Westminster Palace and traditions in Parliament

Parliament works in Westminster Palace which since Edward the Confessor's times was kings' and queens' residence, then it was shared by Parliament but since the 16th century (Henry VIII) it is entirely in Parliamentary use. The House of Parliament is one building 280 m long, stretching along the Thames and overlooking it. Its width is 90 m. This building was erected in the middle of the 19th century, as the old one was destroyed by the Fire of London in 1834. Its architect was Charles Barry, his assistant and decorator — Augustus Pugin. It is a magnificent gothic-style carved-stone building with 1200 apartments, 100 staircases, 130 statues, 3,2 km of passages, 11 courtyards, 26 policemen, 34 doorkeepers, 250 people looking after the upkeeps of the palace.

Westminster Palace is richly decorated with statues of famous politicians of the past. So it is said in jest that British Parliament has the third House consisting of 130 statesmen immortalized in marble and bronze. When Parliament is in session Union Jack flies from the Victoria Tower by day and a light is burning on the Clock Tower with the famous Big Ben by night.

The 336-foot Victoria Tower is the largest and tallest square tower in the world. Through its archway the monarch enters for the State Opening of Parliament each November. More than 6000 Acts of Parliament are stored in the Victoria Tower.

The Clock Tower is one of the best known landmarks in the world. It is 320 ft high and is popularly called Big Ben, by the name of a four-faced bell clock striking the hours. Actually Big Ben is the name of the biggest of the 5 bells, the proper name for the tower being St. Stephen's Tower. Big Ben is 150 years old and it is the most accurate clock of its size in the world. There are two versions of the origin of the name. Some people believe that the tower got its name from Benjamin Caunt, a famous boxer. Others think that it was from Sir Benjamin Hall, an enormous Welshman who worked at the Palace when the clock was being built. There are 334 steps up to the belfry (the place where bells are) and 59 more up to the lantern at the top. Each number on the clock face is 60,9 cm long, the hour hand is 274,3 cm long, the minute hand is 426 cm long. It travels at 30,4 cm a minute. The weight of the Big Ben is 13,5 tons, the same as of 250-300 men. On the 11th floor there is a small prison cell which used to be for anyone who committed a crime inside the Houses of Parliament. In the past the clock used to be winded by hand (until 1913) and it took 30 hours a week to wind it. Now the job is done by an electric motor.

The State Opening of Parliament is a glamourous annual ceremony opening every new session of Parliament. The Queen's gilded coach parades from Buckingham Palace through Whitehall to Westminster, escorted by brilliantly uniformed and superbly mounted Household Cavalry. As the Queen enters the Houses of Parliament the air shakes with the booming of heavy guns, and all London knows that the processes that have so long protected England from oppression have once again been renewed with all their age-old ceremony.

The State Opening of Parliament is a procedure which is strictly scheduled, its every minute is significant. Yet when the Queen is seated on the throne there comes a long and awkward pause. Since the Civil War in the 17th century, a battle between King Charles I and Parliament over who should rule the country, when Oliver Cromwell defeated and abolished monarchy (Charles I was beheaded) and established a republic for 11 years, after the Restoration no monarch has ever been allowed into the House of Commons. So, sitting on a throne in the House of Lords, the Queen sends her representative, Black Rod, to knock on the door of the Commons to ask the 650 members of Her Majesty's House if they will go and listen to her speech outlining Parliamentary business of the new session. Black Rod is to cross the building to reach the opposite end of the Palace where the House of Commons is situated. The door is closed in front of him. He is to knock humbly 3 times. The door is opened and he announces the Queen's order. And ministers in pairs hurry after the messenger: the Prime Minister (the leader of the ruling party) with the Leader of the Opposition, ministers in power with the counterpart ministers of the Shadow Cabinet. But there are no seats for them in the House of Lords. So they crowd at the entrance and listen to the Queen standing at the door.

The State Opening Speech is drafted by the Queen's Government (Prime Minister) and describes what the Government intends to implement during the forthcoming session. During the next week or so the Government and Opposition debate aspects of the Queen's Speech in the House of Commons and vote on the amendments which the Opposition proposes. Since the speech is a statement of policy, defeat on any such vote would oblige the Government to resign.

The "throning" of a Speaker for the House of Commons is a tradition. He is generally elected by the common consent of all parties and is dragged from the floor of the House forcibly by two MPs. He puts up a great show of resistance. This ceremony dates back to the period before the Bourgeois Revolution, when the Speaker, as the representative of the Commons, had the unpleasant task of presenting its demands to the King. Sometimes he might lose his head for it or be thrown into the Tower.

