Новини освіти і науки:

G+

Тлумачний словник
Авто
Автоматизація
Архітектура
Астрономія
Аудит
Біологія
Будівництво
Бухгалтерія
Винахідництво
Виробництво
Військова справа
Генетика
Географія
Геологія
Господарство
Держава
Дім
Екологія
Економетрика
Економіка
Електроніка
Журналістика та ЗМІ
Зв'язок
Іноземні мови
Інформатика
Історія
Комп'ютери
Креслення
Кулінарія
Культура
Лексикологія
Література
Логіка
Маркетинг
Математика
Машинобудування
Медицина
Менеджмент
Метали і Зварювання
Механіка
Мистецтво
Музика
Населення
Освіта
Охорона безпеки життя
Охорона Праці
Педагогіка
Політика
Право
Програмування
Промисловість
Психологія
Радіо
Регилия
Соціологія
Спорт
Стандартизація
Технології
Торгівля
Туризм
Фізика
Фізіологія
Філософія
Фінанси
Хімія
Юриспунденкция

Future of the Monarchy

Today the British monarchy is one of the greatest tourist attractions. The Queen herself remains popular in the country, but various marital problems in her family have lowered the prestige of royalty. Antimonarchists underline also the high cost of the monarchy. The Queen is one of the richest women of the world. “The Civil List” is the money she and some other members of her family get from Parliament each year (through a special tax) so that they can carry out their public duties.

Certain steps are being taken to protect and preserve the monarchy. One of them is “The Way Ahead Committee”. It consists of the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and some of the top-ranking advisors. It is supposed to help the monarchy to remain in tune with modern life. The Queen realises that the monarchy needs some changes =>: proposal to end the primogeniture; proposal to lift the ban for heirs to the throne to marry Roman Catholics, etc.

British Constitution:The Constitutional monarchy means that the power of a monarch is limited by the Constitution and an elected Parliament.

Peculiarities of the British Constitution: there is no written constitution/the British constitution is unwritten;it is not contained in any single document.

The British Constitution comes from the variety of sources:

1. Historical documents/statutes, e.g. “Magna Carta” (1215) – nobles forced King John to sign this document according to which the power of a monarch was limited; a monarch should rule in accordance with law and custom; people had right to resist an unjust king.

2. Laws/Acts of Parliament, e.g.:

· the Bill of Rights (1689) – Parliament should be freely elected; freedom of speech; no taxation without the agreement of parliament; no power for king to suspend any law; the army could be raised only with Parliament’s agreement, etc.;

· the Act of Settlement (1701) – gave Parliament the right to decide upon the succession to the throne;

· the Representation of the People Act (1918) – women received the right to vote; ruled for holding elections, etc.;

· the Act of 1999 – abolished hereditary principle in the House of Lords.

3. Constitutional matters decided in a court of law.

4. Customs/conventions – established practices/accepted way in which things are done/unwritten rules, e.g.:

· convention of the Queen to accept the legislation passed by Parliament;

· convention of the ministers to support a minister in trouble, etc.

5. The works of constitutional experts on the subject of constitution.

Basic Principles of the Constitution: the Rule of Law; the Rule of Custom; the Supremacy of Parliament.

Unwritten Constitution: 1.) supporters(pros) it is flexible, easy to amend 2.)rejecter(cons) the public does not have access to this important document => it should be written and codified as one single text.

The amendmentsto the Constitution are made by a simple majority support in both Houses of Parliament followed by the Royal Assent.

Separation of Powers under the British Constitution:

1. the Legislature/legislative branch (makes laws) – represented by Parliament;

2. the Executive/executive branch (puts laws into effect and plans policy) – represented by the Cabinet;

3. the Judiciary/judiciary branch (decides on cases that have to do with the breach/violation of law) – represented by the Law Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (advisory organ of a British monarch).

