British Parliament

The supreme legislature in Great Britain and Northern Ireland, comprising the sovereign, as head of state and the two chambers, the House of Commons and the House of Lords which together make up the Houses of Parliament.

House of Commons is the lower chamber of the British Parliament. It began as an element of the Parliaments summoned by the king in the later 13th century: both knights of the shire and burgesses of boroughs were summoned to Simon de Monfort's Parliament in 1265. It took over 500 years for the Commons to become supreme in the tripartite division of power between it, the House of Lords, and the monarchy. In the 14th century both Houses gained constitutional rights in relation to the monarchy; many of the struggles between Richard 2 and his opponents were waged through the Commons - notably in the Merciless Parliament of 1388.

In the early 17th century, when differences between the monarchy and Parliament first surfaced, the Commons took the lead in, for instance, the Petition of Right (1628), winning Charles 1's acceptance of the principle of no taxation without parliamentary assent. The Long Parliament (1640-1660) abolished the House of Lords and set up the Commonwealth, and it was the Commons that was instrumental in inviting Charles II to take up the throne, just as it promoted the Bill of Rights (1689) and Act of Settlement (1701) that defined the relations between Commons, Lords and monarchy.

Although the Commons has gained considerable constitutional powers during the 17th century and had some notable Prime Ministers, such as Robert Walpole and William Pitt, it was still, at the beginning of the 19th century, no more than an equal partner with the House of Lords. Extension of the franchise and the influence of such powerful members as Robert Peel, Lord Palmerson, Lord John Russell, and William Gladstone did much to extend its power, so that by the end of the century it was effectively regarded as the voice of the people. Following a series of Reform Acts and other legislation (1832, 1867, 1884, 1918, 1928, 1948, 1969) members of the House of Commons are today elected by universal adult suffrage. By the Parliament Act of 1911, the maximum duration of a Parliament became five years.

The life of a Parliament is divided into sessions, usually of one year in length. As a rule, Bills likely to raise political controversy are introduced in the Commons before going to the Lords and the Commons claim exclusive control in respect of national taxation and expenditure. Since 1911 Members of Parliament are elected from 659 single-member constituencies in plurality (first-past-the post) elections. The presiding officer of the Commons is an elected Speaker, who has power to maintain order and functions in a strictly non-partisan way. The House of Commons is organized along adversarial lines, its proceeding normally controlled by a disciplined party majority. The exercise by the House of Commons of its power in matters of legislation, finance, scrutiny, and enquiry are thus in practice largely party-dominated, subject to the rights conventionally accorded to the opposition. On the other hand, an increasing role is played by all-party committees, such as standing committees, which consider and amend bills, or select committees, which monitor the workings of government departments, taking evidence, questioning witnesses, and issuing reports. Following a general election, or a change of leadership, the leader of the party commanding an overall majority in the House of Commons is invited by the monarch to become Prime Minister and form a cabinet.

House of Lords is the upper chamber of the British Parliament. It derived from the medieval kings' Great Council. In the 13th and 14th centuries, as the councils gave way to parliaments, the Lords evolved into a separate body which, together with the House of Commons, presented bills to the crown for enactment as statutes. The immense individual importance of many peers did not prevent them gradually losing to the Commons the right to levy taxes on the king's behalf. The House of Lords was abolished in 1649 and revived in 1660. It was is still its constitutional basis vis-a-vis the crown and the House of Commons by the Glorious Revolution (1688-1689). Following the 1832 Reform Act, its influence gradually declined as of that of the House of Commons increased. The Parliament Act of 1911 reduced the Lords' powers to a " suspensory veto" of two years (further reduced to one year in 1949). By it bills can be delayed, but if passed again by the Commons, become law. The House of Lords has no power to revise or delay money bills. It still performs several useful parliamentary roles. These include the revision of bills from the Commons, the initiation of non-controversial legislation, scrutiny of the executive, and enquiry by select committee. Debate in the Lords is less raucously partisan and sometimes better informed than in the Commons. The House of Lords is the highest court of appeal in the UK legal system, but only the Law Lords take part when it acts in this capacity.

Members of the House of Lords include the Lords Spiritual (26 archbishops and bishops in order of seniority), the Lords Temporal (approximately 1000 hereditary and life peers), and the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (Law Lords), the most senior members of the judiciary. Non-hereditary peers have been created since the Life Peerage Act of 1958; they tend to be more active members of the Lords than many hereditary peers. In 1999 new legislation led to the removal of voting powers from all but 92 hereditary peers.

1. What is the name of the lower chamber of the British Parliament? (the upper chamber of the British Parliament?)

2. What happened in the 17th century to the House of Commons?

3. Had the Commons gained considerable constitutional powers during the 17th century?

4. How is the life of the Parliament divided?

5. How are the members of the Parliament elected?

6. Who has the power to maintain orders and functions?

7. Who is usually invited by the monarch to become Prime Minister?

8. Is the House of Lords the highest court of appeal in the UK legal system?

9. What are the Lords Spiritual?

10. What are the Law Lords?

2. Translate the following into English.

1) В 1388 году борьба между Ричардом I и его оппонентами закончилась и обе палаты парламента закрепили свои конституционные права по отношению к монархии.

2) В 1640-1660 годах в период долгосрочного парламента именно Палата Общин была инициатором пригласить Чарльза II занять трон.

3) Имущественный ценз на парламентских выборах в графствах был одинаковым по всей стране.

4) В 1688 году во время Славной революции был свергнут король Яков II и установлено совместное правление Марии I и Вильгельма III.

5) Согласие Марии II и Вильгельма III с английским Биллем о правах означало создание конституционной монархии.

6) В 1689 году был принят Билль о правах, который разграничил власть между обеими палатами и монархией.

7) Хотя в 17 веке из Палаты Общин были выдвинуты выдающиеся премьер-министры, только в начале 19 века она стала равноправным партнером Палаты Лордов.

8) Согласно парламентскому акту от 1911 года максимальная продолжительность работы избранного парламента составляет 5 лет.

9) Начиная с 1911 года члены парламента получают денежное вознаграждение в качестве заработной платы.

10) Палата Общин выбирает спикера.

11) Палата Лордов берет свое начало от Большого средневекового королевского совета.

12)Палата Лордов была упразднена в 1649 году и возродилась в 1660.

13) В истории Великобритании бывали периоды ослабления влияния Пaлаты Лордов.