Having being chosen the Speaker is carefully segregated. He is aloof from any political involvement, he lives in a big gothic house inside the Palace of Westminster, earns good money and retires with a peerage and a pension. His job requires a special temperament — phlegmatic but firm, as his main job is to keep fair play between the parties and between back-benchers and front-benchers, to protect the House from outside influences, and this can justify much of the pomp. He insists that MPs call each other "honourable members", bow to him on entering and leaving and address all their speeches to him. But all too often the Speaker's role degenerates into having to control childish squabbles and "unmanaged" debates with outbreaking of anger or uproar.

Red Line. There are 5 rows of benches running the length on either side of the Speaker. Her Majesty's Government sitting to the right of the Speaker and Her Majesty's Opposition sitting to the left of him have always held face-to-face debates. Sometimes those debates became so heated that MPs crossed swords with each other and fights began. Therefore a rule was imposed prohibiting members from crossing the space marked on the floor by red lines. This space is the width of two drawn swords. The red line in front of each front bench still marks the limit beyond which an MP may not approach the opposite side. If he steps on the lines the speaker immediately calls him to order and he is to apologize.

Ladies in the Gallery were allowed since 1762 but Sheridan's wife could hear her husband speak only dressed up as a man. A separate screen gallery was built for ladies. The question of segregation was finally settled by the enemy bomb which destroyed the House of Commons in 1941. Today men and women sit together in the Strangers' gallery which is open from 5.30 p. m. to about 10.30 p. m. on weekdays except Friday (from 9.30 a. m. to 3 p. m.)

Guy Fawkes. Before the official Opening of Parliament at the beginning of each session vaults (underground chambers, cellars) of the House of Lords are searched by the Queen's Body Guard. This ceremony commemorates the unsuccessful attempt to blow up King James of England and his Parliament by Guy Fawkes and other conspirators on November 5, 1605.

Talking. British people are rather critical about their Parliament. They admit that for any visitor to the either of the two Houses it becomes as clear as the Emperor's clothes that all that most members do about power is to talk about it. Talk is their business, and how they talk! They talk apparently to no one. The noble lords go on addressing the noble lords, they address this house, the "Right Honourable Member" or "Mr Speaker, Sir"; but Mr Speaker is chatting to a passing member, the Right Honourable Member left half an hour ago, and this house has just realized it's time for a drink and is emptying quickly through the swing doors. But never mind, the words still roll out. Parliament was once described as a "talking- shop". 40000 words are said on its every working day. Most of the speeches are not intended to influence thought or action. Even angry Parliamentary debate has the same effect upon national events as a slammed door has upon domestic arguments. 9/10 of what goes on at Westminster is an elaborate piece of play-acting. When the time comes the Whips and the Speaker will see to the fact that the vote should go with the Government.

But there is another side of the work of Parliament. By speeches Parliament limited monarchs, tamed tyrants, averted revolutions. In fact an MP can say whatever he likes, raise whatever problem, thus leaving no closed zones or white spots. The problem may be rejected, talked to death but can not be concealed from public. Parliamentary democracy is the main factor of the stability of the British political system. They joke that British Parliament can do anything but turn man into woman.

Hats off, strangers! The sitting of each House is preluded by processions of the Lord Chancellor and the Speaker into their Houses. Inspector of the police (Sergeant-at-arms)' announces "Hats off, strangers! Speaker in Chair". Strangers and MPs bow to the Speaker. Prayers are then read by the bishop on duty for that day. The prayers include a petition that members may lay aside "all private interests, prejudices and partial affections", so that the public wealth, peace and tranquility of the Realm may be maintained. The Speaker wears a horsehair wig, black silk robe, knee breeches and buckled shoes. He is attended by a uniformed Sergeant-at-arms who is also bearer of the Mace.

Forms of address: Dear Speaker, Sir; the Honourable Member — to MPs; the Right Honourable Member — to ministers, the Honourable and Learned — to the Queen's council lawyers (advisers to the Crown).

Some terms for MPs: front-bencher, back-bencher, the Chief Whip of the Government, the Chief Whip of the Opposition, Father of the House, Baby of the House, Leader of the House, Maiden speech.

Holidays. A session of the House of Commons lasts for about 160-170 days (in the House of Lords it is shorter) with several intervals during its work. By present custom, a session is divided into 5 periods: from November (when the session is opened) till Christmas (about 3 weeks), from January till Easter (2 weeks), from Easter till Whitsun (2 weeks), from Whitsun till the end of July or late August (2 months).

