лур / Great Britain

Great Britain

I. The United Kingdom of Great Btitain is situated on the British Isles. The British Isles consist of two large islands, Great Britain and Ireland and a great number of small islands. The total area is over 244ooo square kms. The British Isles are separated from European continent by the North Sea and the English Channel, the narrowest part of it is called the Strait of Dover and is 33 kms across.

The western coast of Great Britain is washed by the Atlantic ocean and Irish Sea, the eastern – by the North Sea. The island of Great Britain consists of 3 main parts: England, Wales and Scotland.

There are no high mountains in the country. In the north the Cheviot Hills separate England from Scotland, the Pennines stratch down North England along its middle.

Most of the rivers are very short. The Thames and Severn are the longest among them. Some of the British greatest ports are situated on the rivers: London – on the river Thames, Liverpool on Mersyriver and Glasgow – on the river Clyde.

Great Britain is a highly industrialized country. The main industrial centres are London, Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool, Glasgow and Bristol.

Birmingham, Manchester, Liverpool and Sheffield constitute the industrial area, called the "Black Country" situated in the middle of the country near coalfields. Its centre is Birmingham which if often called the "City of 1500 Trades". Sheffield is the city of steel. Manchester is the chief cotton manufacturing city. Liverpool is the first port, exporting the products of the "Black Country". Bristol is a large port and the centre of aircraft and food industry. In Scotland Glasgow is the largest shipbuilding and mining centre.

During the 20^th century the position of Geat Britain among the countries of the world has changed beyond recognition. It is no longer the leading imperialist state. Nowadays it is pollitically and financially depenend on the United States.

II. Great Britain is a capitalist state. Political system of the country is a constitutional monarchy. According to the constitution the powers of the Queen are limited by Parliament. The organs of the government in the United Kingdom are:

• the legislature, which consists of the Queen and Parliament and

• the executive, which combines:

1. the Cabinet and

2. government departments under the control of ministers.

As a result of long revolutionary process, the Prime Minister is the real head of English government. He is usually the leader of the party having a majority in the House of Commons.

The British Parliament consists of two Houses: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords consists of over 1000 MPs. The Lord Chancellor controls all debates in this House. Historically he sits on a woolsack. The MPs of this House are not elected.

There are 630 MPs in the House of Commons. They are elected by secret ballot. The Speaker controls the debates in this House.

The life of English Parliament is fixed at 5 years and divided into Sessions. The main function of Parliament is to make law. The starting point is to draft a bill. When the draft has got Cabinet approval it goes to the House of Commons.

The bill's progress is very complex and includes the following stages:

1. Reading in the House of Commons.

2. Detailed examination by the committee.

3. Debates in the House of Lords.

4. The final approval by the Queen.

After that a bill becomes an Act of Parliament. Voting in both Houses is done by dividing into those in favour of the bill going through one lobby and those against it, going through the opposite lobby. Their names are recorded by clerks. The Lords vote "Content" or "Not Content", the Commons – "Yes" or "No".

The Prime Minister forms his Cabinet without consulting Parliament. The Cabinet is the real instrument of Government. It controls and runs all nation's affairs.