Контрольная работа по «Английскому языку»

The Restoration of the monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the War of the Three Kingdoms. On 4 April 1660, Charles II issued the Declaration of Breda, which made known the conditions of his acceptance of the crown of England. The Convention Parliament, which met for the first time on 25 April, On 8 May proclaimed that King Charles II had been the lawful monarch since the execution of Charles I on 30 January 1649.

The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, was the overthrow of King James II of England (VII of Scotland and II of Ireland) in 1688 by a union of Parliamentarians with an invading army led by the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau (William of Orange) who, as a result, ascended the English throne as William III of England.

The crisis besetting King James II came to a head in 1688, when the King fathered a son, James Francis Edward Stuart on 10 June (Julian calendar). Until then the throne would have passed to his daughter, Mary, a Protestant and the wife of William of Orange. The prospect of a Catholic dynasty in the kingdoms was now likely. Already troubled by the King's Catholicism and his close ties with France, key leaders of the Tories united with members of the opposition Whigs and set out to resolve the crisis by inviting William of Orange to England.

 

 
8.) The Industrial Revolution. Chartism

The Industrial Revolution was a period from the 18th to the 19th century where major changes in agriculture, manufacturing, mining, and transport had a profound effect on the socioeconomic and cultural conditions starting in the United Kingdom, then subsequently spreading throughout Europe, North America, and eventually the world. The onset of the Industrial Revolution marked a major turning point in human history; almost every aspect of daily life was eventually influenced in some way.

Starting in the later part of the 18th century there began a transition in parts of Great Britain'spreviously manual labour and draft-animal–based economy towards machine-based manufacturing. It started with the mechanisation of the textile industries, the development of iron-making techniques and the increased use of refined coal. Trade expansion was enabled by the introduction of canals, improved roads and railways. The introduction of steam power fuelled primarily by coal, wider utilisation of water wheels and powered machinery (mainly in textile manufacturing) underpinned the dramatic increases in production capacity. The development of all-metal machine tools in the first two decades of the 19th century facilitated the manufacture of more production machines for manufacturing in other industries. The effects spread throughout Western Europe and North America during the 19th century, eventually affecting most of the world, a process that continues as industrialisation. The impact of this change on society was enormous.

The first Industrial Revolution, which began in the 18th century, merged into the Second Industrial Revolution around 1850, when technological and economic progress gained momentum with the development of steam-powered ships, railways, and later in the 19th century with the internal combustion engine and electrical power generation. The period of time covered by the Industrial Revolution varies with different historians. Eric Hobsbawm held that it 'broke out' in Britain in the 1780s and was not fully felt until the 1830s or 1840s, while T. S. Ashtonheld that it occurred roughly between 1760 and 1830. Some twentieth century historians such as John Clapham and Nicholas Crafts have argued that the process of economic and social change took place gradually and the term revolution is not a true description of what took place. This is still a subject of debate among historians. GDP per capita was broadly stable before the Industrial Revolution and the emergence of the modern capitalist economy. The Industrial Revolution began an era of per-capita economic growth in capitalist economies. Historians agree that the Industrial Revolution was one of the most important events in history.

Chartism was a movement for political and social reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland during the mid-19th century, between 1838 and 1850. It takes its name from the People's Charter of 1838, which stipulated the six main aims of the movement as:

1. A vote for every man twenty-one years of age, of sound mind, and not undergoing punishment for crime.
2. The secret ballot. - To protect the elector in the exercise of his vote.
3. No property qualification for members of Parliament - thus enabling the constituencies to return the man of their choice, be he rich or poor.
4. Payment of members, thus enabling an honest tradesman, working man, or other person, to serve a constituency, when taken from his business to attend to the interests of the Country.
5. Equal Constituencies, securing the same amount of representation for the same number of electors, instead of allowing small constituencies to swamp the votes of large ones.
6. Annual parliaments, thus presenting the most effectual check to bribery and intimidation, since though a constituency might be bought once in seven years (even with the ballot), no purse could buy a constituency (under a system of universal suffrage) in each ensuing twelve-month; and since members, when elected for a year only, would not be able to defy and betray their constituents as now.

Chartism was possibly the first mass working class labour movement in the world. Its leaders have often been described as either "physical force" or "moral force" leaders, depending upon their attitudes to violent protest.

