know as parliament today 20. Charles i He was the King ruled from 1625 to 1649. he insisted on the div ine right of kings and therefore roused the protest from the Parliament. In the civil war which broke out later in 1642. he and his royalists were defeated by the "roundheads'"led by Oliver Cromwell. He was tried as a traitor to his country and executed 21. the bill of Rights of 1689 In 1688, King James IIs daughter Mary and her husband william were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of Parliament. After this Glorious revolution, the bill of rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament 22. the Constitution Britain has no written constitution The foundations of the british state are laid out in statute law, which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws established through common practice in the courts, and conventions 23. the functions of parliament The functions of Parliament are: to pass laws, to vote for taxation to scrutinize government policy administration and expenditure
know as Parliament today. 20. Charles I He was the King ruled from 1625 to 1649. He insisted on the divine right of kings and therefore roused the protest from the Parliament. In the civil war which broke out later in 1642, he and his royalists were defeated by the “roundheads” led by Oliver Cromwell. He was tried as a traitor to his country and executed. 21. the Bill of Rights of 1689 In 1688, King James II’s daughter Mary and her husband William were invited by the politicians and church authorities to take the throne, on condition that they would respect the rights of Parliament. After this Glorious Revolution, the Bill of Rights was passed in 1689 to ensure that the King would never be able to ignore Parliament. 22. the Constitution Britain has no written Constitution. The foundations of the British state are laid out in statute law, which are laws passed by Parliament; the common laws, which are laws established through common practice in the courts; and conventions. 23. the functions of Parliament The functions of Parliament are: to pass laws, to vote for taxation, to scrutinize government policy, administration and expenditure
and to debate the major issues of the day 24. the roles of monarch The primary role of the monarch today is to symbolize the tradition and unity of the british state. Other roles are: being legally head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature head of the judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces and"supreme governorof the Church of England. The Queen also acts as a confidante to the Prime Minister, offering valuable observations on the running of government 25. the house of lords The House of lords consists of the lords spiritual, who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England and the lords Temporal, which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers or they have been appointed. The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests ofthe public 26. the house of commons The House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives (Members of Parliament)make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them
and to debate the major issues of the day. 24. the roles of monarchy The primary role of the monarch today is to symbolize the tradition and unity of the British state. Other roles are: being legally head of the executive, an integral part of the legislature, head of the judiciary, commander in chief of the armed forces and “supreme governor” of the Church of England. The Queen also acts as a confidante to the Prime Minister, offering valuable observations on the running of government. 25. the House of Lords The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual, who are the Archbishops and most prominent bishops of the Church of England; and the Lords Temporal, which refers to those lords who either have inherited the seat from their forefathers or they have been appointed. The lords mainly represent themselves instead of the interests of the public. 26. the House of Commons The House of Commons is the real center of British political life because it is the place where about 650 elected representatives (Members of Parliament) make and debate policy. These MPs are elected in the General Elections and should represent the interests of the people who vote for them
27. the importance of general elections General elections are very important in the western democracy According to the author, they provide opportunities for people to influence future government policies and to rep lace those incompetent political leaders 28. the formation ofthe government 651 members of parliament are elected in the general election representing 651 constituencies in the UK. The party which holds a majority of those"seats in parliament forms the government, with its party leader as the Prime minister 29. vote of no confidence This refers to a statement put forward by an MP--- usually a member of an opposition party--- for the House of Commons to vote on say ing that"This house no longer has confidence in the Government. If the government loses a"vote of no confidence" in the House of Commons, that is, if a majority of MPs agree, then it has effectively lost its ability to govern and is forced to resign and call a general election. An example of this happened in 1979 with the labour government 30. theelectoral campaigns Before a general election, the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and policies
