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Oral practice: The United Kingdom Government
Ex. I. What do the following abbreviations mean?
MP, EC, EU, UK, GB.
Ex. II. Read the following text:
The United Kingdom is one of six constitutional monarchies within European Community with a parliamentary system of government. The Constitution of the United Kingdom developed over time and is not written down in a single legal document. It consists of various elements, including statutes (laws made by Parliament), important court cases, customs and conventions. It contains two main principles the rule of law (everyone is subject to the laws of the land) and the sovereignty of Parliament (there is no body that can declare the activities of Parliament unconstitutional). Since the United Kingdom joined the European Union, it has become clear that domestic legislation can in certain circumstances be overriden by that of the European Union as a whole.
The process of transferring power from the monarch (the Queen or King) to the people began in the 13th century when King John was forced to restrict his power by signing the Magna Carta. Today, the Queen of Great Britain is the head of the executive, the head of the judiciary, the commander-in-chief of all the armed forces of the Crown, and temporal governor of the Church of England. In practice, the Queen acts only on the advice of her Ministers. She reigns but she does not rule.
Parliament is made up of two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Each autumn the monarch goes to Westminster for the State Opening of Parliament and reads out a speech, which sets out the Governments plans for the year ahead.
The House of Lords has around 1200 members, made up of the two Archbishops and 24 bishops, hereditary peers, who have inherited their title and life peers who are appointed to serve for life, and 9 senior judges, known as the law lords. The appointed life peers include about 65 women, or peeresses.
The leader of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor who sits upon the Woolsack, a large bag of wool covered with red cloth. The Woolsack is a reminder of the times when Englands commercial prosperity was founded on her wool exports. The House Of Commons has 651 members, elected by universal adult suffrage, who each represent a particular part of the country, a constituency. General elections are held every five years. The leader of the party, which obtains the majority of seats in the House, is called the Government, and the others the Opposition. The Prime Minister chooses ministers to be responsible for individual departments. They form the Cabinet, which advises the Prime Minister. In the House of Commons they sit on the front bench and other Members of Parliament from their party sit behind them (back-benchers). The main Opposition party sits in a similar arrangement facing them with their leader and her/his Shadow Cabinet on the front benches. In the center is the Speaker, who keeps order during debates.
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Active Words and Phrases:
| community | executive | ||
| statute | judiciary | ||
| convention | temporal | ||
| rule | , | to reign | , |
| to be subject to | archbishop | ||
| supremacy | , | bishop | |
| to challenge | , | hereditary | |
| domestic legislation | peer | , | |
| to override | , | peeress | , |
| to transfer | to inherit | ||
| Magna Carta | (1215 볿) | suffrage |
Ex. III. Match the following terms with their definitions:
| 1) constituency | a laws are made, put into effect and interpreted by different bodies; |
| 2) back-bencher | b there is no legal opposition to Parliament; |
| 3) by election | c everyone is equal before the law; |
| 4) rule of law | d MP who doesnt hold office in government or opposition; |
| 5) separation of powers | e special election held to fill an unexpected vacancy; |
| 6) supremacy of Parliament | f electoral district. |
Ex. IV. Read the text and complete the following table:
Constitution of the United Kingdom.
| Main characteristic | |
| Based on | |
| Main principles |
Ex. V. Answer the following questions:
1. What does the monarch of the UK represent?
2. Which of the Queens functions are formal and which are real?
3. Why do you think the Queen enjoys the support of the majority of Britons?
4. What are the main functions of the House of Commons and of the House of Lords?
