The leader of the party in power becomes the Prime Minister.
The leader of the political party with the most MPs in the House of Commons is asked by the Queen to become Prime Minister and to form a government that will manage the country.
Who is the party in power today?
Britain has two parties in power.
In the 2010 General Election, no party won an over all majority of seats. David Cameron, the leader of the Conservative Party, formed a new government, in coalition with the Liberal Democrats.
Parliamentary elections are held once every five years, or less.
Who is the British Prime Minister?
At present, the Prime Minister is David Cameron, who is the leader of the Conservative Party and Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats is his deputy.
Every week the Prime Minister appears before the House of Commons and must answer questions put to him or her by the members of Parliament.
The Prime Minister is the head of the UK Government
The Prime Minister heads the Government and appoints Ministers, who head individual Government departments.
The Secretaries of State
The most important ministers are called Secretaries of State and they form the Cabinet.
The Secretaries of State are in charge of a Government Department (a ministry). Each minister is responsible for his department, and makes sure that his department applies the policy of the government.
The most important Secretaries of State are:
· The Chancellor of the Exchequer (finance)
· The Foreign Secretary (international affairs)
· The Home Secretary (internal affairs)
· The Lord Chancellor (the legal system)
· The Secretary of State for Education
· The Secretary of State for Transport and the Environment.
Shadow Cabinet
The two other main political parties also have their own ‘shadow cabinets’.
Where does the Prime Minister live?
Traditionally, the official residence of the Prime Minister is at Number 10 Downing Street.
He also has a house in the country called Chequers.
What is Chequers?
Chequers is a country house belonging to the Government, which is used as the Prime Minister[s non-London residence. If the PM needs to hold a private conference of some of his Ministers or receive foreign visitors over a weekend, Chequers is usually where it is done. It is also used by Prime Ministers to entertain guests as a special privilege.
| The House of Commons Chamber | |
| MPs hold most of their debates in the House of Commons Chamber. The Speaker, who controls proceedings, sits on a raised chair at one end of the Chamber. The Government sit on the benches on the Speaker's right, whilst members of the Opposition party MPs occupy the benches on the Speaker’s left. The Opposition's job is to oppose the Government. The biggest Opposition party sits directly across from the Government benches. What are the red lines on the carpet in front of each set of benches for? The red lines in front of the two sets of benches are two-sword lengths apart; a Member is traditionally not allowed to cross the line during debates. The lines are there to prevent either side attacking the other during a debate. Of course, MPs are not likely to attack each other these days. The main Political Parties There are three major political parties, in the House of Commons: 1. Labour 2. Conservative 3. Liberal Democrats As well as the three major political parties the UK also has various minor ones, some of whom have seats in parliament. | |
| How are laws made in the UK? | |
| Laws are rules that everyone in the country must obey. In a democracy, like the UK, nobody is above the law. About one hundred new laws are passed each year. How does Parliament make new laws? A proposed new law is called a bill. Bills must be agreed by both Houses of Parliament and receive Royal Assent from the Queen before they can become Acts of Parliament which make our law. The Bill is introduced by a First Reading. This is simply an official notice that a Bill is going to be proposed and what it’s about. It gives MPs time to prepare and discuss it. Shortly afterwards comes the Second Reading. At this point the principles are considered on the floor of the House. The Bill is then sent to be looked at by small groups of MPs who examine the Bill in detail. At the Third Reading the Bill is debated and there is a vote. If the Government has a majority, the Bill is then passed to the House of Lords. Once a Bill has passed through both Houses, it is sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent. Once it has Royal Assent the Bill becomes an Act of Parliament. It is the law of the land. Since 1952, The Queen has given Royal Assent to 3135 Acts of Parliament. |
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SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIALS
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Text 1.
THE ANGLO-SAXONS
With the Romans gone, Britain became a prey to invasion from all sides. For many years the Picts and Scots, now freed at last from the restraint of garrisons along the Wall, came sweeping down from the north on to their less hardy neighbours. It is very probable that the Britons called in the help of the Saxons to defend them and that the Saxons, having won the battle, decided to stay, by force if necessary. Other accounts say that the first leaders of the Saxons came as exiles and later, by treachery, overthrew the British king. Whatever may be the exact origin of the invasion, it is fairly certain that it took place in the second quarter of the fifth century. The history of these years is very obscure, but it is clear that the invaders belonged to three nations, the Angels, the Jutes and the Saxons, and that they came from the Low Countries and the coast of modern Germany. Between them they divided up the conquered territory into numerous small kingdoms, each with its own royal family descended from the god Woden. Gradually these “English” settlers formed themselves into one people, with the West Saxon kings supreme.
