25. British election system: for and against

British elections are comparatively quiet affairs.There is no tradition of large rallies or parades as there is in the USA.The campaign reflects the contrast between the formal arrangements and the political reality.General elections always take place on a Thursday.Each voter has to vote at a particular polling station.Elections are always very fairly conducted.

Canvassing –is the activity that occupies most of the time of local party workers during an election campaign.Canvassers go from door to door, calling on as many houses as possible.and ask people how they intend to vote.

After the polls close, the marked ballot papers are taken to a central place in the constituency and counted.The Returning officer makes a public announcement of the votes cast for each candidate and declares the winner to be the MP for the constituency.Both BBC and ITV start their programmes as soon as voting finishes.

ELECTION- method by which a choice or selection is made by a constituent body (the electors or electorate) of some person to fill a certain office or dignity.

26. The Type of Ownership and Structure of Britain's economy: the changes it underwent in the 20th century.

The United Kingdom, a leading trading power and financial centre, has the fourth largest economy in the world, the second largest in Europe, and is a member of the European Union. Its capital, London, is the largest financial centre in the world.

Since the 1980s, and particularly under the Government of Margaret Thatcher, many state enterprises that were nationalised in the 1940s have been privatised.

A nation's industries can be divided into three sectors of activity. The 1)primary sector is concerned with raw materials such as cereals and minerals. Processing these materials is the field of 1)the manufacturing sector. 2)The service sector provides services of various kinds such as transport or distribution, but does not manufacture goods. 3)The construction industry can be thought of either as part of the manufacturing sector, or as a separate fourth sector.

Britain has the largest energy resources of any country in the European Union and is a major producer of oil, natural gas and coal. Other primary sources of energy are nuclear power and, to a lesser extent, water power. Primary energy production accounts for 10% of GDP, one of the highest shares of any industrial nation. Britain has large reserves of coal. Britain has 14 nuclear power stations in operation. The UK is the world's 8th greatest producer of carbon emissions, producing around 2.3% of the total generated from fossil fuels. Due to the island location of the UK, the country has great potential for generating electricity from offshore windfarms, wave power and tidal power. Agriculture is intensive, highly mechanised, and efficient by European standards, producing about 60% of food needs with only 1% of the labour force. Manufacturing continues to decline in importance. In the 1960s and 70s manufacturing was a significant part of the UK's economic output. State industries were sold off and over the 20th century many (and others) closed as it was unable to compete. Main Industries machine tools, electric power equipment, automation equipment, railroad equipment, shipbuilding, aircraft, motor vehicles and parts, electronics and communications equipment, metals, chemicals, coal, petroleum, paper and paper products, food processing, textiles, clothing, and other consumer goods.

The present-day indicators of Britain’s economic development

GDP growth slipped in 2001–2002 as the global downturn, the high price of the Pound Sterling, and the bursting of the "new economy" bubble hurt manufacturing and exports. However the UK economy is one of the strongest of the larger European Union economies; inflation, interest rates, and unemployment remain low. GDP growth in 2004 was over 3.0% per annum, which was higher than that of France, Germany and many other European countries. The GDP grew by 0.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2005.Concluding Statement of the IMF Missionon 21 December 2004

1. Economic performance in the United Kingdom remains impressive. Now in the sixth year of a cycle that has seen both shallow fluctuations in output growth and robust expansion, the economy continues to be supported by resilient domestic demand and output growth. This success owes much to strong institutions underpinned by clear and well-designed policy frameworks that have helped sustain stability and anchor expectations through a global economic and equity cycle, a sizeable countercyclical policy stimulus, and a sharp increase in housing prices. Ensuring that policies continue to support strong performance is critical, and our discussions have focused on this objective.

2. The outlook is favorable, with the pace of activity likely to moderate toward a sustainable rate. We expect domestic demand to remain the driver as GDP growth slows to about 2½-2¾ percent through 2005-06. Private consumption growth is projected to fall modestly as house prices decline slightly and effective borrowing rates catch up with past increases in the policy interest rate. Continued strong earnings growth, however, should contain weakness from these sources. Business investment is projected to gather pace on the back of recent and prospective business profits. We expect the drag from net exports to fall only slightly, as the trade deficit rises. With the economy operating in the neighborhood of full capacity, a projected pick-up in import prices is expected to push the CPI inflation rate toward the target of 2 percent.

Britain’s major economic institutions

► Institutions. The City of London:

The Bank of England

London Stock Exchange

Lloyd’s of London

The city of London is London's major financial district, and the world's leading financial centre. The city is also where the London Stock Exchange is based.

The Bank of England is the central bank of the United Kingdom. The functions of the bank:

It performs all the recognized functions of a central bank:to maintain price stability, and subject to that, to support the economic policy of Her Majesty's Government in order to promote economic growth;It has a monopoly on the issue of banknotes in England and Wales;it is both the Government's banker and the bankers' bank; a "Lender of Last Resort";it manages the country's foreign exchange and gold reserves;it used to be responsible for the regulation and supervision of the banking industry.

London has had a Stock Exchange for dealing in stocks and shares for over 200 years. Since 1973 it has been the single International Stock Exchange for the United Kingdom and the Republic of Ireland. The City is also a major centre for insurance services. Lloyd's of London insures everything from houses to ships through its underwriters, insurance specialists