 

Vocabulary

 

jest – шутка, острота

awkward – неуклюжий, неудобный, затруднительный

to tame – смирять, смягчать

to avert – предотвращат ь

Mace –булава

Sergeant-at-arms – парламентский пристав(обычно старший офицер илигенерал в отставке)

Queen’s council – тайный совет

Whitsun – Духов день, седьмое воскресенье после Пасхи

UNIT 12

ELECTORAL SYSTEM

The British people have always prided themselves on their electoral system believing it to be one of the most democratic. It is known as a majority system, now often called "first-past-the-post" one. The foundation of the British electoral system is the single-member constituency. The United Kingdom is divided into 650 parliamentary constituencies, each one of which elects a Member of Parliament (MP) to sit in the House of Commons. Each MP represents 66000 electors. A person may represent a constituency even if he does not live there.

Any number of candidates can stand for election in each constituency. The winner is the candidate who gets more votes than any other single candidate, even if the difference is only one vote. This "first-past-the-post" system is simple, clear and familiar, but it means that sometimes the elected candidate represents only the third of those who voted and the candidate who comes second, even very close to the winner, gets nothing.

The weakness of the electoral system was revealed in the 1980s, when the conservatives enjoyed a large majority in the commons although at the elections of 1979, 1983 and 1987 more people voted against the Conservative Party than for it. In 1987 the Liberal/SDP Alliance received 23,1 % of the total vote but won only 22 seats (3,5 %) in Parliament. This is the reason why all the smaller parties continue their campaign for proportional representation, which would give them far more seats in Parliament.

General Elections in Britain are held every 5 years, as every Parliament (and Government accordingly) is elected for this term. The Prime Minister chooses the date of the next General Elections, but does not have to wait until the end of the 5 years. A time is chosen that will give as much advantage as possible to the political party in power.

About a month before the election the Prime Minister meets a small group of close advisers to discuss the date, which would best suit the party. The date is announced to the Cabinet. The Prime Minister asks the Queen to dissolve the Parliament. Once it is dissolved, all MPs are unemployed.

Party manifestos are published and campaigning begins throughout the country lasting for about 3 weeks with large-scale press, radio and television coverage.

Voting takes place on Polling Day (usually a Thursday). MPs are elected by direct and secret ballot. Citizens of 18 and over have the right to vote (except prisoners, lords and mentally ill). Voting is not compulsory and about 75 % of the electorate take part in General Elections. On election day the voters go to the polling-station, and record their votes by placing a cross against their candidate's name on the list, and place the paper in a ballot-box. Some people may vote by proxy. The election officials count up the number of votes and the Returning Officer announces the elected candidate. The candidate in a constituency who gains most votes is returned as Member to the Commons.

If an MP resigns, dies or is made a peer during the lifetime of a Parliament, aby-election must be held in the constituency (which he represented) to elect a new member.

No candidate requires the backing of a political party in order to stand for election, but today no independent candidates succeed in being elected. MPs are chosen by the constituency branch of the party from a list of suitable candidates issued by the party headquarters.

The two party dominance has existed since the 18th century. But for more than one hundred years Britain has had two-party state with Labour and the Conservatives taking turns in government. And both dominating parties have constant supporters. About 1/3 of the people vote for the Labour party candidates all the time, another third for the Conservatives. The traditional voting changed in the end of the last century. The electorate chose the Conservatives in four consecutive General Elections and Labour seemed consigned to the dustbin of history. They realised that it would help to move to the centre if it was ever to be elected again. And it was exactly what was done what insured its landslide victory in the next two General Elections (1997, 2001) — they won 63 % seats in the House of Commons. System in Britain promotes and maintains the dominance of the leading parties at the expense of the smaller ones.

The Liberal Democrats, a center party, as well as many small parties, are against the current "first-past-the post" electoral system. This is because, though they come second in many constituencies, they can not win many seats in Parliament. They campaign for a system of proportional representation (PR), in which the number of MPs is based on the number of people who vote for a party in the whole country.

 

POLITICAL PARTIES

Though Britain is a multiparty democracy its political scene is dominated by a two-party system: one party in power, the other in opposition. Now they are the Conservative and the Labour Parties. The two-party system has evolved since the18th century when the conflicting groups within Parliament formed opposing parties known as Tones and Whigs.

Political parties exist to promote the interests and ideas of particular classes and groups of the society. So do the parties in Britain today. Uncompromising politicians have not done well in Britain. The parties on the extreme right and the extreme left are remarkable by their absence or by their small size. The National Front (NF), with anti-migration as its only policy, started to enjoy the degree of electoral success in the 1970s. It has since disappeared, but one can still occasionally see the initials "NF" written on walls in inner cities around the country. The NF was succeeded by the British National Party (BNP), which managed to have one candidate elected to a local council in 1993. The British Communist Party (CP) was set up in 1920, but never achieved mass membership. After the collapse of the Russian communists, the CP in Britain went through the same crisis. In 1991 it changed its name to the Democratic Left, and has been rather quiet ever since. The most consistent and successful leftist group has for many years been the Socialist Workers Party (SWP), which is particularly strong among trade unions. The party is very active at every demonstration for human rights or against racism and fascism. There are nationalist parties as well: Plaid Cymru (Welsh party, founded in 1925) and the Scottish National Party (founded in 1934). Northern Ireland has a number of parties. They include Ulster Unionists (UU), formed in the early part of the 20th century; the Democratic Unionists, founded in 1971 by group that broke way from Ulster Unionists, and some others.