 

 
9.)Britain  in the XX century. The First World War. The Second World War. Winston S. Churchil

 
 
10.)Give  a general assessment of Britain today. The main aspects of the policy of the present Government. Britain, Europe and the USA relations with Belarus, Russia and other Post-Soviet  states

Great Britain is one of the world’s major industrialized and trading nations. It enjoys a long established democratic system of government which has provided political stability. The UK is a member of the European community, the United Nations Organization, the North Atlantic Treaty organization and the Commonwealth.

Great Britain is a constitutional monarchy. The constitution exists in no one document but is a centuries-old accumulation of statutes, judicial decisions, usage, and tradition. Sovereignty rests in Parliament, which consists of the House of Commons, the House of Lords, and the crown. Effective power resides in the Commons, whose 646 members are elected from single-member constituencies. The executive-the cabinet of ministers headed by the prime minister, who is the head of government-is usually drawn from the party holding the most seats in the Commons; the monarch usually asks the leader of the majority party to be prime minister.

  In May, 1979, the Conservatives returned to power under the leadership of Margaret Thatcher, who set out to reverse the postwar trend toward socialism by reducing government borrowing, freezing expenditures, and privatizing state-owned industries. in Nov., 1990 John Major became party leader and prime minister. In the elections of May, 1997, Labour won 418 seats in the House of Commons by following a centrist political strategy. Tony Blair, head of what he called the "New Labour" party, became prime minister. Because of  some scandals which are connecting with Iraq, , Blair announced in September that he would resign as prime minister sometime in 2007. When he stepped down in June, 2007, Gordon Brown, who had served a decade as chancellor of the exchequer under Blair, succeeded him as prime minister.

  In May, 2009, Britain's political parties became enveloped in a scandal over inappropriate expenses claimed by members of Parliament. Revelations concerning those expenses led a number of legislators to announce they would not run again. Several government ministers resigned-some as a result of the scandal, some in protest against it and the prime minister-and the speaker of the House of Commons, accused of failing to prevent the abuses and of trying to prevent release of the information, was forced to step down. . The scandal affected all the parties, especially Labour, which suffered significant losses in the local English and European parliament elections held in June. 
 
11.) Describe GB as a constitutional monarchy and its role and social influence

The U.K. is a constitutional monarchy. In reality the monarch reigns but does not rule. As a constitutional monarch Queen Elizabeth the Second acts on advice of Her Prime Minister and does not make any major political decisions. The U.K. is actually governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen.

The Queen is the symbol of the national unity and stability. She personifies the state and has a lot of titles. She is: the Head of the Executive; a part of the Legislature; the Head of the Judiciary; the Commander-in-Chief of all armed forces of the U.K.; the Head of the Anglican Church; the Head of the Commonwealth.

Although the Queen is deprived of actual power, she has retained many important, though formal, functions. She: summons and dissolves Parliament; gives Her Royal Assent to bills passed by both Houses of Parliament; appoints the Prime Minister (usually the leader of the political party that has the majority in the House of Commons, i.e. the leader of the party that came first at General Elections), other ministers (on Prime Minister’s advice), judges, officials in the armed forces, governors, diplomatic representatives and bishops; confers peerages, knighthoods and other honours; gives audience to Her Ministers; receives accounts of the Cabinet decisions and is informed and consulted on every aspect of national life; has the power the declare war, make peace, recognise foreign states and governments, conclude treaties, etc.

Future of the Monarchy

Today the British monarchy is one of the greatest tourist attractions. The Queen herself remains popular in the country, but various marital problems in her family have lowered the prestige of royalty. Antimonarchists underline also the high cost of the monarchy. The Queen is one of the richest women of the world. “The Civil List” is the money she and some other members of her family get from Parliament each year (through a special tax) so that they can carry out their public duties.

Certain steps are being taken to protect and preserve the monarchy. One of them is “The Way Ahead Committee”. It consists of the Queen, Prince Philip, Prince Charles and some of the top-ranking advisors. It is supposed to help the monarchy to remain in tune with modern life. The Queen realises that the monarchy needs some changes =>: proposal to end the primogeniture; proposal to lift the ban for heirs to the throne to marry Roman Catholics, etc.

