Summon – созывать (собрания, парламент)

dissolve – распускать (парламент и т.п.)

assent – разрешение, санкция

fall (fell, fallen) – глагол-связка становиться; to fall vacant – освобождаться (становиться вакантным)

resignation – заявление об отставке

impartial – справедливый, беспристрастный

acceptable – желанный

hereditary – наследсвенный

judicial – судейский

legislative – законодательный

personal social services – социальные службы (по защите прав граждан)

levy – взимать налог

tier – ряд, ярус

borough – один из 32 административных районов Лондона.

SECTION RECAP

1. Who is the constitutional monarch of Great Britain now? Does the Queen perform government’s acts herself? What is the relationship between the Queen and the Parliament in Britain?

2. Who may be a member of the House of Commons? Is Prime Minister elected? If it is so, what House of Parliament is Prime Minister elected in?

3. How is the Cabinet of Prime Minister formed? What is it responsible for?

4. What do you know about the House of Lords? Who is head of the Judiciary in England and Wales? Who approves Bills before they become Acts of Parliament?

5. What does the local government deal with? What gives powers to local authorities? What two tiers of local authorities are there in Britain?

TALKING POINTS

• Do you like the way how Great Britain is governed? What do you think about the British Parliament? Do you see any drawbacks in the British political system? What are they?

What do you think of the British people using two languages? Does it prevent them from being independent?.

Text 4 political parties

Political Parties first emerged in Britain at the end of the 17^th century. The Conservative and Liberal Parties are the oldest and until the end of the 19^th century they were the only parties elected to the House of Commons. The main British political groupings are the Conservative and Labour Parties and the Party of Liberal Democrats. The Conservative Party is the present ruling party, the Labour Party – the opposition to the Conservative – and the party of Liberal Democrats is called ‘conservatively oriented’. The social Democratic Party was formed in 1981 and made an alliance with the Liberal Party in 1988.

There are also some other parties: the Scottish National and Welsh Nationalist Parties, the Communist Party of Britain and the Communist Party of Great Britain.

Because of the electoral method in use, only two major parties obtain seats in the House of Commons. People belonging to smaller political parties join one of the larger parties and work from within to make their influence felt. The exception to this are members of the Scottish National and Welsh Nationalist Parties, who, because their votes are concentrated in specific geographical areas, can manage to win seats although their total support is relatively small.

References the Conservative Party – Консервативная партия (основана в 1867 г. Одна из ведущих политических партий Великобритании; разг. The Tories)

the Liberal Party – Либеральная партия (образовалась в 1877 г.; с 1988 г. выступает в альянсе с Социал-демократической партией под названием Liberal Democrats)

the Labour Party – Лейбористская партия (создана в 1900 г.; одна из двух ведущих политических партий)

the Party of Liberal Democrats – Либерально-демократическая партия (создана в 1988 г. как партия центра в результате слияния Либеральной партии с частью Социал-демократической партии; разг. Lib Dems)

the Social Democratic Party – Социал-демократическая партия (основана в 1981 г.; в 1988 г. большая ее часть объединилась с Либеральной партией, образовав партию с названием the Social and Liberal Democrats; другая ее часть существовала в течение нескольких лет)

the Scottish National Party – Шотландская национальная партия (основана в 1928 г.)

the Welsh Nationalist Party - Уэльская националистическая партия (основана в 1925 г.)

the Communist Party of Britain – Коммунистическая партия Британии (образовалась в 1988 г.)

the Communist Party of Great Britain – Коммунистическая партия Британии (образовалась в 1920 г.)

The Conservative Party

The Conservative Party often called the Tory Party, is one of those which can trace its roots back to this early period. Today the Tory Party is that of big business, industry, commerce and landowners. Most of the money needed to run the party comes from large firms and companies. The party represents those who believe in private enterprise as opposed to state-owned undertakings. There is some division within the party itself: the more aristocratic wing and the lower-middle-class group. The Tories are a mixture of the rich and privileged – the monopolists and landowners. The Conservative Party is the most powerful and is often called a party of business directors.

The word ‘tory’ means an Irish highwayman and was applied to the conservatives by their opponents but later they adopted the name to describe themselves. The Tories opposed the ideas of the French Revolution, Parliamentary Reform and the development of Trade Unionism. They represent colonial policy. In home policy they opposed the tendencies of the Labour Party to nationalize gas, electricity, coal and the railways. Today the Conservative Party can broadly be described as the party of the middle and upper classes.