By the beginning of the ninth century a new danger threatened the island. It was the turn of the Danish Vikings to invade. Frequently peace was bought by offerings gifts and money to the invaders. But the Danes always came back for more. It was then that a great king arouse, the famous Alfred, who reigned from 871-900. he was an exceptional general and by his victories influenced the course of history. For if the Vikings had won, England would have become a Scandinavian colony. Alfred too, if not the father of the Royal Navy, was the first to make it an organized and powerful fleet. For his success in war alone he deserves the title of “Great”, but he was in addition a considerable scholar. He translated many Latin works in English” and encouraged learning in all fields. Under him the country prospered and the language became purer. Whatever the future might bring, England from now on would remain English. There were indeed further invasions. There were not successful, but soon after the year 1000 the Danes came back in force and conquered the country within a few months. For about a generalization England formed part of a Danish Empire, but the union did not long survive the death of the great Danish-English king Canute. The Norman Conquest was drawing near.
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From “Butterfly”
Text 2.
KING ALFRED THE GREAT
By the middle of the ninth century the whole country between the River Forth and the River Thames was in the hands of the Danes – “Vikings”. (The Norse word vik means “creek” or “nook” and it corresponds to the English word “Wick” as in such names as Hampton Wick, Wickford, Chiswick.)
It seemed that even Wessex must be overrun before long, and the Anglo-Saxon civilization would disappear altogether. But then the youngest of Egbert’s four grandsons became king, and proved himself one of the greatest in all English history.
King Alfred was only twenty-three years old at the time, but he had already taken part in much of the fighting under his brother Ethelfred. For seven years more he carried on the struggle, up and down the valley of the Thames. In the winter of 878 the Danes, under their leader Guthrum, made a surprise attack which completely routed Alfred’s forces. He was obliged to take refuge on a little island of dry land called Athelney, amid the marshes of the river Parret in Somersetshire. (In the Ashmolean Museum of Oxford there is the Alfred Jewel which bears a portrait of the king and the words “Alfred had me wrought”. It was found at Athelney in 1693). But he never gave up hope. Within six months he gathered another army from the fyrds of Hampshire, Wiltshire, and Dorset; and he beat the Danes so soundly at the battle of Ethandune (878) that they promised to keep away from Wessex for the future, provided they were left in possession of the north-eastern part of the country. Furthermore, Guthrum and his chief men became Christians. This was the famous treaty of Wedmore.
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Alfred then took steps to prevent the Danes from ever becoming dangerous again. He built earthwork forts called “bursh” defended by men who held land in the neighbourhood. He increased the number of thegns (= thane), and arranged that they should take regular turns in doing military service. He re-organized the fyrd so as to make it a more effective force in times of danger; and he built a fleet to protect the coasts from further raids.
Civilization had slipped back; but he was determined to set it on the road of progress again. He sent for skilled workmen and builders and scholars from abroad; he had translations made from Latin books into Anglo-Saxon; he arranged for records of the chief events of each year to be kept in monasteries – the famous “Anglo-Saxon Chronicle”, and he started a school for the sons of thegns. All these labours he carried through handicapped by constant illness – he was still only a middle-aged man he died.
Adapted from “A Short History of Britain”
Text 3.
Alfred’s Military Work
Alfred would hardly have been able to do so much unless his own character had been singularly attractive. Other men have been greater warriors or legislators, or scholars than Alfred was, but no man has ever combined in his own person so much excellence in war, in legislation, and in scholarship. As to war, he was not only a daring and resolute commander, but he was an organizer of the military forces of his people. One chief cause of the defeat of the English had been the difficulty of bringing together in a short time the “fyrd”, or general levy of the male population, or of keeping it long together when men were needed at home to till the fields. Alfred did his best to overcome this difficulty by ordering that half the men of ea.ch shire should be always ready to fight, while half remained at home. This new half-army, like his new half-kingdom, was stronger than the whole one had been before. To an improved army Alfred added a navy, and he was the first English king who defeated the Danes at sea.
Alfred’s Law and Scholarship
Alfred did not want to make every one conform to some ideal of his own choosing. He took the old laws and customs, and then, suggesting a few improvement, submitted them to the approval of his Witenagemot, the assembly of his bishops and warriors. He knew, also that men’s conduct is influenced more by what they think than by what-they are commanded to do. His whole land was steeped in ignorance. The monasteries had been the schools of learning; but many of them had been sacked by the Danes, their books burnt, and their inmates scattered, whilst others were deserted, ceasing to receive new inmates because the first duty of Englishmen at that time had been to defend their home rather than to devote themselves to a life of piety. Latin was the language in which the services of the Church were read, and in which books .were written. Without knowledge of Latin there could be no intercourse with the learned men of the Continent, who used that language still, amongst themselves. Yet when the Danes departed from Alfred’s kingdom there were but very few priests who could read a page of Latin. Alfred did his best to remedy the evil. He called learned men to him wherever they could be found. Some of these were English; others, like Asser, who wrote Alfred’s life, were Welsh; others again were Germans from beyond the sea. Yet Alfred was not content. It was great thing that there should be again schools in English for those who could write and speak Latin, the language of the learned, but he thought about those who could not speak anything but their own native tongue. He decided to be the teacher of these people. He himself translated Latin books for them, for he wanted them to receive knowledge. When he knew anything which was not in the books, but which he thought it good for Englishmen to read, he added it to his translation. Even with this he was not content. The books of Latin writers which he translated taught men about the history and geography of the Continent. They taught nothing about the history of England itself, of the deeds and words of the men who had ruled the English nation. That these things might not be forgotten, He asked his learned men to write down all that was known of the history of his people since the day when they first landed as pirates on the coast of Kent. “The Chronicle”, as it is called, is the earliest history which any European nation possesses in its own tongue.
