The System of Government in the UK

Text 4A

Before you read

Discuss these questions with your partner.

1. What do you know about the system of government in the UK?

2. What advantages does a monarchy have?

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is a constitutional monarchy. It means that the country has the Queen or the King and a democratically elected government.

The monarchy is the oldest institution of government in the United Kingdom and goes back to the 11-th century. The UK’s monarchy is the oldest of all modern constitutional monarchies (others exist in countries including Belgium, Norway, the Netherlands, Spain and Monaco).

The Queen is the Head of the State and the Prime Minister appointed by the monarch is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the head of the Government.

As a constitutional monarch, the Queen does not rule the country, but fulfils a number of important ceremonial and symbolic roles. She is the Head of the Armed Forces, the Head of the Commonwealth and also holds the title ‘Defender of the Faith and Supreme Governor of the Church of England’. The Queen also performs a range of important duties, such as summoning and dissolving Parliament and giving royal assent to legislation passed by the UK Parliament. The Queen appoints the prime minister and other government ministers, judges, officers in the armed forces, governors, diplomats, and bishops.

The state has three main functions: executive, legislative and judicial.

The legislative power in the UK is exercised by Parliament which consists of the Monarch, the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. The main functions of Parliament are to examine debate and approve laws, to finance through taxation the work of the government, and to check the work of the government. The three parts of Parliament – the House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch – meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance such as the State Opening of Parliament.

The House of Commons is an elected body. General elections are usually held every 5 years in the UK. During an election, the UK is divided into 646 constituencies, which each vote one Member of Parliament (MP) into the House of Commons. When an MP dies, resigns or is made a member of the House of Lords a by-election takes place.

The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker, elected by MPs to preside over the House. The person elected to be the Speaker has the privilege to sit in the House of Lords when he or she steps down. MPs are paid salaries. They are directly responsible to the electorate. On weekends, MPs are expected to return to their constituencies to be available for the people from the district they represent.

T ^[he House of Lords has 736 members. The Lord Chancellor presides over the House of Lords.

The House of Lords is composed of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords Temporal.

The Lords Spiritual can now number no more than 26 (there are 5 Archbishops and 21 longest-serving bishops).

The Lords Temporal are hereditary or life peers or peeresses. Legislation since 1999 has limited the number of hereditary peers to 92 and the most peers in the House of Lords are life peers (whose peerages are not inheritable).

The House of Lords debates legislation, and has some power to amend or reject bills. However, the power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the Parliament Acts.

Ex. I. Read the text and answer the following questions:

1. What kind of a country is the UK?

2. What country is the oldest of all modern constitutional monarchies?

3. What other countries does a constitutional monarchy exist in?

4. Who is the Head of the State in the UK?

5. Who is as the head of the Government in the UK?

6. What are the functions of the Queen?

7. What duties does the Queen perform?

8. What are the main functions of the state in the UK?

9. What parts does Parliament consist of?

10. What are the functions of Parliament?

11. How often are general elections to the House of Commons held?

12. How many constituencies are there in the UK?

13. How are the general elections held in the UK?

14. When does a re-election take place?

15. Who presides over the House of Commons?

16. Who presides over the House of Lords?

17. Whom is the House of Lords composed of?

18. What are the powers of the House of Lords?

Ex. II. Fill in the blanks using the proper words or words combinations given below.

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