1911 – The power of the House of Lords is severely reduced (уменьшилась).

      –  Sick pay for most workers is introduced.

1914 – Britain declares war on Germany. Until the 1940s, the First World War was known in Britain as ‘the Great War’.

1916 – The ‘Easter Rising’ in Ireland against British rule is suppressed. Its leaders are executed.

1918 – The First World War is over. [Germany surrendered [sз`rзndзrid] in November.]

         – The right to vote is extended to include women over the age of thirty.

1919 – The Irish Republican Army (IRA) is founded to free Ireland from British rule.

1920 – The British government partitions [pa:`ti∫зnz] (разделить) Ireland.

1921 – The British government agrees to the independence of southern Ireland. But it also insists that Northern Ireland should remain united with Britain. Treaty between Britain and the Irish Parliament in Dublin is signed.

1922 – The Irish Free State is born.

1924 –The Labour Party [`leibз] forms a government for the first time.

1926 – General Strike. [The general strike was organized by trade unions and lasted nine days. The government widely used the police force. Many strikers were arrested and the strike was finally broken.]

1928 – The right to vote is extended again. All men and women over the age of  twenty-one can now vote.

1930–1933 – Over three million workers are unemployed because of ‘the Great Depression’.

1936 – George V’s younger son, the Duke of York, becomes King George VI. [His elder brother, Edward, was a popular Prince of Wales. Unfortunately, at the time of his father’s death, Edward was in love with a married woman, the American Mrs Simpson [`simpsn]. In October 1936 she and her husband divorced, and Edward seemed set on marrying her. It was impossible, as he was now head of the Church of England, and the Church did not approve of divorce. So his younger brother became king.]

1939 – Britain declares war on Germany.

1940 – German planes make bombing [bomiŋ] raids against British cities, railways and factories.

1944 – D-Day: the day of the invasion [in`vei3зn] of France by Allied [з`laid] forces, which was the beginning of the end for Germany.

         – Free compulsory secondary education (up to the age of fifteen) is established and secondary modern schools are set up.

1945 – The Second World War is over. [In May Germany surrendered.]

1946 – The National Health Service is established.

         – Coal mines and railways are nationalized [`næ∫nзlaizd].

1949 – Ireland becomes a republic.

1953 – George VI dies and his elder daughter becomes Queen Elizabeth II.

1959 – The first motorway is open.

1963 – The school leaving age is raised to sixteen.

1968 – The ‘age of majority’  (the age at which somebody legally becomes an adult [з`dΛlt]) is reduced from twenty-one to eighteen.

1971 – Decimal [`desimзl] currency is introduced.

1973 – Britain joins the European Economic [,i:kз`nomik] Community.

1979 – Britain’s first woman Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher [`θæt∫з], the leader of the Conservative Party, was elected.

1982 – Falklands [`fo:klзndz] War. [A war between Britain and Argentina [,a:d3зn`ti:nз] in the Falkland Islands. Falkland Islands are a group of islands in the SW Atlantic ocean near Argentine, under British control. Britain declared war after Argentina seized the Falkland Islands. The British forces recaptured [`ri`kæpt∫зd] the Falklands.]

1994 – Channel tunnel opens.

1997 – Tony Blair [`touni`bleз] becomes Prime Minister.

Vocabulary

decline – упадок, спад

the British Commonwealth of Nations – Британское содружество наций

selective – выборочный, избирательный

Emmeline Pankhurst – Эммелин Панкхерст

Suffragette Movement – движение суфражисток

Saxe-Coburg-Gotha – Саксен-Кобург-Гота

Windsor – Виндзор

surrender – капитулировать

partition – разделить

Labour Party – Лейбористская партия

‘the Great Depression’ – ‘Великая депрессия’

Duke of York – герцог Йоркский

Mrs Simpson – миссис Симпсон

Allied forces – союзнические силы (войска союзников)

decimal – десятичный

European Economic Community – Европейское Экономическое Сообщество

Margaret Thatcher – Маргарет Тэтчер

Falklands War – война за Фолклендские острова

Tony Blair – Тони Блэр 
 
 
 
 
 

LECTURE 4

The political system of Great Britain

Plan:

1. The Monarchy
2. The Parliament
3. The Government
4. The Law

 

1. The Monarchy

      Great Britain is a parliamentary [,pa:lз`mentзri] monarchy. Other countries have ‘citizens’, but in Britain people are legally described as ‘subjects of Her majesty the Queen’. Officially the head of the state is the king or queen. The power of the monarch is not absolute but constitutional. The monarch acts only on the advice of the ministers.

