The Houses of Parliament

There are two houses in the English Parliament: the House of Lords (1) and the House of Commons (2). The House of Lords is a non-elected chamber with an overwhelming permanent Tory majority. It consists of nearly 1200 peers who are created by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. One-third of the lords today are company directors. They include bankers, steel magnates, newspaper pro-prietors and industrialists of all kinds. The main role of the House of Lords is obstruction of the House of Commons especially when Tory governments are not in office(3).

The House of Commons is elected by an almost universal adult suffrage. There are at present 630 members of the House of Commons. Members of the House of Commons receive a salary for their parlia­mentary work and hold their seats during the life of a Parliament.

That party which obtains the majority of seats in the House of Commons is called the Government, and the others the Opposition. The party in opposition has its own leader and a council of discussion or Shadow cabinet (4).

In the middle of the last century the House of Commons was the centre of real political power, nowadays it is still the centre of the politi­cal stage, but it has long ceased to be (5) a centre of real political power.

Parliamentary procedure is based on forms and rules, and one of them is introducing a Bill (6). There are two main stages in the life of a Bill: the period of preparation before it is published or introduced into Parliament; and its subsequent progress through Parliament. Every Bill has three readings. After the third reading the Bill goes before the House of Lords and if the Lords agree to the Bill, it will be placed before the Queen for signature. Only then it becomes an Act of Parliament.

1. the House of Lords – палата лордов

2. the House of Commons – палата общин

3. are not in office – не являются правящей партией

4. Shadow cabinet – «теневой кабинет», комитет оппозиционной партии

5. it has long ceased to be – она давно перестала быть

6. a Bill – законопроект

Political parties

At present there are two main political parties in England. The Con­servative (or Tory) Party started as Royalists in the 17th century. By the end of the 19th century the big landowners, the bankers and the industri­alists had united. It was the Tories who represented their interests then. They still do.

The Labour Party was established at the beginning of this century. It was set up by the trade-unions and various small socialist groups. De­spite its many sincere and courageous fights, it soon came under the in­fluence of imperialist ideas. It supported Britain's participation in World War I.

Political struggles since World War II have concentrated on peace, homes and wages. Education and pensions have also been important problems.

The Liberals began their activities as anti-Royalists in the 17th cen­tury. In the early 19th century they represented the small industrialists. They remained strong up to (1) the end of World War I. Then they faded out. Since then only the Conservative and the Labour Parties have held power

The two-party system means that, if one is dissatisfied with the Gov­ernment, one votes for the Opposition, and vice versa, though one can say there isn't much difference between them.

1. up to – вплоть до

2. vice versa – лат. наоборот