Parliamentary Elections in Great Britain
Parliament is one of the most important parts of national life in Britain. You will also recall that the most important part of the Parliament is the House of Commons, the body composed of the elected representatives of Great Britain.
Elections to the House of Commons, known as parliamentary elections, form the basis of Britain’s democratic system. Unlike heads of Government in some countries, the Prime Minister is not directly elected by voters, although he or she is an elected Member of Parliament — an MP. Instead, The Prime Minister depends on the support of a majority of his or her fellow elected representatives in the House of Commons.
There are two types of elections, General Elections and By-Elections and of these the first is, naturally, the most important. In a General Election every seat throughout the whole country is usually contested, but a By- Election occasioned by the death or resignation of one particular member, is fought over one seat only. According to law, General Elections must be held at least every five years, although in very exceptional circumstances they may not take place so often (for example, during the Second World War).
Britain is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies. Each constituency is a geographical area; the voters living within the area select one person to serve as a member of the House of Commons. The average number of electors in each constituency in England is about 70,000; in other parts of Britain the average numbers are slightly lower.
The simple majority system of voting is used in parliamentary elections in Britain. This means that the candidate with the largest number of votes in each constituency is elected, although he or she may not necessarily have received more than half the votes cast. It is thought that this system favours a two-party system, particularly when the parties’ support is concentrated geographically, as in the case with the Conservative and Labour Parties. It does not favour parties whose support is spread across constituencies, such as the Liberal Democrats, as they tend to accumulate relatively small numbers of votes in each constituency and do not win many seats. Voting is by secret ballot.
All British citizens may vote if they are aged 18 years or over and are not legally barred from voting. Under recent legislation, British citizens living abroad may register to vote for up to 20 years after leaving Brit Voting in elections is voluntary. On average about 75 per cent of the electorate votes.
Any person aged 21 or over who is a British citizen, or citizen another Commonwealth country or the Irish Republic, may stand for elec40 to Parliament, providing they are not disqualified. Those disqualify include:
- people who are bankrupt;
- people sentenced to more than one year’s imprisonment;
- clergy of the Church of England, Church of Scotland, Church 0c Ireland and the Roman Catholic Church;
- members of the House of Lords; and
- a range of public servants and officials, specified by law. They include judges, civil servants, some local government officers, full-time members of the armed forces and police officers.
Candidates do not have to live in the constituencies for which they stand. However, candidates who are on the electoral register in constituencies for which they are standing may vote in their constituencies. Candidates must be nominated on official nomination paper, giving their full name and home address. The nomination paper must be signed by ten electors. At the same time a sum of 500 pounds must deposited on behalf of each candidate: candidates who receive less than cent of the votes cast in the election lose this deposit. Candidates from the main parties very rarely lose their deposits. Candidates normally belong o one of the main political parties. However, smaller political parties and groups also put forward candidates, and individuals without party sup0 also stand.
For the purposes of voting, each constituency is divided into a number of polling districts. In each there is a polling station: many types of building, including schools, are used. The official expenses of parliamentary electicions as opposed to individual candidates’ expenses, are paid by Government.
Task 1. Find the English equivalents for the words and word- combinations given below. Дополнительные выборы, отставка, избиратель, Консервативная партия, Лейбористская партия, Либеральные демократы, секретное голосование, добровольный, банкрот, в интересах кого-либо.
