Prime Time 5, Coursebook mit Audio-CD

b) Look at the results of the General Elections in Reading East (Berks) and explain the table. Answer the questions below. • Which party was the winner in each election? • Who became the MP for Reading East in 2001 and in 2005? • What changed between 2001 and 2005? Candidate Votes % 2001 Prof John Howson (Liberal Democrat) 10,619 24.2 Tony Page (Labour) 15,082 34.3 Rob White (Green) 1,548 3.5 Rob Wilson (Conservative) 15,557 35.4 2005 Thomas Dobrashian (Liberal Democrat) 8,078 18.5 Jane Griffiths (Labour) 19,538 44.8 Miriam Kennet (Green) 1,053 2.4 Barry Tanswell (Conservative) 13,943 32.0 In Britain the Members of Parliament (MPs) are elected in general elections, which take place at least every five years. The whole country is divided into voting areas called constituencies, which send one representative to the Parlia- ment. Altogether there are about 645 MPs in the House of Commons. Every person who is at least 18 years of age can vote in his/her constituency for one of the local candidates. Only the candidate with a majority of votes is the MP for this constituency. This system is called a “first-past-the-post” system. As there is no second round of counting, the votes for the other candidates are lost. The advantage of such a system is that the government usually has a clear majority which makes it much easier to rule the country. In addition, each MP has close ties with his/her constituency and the people there know who their representative is. So when they want to raise a problem they can contact their local MP and ask for support. The downside of this system is, however, that many votes do not count at all. 5 10 15 20 25 4 How an MP is elected a) Read the following text about the British voting system. 1 constituency: voting district Look at the information and the diagram about the British Parliament today on page 63. Then find the answers to the questions. 1. Which part of the system is elected by the people? 2. Why is the House of Commons the most important part of Parliament? 3. What is the title of the person with the top job in British politics? 4. How often must there be elections? 5. Which people belong to the Cabinet? 6. How many Members of Parliament are there for each constituency 1 ? 64 Politics 5 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv