In the sentences below substitute the italicized elements with the words and word combinations from column a in exercise 1.
. Technically, in the UK the king or queen is given the official right to all the executive power, but actually it is exercised by the UK government for the Monarch. 2. The Monarch names the Prime Minister directed by the definite agreement that the Prime Minister would have the backing of the greater part of the House of Commons. 3. The Prime Minister chooses the people who work as Ministers. 4. About twenty of the higher-ranking Ministers form the Cabinet and almost 100 ministers make up the government. 5. According to the constitutional agreement, the Ministers should be either MPs from the House of Commons or members of the British nobility from the House of Lords.
Work in pairs. Discuss the following question. How do you think the executive power is exercised in the UK?
Work in pairs. Read the text below and fill in the gaps in the sentences after it.
The executive power in the United Kingdom is exercised on behalf of the Sovereign, in whom the executive power is theoretically and nominally vested, by the UK government. The monarch appoints a Prime Minister (PM) as the head of Her Majesty’s Government, guided by the strict convention that the Prime Minister should be the member of the House of Commons most likely to be able to form a Government with the support of that House. In practice, this means that the leader of the political party with an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons is chosen to be the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then selects the other Ministers which make up the Government and act as political heads of the various Government Departments. About twenty of the most senior government ministers make up the Cabinet and approximately 100 ministers comprise the government. In accordance with constitutional convention, all ministers within the government are either Members of Parliament or peers in the House of Lords.
Nominally, the executive power in the UK is vested in
Actually, the executive power in the UK is exercised by
The monarch appoints
The monarch appoints the PM on the condition that
This condition means that
The PM selects
The Ministers make up
The Ministers act as
The Cabinet is made up of
The government is comprised of
The Ministers must be either or
Work in pairs. Use the table above and tell your partner how the executive power in the UK is exercised. 6. Work in pairs. Choose the correct verb form in the following sentences. Explain your choice.
The Prime Minister is going to see/will see the Monarch tomorrow.
They are sure the Monarch is going to appoint/ will appoint the Prime Minister next week.
The Prime Minister promises that he is going to select /will select the Cabinet Ministers at the end of the week.
If she will obtain/obtains an absolute majority of seats in the House of Commons, she will become the Prime Minister.
He thinks that the Monarch is going to meet/will meet with the Privy Council once a week.
If the Monarch will appoint/appoints the Prime Minister, the latter will select the other Ministers.
The Prime Minister will form/is forming the Government next week.
They suppose that approximately one hundred Ministers will comprise/are comprising the UK Government in a year.
Look, she is going to sign/will sign the document.
They believe twenty of the most senior government Ministers are going to make up/will make up the Cabinet in a few days.
Listen to the text on the UK Cabinet and fill in the gaps in the sentences below. You will hear the text twice. Use the Vocabulary Section if you need it.
The Cabinet is the heart of the UK (1) and its
principal function is to determine, control and integrate the (2) of the government for submission to
. The Cabinet has about 20 members, or
ministers, all of whom must be (4) of Parliament
(MPs). Members of the Cabinet are leaders of the
(5) party in the House of (6) or
members of the House of (7). The Cabinet is
(8) over by the Prime Minister who has the (9) to move members of the
Cabinet from post to (10), or entirely drop them from the (11). The Prime
Minister serves as the first (12) of the Treasury and as (13) for the Civil
Service. The Lord Chancellor is always a (14) of the Cabinet and he holds a unique
(15). The Lord Chancellor’s (16) duties as a Cabinet member include
being (17) for legal (18) in the United Kingdom, but he or she is also
head of the (19), which is a separate part of the British (20). The Cabinet
meets in private and its deliberations are secret. No __ (21) is taken, and, by the principle
of «Cabinet unanimity», collective (22) is assumed for all decisions taken.