British Civilisation Year 10 POLITICAL SYSTEM
Westminster
The popular name of the British Parliament is Westminster,
since it is housed in the Palace of Westminster.
The British Parliament is 1 bicameral /ˌbaɪˈkæm(ə)rəl/, which
means that it consists of two 'houses': the House of 2 Commons
and the House of Lords They are not equally important: the House of Commons, although it is
the lower house, has much more power than the Lords, because the independent
4 Power of the Lords has been seriously 5 limited during the 20th century.
When British people speak about ‘Parliament’, they usually mean the House of Commons.
For 6 electoral purposes the United Kingdom is devided into special 8
districts which are called
9 constituencies /kənˈstɪtjʊənsi/ (=a division of a country that elects a representative to a
parliament.) Currently there are 650 constituencies , each of
which elects one Member of Parliament, in short an MP, to
10 represent that area in the House of Commons. MPs are
elected for a maximum term: there may be no more than five
years between 12 two general elections but the government
may
13 call for a general election at any time during its five-year
14 term.
The shape of the Commons 15 debating chamber is different from most European 16
legislative (ˈlɛdʒɪslətɪv/ adjective having the power to make laws) chambers: it does not look like a slice of pie –
which suggests the presence of several political parties from left to right- but it is a long hall
with five 17 rows of 18 benches on each side. At the 19 far end there is the 20 Speaker’s chair;
the Speaker 21 presides over the Commons.
The members of the 22 leading party who form the government sit on the Speaker’s right,
and on the other side sit those who
24 oppose the government.
The front benches on both sides are reserved for members of the Cabinet and for leaders of
the Opposition, who are called the ‘25Shadow Cabinet’. Behind the Cabinet and the Shadow
Cabinet, in the higher rows sit those MPs who have no leading position in their own party;
these MPs are known as ‘26backbenchers ’.(=/bakˈbɛntʃə/ noun: (in the UK) a Member of
Parliament who does not hold office in the government or opposition and who sits behind the
front benches in the House of Commons.) The Speaker, who is chosen by the House, is
required to be absolutely impartial between parties and 28 individual MPs.
The upper house of Parliament, the House of Lords, has no elected members and no fixed
numbers. It is presided over by 29the Lord Speaker . Now, there are 700-800 members who are
entitled to sit in the –-House of Lords, and they belonged to three main categories.
Hereditary peers Life peers (since 1958) Lords Spiritual
(dukes, marquises, earls, received peerages with the The Archbishop of
viscounts and barons), who right sit in the House of Canterbury and York, and
inherited their titles (the so- Lords, from the Crown on the 24 most senior bishop of
called peerages)and their recommendation of the Prime the Church of England, who
seats by succession. Minister. they are members are members of the House
of the House only until they of Lords only until they
die, their children do not retire.
inherit their title.
Until 1911 the Lords were able to reject bills passed in the Commons. By the late 20 th
century, they could only delay the enactment of a bill by few months, but they rarely used
even this small power.
Rights of the House of Lords had long been discussed by various political groups, and in
1999 a 33 fundamental reform 34 act was passed, which 35 limited the right of
36 hereditary peers to sit in the Lords, except for 92 members who were elected from among
them to stay on.
This means that traditional British aristocracy ceased to have any special power in the
British Parliament.
In 2005, another reform act removed the Law Lords, senior retired judges of England and
Wales, from the House of Lords, and created a brand new supreme court, which now
functions as the highest court of appeal in England and Wales.
Parliament’s most important function is to create laws. A draft law is called a ‘bill’ → the
bill is debated in the House, then a parliamentary 39 committee considers whether 40
amendments (modifications) should be made. Eventually, the 41 revised bill is considered in
its 42 final form and members vote. Voting in the Commons is carried out using a unique 43
procedure called 44 ‘division’. There are two corridors (so called lobbies) outside the House
chamber on both sides and MPs vote by walking through either the ‘Aye’ (yes) lobby or the
‘No’ lobby.
Once a 45 bill has been passed by both houses, it is sent to the monarch for 46 Royal assent
after which it becomes an 47 Act of Parliament.
Exercises
1. The following concepts belong either to the House of Commons or the House of
Lords. Put them into the appropriate column below.
Anglican bishop backbencher hereditary peer life peer Speaker MP Shadow
Cabinet Lord Speaker
House of Commons House of Lords
……………………………………….
…………………………………….
……………………………………….
…………………………………….
………………………………………. ……………………………………..
……………………………………….
……………………………………….
2. Answer the questions by adding the abbreviation of either the House of
Commons (HoC) or the House of Lords (HoL).
1. Which house includes former Prime Ministers? ___________
2. Which house is headed by an elected leader? ____________
3. Which house does the monarch dissolve every few years? ___________
4. Which house includes the majority of Cabinet members? __________
5. Which house ‘absent’ members who almost never attend sessions? ________
6. Which house a fixed number of members? ____________
7. Which house has dominant political power? ___________