British Constitution: The Constitutional monarchy means that the power of a monarch is limited by the Constitution and an elected Parliament.

Peculiarities of the British Constitution: there is no written constitution/the British constitution is unwritten; it is not contained in any single document.

The British Constitution comes from the variety of sources:

1. Historical documents/statutes, e.g. “Magna Carta” (1215) – nobles forced King John to sign this document according to which the power of a monarch was limited; a monarch should rule in accordance with law and custom; people had right to resist an unjust king.
2. Laws/Acts of Parliament, e.g.:
• the Bill of Rights (1689) – Parliament should be freely elected; freedom of speech; no taxation without the agreement of parliament; no power for king to suspend any law; the army could be raised only with Parliament’s agreement, etc.;
• the Act of Settlement (1701) – gave Parliament the right to decide upon the succession to the throne;
• the Representation of the People Act (1918) – women received the right to vote; ruled for holding elections, etc.;
• the Act of 1999 – abolished hereditary principle in the House of Lords.
3. Constitutional matters decided in a court of law.
4. Customs/conventions – established practices/accepted way in which things are done/unwritten rules, e.g.:
• convention of the Queen to accept the legislation passed by Parliament;
• convention of the ministers to support a minister in trouble, etc.
5. The works of constitutional experts on the subject of constitution.

Basic Principles of the Constitution: the Rule of Law; the Rule of Custom; the Supremacy of Parliament.

Unwritten Constitution: 1.) supporters (pros) it is flexible, easy to amend 2.) rejecter (cons) the public does not have access to this important document => it should be written and codified as one single text.

 

 

The amendments to the Constitution are made by a simple majority support in both Houses of Parliament followed by the Royal Assent.

Separation of Powers under the British Constitution:

1. the Legislature/legislative branch (makes laws) – represented by Parliament;
2. the Executive/executive branch (puts laws into effect and plans policy) – represented by the Cabinet;
3. the Judiciary/judiciary branch (decides on cases that have to do with the breach/violation of law) – represented by the Law Lords and the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (advisory organ of a British monarch).

Britain does not have a very strict separation of powers (unlike the USA), i.e. all the branches merge:

• the Prime Minister as well as other ministers belongs to the Executive, but he is also an active member of the Legislature because he is an MP (member of Parliament/the House of Commons);
• the Lord Chancellor is a member of the Cabinet (the Executive) as well as the Head of the House of Lords (the Legislature);
• the Law Lords are the members of the House of Lords (the Legislature) as well as the members of the Judiciary (they are actually the Supreme Judges).

 
12.) Describe the structure and composition of the British Parliament. The reform of the House of Lords and its role. The House of Commons, composition and role. Give an account of the functions of the British Parliament outlining the process o passing a bill. Explain the term “Devolution” and its significance for the national parts of the U.K.

The British Parliament consists of the Queen and the two Houses of Parliament: the House of Lords and the elected House of Commons. These elements are separate and meet together only on occasions of symbolic significance. The House of Lords is the second chamber of the British Parliament. Members of this chamber (known as peers) consist of Lords Spiritual and Lords Temporal. Members of the House of Lords are not elected. In the 20^th century The House of Lords faced several successful reforms:

1911-Parliament Act

The ability to block legislation indefinitely was placed by the delaying power of 2 years.

1949-Parliament Act

The period of delay was reduced from 2 years to 1 year.

1958-Life Peerages Act

Peerages could be given on a non-hereditary basis for the first time. Women entered the lords the same year.

1999 –House of Lords Act

Removed hereditary peers with the exception of the 92 remaining.

The House of Commons consists of 646 MPs. The Commons hold their seats during the life of the parliament (generally 5 years). The chief officer of the House of Commons is the Speaker.

The composition of the HoC after 2005 general elections is the following:

Parties

Labour 356

Conservative 198

Liberal Democrat 62

SNP 6  Democratic Unionist 9 Plaid Cymru 3

Sinn Féin 5

Ulster Unionist 1

Social Democratic and Labour 3

Independent 1

Total 646

 

Functions of Parliament:

1. law-making;
2. taxation;
3. discussing the issues of the day.