CONSERVATIVE PARTY

Today the Conservative Party is the party of the Right, identified with the idea of economic freedom and mainly with the idea of resistance to change. The aims of the Party are: to uphold religion, to maintain defence forces adequate for the preservation of freedom and prevention of war, to provide freedom and opportunity by supporting free enterprise and initiative against socialist system of state-trading and nationalization, to encourage wider spread of ownership of property, to improve standards of life, to promote better health, to give greater educational opportunities. The Conservative party has successfully portrayed itself as the party of patriotism. As it appeals to a "property-owning democracy" it is supported by wealthier classes, receiving much money from major business and financial institutions. It gives emphasis to the importance of law and order, and it is highly disciplined, tending no dissent from the leadership publicly.

It was the Conservative Party that had Britain's first woman prime minister and the longest serving British prime minister of the 20th century — Margaret Thatcher, who successfully waged the war against socialism and collectivism and who managed to reshape the image of the Conservative Party.

LABOUR PARTY

The Labour Party is less disciplined but more democratic, with more open disagreements between the leadership and other party members. Labour is the party of social justice, though its emphasis is less on equality than on the achievement of wellbeing and opportunity for all members of society It tends to put the collective wellbeing of society above individual freedom, in the economic sphere at any rate. Traditionally it has been committed to public ownership of major industries (nationalization) and to economic planning. By 1990 and later its politics had moved towards the centre so that in many aspects they were hardly different from those of the Liberal Democrats. It has now accepted more use of market forces and less central control, it encourages diversity, individual enterprise, decentralised economic organisation. And contrary to its earlier policies now it fully supports Britain's membership in the European Community as essential to the country's political and economic future.

The trade union movement, which founded the Labour Party, remains influential in the evolution of party policy. Out of 6 million party electorate votes 5,7 belong to the unions.

 

LIBERAL DEMOCRATIC PARTY

The Liberal Democratic Party aims to build a liberal democratic society in which every citizen shall possess liberty, property and security and none shall be enslaved by poverty, ignorance or conformity.

 

ELECTORAL RESULTS

Today the examination of the electoral results shows a growing north-south division in the people's support of the parties. The Labour Party has always been supported overwhelmingly by Wales, Scotland and North England. Those are people concerned with survival and security, who value the virtues of loyalty and solidarity. They are generally people of lower incomes. They are about 30 % of the population. But the growth of the middle class and the changes and the policy of the Labour Party resulted in a shift in favour of Labour, bringing overwhelming majority of votes in the last two General Elections (63 % of all MPs).

The Conservatives are supported by South England. Those are people ambitious for success, wealth or power, for whom outward appearances are important. They are "self-made", natural Conservative voters. By 1990 they were about 34 % of the population, but their number has declined to 25 % by 2001.

There is the third category of voters which is markedly growing. Those are people concerned with personal development and individual freedom, with strong moral motivation such as concern about world ecology, nuclear power or weapons, or civil liberties. Such people constitute 36 % of the population and are increasing. Most of them are supporters of the Liberal Democrats.

Vocabulary

constituency – избиратели, избирательный округ

to dissolve – распускать

Polling Day – день выборов

vote by proxy – передать свой голос, голосовать за другого (подоверенности)

Returning Officer – чиновник, контролирующий парламентские выборы

to back – поддерживать

consecutive – последовательный

to uphold – поддерживать, защищать

to wage – вести(войну), бороться

 

Content

UNIT 1 3–6

UNIT 2 7–10

UNIT 3 11–14

UNIT 4 15–18

UNIT 5 19–22

UNIT 6 22–26

UNIT 7 26–30

UNIT 8 30–33

UNIT 9 34–37

UNIT 10 37–41

UNIT 11 41–44

UNIT 12 45–48

Сборник текстов для внеаудиторного чтения

для курсантов 1-го курса 2-го семестра

 

Английский язык

 

 

Составитель

Миняева Елена Александровна

 

 

Свидетельство о государственной аккредитации

Рег. № 0440 от 22.12.06 г.

 

Подписано в печать ___.___.2007 г. Формат 60x90¹/₁₆.

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Орловский юридический институт МВД РФ.

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