinet meets here and the cabinet office works here. The PM lives

'above the shop' on the top floor.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer lives next door at No. 11, and the Government

Chief Whip at No. 12, so that the whole street is a lot more important than it

appears. In the media 'Downing Street' is used to refer to the PM, the cabinet office

and other close advisers of the PM.

Whitehall

This is the name of the street in London which runs from Trafalgar Square to the

Houses of Parliament. Many government departments are located here or in streets

running off it. As a result, the term 'Whitehall' is sometimes used as a way of

referring to the administrative aspects of government. The phrase 'the opinion in

Whitehall’ refers to the opinions of senior civil servants and other administrators.

Thus 'Whitehall' and 'Downing Street' can sometimes be in disagreement.

The origins of the civil service

The British 'cult of the talented amateur' is not normally expressed openly. But

when, in the middle of the nineteenth century, the structure of the modern civil

service was established, it was a consciously stated principle. Today it can be

formulated in such words: it is better to be a non-specialist than a specialist, to

have a good brain rather than thorough knowledge. Reforms since then have given

greater emphasis to specialist knowledge, but the central belief remains that

administration is an art rather an applied science that one can learn.

Prime ministers since 1940

1940-45 Winston Churchill (Conservative)

1945-51 Clement Attlee (Labour)

1951-55 Winston Churchill (Conservative)

1955-57 Anthony Eden (Conservative)

1957-63 Harold Macmillan (Conservative)

1963-64 Alec Douglas-Home (Conservative)

1964-70 Harold Wilson (Labour)

1970-74 Edward Heath (Conservative)

1974-76 Harold Wilson (Labour)

1976-79 James Callaghan (Labour)

1979-90 Margaret Thatcher (Conservative)

1990-97 John Major (Conservative)

1997-2007 Tony Blair (Labour)

2007-2010 Gordon Brown (Labour)

2010- David Cameron (Conservative)

PARLIAMENT

1.The atmosphere of Parliament

2.An MP's life

3.The party system in Parliament

4.The House of Lords

Read the words and phrases. Consult the dictionary for their pronunciation!

Deliberate – навмисний, ретельно спланований

Dais /’deiis/ поміст, підвищення, кафедра

Give names/ definitions/ explanations for the notions/ descriptions in the right

column of the table

Palace of Westminster

The House of Lords

The House of Commons

Life peer

Party whip

The Speaker

Hansard

Frontbenchers

Backbenchers

Read the text and find the answers to the following questions

How many and what are the chambers of the British Government? Which of the Houses

is more important nowadays?

Find the picture of the House of Commons. Describe the seating arrangements of the

House of Commons. What is peculiar to it compared to most of the parliamentary

buildings in other countries?

How many MPs are there in the House of Commons?

What kind of atmosphere is there in the House of Commons chamber?

Why is the House of Commons designed as it is?

What are the ancient habits that are still preserved in the House of Commons? What was

and is the life of a British MP?

What are the responsibilities of the party whips?

What is the role of the House of Lords? What advantages can be found in the work of the

House of Lords compared with the House of Commons?

How do people become members of the House of Lords?

What is the value of the House of Lords?

What are unclear issues about the reform of the House of Lords?

What are the responsibilities of the Speaker?

What hours of the day does the Commons sit? Why do they have such a timetable?

What do you know about the tradition of the state opening of Parliament?