Text. The Bodies of Government in the United Kingdom.

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a parliamentary monarchy, with the Queen Elizabeth II, as a Head of State. The powers of Queen are hereditary, and not elective. The Queen is considered to be the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the temporal head of the Anglican Church and the head of the Commonwealth. Juridically the Queen has a lot of rights, but in fact she is only nominal chief of state, the royal powers and prerogatives are almost entirely in the hands of the Cabinet of ministers.

The government of the United Kingdom is composed of three branches: the executive one, the legislative one, and the judicial one.

The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Parliament together with the Queen. The Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. These two Houses are considered independent of each other, they are constructed on different principles, have separate residences and different powers. But in order that laws may be adopted, it is usually necessary that both Houses come to an agreement.

The executive bodies consist of 1) the Cabinet and other ministers of the Crown who are responsible for directing national policy; 2) government departments, who are responsible for administration at the national level; 3) local authorities who administer and control many services at the local level; and 4) statutory boards, who are responsible for the operation of particular nationalized industries or public services.

The highest judicial body in the English judicial system is the House of Lords.

 

New Words

Senior старший

Treasury казна, казначейство

Responsibilities обязанности

To run (зд.) управлять

To create создавать

Activity деятельность

To indicate указывать, показывать

Seat место

To call (upon) вызывать

Summon вызывать, созывать

Frequent частый

To initiate вводить, устанавливать

Text. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

The Prime Minister is usually the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. The Prime Minister is the most senior officer of Her Majesty’s Government.

The Prime Minister’s main responsibilities include: running the Government; appointing Cabinet Ministers and other ministers; coordinating the activities of the Cabinet and Government Departments; appointing judges, creating Life Peers and making appointments to senior positions in the Church of England; leading the majority party.

The Prime Minister is technically appointed by the Monarch. The appointment takes place after the results of a General Election indicate which political party wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons. After a General Election, the Queen calls upon the leader of the largest party to officially appoint him to a post of a Prime Minister, who then forms the Government and the Cabinet.

In theory, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is a primus inter pares (first among equals) in the British Cabinet. In appointing a Cabinet the Prime Minister generally includes members of parliament who have political bases of their own and who could potentially be rival of the Prime Minister. However, in practice, a strong Prime Minister can so dominate government that he becomes a «semi-president», and fulfils the leadership role in a country in the same way as presidents do. Examples include David Lloyd George, Winston Churchill, Margaret Thatcher, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and David Cameron.

The Cabinet is composed of about 20 ministers, although the number can vary. The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, to exercise the supreme control of government and to coordinate Government Departments.

The Cabinet meets for a few hours each week on a Thursday morning at No. 10 Downing Street which is very near the Houses of Parliament in Westminster. The Prime Minister can summon the Cabinet to meet at any time and meetings will be more frequent when the political situation so requires. It is the Prime Minister’s duty to meet the Queen during the weekly audiences and inform her about the business of Government.

New Words

Comprise включать в себя

Upper chamber верхняя палата

Lower chamber нижняя палата

Constitute основывать, устанавливать

Taxation налогообложение

Safeguard охрана, защита

To scrutinize рассматривать, рассмотреть

Issue вопрос, предмет обсуждения

Proposal предложение

To attract привлекать

To deliver/ make / give a speech произносить, высказывать речь

To draw up составлять, выписывать

Policy политика

 

Text. The UK Parliament

Parliament is the most important democratic institution in the United Kingdom. It comprises the House of Lords (the upper chamber), the House of Commons (the lower chamber) and the Monarch as its head. The House of Lords and the House of Commons sit separately and are constituted on entirely different principles. The legislative process involves both Houses of Parliament and the Monarch.

The main functions of Parliament are:

- To make laws regulating the life of the community;

- To provide, by voting for taxation, the means of carrying on the work of government;

- To protect the public and safeguard the rights of individuals;

- To scrutinize government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure;

- To debate the major issues of the day;

- To examine European proposals before they become law.

Parliament has a maximum duration of five years. Each term is divided into sessions, which usually last for one year – normally ending in October or November, followed shortly by the State Opening of Parliament.

The State Opening of Parliament marks the start of the new parliamentary session. It is the main ceremonial event of the parliamentary year, attracting large crowds, both in person and watching on television. The Queen delivers her speech from the Throne in the House of Lords. The speech is given in the presence of members of both Houses. Although the speech is made by the Queen, the content of speech is entirely drawn up by the Government and approved by the Cabinet. It contains an outline of the Government’s policies and proposed legislative programme for the new parliamentary session. Following the State Opening, the government’s programme is debated by both Houses.

Литература

1. Английский язык:учеб. Пособие (2 семестр)/ сост. С.В. Кулинская. – Краснодар: Краснодар. Ун-т МВД России, 2012. – 184 с.

2. Справочник по грамматике английского языка для юристов // Смирнова М.И. – Симферополь, 2016

3. Словари: англо-русский, русско-английский.