Text 4.
MAGNA CARTA
After the death of William II there followed two able kings – Henry I (1100 – 1135) and Henry II (1154 – 1189) who greatly improved the standards of law and administration; a weak king, Stephen (1135 – 1154), whose reign was a period of anarchy; and the great Crusader, Richard I Coeur de Lion (1189 – 1199). The latter was a great warrior in Palestine but of little importance as a king of England, from which country he was mostly absent. He was succeeded in 1199 by his brother John, who, though a man of ability, quickly alienated the country by his arrogance. While still a prince he had won only hatred for himself by his administration in Ireland, and on ascending the throne he had too to pay for his brother’s previous extravagance. At one time he even held his kingdom as a nominal vassal of the Pope, the result of unconditional surrender to the latter’s (=Pope’s) demand after a quarrel about nominees for the Archbishopric of Canterbury. But the great event of the reign was the signing of Magna Carta in June 1215. it was a formal charter drawn up the barons to secure reforms in the administration and to ensure John’s acceptance of them. They solemnly swore to withdraw their allegiance from him if he did not agree to the terms, and it was only when open warfare was on the point of breaking out that the king reluctantly gave away. The document is not quite the advanced charter of civil liberties that it was once thought to be. It is more in the form of a contract between the king and the barons, defining their relations. It is the first detailed statement of feudal law. There are numerous clauses relating to inheritance, wardship, marriage, debt, the imposing of certain taxes, and the righting of personal wrongs. The main points are that: - no free man may be punished except after judgement of his equals or by the law of the land; justice may not be denied, delayed or sold; the church must enjoy considerable liberty; there must be one weight and measure for the country. Twenty-five barons formed a committee to enforce the observance of the Charter and were allowed to hold the Tower and the City of London. The revolts however continued, mainly due to the legislation of temporary rebellion as a guarantee of the Charter. John began a vigorous campaign to crush the rising but died before it was over. The crown passed to his son Henry III (1216 – 1272), a boy of nine. This reign too was the scene of further struggles between the king and his barons, perhaps its most significant event being the Model Parliament of 1265, the forerunner of the modern House of Commons.
From “Butterfly”
Text 5.
THREE GREAT ENGLISH CHATERS
Why was it so important that King John should sign Magna Charta? And why did he at first refuse to “grant liberties that should leave him a slave?”
Because Magna Charta protected every freeman – every Englishman, that is, except the serf, who still remained in the lord’s power – and gave him many rights. Let us see what some of these rights were.
Magna Charta protected the rich and the nobles from taxation. The king was only to levy taxes within certain limits on certain definite occasions, for instance, when his eldest son became a knight. It allowed no freeman to be imprisoned, deprived of his property, outlawed or exiled, except by the law of the land. Merchants received permission to travel freely and do business. The king promised never to sell, refuse, or delay right and justice to any of his subjects.
Magna Charta has very often been broken since John signed it 750 years ago. Parliament has confirmed it time after time. Many new charters have been given to the people. One of these, which was passed in 1679, in the reign of Charles II, is called the Habeas Corpus Act, from the first two words in it, for, like Magna Charta, it is in Latin. Habeas Corpus here means: “Take the body,” i.e. the prisoner.
Habeas Corpus made it illegal to keep anyone in prison without a trial, and set a severe punishment on so doing. People had not forgotten how Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, had been kept a prisoner in England for eighteen years before she was finally tried, condemned, and executed. Under the Stuart kings, Puritans and Quakers had been in prison time after time without being tried. Habeas Corpus decided that every prisoner should have as quick and fair a trial as possible.
In 1689, James II lost his throne in the bloodless English Revolution, and Parliament offered the crown to his daughter Mary and her husband, William of Orange. Before they were crowned as William III and Mary II, they had to make a solemn declaration of the rights of Parliament. Through an Act of Parliament their declaration became the law of the land, and is known as the Bill of Rights.
What did this Charter give to Parliament? The right to settle the succession to the throne; absolute power over the army and the navy; the sole right to raise taxes. In a word, it turned England into an absolutely constitutional monarchy. From 1689, England has been governed, not by the king or queen, but by Parliament and by the Ministry. The ministers, since then, are no longer chosen by the political party which has a majority of seats in the House of Commons. This is called Party Government.
We can now understand the great importance of these three charters. Magna Charta gives Englishmen the right to live as freemen under a sovereign who promises to respect their freedom. Habeas Corpus gives every prisoner the right to be quickly and fairy tried. The Bill of Rights ensures party government in a constitutional monarchy.
From “Learning English”
Text 6.
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