chance to win a general election largely depends on the economic situation in Britain If economy develops healthily and the situat ion is stable, the labor Party would have less chance to win. If economic recessions and social problems are serious and many people demand reform as a way out, the labor Party would have a bigger chance to In 1924, the first Labor government came to power. By 1929, it had replaced Liberals as one of tow major parties. In 1945 General Election, it gained spectacular victory, and its government introduced several important social reforms: National health service(NHS), social security system, mass education, nationalization of several lead ing industries. It won power under Wilson from 1964 to 1970 and in office again from 1974 to 1979. Then it spent majority of time in opposition until 1997. In organization the Labor Party is more democratic but looser than the Conservative The Liberal Democrats is the third important party. It is a merger of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party is a break away group from Labor Party, formed in 1981. The Liberal Democrats advocates policies based on freedom of the individuals. It remains a minority party, which draws support from voters dissatisfied with Tory or Labor. Thus, this is a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government. It is an image of party moderate and appeals predominantly to middle-class people, often in rural areas Now, the party in power is the Labor Party. The Labor Party won the general election in 1997 because of its policies. On June 7, 2001 Tony Blair once again led the labor party to a second successive victory in the General Election, winning by another landslide(山崩) IIL. Recent political trends During the 20th century, the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare polic ies and laws to regulate industrial relations In 1945 to ensure full employment, labor government began to nationalize key industries such as coal, steel and transport. The economist, William Beveridage planned the British Welfare State during the Second World War. The labo Government of 1945-1950 passed laws giving the country almost everything for which Beveridge asked. Then the Conservative Government also accepted the Beveridge's Plan and made no changes. So now it is widely accepted in Britain that the State should ensure that nobody should be without the means for the minimum necessities of life because of unemployment, old age, sickness, or over-large families Like many other countries, Britain spends, each year, large sums of money on the building and maintenance of roads, police, hospitals, schools, libraries(in Britain, 6
6 chance to win a general election largely depends on the economic situation in Britain. If economy develops healthily and the situation is stable, the Labor Party would have less chance to win. If economic recessions and social problems are serious and many people demand reform as a way out, the Labor Party would have a bigger chance to win. In 1924, the first Labor government came to power. By 1929, it had replaced Liberals as one of tow major parties. In 1945 General Election, it gained spectacular victory, and its government introduced several important social reforms: National health service (NHS), social security system, mass education, nationalization of several leading industries. It won power under Wilson from 1964 to 1970 and in office again from 1974 to 1979. Then it spent majority of time in opposition until 1997. In organization the Labor Party is more democratic but looser than the Conservative. The Liberal Democrats is the third important party. It is a merger of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party is a break away group from Labor Party, formed in 1981. The Liberal Democrats advocates policies based on freedom of the individuals. It remains a minority party, which draws support from voters dissatisfied with Tory or Labor. Thus, this is a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government. It is an image of party moderate and appeals predominantly to middle-class people, often in rural areas. Now, the party in power is the Labor Party. The Labor Party won the general election in 1997 because of its policies. On June 7, 2001 Tony Blair once again led the Labor Party to a second successive victory in the General Election, winning by another landslide (山崩). III. Recent Political Trends During the 20th century, the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare policies and laws to regulate industrial relations. In 1945 to ensure full employment, labor government began to nationalize key industries such as coal, steel and transport. The economist, William Beveridage, planned the British Welfare State during the Second World War. The labor Government of 1945-1950 passed laws giving the country almost everything for which Beveridge asked. Then the Conservative Government also accepted the Beveridge’s Plan and made no changes. So now it is widely accepted in Britain that the State should ensure that nobody should be without the means for the minimum necessities of life because of unemployment, old age, sickness, or over-large families. Like many other countries, Britain spends, each year, large sums of money on the building and maintenance of roads, police, hospitals, schools, libraries (in Britain