Britain does not have a very strict separation of powers (unlike the USA), i.e. all the branches merge:

· the Prime Minister as well as other ministers belongs to the Executive, but he is also an active member of the Legislature because he is an MP (member of Parliament/the House of Commons);

· the Lord Chancellor is a member of the Cabinet (the Executive) as well as the Head of the House of Lords (the Legislature);

· the Law Lords are the members of the House of Lords (the Legislature) as well as the members of the Judiciary (they are actually the Supreme Judges).

7.) Describe the structure and composition of the British Parliament. The reform of the House of Lords and its role. The House of Commons, composition and role. Give an account of the functions of the British Parliament outlining the process o passing a bill. Explain the term “Devolution” and its significance for the national parts of the U.K.

The British Parliament consists of the Queen and the two Houses of Parliament: the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons. These elements are separate and meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance. The House of Lords is the second chamber of the British Parliament. Members of this chamber (known as peers) consist of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. In the 20^th century The House of Lords faced several successful reforms:

1911-Parliament Act

The ability to block legislation indefinitely was placed by the delaying power of 2 years.

1949-Parliament Act

The period of delay was reduced from 2 years to 1 year.

1958-Life Peerages Act

Peerages could be given on a non-hereditary basis for the first time. Women entered the lords the same year.

1999 –House of Lords Act

Removed hereditary peers with the exception of the 92 remaining.

The House of Commons consists of 646 MPs. The Commons hold their seats during the life of the parliament (generally 5 years). The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker.

The composition of the HoC after 2005 general elections is the following:

Parties

Labour 356

Conservative 198

Liberal Democrat 62

SNP 6 Democratic Unionist 9 Plaid Cymru 3

Sinn Féin 5

Ulster Unionist 1

Social Democratic and Labour 3

Independent 1

Total 646

Functions of Parliament:

1. law-making;

2. taxation;

3. discussing the issues of the day.

Procedure of Passing a Bill in British Parliament

Types of Bills:

1. Public Bills:

· concern public policies;

· can be introduced in either of the Houses (except for the bills involving taxation and spending public money – these ones can be introduced only in the House of Commons) by a minister or a private member (MP) (than it is called a private member’s bill);

· cannot be carried over from one session to the next one.

2. Private Bills:

· concern the matters of individual, corporate or local interest;

· introduced through a petition, presented to Parliament by its promoter who is also responsible for its cost;

· can be carried over from one session to the next one.

The process of passing a public bill is similar in both Houses of Parliament:

Stage 1: First Reading – a formal announcement of the bill (its title, name of the person who is responsible for it and the day of the Second Reading) with no debate.

Stage 2: Second Reading – the House debates general principles of the bill and in most cases takes a vote.

Stage 3: Committee Stage – a committee of MPs/peers studies the details of the bill thoroughly and votes on amendments to the bill.

Types of parliamentary committees:

· select committee – controls the Executive by examining some aspects of administration and reports the results to the House;

· standing committee – examines public bills at the Committee Stage, sometimes also at the Second Reading and the Report Stage. In standing committee the balance of parties reflects that in the House as a whole;

· joint committee – consists of the members of both Houses appointed to consider a particular issue or a particular bill. The proposal to send a bill to a joint committee comes from the House where the bill was originated.

Stage 4: Report Stage – the House considers the proposed amendments and takes a vote.

Stage 5: Third Reading – purely formal stage; the bill is reviewed and debated as a whole.

Stage 6: The bill is sent to the other House for the same procedure. If the other House makes new amendments they will be considered by the House that originated the bill.

Stage 7: Royal Assent – after both Houses have reached agreement on the bill, it is sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent and after it is signed by the Queen it becomes

Devolution in Britain

Devolution – the act of giving power from a national government to a group or organisation at a lower or more local level.

Devolution in the U.K. means decentralisation or shifting the responsibility from Parliament in London to local parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Labour Party came to power in 1997 with proposals for parliament in Scotland, assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland. Some people are very optimistic about it, some call it the end of Britain.

The Scottish Parliament:

1. The Referendum of 1997 in Scotland => the Scottish supported the idea of devolution.

2. The Scotland Act of 1998 provided for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.

3. 1999 – the first elections took place and the Scottish Parliament was officially opened. There are 129 members in it. The decide on “devolved” matters (i.e. education, health, environment, agriculture, justice) while the 72 Scottish MPs represent their constituencies in London on “reserved” matters (defense and national security, employment, foreign affairs).

