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Political Parties

Political parties first emerged in Britain at the end of the 17th century. The Conservative (“the Tories”) and Liberal (“the Whigs”) Parties are the oldest, and until the end of the 19th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. Since 1945 general elections have been won by the Conservative Party and the Labour Party; the great majority of members of the House of Commons have belonged to one of these two main political parties.

In 1988 the Liberal Party made an alliance with the Social Democratic Party and formed a new party – the Liberal Democrats. This party is often said to be “conservatively oriented”.

Because of the electoral method in use only two major parties obtain seats in the House of Commons. People belonging to smaller political parties join one of the larger parties and work from within to make their influence felt. The exception to this are members of the Scottish National and Welsh Nationalist Parties. Although their total support is relatively small, they can manage to win seats in the Parliament, because their votes are concentrated in specific geographical areas.

to emerge

[I'mWdZ]

появляться, возникать

alliance

[q'laIqns]

союз, альянс

Exercises

Ex. 1 Choose the correct word or phrase to complete these sentences:

1. The head of State in Britain is ________.

a) the Prime Minister

c) the Queen

b) the President

d) the Speaker

2. Nowadays, the British monarch ________.

a) rules and governs

c) reigns and rules

b) reigns but doesn’t rule

d) rules but doesn’t reign

3. The British Prime Minister lives at ________.

a) 12 Whitehall

c) 7 Russel Street

b) 10 Downing Street

d) 15 Oxford Street

4. The Palace of Westminster is a centre of ________ life of Britain.

a) cultural

c) industrial

b) business

d) political

5. British Parliament is the ________ body of the country.

a) judicial

c) social

b) executive

d) legislative

6. Parliament consists of ________ houses — ________.

a) two; the House of Representatives and the House of Lords

b) three; the House of Lords, Senate, and the House of Commons

c) four; the House of Commons, Congress, the House of Representatives, and the House of Lords

d) two; the House of Lords and the House of Commons

7. The members of the House of Commons are chosen by the ________.

a) electors

c) House of Commons

b) House of Lords

d) Sovereign

8. Important members in the House of Commons are ________.

a) the majority and the official Opposition

b) Leader of the Opposition and the Opposition

c) the Speaker and Leader of the Opposition

d) the Speaker and the so-called party whips

9. There must be a general election every ________ years.

a) four

b) six

c) five

d) three

10. In the House of Commons the members sit ________.

a) on four sides of the hall

c) on two sides of the hall

b) on three sides of the hall

d) on two sides and in the middle of the hall

11. The British political scene is dominated by a ________ system. These parties are ________.

a) one-party; the Democratic Party

b) two-party; the Conservative and the Labour Parties

c) three-party; the Conservative, the Liberal and the Labour Parties

d) four-party; the Labour, the Liberal, the Conservative and the Scottish National Parties

12. After each general election, the King or Queen invites the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons to become ________ and form the Government.

a) the Lord Chancellor

c) the Speaker

b) the Secretary for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs

d) the Prime Minister

Ex. 2 Give a name to the following:

  1. the Opposition cabinet

  2. a King or a Queen

  3. the Chairman in the House of Lords

  4. a special seat in the House of Lords on which the chairman sits

  5. a proposal for a law

  6. the chairman in the House of Commons

  7. a party manager whose instructions an ordinary MP must always follow

  8. special corridors used during voting in the House of Commons

Ex. 3 Give the English equivalents to the following word combinations:

конституционная монархия; исполнительная власть; законодательная власть; всеобщие выборы; получать жалование; уйти в отставку; законопроект; теневой кабинет; быть ответственным перед парламентом; законодательный орган; палата общин; депутат палаты общин; большинство голосов; голосовать за (против); «переднескамеечники», «заднескамеечники», «духовные лорды», «светские лорды», пожизненные пэры; получить большинство мест в парламенте.

Ex. 4 Answer the questions:

  1. Who is the official head of the state?

  2. Are the powers of the monarch in the UK limited?

  3. What activities are the members of the royal family engaged in?

  4. How many Houses are there in the British Parliament?

  5. Which of the Houses is stronger politically and why?

  6. What were the privileges of the House of Lords in the past? Are any of them left nowadays?

  7. Who presides in the House of Lords?

  8. What is the shape of the debating chamber in the Parliament? Why is it important?

  9. What is the procedure of passing a bill?

  10. What do the letters MP stand for?

  11. Who is responsible for the debating procedure in the House of Commons? Is he appointed by the Prime Minister or elected by MPs?

  12. How is voting in the House of Commons accomplished?

  13. Who are called “frontbenchers” and “backbenchers”?

  14. How is the government formed?

  15. Who is traditionally appointed Prime Minister?

  16. Who forms the Cabinet?

  17. How is the second largest party called?

  18. What is the name for the alternative cabinet?

  19. What political parties in the UK can you name?

  20. What party is in power in the UK nowadays?

  21. Which party is in opposition now?

  22. What is the name of the British Prime Minister?

  23. What is the name of the reigning monarch in Britain at present?

Ex. 5 Render the following text in English:

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