THE HOUSE OF COMMONS

The Chamber of the House of Commons is quite small; it has seats for only about two-thirds of its members, so when there is something important to discuss it can become very crowded and MPs squeeze on to the benches or sit on the steps. The House of Commons has a chairman, called the Speaker,whose job is to keep the House in order. The Speaker sits in the centre at the back, on a high chair,and can see the whole Chamber from this position. There are red linesrunning along each side of the Chamber. This means that the Chamber is divided in two. Since Britain traditionally has two main political parties, the Conservative Party and the Labour Party, each party can have its own side! There are seats for the Government supporters on the Speaker’s right and seats for the Opposition on his left. There are, facing the Speaker, cross benches for Independent members, those who do not belong to either of the two great political parties. The two red lines on the floor must not be crossed, to prevent either side attacking the other during a debate. MPs in Britain do not normally use physical violence, but the red lines are a historical tradition; in the past, MPs used to carry swords into the Chamber and the distance between the two lines is too wide for a sword fight!

The most important MPs sit on the front benchesand are therefore called frontbenchers.

Younger and less experienced MPs sit on the back benches and are known as backbenchers.

The front bench on the Speaker’s right is for the Prime Minister and the leading members of the Government. That on the Speaker’s left is for the Leader of the Opposition.

When the Prime Minister (the leader of the party in government) or any other leading politician makes a speech, they stand at the table in the centre, below the Speaker's chair. These seating arrangements have existed for hundreds of years.

B. What is the role of the Speaker? Why are there two red lines running down the middle of the Commons chamber?

10. What is the difference between the Commons and the Lords? Speak about the Houses of Parliament.

11. A. Read the text about Britain’s Crown and find out what role the Queen plays in the life of modern Britain.

The Crown, or sovereign, is the supreme power in the legislature, the executive, and the judiciary. The sovereign is also the head of the established Church of England and is commander in chief of the armed forces. In practice, however, the sovereign acts only on the advice of the Crown's ministers and cannot reject or ignore their advice. Since 1952, the sovereign of the United Kingdom has been Queen Elizabeth II. In effect the United Kingdom is governed by her majesty's government in the queen's name.

The queen still has several significant functions. The Prime Minister and Ministers receive their appointments from the Queen at Buckingham Palace. Laws are not laws until they have received the Royal Assent. She calls and dissolves Parliament, and she opens a new session with a speech from the throne. This speech is not written by her, however, but by the government in power, and it outlines the government's policy for the forthcoming session of Parliament. Similarly, the queen confers honors in the form of peerages, knighthoods, and decorations that are given on the advice of the government and that often reward people for services to the political party in power. She can award some honors herself, however such as the Order of the Garter. She appoints judges, army officers, diplomats, and officials of the Church of England also on advice.

Royal duties include visiting many parts of the UK, paying state visits to foreign countries.Although the queen has in fact little authority of her own, she is kept informed of events and is sometimes consulted by the government in power.

In addition to her other functions the queen is head of the Commonwealth, which consists of a number of states that formerly belonged to the British Empire. The queen and her family members are largely supported by the state. Parliament annually approves allowances for members of the royal family.

B. Agree or disagree with the following sentences, in your answers use the expressions of agreement or disagreement:

1. As Head of State, the Queen is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life.

2. The head of the government is commander in chief of the armed forces.

3. The Sovereign formally summons and dissolves Parliament.

4. Royal duties include choosing the Cabinet.

5. The Queen does not have to explain her actions.

6. The Queen visits only the states of the Commonwealth.

12. Complete the table. Use all the texts in this section to help you. Speak about the British political system.

 

 

13. Each country in Britain has its own patron saint and floral emblem. What are Britain’s National Emblems? What are the Symbols of England, Scotland and Wales? Read these texts and discuss them with your group-mates.

Each part of the United Kingdom has its own Saint's Day:
St. David	St Patrick	St. George	St. Andrew
How is each National Day Celebrated in London?

 

A. 1 March, St. David's Day, is the national day of Wales.

St David's Day is celebrated in Wales on 1 March, in honour of Dewi Sant or St David, the patron saint of Wales. He was a Celtic monk, abbot and bishop, who lived in the sixth century. He spread the word of Christianity across Wales.

The most famous story about Saint David tells how he was preaching to a huge crowd and the ground is said to have risen up, so that he was standing on a hill and everyone had a better chance of hearing him.

On St David's Day, some children in Wales dress in their national costume, which consists of a tall black hat, white frilled cap and long dress. The national flag of Wales, depicting a fiery red dragon against a green and white background, is also flown.

The national flower of Wales is the daffodil,which is traditionally worn on St. David’s Day. The vegetable calledleek is also considered to be a traditional emblem of Wales.

There are many explanations of how the leek came to be adopted as the national emblem of Wales. One is that St David advised the Welsh, on the eve of battle with the Saxons, to wear leeks in their caps to distinguish friend from foe. As Shakespeare records in Henry V, the Welsh archers wore leeks at the battle of Agincourt in 1415.

B. 17 March, St. Patrick's Day, is the national day of Northern Ireland and Republic of Ireland.

Saint Patrick is the patron saint of Ireland. He is credited with bringing Christianity to Ireland. Born in Britain, he was carried off by pirates and spent six years in slavery before escaping and training as a missionary. The national flower of Northern Ireland is the shamrock,a three-leaved plant similar to clover. An Irish tale tells of how Patrick used the three-leafed shamrock to explain the Trinity. He used it in his sermons to represent how the

Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit could all exist as separate elements of the same entity. His followers adopted the custom of wearing a shamrock on his feast day.

C. 23 April, St. George's Day, is the national day of England

A story dating back to the 6th century tells that St George rescued a maiden by slaying a fearsome fire-breathing dragon. The Saint's name was shouted as a battle cry by English knights who fought beneath the red-cross banner of St George during the Hundred Years War (1338-1453). Some people wear a red rose on St Georges Day.

The flower has been adopted as England’s emblem since the time of the Wars of the Roses - civil wars (1455-1485) between the royal house of Lancaster (whose emblem was a red rose) and the royal house of York (whose emblem was a white rose).

D. Scotland - St. Andrew - the Thistle and Scottish Bluebell

The national flower of Scotland is the thistle, a prickly-leaved purple flower which was first used in the 15th century as a symbol of defence. The Scottish Bluebell is also seen as the flower of Scotland.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 2156