4. Functions of the Scottish Parliament:

· to hold the Scottish Executive accountable through oral and written questions;

· to make laws on devolved matters;

· to debate important issues;

· to publish reports.

5. Achievements of the Scottish Parliament:

· University tuition fees were abolished and replaced by a graduate tax paid back later, when a person starts to work;

· Abolition of feudal land holding.

The National Assembly for Wales:

1. The Referendum of 1997 in Wales => the Welsh approved the idea of devolution.

2. The Government of Wales Act of 1998 established the National Assembly for Wales.

3. Since 1999 the National Assembly for Wales has power and responsibility to develop policies and make important decisions in the following areas: agriculture, ancient monuments and historic buildings, culture, education, environment, health, industry, local government, tourism, transport, the Welsh language, etc.

4. The Secretary of State for Wales and 39 MPs represent Wales in Parliament in London.

The Northern Ireland Assembly:

The situation in Northern Ireland is more difficult than that in Scotland or Wales.

1. In 1998 a 108-member Assembly (18 constituencies, 6 members from each) was elected using a proportional representation system. The Assembly met in shadow form (without legislative power).

2. The formal powers were devolved from London to the Assembly only in 1999 due to the political tension with IRA.

3. 2000 – political problems led to a return to direct rule from London.

2003 – new elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held. But the road to peace and solution of the Irish issue remains difficult and there was little success so far in devolution in Northern Ireland.

8.) Discuss the electoral system. Give an evaluation of the “majority electoral system” existing in GB. Comment on the general elections of May 2005

Electoral System in the U.K.

The House of Commons is the only chamber in Parliament that is elected at General Elections:

1. General Elections are held every 5 years.

2. The U.K. is divided into 646 (2005) constituencies (electoral districts). The constituencies do not coincide with counties. Each constituency has the same average number of people – 60 000 – and elects one member to the House of Commons.

3. The candidates may be nominated by different parties of there may be so-called “independents” (candidates that do not belong to any party). The candidate who wins the majority of the votes (it does not have to be over 50%, but merely more votes than any of the other candidates individually has won) wins the elections.

4. The party that wins the majority of the votes becomes the leading party and its leader becomes Prime Minister and forms the Government (the Cabinet). The party that comes second becomes the official opposition. Such system is called “the majority system” or “first-past-the-post” system and is considered to be unfair because it gives little chance to small parties to send their candidates to the Commons while the system of proportional representation aims to give each party the proportion of seats in Parliament corresponding to the proportion of votes it received at General Elections.

5. All parties publish their manifestos before General Elections. They are intended to tell the electorate what the party would do if it formed the next Government.

6. The British citizens may vote provided they are aged 18. If they are/live abroad (less than 15 years) they can vote in a British embassy or by post.

7. The voting is on the same day (usually Tuesday) in all the constituencies from 7 a.m. till 9 p.m. Elections are held by secret ballot.

8. By-elections can be held:

· as a result of elevation of an MP to the House of Lords;

when a vacancy occurs as a result of death or resignation of an MP or if he can no longer be an MP.

9.) Give a general survey of the main 8 economic regions of the U.K., the main cities of each region

The South industrial and Agricultural region, Central England or the Midlands, Lancashire, Yorkshire and North England. Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland are also regarded as independent economic regions of the UK. The whole country consists of 8 economic regions.

The South industrial and Agricultural region:

It’s the most important region in the country in terms of industry, agriculture and population. The region includes all the South of England, both the South East and the South West.

The South is a region of various industries and of intensive agriculture. At the centre of everything is the city of London. Today about 6.7 million people live in Greater London. The great advantage is the port, that’s why people living in Greater London and its surrounding area provide a market for many imported goods, especially foodstuffs. The oldest industrial areas are near the city centre. Here industries such as clothing, furniture making and jewellery have tended to cluster in small distinct areas. The building of the docks led to the development of such typical port industries, as oil refining, steel-making. paper-making, etc., London’s industries are extremely varied, among them electrical engineering, instrument production, radio engineering, the motor car industry.

