The Mother of Parliaments

UNIT 4

THE UK: FOLLOWING THE DEMOCRATIC TRADITION

Communication: British political life

Grammar Focus: the Gerund

Language use: Making suggestions

BRITAIN ON THE POLITICAL SCENE

Think ahead

Answer the following questions.

1. Does Britain have a written constitution?

2. Why is the United Kingdom thought to be a democracy?

3. Do you think the British political system has a long history?

4. Who has more power: the monarch or the Prime Minister?

5. Do you know any famous British politicians?

Study the description of the British constitution. Note all the unique aspects of the British constitutional process.

ON BRITISH CONSTITUTION

As is known, a constitution, in politics, is a fundamental system of law, written or unwritten, of a sovereign state. It is commonly established or accepted as a guide for governing the state. A constitution fixes the limits and defines the relations of the legislative, judicial, and executive powers of the state. In this fashion, constitutions set up the basis for government and provide guarantees of certain rights to the people.

As regards constitutions, tradition varies in different countries. For instance, the United States has a written constitution. Unlike the USA, the United Kingdom has an unwritten constitution rooted in historic traditions and principles of liberty. It embodies numerous documents and customs defining the relationship of the Crown, the Parliament, and the courts to the citizens.

Not being a systematic written statement of law, the English constitution nevertheless consists of a body of law, customs, and judicial interpretations. As an example, English law makes no provision for so essential a feature of the British government as the cabinet. The cabinet originated in the XV century as an advisory council to the king, and developed, in connection with the rise of representative government, to its present status as the executive branch of the government.

Moreover, unlike constitutions that make explicit provision for their amendment and are often difficult to change, the English constitution may be changed easily. It may be altered, and it has been altered, through the slow accretion of custom, by an act of Parliament, or by judicial interpretation.

Historians emphasize the antiquity and flexibility of the English constitution. Its uninterrupted development may be traced over a period of more than 900 years, from the time of the Norman Conquest in 1066. Throughout this period it remained adaptable, serving in turn the needs of medieval society and the rule of the bourgeoisie who established representative government and the former British Empire. It is now c ompatible with such recent liberal measures as comprehensive social insurance and the nationalization of basic industries.

Skim the text and explain the message of the title.

THE MOTHER OF PARLIAMENTS

British Parliament is the supreme legislature of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. It consists, technically, of the Crown, the House of Lords, and House of Commons, but in common usage only of the last two. Today the main part is the House of Commons; its members alone are called members of Parliament or MP's. Parliament is the legislative branch of government.

No statute may become law or be altered without its consent. Thus, all powers of local government derive from Parliamentary acts. Cabinet members, including the prime minister, are members of one house or the other and are collectively responsible to the House of Commons.

The House of Commons has 659 members, elected from equal-size districts by British citizens at least 18 years old. The maximum life of a Parliament is five years. The House of Lords, with about 1200 members, is made up of the bishops of the Church of England and the hereditary and life peers, all of whom are appointed by the Crown. Its power, once equal to that of the Commons, was later limited.

Parliament is one of the oldest and most honored parts of the British government. Britain’s legislature, sometimes called the Mother of Parliaments, has been the model for legislative assemblies in many other countries. Its name, from the French word parler (“to talk”), was given to meetings of the English king’s council in the mid-13th century. It was a device resorted to by the medieval kings to help them run their governments and it reflected the idea that the king should consult with his subjects. Yet it was only in the 19th century that the House of Commons became democratic. Various Acts created equal electoral districts and weakened the House of Lords. Moreover, after a long and bitter struggle suffrage also became universal.

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