Listen to the extract from the after-Brexit parliamentary statements and answer the questions.

1) What is the PM’s and the Cabinet’s reaction to the referendum that “has stunned the world”?

2) What did the opposition leader (Jeremy Corbin) accuse the Leave-campaign of?

3) Did the MPs and the PM see it advisable for the parliament to ignore the referendum?

4) What decision did the PM leave up (оставл.ком-ниб для решения) to the next government? (to trigger article 50( article? Allowing countries to leave EU)

5) What did the PM say in response to worries that Brexit could impact on border-control policy?

6) What have some in France questioned?

 

                         Text 3 Law-making in theory and practice

 

Before you read. Think over the following questions:

- Can you describe the way a bill becomes a law in your country (or any other country of the world)?

- Is keeping to old traditions in such procedures as adopting legislative drafts really justified?

Read the following text. Translate the underlined passage into Russian.

Parliament ’s main role is to approve legislation. That sounds simple in theory. But in practice the process of turning an idea into a law is long and immensely complicated.

Laws begin life as legislative drafts, or bills, which are put before Parliament for amendment and approval. There are two types of bill – public and private. Public bills are far more important as they relate to matters of general concern and have to be introduced to Parliament by an MP or peer. Private bills deal with issues affecting a specific individual, group or company, and are introduced by the affected party themselves.

Private Members’ bills are drafted by individual MPs who can only introduce them if their names are picked out of a hat. There is little chance of these ever becoming law, unless they have the backing of the government of the day. The main route to legislation is through government bills, which account for most of the debates in both the House of Commons and the House of Lords. These are put forward by the government, made up of the Prime Minister and about 90 Cabinet and junior ministers whom she or he selects.

Bills may range from proposals for simple administrative reforms to highly controversial political changes such as the privatisation of nationalised industries and restriction of trade union practices. The recommendations behind them may come from government ministers themselves, or from their civil servants and informal party advisers. If the government is worried about the public response to their ideas, they may test the water first by issuing a Green or White Paper which sets out the proposals for consultation and discussion. The bill is then drafted by legal officials several months before it is laid in front of Parliament. It can be introduced into the House of Lords, but it is usually first debated in the Commons.

When a bill is introduced it automatically obtains its first approval, or “ reading ”. This term originated in the days before printing, when bills had to be read aloud. The first stage at which a bill is properly debated is called the “second reading”. This stage focuses on the principles behind the bill and does not consider its finer details. Bills are always opposed during their passage through the House of Commons.

MPs have an old-fashioned system for voting. Votes are called a division, because members divide into two rooms on either side of the chamber – the Aye (Yes) and the No lobbies. They then file back into the chamber and are counted as they do so by clerks. A division can take up to 20 minutes to complete, and if there are many votes in a single reading MPs can be kept up all night. Then the bill is examined in detail by a group of about 20 specially selected MPs in a “ standing committee ”, one of a number of parliamentary committees. These committees can make amendments to the bill, although they rarely make major changes. They can take from a few minutes to three months to consider it.

When the standing committee has completed its discussions it “reports” back to the full House of Commons. This opens the “ report stage ” in which any new amendments are debated. The Speaker of the House chairs debates in the Commons. His is the voice heard shouting “Order, order! ” when MPs are unruly. MPs can only address the House if they are called by the Speaker.

The last hurdle a bill has to pass in the Commons is the “third reading”. It is unusual for a bill to be rejected at this stage. The government may use its majority to cut short debate through a “ guillotine motion ”, which orders one or more stages of a bill to be completed by a fixed date or within a fixed number of sittings of the House or committee.

From the Commons, the bill passes through the same process of first and second readings, committee and report stages and third reading in the House of Lords. As a final check, a bill passes back to the Commons, where MPs discuss any changes made in the Lords. It receives the Royal Assent which is granted automatically. At last the bill becomes an act.

