Text 2 the british monarchy today

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of State. The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament. The powers of the monarch are not defined precisely. Everything today is done in the Queen’s name. It is her government, her armed forces, her law courts and so on. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. Everything is done however on the advice of the elected Government, and the monarch takes no part in the decision-making process.

Once the British Empire included a large number of countries all over the world ruled by Britain. The process of decolonisation began in 1947 with the independence of India, Pakistan and Ceylon. Now, apart from Hong Kong and a few small islands, there is no longer an empire. But the British ruling classes tried not to lose influence of the British Empire. An association of former members of the British Empire and Britain was founded in 1949. It is called the Commonwealth. It includes many countries such as Ireland, Burma, Sudan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and others. The Queen of Great Britain is also the Head of the Commonwealth, and so the Queen of Canada, Australia, New Zealand …

The Queen is very rich as are other members of the royal family. In addition, the government pays for her expenses as Head of State, for a royal yacht, train and aircraft as well as for the upkeep of several palaces. The Queen’s image appears on stamps, notes and coins.

the Commonwealth – Содружество (политическое и экономическое объединение, центром которого является Великобритания. Включает 49 независимых государств. В Содружество входят также зависимые территории Великобритании, Австралии и Новой Зеландии)

Text 3 Britain’s Government

Britain is parliamentary democracy with a Constitutional monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, as head of State. The country is governed in the Queen’s name by the Government although she performs certain important acts of government on the advice of her ministers. The Queen is also head of the Commonwealth, and is head of State in 14 of its 41 member countries. She is temporal head of the Church of England.

Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons, together with the Queen in her constitutional role. The Queen formally summons and dissolves Parliament, and opens each new session with a speech setting out the Government’s broad programme. She also gives formal assent to laws passed by Parliament.

The House of Commons, which plays the major part in lawmaking, consists of 635 elected members of Parliament (MPs), each representing an area in England, Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. MPs are elected either at a general election (which must be held at least every five years) or at a by-election held when a seat falls vacant because of the death or resignation of the member. The minimum voting age is 18, and the voting is by secret ballot. The Government is formed by the political party which can command majority support in the House of Commons. Its leader is the Prime Minister, who chooses a number of ministers, of whom 20 or so are in the Cabinet, which is collectively responsible for all Government decisions. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its leader and “shadow cabinet”. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker, an impartial member acceptable to the whole House.

The House of Lords is made up of hereditary and life peers and peeresses, including the law lords appointed to undertake the judicial duties of the House, and the Lords Spiritual (two archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England). The House is presided over by the Lord Chancellor who is head of the judiciary in England and Wales.

Legislative measures are introduced into Parliament as Bills, usually by ministers but also by other MPs. Bills are considered both by the House of Commons and by the House of Lords. The debating procedures of the two Houses are broadly similar, and Bills approved at all stages receive the Royal Assent and become Acts of Parliament. The House of Lords may delay certain Bills but cannot finally veto them.

The work of the Government is carried out through the various government departments, each directly or indirectly responsible to a minister and staffed by members of a politically neutral Civil Service – a change of the Government does not involve a change in the civil servants staffing a department.

Local government is carried out by democratically elected councils (local authorities) which deal with planning and housing, education, personal social services, police, fire brigades and many other services in their areas. Local authorities are given their powers by Parliament and are largely free to govern local affairs in their own way. They levy rates – a form of local property tax – and in this way finance about a third of their current expenditure.

Three-fifths of current expenditure are met by grants from the central Government and the rest by rents and other forms of income. Capital expenditure is financed mainly by borrowing.

Throughout most of the country there are two tiers of local authorities. As a rule one tier provides large-scale strategic services, while the other is responsible for more local ones. The division is broadly between counties (regions in Scotland) and districts, except in London where it is between the Grater London Council and the London boroughs (including the City of London).