every town has a free public library ) national defense and so on. But besides these Britain also spends more than 40% of the government's total expend iture on social welfare program. The English social welfare program includes ma inly the following items, and nearly everyone in Britain is entitled to the welfare in certain aspects 1. The National Health Service The National Health Service prov ides medical care for almost all the people. It provides med ical treatment both in hospital and outside. It covers sickness of mind as well as ordinary sickness, and it includes the treatment of teeth, sight and hearing and other expensive items like wheelchairs, artificial limbs, etc. This program is based on the belief that the government should be responsible for improvement in the health of the people. The program requires employers and employees to contribute some money to the program, but about 90% of the cost of the health services is paid by the government Of course, like the situation in our country, people are not obliged to use the service. They can go to some private doctors. Accord ing to the requirements of the National Health Service, people should go to certain hospitals, which are within the health service for their free medical treatment. Normally, a person must be registered on a general practitioner's list, and if he needs medical attention, he should first of all make an appointment with his practitioner arranging to go to see him or to have the practitioner come to see him. The task of a general practitioner is to give medical treatment, to prescribe medicine, or to arrange for the patient to go to hospitals. After the doctor's treatment, the patient should take the prescription to a chemists shop to et the medicine. From 1948, the patient paid nothing for medicine, but in 1951 small pay ment was necessary. The payment was abolished in 1964 by the Labor Government, but then restored by it in 1968. The Health Service funds pay for the cost of each prescription above the patient's contribution, but for small children and people with low incomes there is no charge. So patients pay min imal charges for prescriptions, adult dental treatment, eyeglasses and dentures (15), and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations(接种疫苗 Each person is free to choose a general practitioner in the area where he lives. If he is away from his home, he may go to any doctor. Each general practitioner receives a fixed"capitation(按人头计算) payments from the health service funds of about f1 per year for each patient on his list. If he cares for a pregnant woman, he gets a fixed add itional sum. The general practitioner also receives pay ment for treating people not on the list, because when people go away from home for their holidays, they can see any doctor. So the general practitioners may have chances to treat visitors from other parts of the country. Besides the payments mentioned above, the general practitioner could also have private patients
7 every town has a free public library), national defense and so on. But besides these, Britain also spends more than 40% of the government’s total expenditure on social welfare program. The English social welfare program includes mainly the following items, and nearly everyone in Britain is entitled to the welfare in certain aspects. 1. The National Health Service The National Health Service provides medical care for almost all the people. It provides medical treatment both in hospital and outside. It covers sickness of mind as well as ordinary sickness, and it includes the treatment of teeth, sight and hearing and other expensive items like wheelchairs, artificial limbs, etc. This program is based on the belief that the government should be responsible for improvement in the health of the people. The program requires employers and employees to contribute some money to the program, but about 90% of the cost of the health services is paid by the government. Of course, like the situation in our country, people are not obliged to use the service. They can go to some private doctors. According to the requirements of the National Health Service, people should go to certain hospitals, which are within the health service for their free medical treatment. Normally, a person must be registered on a general practitioner’s list, and if he needs medical attention, he should first of all make an appointment with his practitioner arranging to go to see him or to have the practitioner come to see him. The task of a general practitioner is to give medical treatment, to prescribe medicine, or to arrange for the patient to go to hospitals. After the doctor’s treatment, the patient should take the prescription to a chemist’s shop to get the medicine. From 1948, the patient paid nothing for medicine, but in 1951 a small payment was necessary. The payment was abolished in 1964 by the Labor Government, but then restored by it in 1968. The Health Service funds pay for the cost of each prescription above the patient’s contribution, but for small children and people with low incomes there is no charge. So patients pay minimal charges for prescriptions, adult dental treatment, eyeglasses and dentures (假牙), and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations (接种疫苗). Each person is free to choose a general practitioner in the area where he lives. If he is away from his home, he may go to any doctor. Each general practitioner receives a fixed “capitation”(按人头计算) payments from the health service funds of about ￡1 per year for each patient on his list. If he cares for a pregnant woman, he gets a fixed additional sum. The general practitioner also receives payment for treating people not on the list, because when people go away from home for their holidays, they can see any doctor. So the general practitioners may have chances to treat visitors from other parts of the country. Besides the payments mentioned above, the general practitioner could also have private patients