Great Britain (its political structure and industry)

To begin with I’d like to give some facts about history of the British Parliament. The Parliament of Great Britain was formed in 1707 following the ratification of the Acts of Union by both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland. England (which had incorporated Wales in the 16th century) and Scotland have had the same monarch since 1603, when James VI of Scotland succeeded to the English crown as James I. The kingdoms were formally united by the Act of Union.

In 1801 the Parliament of the United Kingdom was created when the Kingdom of Great Britain was merged with the Kingdom of Ireland to become the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland under the Act of Union 1800.

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. The powers of the monarch are limited by the British Parliament. The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It comprises the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the Lords. The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament.

The House of Commons is the lower house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. The Commons is a democratically elected body, consisting of 650 members (since 2010 General Election), who are known as Members of Parliament (MPs). Members are elected through the first-past-the-post system by electoral districts known as constituencies. This is a voting method where the winner with the most votes gets elected. The Commons hold their seats until Parliament is dissolved (a maximum of five years after the preceding election). The House of Commons was originally far less powerful than the House of Lords, but today its legislative powers greatly exceed those of the Lords. The House of Commons plays the major role in law-making. By a custom only the House of Commons may originate bills concerning taxation. Furthermore, these bills passed by the House of Commons are immune to amendments in the House of Lords.

There are numerous qualifications that apply to MPs. Most importantly, one must be aged at least 18, and must be a citizen of the United Kingdom, of a British overseas territory, of the Republic of Ireland, or of a member state of the Commonwealth of Nations.

At the beginning of each new parliamentary term, the House of Commons elect one of its members as a presiding officer, known as the Speaker.

The House of Lords as an upper chamber has the primary purpose of scrutinizing legislation proposed by the Lower House through the form of debate and through proposing amendments to legislation. There are some specific characteristics of The House of Lords. First of all it has less power than the lower house. It is a house of review which cannot veto legislation, but only consider matters raised by the lower house. Unlike the House of Commons, membership of the House of Lords is not attained by election from the population as a whole, but by inheritance, by appointment, or by virtue of their ecclesiastical role. The House of Lords has fewer seats than the lower house. Members' terms are longer than in the lower house, and may be for life. The majority of the House of Lords are life peers who are appointed by the Monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister. The number of members is not fixed; as of 9 January 2011 the House of Lords has 753 members.

The House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only the Lower House may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by passing a motion of no-confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords' oversight of the government is limited. The House of Lords debates legislation, and has some power to amend or reject bills. However, the House of Lords cannot delay a money bill. Historically, the House of Lords held several judicial functions. The functions were exercised not by the whole House, but by a committee of "Law Lords". The judicial functions could also be exercised by Lords of Appeal (other members of the House who happened to have held high judicial office).

Members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of their ecclesiastical offices are known as Lords Spiritual. Formerly, the Lords Spiritual was the majority in the House of Lords, including the Church of England's archbishops, diocesan bishops, and abbots. The number of Lords Spiritual was further restricted. The Lords Spiritual can now number no more than 26.

The Lords Temporal has been the most numerous group in the House of Lords. The Lords Temporal include all hereditary peers of England, Scotland, Great Britain and the United Kingdom; all other life peers.

The House of Lords and the House of Commons assemble in the Palace of Westminster. The Commons chamber is small and modestly decorated in green, in contrast with the large, lavishly furnished red Lords chamber. There are benches on two sides of the chamber, divided by a centre aisle. Benches in the Lords Chamber are colored red; thus, the House of Lords is sometimes referred to as the "Red Chamber". The Woolsack is at the front of the Chamber. Supporters of the Government sit on benches on the right of the Woolsack, while members of the Opposition sit on the left. Neutral members, known as Cross-benchers, sit on the benches immediately opposite the Woolsack. The chairperson of the House of Lords is Lord Chancellor. He sits on the Woolsack, a large bag of wool covered with red cloth. It shows that wool made England rich.

Sittings of the House of Commons are open to the public, but the House may at any time vote to sit in private. Traditionally, a Member who desired that the House sit privately could shout "I spy strangers" and a vote would automatically follow.

Each year, the parliamentary session begins with the State Opening of Parliament, a ceremony in the Lords Chamber during which the Sovereign, in the presence of Members of both Houses, delivers an address outlining the Government's legislative agenda.

The executive power is exercised by the prime Minister and his Cabinet. They are formally appointed by the Monarch. The Cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the prime Minister’s party. The government is usually formed by the majority political party in the House of Commons. Prime Minister is the majority party leader who chooses the rest of the Cabinet.

The judicial power determines common law and independent of both the legislative and the executive powers. It is a very important fact that there is no written constitution in Great Britain, only precedents and traditions. Unlike the constitutions of most other countries, it is not set out in any single document.

Great Britain is a highly developed industrial country and one of the richest in the world. It is known as one of the world's largest producers and exporters of iron and steel products, machinery and electronics, chemi­cals and textile. One of the industries is shipbuilding.

Topical vocabulary

Exercise1.