Procedure of Passing a Bill in British Parliament

Types of Bills:

1. Public Bills:

• concern public policies;

• can be introduced in either of the Houses (except for the bills involving taxation and spending public money – these ones can be introduced only in the House of Commons) by a minister or a private member (MP) (than it is called a private member’s bill);
• cannot be carried over from one session to the next one.

2. Private Bills:

• concern the matters of individual, corporate or local interest;
• introduced through a petition, presented to Parliament by its promoter who is also responsible for its cost;
• can be carried over from one session to the next one.

The process of passing a public bill is similar in both Houses of Parliament:

Stage 1: First Reading – a formal announcement of the bill (its title, name of the person who is responsible for it and the day of the Second Reading) with no debate.

Stage 2: Second Reading – the House debates general principles of the bill and in most cases takes a vote.

Stage 3: Committee Stage – a committee of MPs/peers studies the details of the bill thoroughly and votes on amendments to the bill.

Types of parliamentary committees:

• select committee – controls the Executive by examining some aspects of administration and reports the results to the House;
• standing committee – examines public bills at the Committee Stage, sometimes also at the Second Reading and the Report Stage. In standing committee the balance of parties reflects that in the House as a whole;
• joint committee – consists of the members of both Houses appointed to consider a particular issue or a particular bill. The proposal to send a bill to a joint committee comes from the House where the bill was originated.

Stage 4: Report Stage – the House considers the proposed amendments and takes a vote.

Stage 5: Third Reading – purely formal stage; the bill is reviewed and debated as a whole.

Stage 6: The bill is sent to the other House for the same procedure. If the other House makes new amendments they will be considered by the House that originated the bill.

Stage 7: Royal Assent – after both Houses have reached agreement on the bill, it is sent to the Queen for the Royal Assent and after it is signed by the Queen it becomes

Devolution in Britain

Devolution – the act of giving power from a national government to a group or organisation at a lower or more local level.

Devolution in the U.K. means decentralisation or shifting the responsibility from Parliament in London to local parliaments in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Labour Party came to power in 1997 with proposals for parliament in Scotland, assemblies in Wales and Northern Ireland. Some people are very optimistic about it, some call it the end of Britain.

The Scottish Parliament:

1. The Referendum of 1997 in Scotland => the Scottish supported the idea of devolution.
2. The Scotland Act of 1998 provided for the establishment of the Scottish Parliament.
3. 1999 – the first elections took place and the Scottish Parliament was officially opened. There are 129 members in it. The decide on “devolved” matters (i.e. education, health, environment, agriculture, justice) while the 72 Scottish MPs represent their constituencies in London on “reserved” matters (defense and national security, employment, foreign affairs).
4. Functions of the Scottish Parliament:
• to hold the Scottish Executive accountable through oral and written questions;
• to make laws on devolved matters;
• to debate important issues;
• to publish reports.
5. Achievements of the Scottish Parliament:

• University tuition fees were abolished and replaced by a graduate tax paid back later, when a person starts to work;

• Abolition of feudal land holding.

The National Assembly for Wales:

1. The Referendum of 1997 in Wales => the Welsh approved the idea of devolution.
2. The Government of Wales Act of 1998 established the National Assembly for Wales.
3. Since 1999 the National Assembly for Wales has power and responsibility to develop policies and make important decisions in the following areas: agriculture, ancient monuments and historic buildings, culture, education, environment, health, industry, local government, tourism, transport, the Welsh language, etc.
4. The Secretary of State for Wales and 39 MPs represent Wales in Parliament in London.

The Northern Ireland Assembly:

The situation in Northern Ireland is more difficult than that in Scotland or Wales.

1. In 1998 a 108-member Assembly (18 constituencies, 6 members from each) was elected using a proportional representation system. The Assembly met in shadow form (without legislative power).
2. The formal powers were devolved from London to the Assembly only in 1999 due to the political tension with IRA.
3. 2000 – political problems led to a return to direct rule from London.

2003 – new elections to the Northern Ireland Assembly were held. But the road to peace and solution of the Irish issue remains difficult and there was little success so far in devolution in Northern Ireland. 
 
 
13.) Discuss the electoral system. Give an evaluation of the “majority electoral system” existing in GB. Comment on the general elections of May 2005