The System of Government
D Answer these questions.
1 Which of these people are not elected: a peer, an MP, a civil servant, the Prime Minister?
2 What is the difference between life peers and hereditary peers, Lords Temporal and Lords Spiritual?
What are civil servants?
Which areas of government do these people deal with: the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, the Lord Chancellor?
Find two examples of executive organizations outside central government.
E Complete the following text with the words and expressions from the box.
The House of Commons
Cabinet
benches Foreign Secretary backbenchers
Budget Shadow Cabinet Prime
Minister Speaker Home Secretary ministers
front bench Leader of the Opposition debates
Opposition Chancellor of the
Exchequer
This is the House of Commons, where Members of Parliament take their seats on the green leather 1) _____ according to their party and position. One of them is chosen to be the 2) _____, who acts as a kind of chairman of the 3) _____ which take place in the House. In front of him on his right sit the MPs of the biggest party, which forms the government, and facing them sit the MPs of the parties who oppose them, the 4) _____.
The leaders of these two groups sit at the front on each side. MPs without special positions in their parties sit behind their leaders at the back. They are called 5) _____. The leader of the government, the 6) _____, sits on the government 7) _____, of course, next to his or her 8) _____.
The most important of these form the 9) _____ . The minister responsible for relations with other countries is called the 10) _____. The one responsible for law and security is called the 11) _____. The one who deals with financial matters and prepares the annual 12) _____ speech on the economic state of the country is called the 13) _____. Opposite this group sits the 14) _____ (the main person in the largest party opposing the government) and the 15) _____, each member of which specializes in a particular area of government.
Over to you
Translate the text into Russian. Discuss it in class.
Add your own point of view on the skills the MPs must have.
Compare this information with the work of the Russian Parliament.
Parliamentary Debates
Parliament is a place where politicians can speak about public matters, express points of view, argue, try to persuade, support and oppose other members. Indeed, the very word tells us this is its function (compare the French "parler", to speak). What is more, this free exchange of ideas is vital for a democratic form of government. People are bound to differ about political and economic priorities; and wise and just policies are more likely to result from widespread discussion than from decisions made by a few.
Parliament debates require two kinds of skill: the ability to argue and to deliver a prepared speech. For argument the speaker needs a good memory stored with relevant information, speed of thought and fluency of speech quickly to express his reaction to the previous speaker. In addition, he needs the qualities which enable him to deliver a speech: audible and clear diction, and an interesting tone of voice. He must be able to judge the mood of the House and adapt his wit or style to match the occasion. He must never be dull and always have something of importance to say. One MP who met most nearly all these criteria last century was Winston Churchill.