Political parties

A two-party system has existed in the United Kingdom since the late 17 th century. From the mid 1920s the dominant groupings have been the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, despite the existence of smaller parties such as the Liberal Democratic Party and the Social Democratic Party.

The two-party system is one of the outstanding features of British politics and has generally produced firm and decisive government.

The two-party system formed in the British political practice the phenomenon of the Opposition. Its decisive characteristic is that it attempts to form an alternative government, ready at any time to take office, in recognition of which the leader of the Opposition is paid an official salary.

Answer the questions:

1. Since what time has a two-party system existed in the U.K.?

2. What are the dominant groupings?

3. What kind of government has the two-party system generally produced?

4. What phenomenon has this system formed?

5. What is the decisive characteristic of the Opposition?

Text C

Read the text silently and give the number of the paragraph describing the voting procedure.

The Electoral System in Great Britain

1. The Parliament Act of 1911 decreed that there must be a general election at least every 5 years. It is the Prime Minister who decides when a general election shall be held, and he (or she) usually advises the Queen to dissolve Parliament when the full 5 years are up. He chooses the time which he thinks is best for his party.

2. The United Kingdom is divided into 635 electoral areas called constituencies, and each one has to choose its MP. A large city may be divided into several constituencies.

3. If there are only two candidates in a constituency, one who gets the majority of votes is elected. But if there are 3 or more candidates and the successful candidate gets 10,001 votes and the other candidates – 10,000 each, he will be elected then with the support of only a third of those who voted.

4. Every person who has the right to vote can vote for an MP and no one else knows for whom she or he has voted. Voting is done by ballot. On Election Day the voters go to the pol­ling station. They record the votes bу placing a cross against their candidate's name on a printed piece of paper, which they place in the ballot-box. Late in the evening the election officials count up the number of votes and the Returning Officer (уполномоченный по выборам) announces the elected candidate.

Find in the text answers to the following questions:

1. What did the Parliament Act of 1911 decree?

2. How many electoral areas are there in the UK?

3. In what case is the candidate considered to be elected?

4. Who can vote for an MP?

5. What kind of voting do they have in Great Britain?

Text D

Translate the text in writing paying attention to the meaning of the underlined words. Take 10 minutes for the translation.

The members of Parliament (MPs) or the members of the House of Commons ere elected by the country at a general election every 5 years, or at a by – election which is held when a vacancy occurs in the House. Formally no law can be adopted or abolished without the approval of the House of Commons. It has the right of the legislative initiative, i.e. submitting bills to the consideration of the Parliament. But in fact all important political decisions are nowadays adopted by the Cabinet of Ministers without the Parliament.

Text E

Read the text, think of a suitable title to it. Explain (in English) the reason for mentioning the year 1911.

The House of Lords or the Upper House is not elected, it consists of the English nobility whose titles are hereditary. The members of the House of Lords are peers. Property has always been and still remains the basis of the Upper Chamber. One third of the Lords are company directors, bankers, industrialists and landowners. The House of Lords is a typical survival (пережиток) of the middle ages. Before 1911 the Lords had the right of absolute veto over any bill passed by the House of Commons. In 1911 this right was finally abolished after a great struggle. Now the Lords still have the right to delay a bill passed by the House of Commons for one year, but they have no power to reject a Bill relating to money.

Text F

Read the text and then say (either in English or in Russian) what new things you have learnt about the British parliament and its work.

Traditionally, the Parliament sits in Westminster Palace which was once the residence of the English kings and queens. Westminster Palace was first built in the 11th century on the bank of the Thames. It was heavily destroyed by a great fire and since that time the Palace has been rebuilt several times. Nowadays Westminster Palace is generally called the Houses of Parliament, attractive for tourists from many countries.

The House of Commons sits in an oblong hall, with seats for the Government supporters on the Speaker's right and the seats for the Opposition on his left.

The front bench on the Speaker's right is for the Prime Minister and the leading members of the Government. That on the Speaker's left is for the Leader and senior members of the Opposi­tion, the so-called "shadow Cabinet”. The back benches are the seats occupied by members who have no right to front bench seats. The cross benches may be used by those Independent members who do not vote regularly with the Government or with the official Opposition.

Only 4 members of the House of Commons have reserved seats - the Speaker, the Prime Minister, the Leader of the Opposition and the member who is known as the Father of the House of Commons (who sat in the House of Commons for the longest unbroken period).

The life of the Parliament is divided into annual sessions. A session is a period when the Houses of the Parliament are sitting. The periods when the Parliament is not sitting are known as recesses. The session normally starts in November and ends in July.

Each Parliamentary session is officially opened by the Queen in person. In the House of Lords the Queen reads what is called the speech from the throne. In her opening speech the Queen outlines the Government's plan for the main work of the session. She talks about the Government policy and mentions the main bills which the Government is going to introduce during the session. When the speech has been made, both Houses discuss and debate the speech separately.

1. Find English equivalents for the following:

тронная речь;

ежегодные сессии;

места на передних скамьях.

2. Imagine that you are a “Moscow News” correspondent and your task is to interview a British M.P. You will be allowed to ask only 4 questions. Put them down in your note-book .

Unit 4

Text A