The other towns and cities, situated to the north of the Thames and connected with the capital in industrial specialization are Oxford, Cambridge and Luton. Oxford is a leading educational centre. Cambridge is also best known for its ancient university,which has an international reputation for scientific research, facilities for high technology research and highly trained labour. Luton became famous for industry.Luton became the country’s leading hat-making town, straw from the local crops furnishing the raw material.

Bristol is a major centre of non-ferrous metallurgy, aircraft and automobile industry , military hardware

The south is a major agricultural region of Great Britain. Agricultural specialization is different in the South West and South East and East. There is farming. Hence, dairying is the main farming activity here. Oats and barley make up the principal cereal. In the south-west-growing vegetables and flowers, in the east-farming, more than 90 per cent of farmland is occupied with wheat and barley ,in the south-market gardening and fruit farming.

The Midlands:

is situated in the centre of GB between the South Industrial and Agricultural region in the south and Lancashire and Yorkshire in the north. It is one of Britain’s leading industrial regions. West Midlands includes Birmingham(known as Black Country, there are iron industry, engineering and the finishing metals, hardware, the motor industry ,jewellery manufacture. It’s the industrial capital of the Midlands, the city is a major producer of consumer goods.),Coventry(trading in wool, making woolen cloths, the metal working and engineering industry, the silk industry,it’s the centre of the British motor industry),Wolverhampton(heavy engineering, matal founding, tyre production).

A great deal of the region Midlands is under grass, the principal crops are wheat, along with potatoes and sugar beet, and a great variety of vegetables is produced

Lancashire and Yorkshire:

Are situated to the north of the Midlands.

Lancashire is a historic centre of British industry.2 major centres in this region: Merseyside(cotton industry, there is a leading port, chemical industry, the motor car industry, shipbuilding and ship repairing, glass manufacture) and Greater Manchester(txtile industry, it’a a commercial city, clothing manufacture, engineering, agriculture.

The economy of Yorkshire was always closely connected with wool. North Yorkshire is mainly a rural farming region. Barley and wheat are major crops. In Yorkshire there are 3 main industrial centres: the south Yorkshire, the north Y.,the west Y.

North England:

2 main centres of industrial activity: one situated in the north-east and the other in the north-west.(the most important, which includes Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Sunderland and Teesside. There are iron industry, finishing industry,s hipbuilding, electrical engineering, coal mining, the chemical industry, agriculture)

Wales:

South Wales is the main area of industrial activity, it’s coalfield region. Also there are iron and steel industry, manufacture of non-ferrous metals. Cardiff is the largest city in South Wales, the national capital and business centre, there are coal mining and iron industries. In general, Wales, faces serious social and economis problems, caused by the depression of its traditional industries.

Scotland:

Divided into 3 parts: the Scottish Highlands, the Southern Uplands,(there is rainfall, sheep, beef cattle),the Central Lowlands(the Glasgow is in the centre of industrial activity, there are manufacturing, textile and clothing production, there is farming)

New Towns(electronics)

Edinburgh(heavy industry, paper manufacture, because it’ a a university city)

The region Scotland is beset by the decline of the traditional industries which has led to high unemployment. The main activities are coal mining, steel production and shipbuilding.

Northern Ireland:

Farming, shipbuilding and the manufacture of textiles(in the 1050s)

The textile industry came to depend almost entirely on linen which was made from flax grown in the province.NI has one of the largest concentrations of man-made fibre production in Western Europe. The engineering industry has been dominated by shipbuilding. With the introduction of iron ships, the industry was forced to import from Britain most of its rawmaterials, including coal, iron and steel.

Belfast-a major centre of textile manufacture, shipbuilding, aircraft production, electrical engineering and food processing.

Londondery-besides its textile and clothing industries, flour milling and bacon curing are also developing.

Не знайшли потрібну інформацію? Скористайтесь пошуком google:

Генерація сторінки за: 0.014 сек.