III. Dialogue

1. Read the dialogue:

Mikhail Petrov, a postgraduate of Saratov State Law Academy Academy, is the Vice-Chairman of the Youth Public Parliament of the Russian Federation. As a member of the Youth Parliament he visited the United Kingdom of Great Britain and took part in a conference. Members of the British Parliament were among the participants of the conference. Mikhail had a talk with Gary Hart, Member of Parliament, representative of the Conservative Party and asked the deputy several questions.

Mikhail: Mr. Hart, I’d like to ask you a question about the British Shadow Cabinet. I heard much about this body but know little.

Mr. Hart: My dear friend, the Shadow Cabinet, also called the Opposition Front Bench, is a senior group of opposition spokespeople in the Westminster System of government who together under the leadership of the Leader of the Opposition form an alternative cabinet to the government’s. Since May 1997, the Official Opposition has been the Conservative Party.

Mikhail: Why do you use the word “shadow” and not just the term opposition?

Mr. Hart: You see, members of such a cabinet shadow or mark each individual member of the government. The shadow cabinet is, in effect, the alternative administration. Members of a shadow cabinet are often but not always appointed to a Cabinet post, if and when their party gets into government.

Mikhail: Mr. Hart, several times I’ve come across such a title – Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition.

Mr. Hart: You’re right, in the United Kingdom and Canada the major opposition party is often called Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition. The word “loyal” is used because while there are policy differences, everyone acknowledges the role of the opposition in the system. However, in other countries that use the Westminster System the opposition is known simply as The Parliamentary Opposition.

Mikhail: Mr. Hart, what is the most public parliamentary function of the Leader of the Opposition and the Opposition itself?

Mr. Hart: The most public parliamentary function of the Leader of the Opposition is Prime Minister’s Questions. The Leader of the Opposition has six questions which he asks during an opposition day. As for the other ministers’ questions I can say that every government department is subjected to questions in the House of Commons, and the House of Lords. The official opposition spokesmen can ask a number of questions. Backbench MPs are free to ask questions too. In the House of Lords opposition spokesmen also question the government.

Mikhail: Are special conferences held in the British Parliament when the opposition’s questions may be asked and answered?

Mr. Hart: You see, the British Parliament has a tradition of frequent “Opposition Days”. Out of a total some 160 days per session, every eighth day is an opposition day. This means that on those days issues proposed for consideration by the opposition shall have precedence over Government business.

Mikhail: Can we speak about cooperation between the government and the opposition?

Mr. Hart: Dear friend, I want you to get the main idea of the loyal opposition in Parliament. Opposition and government are not at war. Both sides have a common goal – the country’s stability, happiness and prosperity. Disagreements are only in methods which are employed to achieve these goals. A Shadow Cabinet helps keep the government accountable and thus raise the quality of decision-making in the country.

Mikhail: How are opposition parties financed?

Mr. Hart: Opposition parties in the UK have access to two sources of public funding. The first, known as “short money”, is only available to opposition parties and includes funding to assist an opposition party in carrying out its Parliamentary business. The second source of public funding is the Policy Development Grant. Under the provisions of the Parliamentary Act, 2 million pounds are allocated among all political parties with more than two MPs in the House of Commons.

Mikhail: Mr. Hart, thank you very much for such an interesting piece of information.

2. Say what you have learned from the dialogue about:

a) Sadow Cabinet, b) the most public parliamentary function of the Leader of the Opposition; c) sources of public funding of the opposition.

3. Act out the dialogue.