The process from first reading to Royal Assent can take from a matter of days for urgent bills where MPs are in agreement, to up to 11 months in the case of controversial legislation.

Whipping system

Whips are MPs or Lords appointed by each party in Parliament to help organise their party’s contribution to parliamentary business. One of their responsibilities is making sure the maximum number of their party members vote, and vote the way their party wants.

The Chief Whip is responsible for administering the whipping system that ensures that members of the party attend and vote in Parliament as the party leadership desires.

Whips frequently act as tellers (counting votes in divisions). They also manage the pairing system whereby Members of opposing parties both agree not to vote when other business (such as a select committee visit) prevents them from being present at Westminster.

 

                                           Exercises

1. Find the equivalents for the following:

закон; королевская санкция; обсуждать законопроект; голосование; профсоюз; палата Парламента; гильотинирование прений; реакция общественности на; большинство голосов; представить законопроект на рассмотрение; разделение при голосование в Британском Парламенте; голоса за и против в Британском Парламенте; спикер палаты; палата общин; первое, второе и третье чтения; общественный законопроект; личный законопроект; правительственный законопроект; составить законопроект; постоянный комитет; поддержка; существующее правительство; внесение поправок; вопросы, касающиеся общества в целом; выступать против законопроекта; председательствовать; отклонить законопроект; член парламента; пэр; консультант, административные реформы

 

2. Give as many synonyms as you can:

Bill, law, to reject a bill, to approve a bill, chamber, hurdle; the House of Lords, the House of Commons, government of the day, backing, to introduce a bill, to draft a bill, to debate a bill

 

Translate into English:

1. Основная роль парламента – обсуждать и принимать законы. 2. Закон начинает свое существование как законопроект, который представляется в парламент для внесения поправок. 3. Когда законопроект представляется в парламент, он автоматически получает первое одобрение или чтение. 4. Законопроекты могут варьироваться от предложений простых административных реформ до очень противоречивых политических изменений. 5. Спикер палаты общин председательствует во время дебатов. 6. В среднем, британский парламент заседает 150 дней в году. 7. Каждый законопроект проходит три чтения, как в Палате Общин, так и в Палате Лордов. 8. После внесения определенных поправок законопроект, прения по которому продолжались почти полгода, наконец был принят и получил королевскую санкцию. 9. Даже после внесения значительных изменений в законопроект, он не прошел второе чтение в палате общин. 10. Если бы не предварительное фиксирование времени прений, так называемое «гильотинирование» их, обсуждение некоторых законопроектов могло бы продолжаться бесконечно. 11. Для того, чтобы депутат мог обратиться к палате, необходимо, чтобы спикер, председательствующий во время дебатов, дал ему слово. 12. Несмотря на все попытки премьер-министра и правительства протащить этот законопроект, палата лордов все же отклонила его. 13. Многие начинания, которые в дальнейшем получили успешное развитие, изначально встречали противодействие. 14. Несмотря на то, что правительство информирует население о своих законодательных инициативах в специальных бюллетенях, реакция общественности бывает непредсказуемой. 15. Поддержка правительства может оказаться решающим фактором для принятия или отклонения законопроекта. 16. Степень коррумпированности госслужащих в последнее время приобрела пугающий масштаб. 17. Профсоюзное движение всегда было весомой силой в формировании государственной политики. 18. Закон о приватизации национализированных отраслей промышленности, принятый в начале 90-х, привел к неоднозначным последствиям. 19. Чтобы обеспечить адекватную работу в области принятия законов, нужно преодолеть множество препятствий. 20. Если во время заседания депутаты ведут себя неподобающим образом, спикер, согласно своим обязанностям, должен призвать их к порядку.

4. Speak about the law making procedure in Great Britain using the scheme given below.

Introduced by the government

˅

Submitted to the House of Commons

˅

3 readings in the House of committee Commons

(announcement, consideration by a standing, final review)

˅

3 readings in the House of Lords

˅

Royal Assent

˅

Act of Parliament

 

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