14. The House of Commons, its special powers

The members of the HC are chosen by the electors: they are elected either at a general election, or at a by-election, held when a particular seat falls due to the death of a member, his resignation, or a result of his elevation to the House of Lords. There must be a general election every 5 ys, but the Gov. can go to the country, ie order a general election at any t within that period if it so wishes. There are 651 members in the HC, but only 370 seats & 4 of them are registered: for the Prime Minister, the Speaker, the head of the Shadow Cabinet & the Father of the H( the man who has been elected for more terms than others).

Such session lasts for about 160-170 ds with certain intervals. A session is divided into 5 periods: from Nov (when it is opened) till Xmas, from Jan till Easter, from Eas till Whitsun (7th Sunday after Eas), from Wh till the end of July, and 10 days in Oct.

The party that has won the genel makes up the majority in the HC. The party with the next largest }fe of members forms the official opposition, and Leader of the OP is a recognized post in the HC. The members sit on 2 sides of the hall, one side fro the governing party and the other for the opposition. Import members in the HC are the Speaker and the so-called party whips (those who are responsible for party discipline, they arrange each day program & tell members when they must attend debates). The Sp is the Chairman or presiding officer, who is elected at the beginning of new Gov to preside over the HC& enforce the rules of order. He cannot debate or vote with other members unless voting is equal. The Sp has to forbid grossly insulting language

The day-to-day management of the House is the responsibility of the Serjeant-at-Arms. Television cameras were installed in the Commons on a permanent basis in 1989, but proceedings have been broadcast on radio since 3 April 1978. If the Ns present in the H drops below 40, the H is counted out and the debate suspended.

The HC is the effective legislative authority in GB: it scrutinizes and approves all legislation. It alone has the right to impose taxes and to vote money to, or withhold it from, the various public departments and services. Money bills come only from the HC &the Lords cannot delay them. The House of Lords rarely holds up legislation passed by the Commons, and the British sovereign almost automatically agrees to any bill passed.

It is to the House of Commons that government ministers must explain and justify their actions. MPs have special privileges in the House - for example they cannot be sued for libel for anything they say in Parliament - but they are also governed by special rules.

15. How a bill becomes a law in gb

New laws may be proposed in Part either by the Gov or by private MPs, or by members of the H of Lords. The proposed law is known as a bill when it is first brought in and while it is being discussed. When it has been finally passed, the bill becomes an Act of Parl.

The main stages of the bill's progress in each H are still known as readings, although the bill is no longer read out. Nowadays the 1st reading is a formality: the title of a bill is mentioned and it is then printed in full for members to read and think over before the 2nd reading. On the 2nd reading, a dissension takes place. The H mbe unanimous in favor of the bill, but at other times some members may shout Yes and others No, in which case a vote has to be taken.

A bell is rung so that all members may come and vote. The members leave their benches and walk out into 2 lobbies. This they do by passing through corridors behind the Speaker's chair, those who are for on one side, those against on the other. As they walk out, they are counted by 4 tellers - 2 for each side. The largest Jfe of votes for or against decides if the bill is passed or not. If the bill is defeated at this stage, it can do no further. After passing the 2nd reading stage the b must go to a committee for a detailed examination in the course of which there may be proposals & amendments. The Com is made up of Gov and Opposition members. The next stage is called the report stage: the H has before it the new text of the bill, incorporating the corn's amendments. Further speeches and amendments are made.

The b is now ready for its 3rd reading. Again it is fully discussed in the HC, but only slight alterations may be made. If the majority of MPs is still for the b, it is sent to the HL for discussion. When the Lords agree, the b is taken to the Queen for the Royal Assent. The Q signs, & the Great Seal is fixed. The b becomes an Act of Parl and part of the Law of Land.

Any b requires the raising &spending of money is called a Money bill. Money bills come only from the HC &the Lords cannot delay them.

UK(16) The Party System In GB (PPS)

The electoral syst. in Br. depends much upon the polit party syst. , which has existed in GB since the 17* c. Organised polit. parties present their policies in the form of manifestoes to the electorate for consideration dur. the intensive few weeks of campaigning before Oener. Election Day. A party candidate in a constituency is elected to Par! on a combination of election manifesto, the personality of the candidate and the attraction of the party. The party activity is not limited by the election period but continues as the political battle for power and ears of the electorate. For the last 230 years a 2-party system has operated in Br. Until 1918 it were the Conservatives (previous nickname "Tories") and Liberals ("Whigs") that took turns in holding power. Since 1945 either the CP or the Labour Party has held power. CoHMtnotvn Porty

The name Tory comes from a gallic word "pursuit" or "pursued man". It was 1" used dur. 17c. as a name for Irish outlaws or robbers.

CP was formed by Robert Peel from what was left of the old Tory Party in the 1830s. Peel and his successor Benjamin Disraeli together shaped modem Conservatism. CP adopted Tory traditions, the meaning - smn. who opposes change and wants to preserve the exisL situation, Its official name -Nation. Union of Conserv. and Unionist Associations. The CP unites in its ranks representatives of the Brit ruling classes and protects the interests of big business, finance capital and wealthy landowners, gives emphasis to the importance of law and order, and the maintenance of strong armed forces to protect British interests.