      The now reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II, is a descendant of the Saxon king Egbert [`egbзt], who united all England under his sovereignty [`sovrзnti] – суверенитет in 829. The Queen’s title in the United Kingdom is “Elizabeth the Second, by the Grace of God the Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and of her other Realms and Territories. Head of the Commonwealth [`komзnwelθ], Defender of the Faith.”

      Rules of descent [di`sent] provide that the sons of the Sovereign [`sovrin] – монарх are in order of succession to the throne according to the seniority [,si:ni`oriti], or, if there are no sons, the daughters in order of seniority. There is no interregnum [,intз`regnзm] – интервал, перерыв between the death of one Sovereign and the accession [æk`se∫зn] – вступление на престол of another. The automatic [,o:tз`mætik] succession is often summoned up [`sΛmзnd] in the phrase “The King is dead; long live the King!” Immediately after the death of a monarch an Accession [æk`se∫зn] Council issued [`i∫u:d] the proclamation [,proklз`mei∫зn] for the new Sovereign.

      The coronation of the Sovereign follows some months after the accession. The ceremony has remained much the same in substance [`sΛbstзns] – по сути for nearly a 1,000 years. It consists broadly of recognition [,rekзg`ni∫зn] – признание and acceptance [зk`septзns] – одобрение of  the new monarch by the people; the taking by the monarch of an oath [ouθ] – присяга, клятва of royal duties; the anointing [з`nointiŋ] – помазание and crowning; and the rendering of homage [`homidg] by the Lords Spiritual [`spiritjuзl] and Temporal [`tempзrзl]. The coronation service, conducted by the Archbishop [`a:t∫`bi∫зp] of Canterbury [`kæntзbзri], is held at Westminster Abbey in the presentce of representatives of the peers [piзz], the Commons, the prime Minister and leading citizens of the other Commonwealth countries, and representatives of foreign states.

      The Queen reigns but does not rule. The UK is governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen. There are still many important acts of government which require the participation  [pa:,tisi`pei∫зn] of the Queen.

      The Queen summons [`sΛmзnz], prorogues [prз`rougz] – назначать перерыв в работе парламента and dissolves [di`zolvz] – распускать парламент Parliament. Normally she opens the new session with a speech from the throne which outlines her Government’s programme.  When she is unable to be present, the Queen’s speech is read by Lord Chancellor [`t∫a:nsзlз].

      Before a bill which has passed all its stages in both Houses of Parliament becomes a legal enactment [i`næktmзnt] – закон, указ it must receive the Royal Assent [з`sent] – королевская санкция, which is declared to both Houses by their Speakers.

      The Queen is the ‘fountain [`fauntin] – первоисточник of justice’ and as such can, on the advice of the Home Secretary, pardon or show mercy to those convicted [kзn`viktid] of crimes – признанные виновными в преступлениях under English law. There is a principle of English law that the monarch can do nothing that is legally wrong. In other words, the Queen is above the law.

      As the ‘fountain of honour’ the Queen confers [kзn`fз:z] – дарует (звание) peerage [`piзrid3] – звание пэра, knighthood and other honours. Twice a year, an Honours List is published. The people whose names appear in the list are then summoned to Buckingham Palace where the titles are given to them by the Queen in a special ceremony. The present honours system is so complicated that few understand it. The honours themselves largely belong to two obsolete [`obsзli:t] – устарелый institutions: feudal chivalry [`∫ivзlri] which is 500 years out of date, and the British Empire, which is more than 50 years out of date. They are awarded [з`wo:did] partly for achievement, but the grade of award is determined by social [`sou∫зl] status [`steitзs]. A senior [`si:njз] diplomat [`diplзmæt] might be appointed KCMG (Knight Commander [kз`ma:ndз] of the Order of St Michael and St George), known irreverently [i`revзrзntli] – непочтительно ‘Kindly Call Me God’. There is only one higher rank for a diplomat, GCMG (Grand Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George), it is known as ‘God Calls Me God’. A middle-rank civil servant’s efforts [`efзts] may be recognised with an OBE (Order of the British Empire) or MBE (Member of the British Empire). A high proportion [prз`po:∫зnz] of honours are given to politicians [,poi`ti∫зn] and civil servants, but they are also given to business people, sports stars, rock musicians and other entertainers.

