The political system of great britain

The United Kingdom is a constitutional monarchy. This means that it has a monarch (a king or a queen) as its Head of the State. The monarch reigns with the support of Parliament. Today, Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II is the Head of the State. She appoints all the Ministers, including the Prime Minister. The British Parliament consists of two chambers known as the House of Commons and the House of Lords. Parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government of the country and they only meet together on symbolic occasions such as the coronation of a new monarch or the opening of Parliament.

The House of Commons is made up of 635 elected members, known as Members of Parliament. The House of Commons is presided over by the Speaker. Each session of the House of Commons lasts for 160 - 175 days.

The House of Lords has more than 1000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work of the House. The House consists of those lords who sit by right of inheritance and those men and women who have been given life peerages which end with life of their possessors.

The chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor and he sits on a special seat called the Woolsack.

The members of the House of Lords debate a bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons.

The sights of london

London draws people from all over the world. Some come on business; some come to study, to work or on holiday. London is naturally a very English city and it is very cosmopolitan, with goods, food entertainment, and people from many countries of the world.

There is much in London, which fascinates visitors and inspires the affection of Londoners: the splendor of the royal palaces and the Houses of Parliament, the dignity of St. Paul's Cathedral, many monuments and beautiful parks.

Buckingham Palace is the official London residence of the Sovereign. The daily ceremony of the Changing of the Guards takes place in its courtyard. The palace was built in 1703 by the Duke of Buckingham.

Whitehall is a street in central London running from Trafalgar Square to the Houses of Parliament and where many important buildings and government offices are situated such as the Treasury, Admiralty and others. In the centre of the roadway stands the Cenotaph, the memorial to the fallen of both world wars. The Prime Minister's residence at №10 Downing Street is directly connected to Whitehall.

The City of London today is the financial powerhouse of the country and one of the chief commercial centers of the western world.

Music in great britain

Let's start in the north, in Scotland. The national instrument is the bagpipes. Not everyone likes the sound it makes, but to the Scots, bagpipe music is the most exciting in the world. For centuries, up to the First World War, Scottish pipers led the soldiers into battle, played for their royal masters, and at weddings and funerals.

So the north of England: this is the country of factories and coal mines, many of which have their own bands. Some of these are incredibly good.

Let's go south again, to central and southern England. Music is always to be found in the village church, where the choir sings the old hymns which every schoolchild learns.

But now we must go west, for we will find the best choral music in Wales. The Welsh have always been famous for their singing. Even before the Romans came, 2,000 years ago, their "bards" were known to the ancient world. Now their "male voice choirs" are very popular, with their special rich, strong sound.

London, like all the great cities of Britain, has a long tradition of classical music. Every night English and international musicians perform in the concert halls and opera houses. London is one of the great classical music centres of the world.