The House of Commons

The House of Commons is a lower but more powerful chamber in P., made up of the MPs who won a seat at the most recent general election or by-election.

Elections are of two kinds: general elections held after a P. has been dissolved and a new P. summoned by the Sovereign; and by-elections, held when a vacancy occurs in the House as a result of death or resignation of a member, or as a result of his elevation to the House of Lords.

The Speaker is the chief officer of the Houses of Commons, who is elected by the members. He is not a Minister. Voting in the House of Commons is carried out under the direction of the Speaker and it is his duty to announce the final result.

The main functions of Parliament are:

1) to pass laws regulating the life of the community;

2) to take formal action,, cast in legislative form; to make available finance (определять бюджет) for the needs of the community;

3) to put relevant facts and issues before the electorate.

The Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Queen, and all the other ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is normally the leader of the Party which secured a majority in the House of Commons as a result of a general election.

The P.M. always sits in the House of Commons. He is assisted by other ministers. All ministers who are chiefs of departments carry the title "Secretary of State".

Government and Opposition

The party with the next largest number of seats is officially recognised as "Her Majesty's Opposition" (or the "Official Opposition") with its own leader (who receives a salary in addition to a parliamentary salary) and its own "Shadow Cabinet", whose members speak on the subjects for which government ministers have responsibility.

The Cabinet

The Cabinet is the executive organ of government. It is a body of senior ministers, most of them are heads of departments. Each new Prime Minister may make changes in the size of his Cabinet and may create new ministries and make other changes. There are usually 20-25 members of the Cabinet. It's the most important body in the British system of government since it is the Cabinet which formulates the policy of the government. The Cabinet is constitutionally responsible to Parliament. However in practice the Cabinet dominates Parliament. Inside a big Cabinet there nearly always develops an "Inner Cabinet" - the small group of ministers who are consulted by the Prime Minister beforehand and who prepare and guide important decisions.

All ministers are classified according to their functions:

1 -st - (highest) - departmental ministers, they are in charge of governmental departments. They are known as Secretaries of State;

2-nd - non-departmental ministers or ministers without portfolio. They can perform different functions;

3-d - ministers of State. They are assistants of departmental Ministers, representing these departments abroad;

4-th -junior ministers.

Date: 2015-12-11; view: 806