Лекция 1. Государственное устройство. The British state

План

1. Constitutional monarchy.

2. Parliament. The House of Commons. The House of Lords. Reform of the House of Lords.

3. Central government. The role of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet. The Government departments. Parliamentary control.

4. The Civil Service.

Cultural and institutional terms.

1.Constitutional monarchy. The constitutional situation: the country has no written constitution, its various ‘elements’ appear in different laws and even conventions, but they are not specified as such. The monarchy as Britain’s oldest secular institution. The Glorious Revolution (1688) and the creation of the constitutional monarchy (cf.: the idea of “the Crown in Parliament”). The monarchy at present: the full title (‘Her Most Excellent Majesty Elizabeth the Second by the Grace of God, of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of Her other Realms and Territories Queen, Head of the Commonwealth, Defender of the Faith’), status and functions of the monarch. The Royal Family. The royal finances. The prevailing attitude of the public to the monarchy and the Royal Family; debates about the role of the monarchy; reasons for the enduring popularity of the monarchy.

2.Parliament. The House of Commons. The House of Lords. Reform of the House of Lords. An ancient institution dating from the middle of the 13^th c. (1265). The struggle between Crown and Parliament in English history. The role of Parliament (‘Westminster’) in the state and political system of the country, Parliament as the legislative branch. The House of Commons: its dominant position; the composition of the House; parliamentary procedure. The House of Lords: its controversial character and attempts at reform (2007 – legislation to make the House of Lords an elected chamber passed by the House of Commons); the traditional categories of peers (the Lords Temporal: hereditary peers, life peers, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary = the ‘Law Lords’; the Lords Spiritual).

3.Central government. The role of the Prime Minister. The Cabinet. The Government departments. Parliamentary control. ‘Whitehall’. The composition of the government. The Prime Minister: theoretically, “first among equals”, in practice, a figure with powers similar to those of a president. The role of the Cabinet, the “Cabinet principle”. The role of the government departments in the running of the country. Parliamentary control: the government must explain its conduct of affairs in the House of Commons.

4.The Civil Service. A body of professional administrators who are supposed to be politically impartial and whose work is crucial to the effective functioning of government. Criticism of the Civil Service and its overall record.

Cultural and institutional terms. The monarch / sovereign; Westminster; Whitehall; 10 Downing Street; a Member of Parliament (MP); a front-bencher; a back-bencher; the Prime Minister (PM); the Speaker; the Lord Chancellor; a parliamentary bill; an Act of Parliament; the first (second, third) reading; royal assent; the state opening of Parliament; a parliamentary session; Question Time; the cabinet principle; a Secretary of State; a civil servant.

Questions:

1. What are the main reasons for the survival and enduring popularity of monarchy?

2. In what ways is the PM a president-like figure?

3. What are the strong points of the Civil Servive?

4. What is the Civil Service often criticised for?

References:

Левашова В. А. Современная Британия. М.: Высшая школа, 2007.

McDowall D. Britain in Close-Up. Longman Ltd., 2005.