Cp is not homogenious. There are conflicting views within the party which reflect differences betw. var. groupings of monopoly capital. The main dif-ces are betw. the Orthodox Conservatives (s. c. Die-Hards) who demand loyalty to the old tradit principle and methods of leadership and policy-making, and Young, or Modem Conservatives who advocate more flex, and sophist ways and means in keeping with time.

CP has constituency associations throughout Br. They are run by volunteer officials who are assisted by paid party agents.

The members of the Parl. form the Conservative Parliamentary Party. The constituency associations are federated in the National Union which organizes the annual conference of the CP. All elements of CP meet at this conference. CP has a large youth movement - Young Conserv. -s who help the p. dur. the elections.

The party's Central Office is responsible to the leader. Outside Parl. CP has more than 1 mil. ind. members who pay annual subscriptions within an association for each constituency. The most imp. function of an association is to choose the party's candidate for the next election, and then to keep a close touch with him when he's an MP.

CP in 20c. is in power for a longer period than the Labour, 1951-1964, 1979-1997. At the 1997 Gen. Election the CP suffered a defeat

Under the CP Br. joined The Com mom Maria. The Cons. Government introduced Life Peerages, participated in the foundation of the most import, military blocks: NATO, SEATO, ANZUS (Australia, New Zeal and the US), EFTA (Europ. Free Trade AssocX EEC (Europ. Econ. Community). LabourParty

Created in 1900 under the name of Labour Representation Committee as a federation of trade unions and socialist organizations.

It was support by a very broad section of workers who had come to see that they could not longer rely on the liberals to defend their political interests.

Up to 1918 the p. had no clear program. The leadership was in the bands of the Reformists who were liberal in their conceptions and denied the class struggle.

Grad-ly, it became the 2nd ruling p. of GB, formed 9 gov-ments since that In 1924 f Labour Oov. lasted only 9 months and was powerless to introduce any socialist legislation. 2- LGov. , 1929-31, lasted over 2 years and ended in the world economic crisis with mass unemployment and the collapse of the pound. Its principal leaders joined die tones to form the coalition gov. - nt It resulted later in torism remaining dominant for 14 years.

3rd govern, of Alley was returned with an absolute majority in 1945 with determination to bring ab. social change. Carried out limited social reforms, some nationalization measures which in no sense weakened capitalism. Grad-ly it became clear thai the LP did not mean to undertake any radical Under LP Br. entered on the problem of the Cold War. In this period Br. surrended to the USA influence. This policy resulted in mass disillusionment and the return of the CP for 11 years.

The 5* gov-nt was fofined in 1964 but with a very small majority. The leader was Harold Wilson. In 1966 he decided to call new elections and the p. was elected once again.

But again the LGov. failed to carry out its election promises and in 1970 the Tory Gov. came. The LP started the reform of educ. syst. in GB (fr. 50s, mostly in 60s). They introduced comprehensive schools.

Tony Blair was elected the leader of the LP at the time when John Major replaced Thatcher alter she had resigned. He began to make changes in the programs and to do reforms.

All the time within the LP there was a severe struggle betw. the right and the left wings. In 1981 many members left and established a new polit organization - Social Democratic Party.

Social Democratic Party

It's a centre party which was inspired by Roy Jenkins, a former Labour moderate who earlier had held all the higher offices in Lab. Cabinet exc. Pr. -Min. When he had left Parl. , he served for 4 y. as President of the Europ. Commission. On his return to Brit politics he was joined by 3 other former

Lab. Cab. Ministers and 20 other MPs and formed a new party which claimed that free from the influence of the trade unions and of the left wing it was the true successor of the LP of Alley.

The Social democrats and Liberals quickly formed an alliance of the centre. At the end of 1987 had much more public support than the consev. gov. -nt of the Labour opposition. After 1983 Jenkins was replaced by the younger David Owen, another former Labour Foreign Secretary who quickly dominated his own p. but was uneasy with the Liberals.

After 1987 both parties agreed that they should merge to form a single p.

By 1990 the liberal democrats staeyd as the only serious p. of the centre and Owen's faction had collapsed.

Liberal Party

Former whigs. Formed gov-nt in turn with CP. But when LP appeared, trade unions and work, class began to support it and Lib. P. lost its power before WWI. It was never more elected into Parl.

Communist Party

Once was presented as an imp. P. supporting interests or work, class. Had its own paper - "Dairy Worker", in the 60s - "The Morning Star". Was founded in 1920. Until late 1980s reflected aims of the Com. P. of Sov. Un. After the 37* Congress many members left bee. they disagreed to the idea of establishing the dictatorship of the proletarian.

In 1990 the Party's Congress decided to abandon the name Communist and it seemed doubtful whether it would go on to exist as a politp. Its leaders moved tow. the centre.

Great Party

From 2-3% to 14% of people.

National Front

Has been little more successful than the com-sts in the 90s. Almost 1%.