Answer keys part I Unit 1

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Task 3

1. legislative, is composed of

2. constitutional, monarch

3. the Cabinet

4. summon and dissolve, appoint, Prime Minister

5. introduced, debated

6. Parliament

7. power

8. Royal Assent, Act of Parliament

9. government

10. spokesman

2, 6, 4, 8, 1, 3, 10, 9, 7, 5

Task 4

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The Queen reigns with the support of Parliament. The Queen has the power to summon and dissolve Parliament, appoint all the Ministers. She acts on the advice of her ministers. The Queen gives the Royal Assent before a bill can become an Act of Parliament. The British Parliament is the legislative organ. It is composed of the Monarch, the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Parliament in the UK is based on the principle that the people of the country hold ultimate power. The government consists of the ministers. They are appointed by the Crown. The most important ministers of the government are called the Cabinet. The Prime Minister is the head of the government. He advises to the Queen on government business, co-ordinates the works of the various ministries. New bills are introduced and debated in the House of Commons.

Unit 2

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Task 3

1. be held

2. in private

3. official opposition

4. depends on

5. chooses, Cabinet of Ministers

6. election day, polling station

7. MPs, represents

8. majority of seats

9. ballot paper

10. general election, by-election

11. secret ballot

12. simple majority

13. polling card

14. Returning Officer

7, 10, 1, 11, 13, 6, 9, 2, 14, 12, 4, 8, 5, 3

Task 4

The House of Commons consists of Members of Parliament. MPs are elected at a general election or at a by-election. Parliamentary elections must be held every five years. Voting is taken by secret ballot. On election day, the voter goes to the polling station. His or her name and address are checked against the electoral register. The voter marks the ballot paper in private and puts it in a sealed ballot box. After all the votes have been counted in each constituency, the Returning Officer announces the result. The election is decided on a simple majority. The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party, which wins the majority of seats, forms the Government. The second largest party forms “Shadow Cabinet”.

Unit 3

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Task 3

1. debate

2. is made up

3. right of inheritance, life peerages

4. readings

5. is presided over

6. non-elected

7. Act of Parliament

8. report stage, be amended

9. Royal Assent

10. table a motion

11. introduce

12. votes for

13. impartial

14. elected

14, 2, 5, 13, 4, 11, 1, 8, 10, 12, 9, 6, 3, 7

Task 4

The House of Commons is made up of 651 elected MPs. It is presided over by the Speaker. A bill goes through three stages called readings. Then it becomes an Act of Parliament. The first reading is purely formal, to introduce a bill. The second reading involves debate on the principles of the bill. The third reading is the report stage when the bill can be amended. If six members table a motion, then there has to be a debate on the third reading. If the majority of MPs in the House of Commons votes for the bill, it is sent to the House of Lords and then to the Queen for the Royal Assent. The House of Lords is the only non-elected second chamber in the parliaments in the world. The House of Lords consists of the lords who sit by right of inheritance and those who have been life peerages. The Lord Chancellor presides over the House of Lords.

Unit 4

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Task 3

1. Conservative Party, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats

2. eager for

3. elections

4. was founded

5. support

6. be nominated

7. went back

8. made an alliance

9. believe in (2)

3, 6, 1, 7, 2, 5, 8, 4, 9

Task 4

British elections are usually fought between political parties. People who want to be elected to Parliament need to be nominated by one of the main political parties. The Conservative Party went back to the Tories. They supported Church and King. Today it represents those who believe in free enterprise. They prefer private ownership to state control. The Liberals were a group eager for political reforms. They made an alliance with Social Democrats and the Party of Liberal Democrats was formed. The Labour Party was founded by the Trade Unions. They believe in private ownership with the support of the public services.

Unit 5

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Task 3

1. is embodied, constitutional laws

2. unwritten

3. sovereign, alter, procedure

4. enactments

5. set of rules

6. reduced to

7. flexible

5, 2, 6, 7, 3, 1, 4

Task 4

A constitution is a set of rules which defines the relationship between the various organs of the government and between the government and citizens of a country. The British constitution is unwritten. It has never been reduced to writing. An unwritten constitution is more flexible than a written one. Parliament is sovereign. It can alter any law without any special procedure. The British constitution is not embodied in any documents, containing the essential constitutional laws. The UK has many enactments of great importance.