In the sentences below substitute the italicized elements with the words and word combinations from column a in the table above.

Until the 1920s, the Tories and the Whigs, which later developed into the Conservative and ~e Liberal Parties, used to be the two most important parties that controlled the British political :fe. 2. But after the 1920s, the Liberals weakened in popularity and were substituted by the tewly appearing Labour Party. 3. The last of those mentioned soon became the main opponent the Conservatives, interchanging each other in government. 4. In 1988 the Liberals, often railed an unimportant party, united with the Social Democrats and became a third substantial rarty, whose electoral results have got better in recent years, and which can now compete in Lections ruling out the situation when 50% of the seats can go to one and only party.

3. Work in pairs. Discuss the following questions. What political parties in the United Kingdom can you think of? How do the UK political parties promote their candidates in elections? Do you know any UK party’s colors or symbols and their meaning? What may be the role of minor parties in the political process in the United Kingdom?

4. For questions 1-10 read through the following text and then choose from the list A-J the best phrase given below to fill each of the spaces.

Historically, the United Kingdom had two major political parties. Originally, the Tories and the

Whigs ( (1) into the Conservatives and the Liberal Party) dominated British

politics. The Conservative Party and the Liberals remained the main parties until the 1920s,

( (2) in popularity and ( (3) by the newly emerging

Labour Party, ( (4) the main rival of the Conservatives. (

(5) the Conservative and the Labour Parties ( (6) British politics, and

( (7) in government. However, the UK is not quite a two-party system

( (8) (recently, the Liberal Democrats) ( (9) 50% of the

votes/seats from going to a single party. In 1988 the Liberals merged with the Social Democrats because they had very similar views and became the Liberal Democrats. Now it is a sizeable

party whose electoral results ( (10) in recent years. Other parties, often called

minor parties, contest elections but few win seats in Parliament. Each major party has its own emblem and colour: the Conservatives have a blue torch, the Labour Party a red rose and the Liberal Democrats a yellow bird.

A. since then B. have alternated

100. have dominated D. can prevent

4. was replaced F. later they evolved

5. have improved H. since a third party

1. when the latter declined J. which became

3. Work in pairs. Tell your partner about the UK political parties, including their symbols and colours.

4. Complete the following sentences with the correct form of the verbs in brackets. There is an example at the beginning (0).

7. At present, political parties don’t have (not, have) to say where they obtain their money.

1. The main parties (hold) regular meetings at which party policy (discuss).

2. The Conservative Party (be) historically the principal party of the right, though

currently the party and its voters (associate) with the center-right.

3. In the general election in 2005, the Labour Party (win) re-election.

4. Since their formation the Liberal Democrats (advocate) electoral reform to use

proportional representation, replacing the House of Lords with an elected chamber and cutting government departments.

5. Under current electoral law, including the Registration of Political Parties Act, only registered party names (can, use) on ballot papers by those wishing to fight elections.

6. Before the Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party (merge) in 1988, the two

parties (be) in alliance for seven years.

7. The Liberal Democrats (Lib Dems, for short) (try) to minimize state intervention in

personal affairs and (object) to state limitations of individual rights.

8. If Lib Dems (win), they (favour) a welfare state.

9. The Liberal Democrats

(be) the

(support) multilateral foreign policy, and_

most pro-EU of the three main parties in the UK.

10. The party (seek) a reform of the electoral system to address the disproportionate

dominance of the two main parties that (result) from the current system.

3. Listen to the text on the Conservative Party and fill in the gaps in the sentences. You will hear the text twice

THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY

The Conservative

most successful (3) include

promotion of a strong

(2) parties in the world. Its guiding (4) property and

(6) and foreign

(7), and preservation of

(8) cultural values and institutions. The modem (9)

(whose members are often known as Tories) is essentially a coalition of two

(10), and must balance its traditionalist and communitarian wing

against its libertarian and (11) wing. It also experiences internal

(12) over Britain's relationship with the European

Its leaders now came to be drawn from the (14) and

professional classes rather than the landed and titled. At the same time nearly a

third of the (15) classes has usually supported the (16) for

reasons of patriotic identity, resentment of (17) groups, hostility to

Catholics or dissenters, or just a sense of

(1) is one of the oldest and

(5), maintenance of

(18) interest.

,. Read the text and then fill in the table below it using the information in this and the previous exercises. Use the Vocabulary Section if you need it. THE LABOUR PARTY

The Labour Party is the principal centre-left political party in the United Kingdom. In opposition to the Conservative Party it has been Britain's major democratic socialist party since the early 20th century. It evolved outside Parliament amongst trade unions and socialist organizations and tried to get representatives into Parliament to achieve its aims. As a party founded by the unions to represent the interests of working class people, Labour’s link with the unions has always been a defining characteristics of the party. Though the most loyal Labour Party voters remain blue-collar workers, a larger proportion of its support has come from middle-class voters, especially well-educated and professional people, and many perceive this support as key to Labour's electoral success since 1997. Historically the party was broadly in favour of socialism and advocated socialist policies such as public ownership of key industries, government intervention in the economy, redistribution of wealth, increased rights for workers, the welfare state, publicly-funded healthcare and education. The Labour party receives a lot of its money *rom trade unions and would like to have a law passed that forced parties to reveal the source of .arge donations and to prevent money being sent from abroad. The Labour leader is elected at the party conference by representatives of trade unions, individual members and Labour MPs. In -ecent years the Labour party has embarked on wide-ranging reviews of its policies in order to -roaden its appeal, take account of changing economic and social conditions and remain a major force in British politics.

"	THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY	/ - THE LABOUR PARTY
The type of party
The party’s origin
The party’s main principles
The party’s main supporters
The situation within the party
The party’s supporters expectations

9. Ask and give explanations about the main political parties of Great Britain. You may use the clues in the boxes below.