      The Queen makes appointment to many important state offices. She appoints or dismisses Government ministers, judges, members of diplomatic corps [ko:]. As Commander-in-Chief of the armed services (the Royal Navy, the Army and the Royal Air Force) she appoints officers, and as temporal [`tempзrзl] – светский head of the established Church of England she makes appointments to the leading positions in the Church.

      The Queen has the power to conclude treaties [`tri:tiz] – международные договоры, to declare war and make peace, to recognise foreign states and governments, and to annex [`æneks] – аннексировать, присоединять and cede [si:d] – уступать, передавать territory.

      An important function of the Sovereign is the appointment of a Prime Minister. Normally the appointment is automatic [,o:tз`mætik] since it is a convention [kзn`ven∫зn] – установление, обычай of the constitution that the sovereign must invite the leader of the party commanding a majority [mз`d3зriti] in the House of Commons to form a government. If no party has a majority, or if the party having a majority has no recognized leader, the Queen has the duty of selecting a Prime Minister. In such circumstances she would be entitled [in`taitld] – она имеет право to consult anyone she wished.

      The members of the Royal family are:

• Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. Died at the age of 101 in 2002. Her tours of bombed [bomd] areas of London during the Second World War with her husband, King George VI, made her popular with the British people. She remained the most consistently popular member of the royal family until her death.
• Queen Elizabeth II. Was born in 1926 and became Queen in 1952 on the death of her father, George VI. She is one of the longest-reigning monarchs in British history. She is widely respected for the way in which she performs her duties and is generally popular.
• Prince Philip Mountbatten [maunt`bætn], the Duke of Edinburgh [`edinbзrз]. Married the present Queen in 1947.
• Princess Margaret, the Queen’s younger sister, died in 2002.
• Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales. Was born in 1948. As the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, he is heir to the throne. He is concerned about the environment [in`vaiзrзnmзnt] and about living conditions in Britain’s cities. he sometimes makes speeches which are critical of aspects of modern life.
• Princess Diana [dai`ænз]. Married Prince Charles in 1981. The couple separated in 1992. Princess Diana died as the result of a car accident in 1997.
• Princess Anne, the Queen’s daughter (also known as the Princess Royal), was born in 1950. She separated [`sepзreitid] from her husband after they had one son and one daughter. She married again in 1992. She is widely respected for her charity work.
• Prince Andrew [`ændru:], the Duke of York. Was born in 1960 and is the Queen’s second son. He is divorced from his wife, Sarah Ferguson [`seзrз `fз:gзsn]. They have two daughters.
• Prince Edward, the Queen’s youngest son, was born in 1964. He is involved in theatrical production. He is married to Sophie Rhys-Jones [ri:s] in 1999. He and his wife are the Duke and Duchess of Wessex.
• Prince William (born 1982) and Prince Henry (born  1984) are the sons of Charles and Diana. William is next in line to the throne after his father.

Vocabulary

Egbert – Егберт

sovereignty – суверенитет

Rules of descent – правила престолонаследия

Sovereign – монарх

seniority – старшинство

interregnum – интервал, перерыв

accession – вступление на престол

automatic – автоматический

summon up – суммировать

issue – выпускать, издавать

proclamation – провозглашение

in substance – по сути

recognition – признание

acceptance – одобрение

oath – присяга, клятва

anointing – помазание

Lord Spiritual and Temporal – духовные лорды (архиепископы епископы) и светские лорды (наследственные пэры, пожизненные пэры и лорды-судьи по апелляциям)

peer – пэр

participation  – участие

summon – созывать парламент

prorogue – назначать перерыв в работе парламента

dissolve – распускать парламент

Lord Chancellor – лорд канцлер

legal enactment – закон, указ

the Royal Assent – королевская санкция

‘fountain of justice’ – «гарант правосудия»

Home Secretary – министр внутренних дел

convicted of crimes – признанные виновными в преступлениях

‘fountain of honour’ – «гарант системы званий»

confer – даровать (звание)

peerage – звание пэра

knighthood – рыцарское звание

Honours List – «Список награждаемых»

Buckingham Palace – Букингемский дворец (главная королевская резиденция в Лондоне)

obsolete – устаревший