Loosening of the Union

Th and 21st Centuries

Task 2. Read and translate the following text.

Formation of the United Kingdom

Th and 19th Centuries

Task 1. Review the text.

SUPPLEMENTARY READING

Ideology

The Liberal Democrats describe their ideology as giving "power to the people"; they are against the undemocratic concentration of power in unaccountable bodies. They propose decentralisation of power out of Westminster. They would also create a system of tiered government structures to make decisions at what they see as the right level, including regional assemblies, the European Union, and international organisations. In keeping with this principle, the Liberal Democrats are keen protectors of civil liberties and oppose intervention of the state in personal affairs. For this reason, the party has been popular among campaigners for the decriminalisation ofrecreational drugs.

The Acts of Union between the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland in 1707 caused the dissolution of both the Parliament of England and Parliament of Scotland in order to create a unified Kingdom of Great Britain governed by a unified Parliament of Great Britain.

The Act of Union of 1800 formally assimilated Ireland within the British political process and from 1 January 1801 created a new state called the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, which united the Kingdom of Great Britain with the Kingdom of Ireland to form a single political entity. The English capital of London was adopted as the capital of the Union.

Following years of political and military agitation for 'Home Rule' for Ireland, the Anglo-Irish treaty of 1921 established the Irish Free State (now the Republic of Ireland) as a separate nation, leaving Northern Ireland as part of the United Kingdom. The official name of the UK thus became "The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland".

Demands for constitutional change in Scotland resulted in a referendum being held in 1997 on the issue of re-establishing a Scottish Parliament, though within the United Kingdom. Following a huge 'Yes' vote, the Scotland Act 1998 was passed and the devolved parliament was elected and took powers in May, 1999. Following the Scottish elections in 2007, a minority SNP government took power, under the leadership of First Minister, Alex Salmond that is determined to move Scotland towards independence. The response of the main unionist parties has been to propose a constitutional commission to look at transferring more powers to the Scottish Parliament.

Demands for constitutional change in Wales also led to a 1997 referendum on a proposed Assembly, though the result in this case was a very narrow 'Yes' vote. Despite this start, discussions are now taking place about adding to the powers of the Welsh Assembly.

With the Northern Ireland Assembly restored in 2007, England is now the only one of the four constituent countries of the UK that does not have its own devolved administration. This situation has given rise to a constitutional anomaly known as The West Lothian question, in that since laws for England are made by the entire UK parliament, and the government of England is the entire UK government, Scottish, Welsh and Northern Irish MPs help make law that affect England alone, though English MPs have no similar power over legislation that affects Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland. This has led to demands for an English Parliament, or even for the formal ending of the United Kingdom, with independence for the constituent countries of the UK.

Task 3. Read and translate the following text:

Left wing or right wing?

Since the governments of Margaret Thatcher and John Major, the Liberal Democrats and their precursor Liberal party have been seen as the centrist party of British politics, although Tony Blair did reposition the Labour Party to the centre in the 1990s.

Some claim that attempting to place the Liberal Democrats in the "left wing"-"right wing" model does not accurately represent their ideology and that the Liberal Democrats represent the Libertarian end of the Libertarian-Authoritarian axis, a political dimension that is perpendicular to the better-known left-right axis. For example some Lib Dems oppose the power of the trade unions while others oppose the power of the corporations. Their actual position in both instances is an opposition to unaccountable power – whether it be left wing or right wing.

Others argue that this is consistent with both twentieth and twenty-first century British politics, which is in turn an example of the traditional left-right spectrum of political analysis. According to this view, liberalism or political centrism is consistent with a left-right analysis of politics. Thus when the Lib Dems oppose the trade unions, they do so from the centre of the political spectrum with the trade unions being to the left of them. When the Lib Dems oppose the power of the large corporations, they still do this from the centre of the political spectrum with the difference that the corporations are to the right of them.

Using a two-dimensional scale, Political Compass has labelled the Liberal Democrats as central on economic issues but liberal on social issues.

Task 4. Read and translate the following text:

Left of Labour?

The shift in the political direction of Labour was initiated in the 1980s but accelerated in response to the party's fourth consecutive election defeat in 1992. Since the election of Tony Blair, New Labour courted Conservative voters and politicians on the basis that if they take the centre ground from the other parties, they gain power. They were partly able to do this because their own voters have nowhere to turn to the left of New Labour. Thus in recent years the Lib Dems have tried to a degree to accommodate these people, by adopting or at least making public, more social liberal policies. This approach has been successful to some degree. For example, the Marxist Tariq Ali implored Londoners to vote Lib Dem before the 2005 general election over the Iraq war. However, to some working-class voters the Lib Dems are associated with the employer's interests.

In September 2005 there was a discussion at the Lib Dems conference as to whether the social liberal ideals have taken them as far as they can go, and whether they should now move back to the right in order to court Conservative voters. This could involve abolishing support for policies such as a proposed 50% tax rate for those who earn over Ј100,000. This policy proposal in particular has been used by the Conservative press to paint the party as 'left wing' and as such, this policy risks losing borderline and better off Lib Dem/Conservative voters. Proponents of a move to the right argue that left-wing policies could see the Lib Dems losing marginal seats to the Conservatives, seats which are vital if the Lib Dems wish to become the new 'official' opposition to any future Labour government. Opponents argue that the Lib Dems can unite the anti-Conservative vote in such marginal constituencies, and moving to the right risks losing other marginals in urban areas to the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru. They claim also that any move to the right could harm the Lib Dems in local elections, especially with the recent notable successes of the Green party. They also argue that a move to the right could lead not just to a loss of Lib Dem vote share, but also to a depressing total turnout in general.

THE JUDICIAL BRANCH OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BTITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

Warming-up:

1. What do you know about the System of Courts in Great Britain? Would you like to work as a lawyer in the British Court System? Why?

2. Do you know what the highest court in the British Judicial System is? And where is it situated?

Vocabulary notes:

superior court	суд вищої (загальної) інстанції
to hear cases	слухати справи
county court	суд графства
The Court of Appeal	Апеляційний суд
The High Court	Високий суд
to convict	визнавати винним
indictment	акт обвинувачення
proceeding	судочинство
sentence	вирок суду
sitting	засідання суду
assize	виїзна сесія
inferior court	суд нижчої інстанції
The Crown Court	Суд Корони
summarily	без участі присяжних
indictable offence	злочин, що підлягає судовому переслідуванню
to be referred	бути переданим до розгляду
to assign	призначати
to be remitted	бути полегшеним
appropriate	відповідний
supervisory	наглядацький
circuit judge	суддя виїзної сесії
to be charged	бути звинуваченим / притягнутим до
statutory	уставний, дисциплінарний
stipendiary, salaried	оплачуваний
debt	борг
quarter session	квартальна сесія

Дата добавления: 2014-12-17