56 Unit 04 | Checks and balances Work with a partner and make two word maps. On one note down all the facts you know about politics in the UK and on the other facts about US politics. For example, which country is led by a president and which by a prime minister? One of you reads text 1 and the other text 2. Summarise the main ideas of your text in about 120 words. Make sure you include the ‘fun fact’! Now spend about 3 minutes explaining the main points of the text you read to your partner. Text 1 READING 6 7 a b Politics in the United Kingdom The political system of the UK is one of the oldest in the world, dating back centuries. It is still officially headed by the reigning monarch, known as the ‘executive’. Although the King or Queen calls on Parliament to meet, they have no real say in the decision-making process. To make laws, the two Houses of Parliament meet to debate and make decisions: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. These are situated in the Palace of Westminster. The House of Commons is where the Members of Parliament (MPs) who were elected meet in this representative democracy. In order to establish who becomes an MP, there is a general election every five years in which citizens in each of the UK’s 650 electoral districts vote for one of the politicians standing. Following the election, the political party with the majority of MPs becomes the government. The party with the second-most votes becomes the opposition, and they generally argue against the ruling party’s ideas. Since the 1920s, the two dominant parties have been the Conservative Party (the ‘Tories’) and the Labour Party. Each MP represents their own constituency and meets with members of the general public in this constituency so that they can represent their views. In the House of Commons, the 650 MPs meet regularly to debate laws and, if more than half agree, laws may change. The leader of the governing party becomes Prime Minister and is the most powerful politician in the government. The Prime Minister chooses some MPs to become responsible for particular areas, such as health, the environment or transport; they are known as ‘ministers’. Thus, the Prime Minister forms a cabinet which sometimes meets separately from the rest of Parliament. In order to keep a check on the decisions made in Parliament, before proposed legislation (known as a ‘bill’) can be passed into law, the House of Lords reviews and amends them. Numbering more than 1,000 people, the ‘Lords’ are either appointed by the monarch or the Prime Minister, or they may have inherited their title. Aiming to bring experience and knowledge from a wide range of occupations, many of them are active in their fields and have successful careers in business, culture, science, sports, academia, law, education, health and public service. Their role is to examine matters of public interest that affect the UK’s citizens. In the House of Commons, the government and the opposition sit opposite each other on green benches. Discussions are supervised by the Speaker, who tries to keep order and who decides who may speak. Traditionally, when a new Speaker is elected, they are physically dragged to the chair by other MPs. This dates back to when the Speaker informed the monarch of Parliament’s decisions. The monarch may have disagreed with what was said and the Speaker may have ended up being executed. Therefore, they may have needed some ‘persuading’ to take on the role! Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv
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