Архитектура Аудит Военная наука Иностранные языки Медицина Металлургия Метрология
Образование Политология Производство Психология Стандартизация Технологии


Специальность № 020200 - Политология



 

Unit 6. GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

Exercise 1

Read the text. Translate it (orally). Make use of the notes and the vocabulary.

 

Britain is a constitutional monarchy, without a written constitution. Some parts of the governmental system are written down in Acts of Parliament (also called 'laws' or 'statutes'), others are regulated by 'conventions', which are commonly accepted assumptions about the way things should be done, mostly based on precedents.  

The present system has developed from the settlement which was the outcome of the Glorious Revolution of 1688-89. King James II had ruled for two years without a parliament, and had used powers which almost all sections of the people considered to be unjustified. By the end of 1688 he found himself deserted, even by his army, and he left for France, throwing the Great Seal of England into the River Thames on his way. An assembly of members of former parliaments declared the throne vacant, and offered it to King James's daughter Mary jointly with her husband William, who was also James's nephew. The army that he brought with him from Holland met no resistance. Instead, he was welcomed. This revolution was accomplished without violence. The hereditary monarchy was preserved, but full sovereignty was placed in the hands of 'the King in Parliament'.

The Act of Settlement (1701) and other statutes provided for a maximum interval between elections to the House of Commons (still on a very narrow franchise), and declared that new laws and taxes must be approved by Parliament and the monarch. But there was no formal restriction on the types of laws that might be passed. Any existing law could be replaced by another, provided that it passed through the prescribed processes. The new King and Queen appointed ministers, at first without reference to Parliament. However, as time went on it became clear that the ministers could not work effectively unless they were approved of by the majority in the House of Commons. As that House consisted of two parties (Whigs and Tories), this came to mean that the ministers were all members of the party holding a majority of the seats (though the party divisions were for a time less rigid than they became later). The foundations of modern government were soon established.  

At first there was no chief minister, but soon after 1721 Robert Walpole came to be called Prime Minister, and later it became normal for all ministers to be appointed on the Prime Minister's advice. The principle of the 'responsibility' of ministers to the House of Commons became well established, though this has always been difficult to define. In theory it has two aspects, in its modern form. First, the House of Commons may force any minister to resign. Second, because the ministers' responsibility is not only individual but collective, if the Commons force one minister to resign the others either disown him or resign as well. In practice individual ministers resign either because they themselves have decided to or because the Prime Minister asks them to. In either case the opinions of the Members of Parliament (MPs) of the party may have some influence, without being expressed by formal vote. 

 If a government is defeated on a vote of confidence, it does not need to resign at once. Instead, the Prime Minister may ask the monarch to dissolve Parliament for a new election. But any government with a clear majority of seats is unlikely to be defeated on a vote of confidence. Any MPs who vote no confidence in their own party's government have reason to fear that in a new general election they will lose their seats; so the supposed power of Parliament to remove a government has in fact become an instrument which helps the ministers, and the Prime Minister in particular, to maintain a rigid party discipline on all important issues. If a government has a solid party majority in the Commons it can normally feel secure in power until the next general election, which, by law, must be no more than five years after the one before.  

As the system has developed, it gives almost unlimited power to a government whose party has an overall majority in the Commons. With no written constitution, any of the laws in force may be replaced by other laws, subject to the approval of the House of Commons and the monarch. Since 1949 the House of Lords has had no power except to delay the passing of a bill from one session of Parliament to the next, in practice this delay could be about three months. The need to get the Queen's approval seems to be a worthless safeguard, as she normally acts only as her ministers advise her. In fact the existence of the monarch has until now provided some of the protection that a written constitution might provide against the improper use of governmental power. It is one of the most deeply respected of the rules or conventions of the unwritten constitution that the monarch should never be advised to act in a way which would seem to contravene the basis of the constitution, and so become involved in the controversies of politics.

 

 

Notes

vote of confidence – вотум доверия

MP (Member of Parliament) – член Парламента

statutes – статуты, законодательные акты

 

Vocabulary

taxes – налоги

general election – всеобщие выборы

overall majority – всеобщее большинство

 

 

Exercise 2

Translate the 1st and 2d paragraph of the text beginning with the words “Britain is…” and ending with the words “…the King in Parliament” (in written form).

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Exercise 3

Divide the text into logically connected parts and entitle them. Present the points of your plan in written form in the space below.

 

 

 

   

 

Exercise 4

Present the general idea of the text in 3-4 sentences. Do it in written form.

______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Exercise 5

Give your opinion on the role of each House of Parliament in the political life of Great Britain. Present your interpretation in the form of a thesis. Write it down in the space below.

   

 

 

 

 

TUTOR’S REMARKS

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


 


Поделиться:



Последнее изменение этой страницы: 2019-03-22; Просмотров: 375; Нарушение авторского права страницы


lektsia.com 2007 - 2024 год. Все материалы представленные на сайте исключительно с целью ознакомления читателями и не преследуют коммерческих целей или нарушение авторских прав! (0.02 с.)
Главная | Случайная страница | Обратная связь