27. the importance of general elections General elections are very important in the western democracy. According to the author, they provide opportunities for people to influence future government policies and to replace those incompetent political leaders. 28. the formation of the government 651 members of parliament are elected in the general election representing 651 constituencies in the UK. The party which holds a majority of those “seats” in parliament forms the government, with its party leader as the Prime Minister. 29. vote of no confidence This refers to a statement put forward by an MP--- usually a member of an opposition party--- for the House of Commons to vote on saying that “This house no longer has confidence in the Government”. If the government loses a “vote of no confidence” in the House of Commons, that is, if a majority of MPs agree, then it has effectively lost its ability to govern and is forced to resign and call a general election. An example of this happened in 1979 with the Labour government. 30. the electoral campaigns Before a general election, the political parties would start their electoral campaigns in order to make their ideologies and policies
known to the public. The campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning, postal deliveries of leaflets and party electoral broadcasts" on the television. The parties also try to attack and criticize the opponents policies. Therefore, these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical 31. the Conservative party The Conservative party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK It is basically the party of the individual, protecting the individuals right to acquire wealth and to spend it as he/she wants. It advocates economic policies which are favourable to businessmen such as low taxes. From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative party won 4 consecutive elections and was in power for quite a long period of time 32. the labour party The Labor Party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK. It is also the newest party, created by the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century. It is a socialist party, believing that a society should be relatively equal in economic terms, and that the government should redistribute the wealth between the rich and the poor. It also thinks that the government should provide a range of public services for all the people 33. the Liberal democrats
known to the public. The campaign involves advertisements in newspapers, door-to-door campaigning, postal deliveries of leaflets and “party electoral broadcasts” on the television. The parties also try to attack and criticize the opponents’ policies. Therefore, these campaigns sometimes can be quite aggressive and critical. 31. the Conservative party The Conservative party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK. It is basically the party of the individual, protecting the individual’s right to acquire wealth and to spend it as he/she wants. It advocates economic policies which are favourable to businessmen, such as low taxes. From 1979 to 1997, the Conservative party won 4 consecutive elections and was in power for quite a long period of time. 32. the Labour party The Labor Party is one of the two biggest parties in the UK. It is also the newest party, created by the trade union movement at the end of the 19th century. It is a socialist party, believing that a society should be relatively equal in economic terms, and that the government should redistribute the wealth between the rich and the poor. It also thinks that the government should provide a range of public services for all the people. 33. the Liberal Democrats
The liberal democrats are the third biggest party and often seen as a party of the middle, occupy ing the ideological ground between the two major parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social. They emphasize the need to change the Britains constitutional arrangements to make the government more democratic and accountable 34. Margaret Thatcher She came into power as Britains first woman Prime Minister in 1979 when her Conservative party won the general election. She advocated the idea of small government and free-market economics. During her term as the Prime Minister, she carried out policies to privatize the nationalized industry and to cut tax rates As a result, many bus inesses boomed but unemployment rate increased She was later rep laced by john major in 1990 35. John major He is the leader of the Conservative party and is the ex-Prime Minister of the uK. In 1990. he was elected the leader of the Conservative party, rep lacing Mrs Thatcher. After he came into power, he has continued to carry out Thatcher s policies but in a milder way 36. relative decline of the UK economy
The Liberal Democrats are the third biggest party and often seen as a party of the “middle”, occupying the ideological ground between the two major parties. They are comparatively flexible and pragmatic in their balance of the individual and the social. They emphasize the need to change the Britain’s constitutional arrangements to make the government more democratic and accountable. 34. Margaret Thatcher She came into power as Britain’s first woman Prime Minister in 1979 when her Conservative party won the general election. She advocated the idea of small government and free-market economics. During her term as the Prime Minister, she carried out policies to privatize the nationalized industry and to cut tax rates. As a result, many businesses boomed but unemployment rate increased. She was later replaced by John Major in 1990. 35. John Major He is the leader of the Conservative party and is the ex-Prime Minister of the UK. In 1990, he was elected the leader of the Conservative party, replacing Mrs Thatcher. After he came into power, he has continued to carry out Thatcher’s policies but in a milder way. 36. relative decline of the UK economy