The Government of Great Britain Исполнитель

The Government of Great Britain

The United Kingdom is a parliamentary monarchy, but it is well-known that the monarchy today has no state power. The real power belongs to the Parliament. Parliament is a group of people who make the laws for their country. British Parliament consists of two houses, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

The Houses of Parliament are situated in London on the riverside near Westminster Abbey. Westminster Abbey is a very beautiful, ancient church in London in which the coronation ceremony of almost all English kings and queens has taken place. Many famous people are buried there. Those who want to visit the Houses of Parliament and listen to debates may sit in the Strangers’ Gallery, special seats for the public looking down into the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The members of each house meet in session which begin at the end of October and last for about 160 days. Whenever Parliament is in session a flag can be seen over the building. When the House of Commons is still sitting after dark there is a light over the face of Big Ben, the clock tower of the Houses of Parliament.

The main political parties represented in the British Parliament are the Labour, Conservative, Liberal Democratic, and Welsh and Scottish nationalist parties.

The House of Commons is the lower house. Its members are elected for a period of five years Members of the House of Commons belong to different political parties. The government of the country is formed by the party which has the greatest number of members elected to Parliament.

Members of Parliament (MPs) sit in the chair stalls facing each other with the Speaker’s chair on a dais. The Speaker is in charge of the debates and keeping order. MPs make a bow in the direction of the Speaker upon entering or leaving the chamber. It is a gesture of respect from the days when an altar stood there. On the woven carpet, which covers the floor, there is a red line. While addressing the house, should a member accidentally put a foot across this red line, he is at once greeted with cries of, “Order, order.”

The day’s work in the House of Commons begins with prayers, which visitors are not permitted to witness. The great mace, a symbol of the authority of the House of Commons, is placed on the table facing the Speaker. The house is then in session and its daily work begins. At the end of the day’s session, the Speaker or the Speaker’s deputy declares, “This house now stands adjourned.” The lantern above Big Ben is extinguished. As a reminder of the days when London streets were unsafe at night and the MPs went to their homes in groups, Westminster police still cry out loudly in the corridors of the house, “Who goes home?”

Each session of Parliament is usually opened in the House of Lords by the queen or king, who is attend by heralds and officers The members of the House of Lords are not elected by the population The members sit comfortably on their red leather benches while the queen reads the throne speech. Before the throne in the House of Lords, and dividing the benches, is the woolsack, upon which the Lord Chancellor sits as the Speaker of the House. The woolsack is stuffed with wool from Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland and from commonwealth countries. It is a bag of Wool, which symbolizes the well-being and richness of the country, because wool has traditionally been a major source of wealth in Britain. Members of Government and their supporters sit to the right of the throne and those of the Opposition to the left. The bishops always sit on the Government side. The House of Lords has very little real power to make laws in modern day England.

Comprehension Questions

1. Describe a parliamentary monarchy.
2. How can you see whether Parliament is in session?
3. What is an MP?
4. Describe the woolsack in the House of Lords and its purpose there.

Discussion Questions

1. Compare the Parliament of Great Britain and Parliament of Uzbekistan. How are they alike? How are they different?
2. Would you like to be a member of the Oliy Majlis? Why?