Text 3. British Parliament

The legislative power resides in Parliament, which, strictly speaking¹, consists of the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords².

There are 635 members of the English House of Commons, or MPs as they are usually called. They are elected by popular vote and represent the counties and borough constituencies. The House of Commons seems to have most of power within Parliament. It is here that the Government is formed. The Prime Minister is usually the leader of that party which has majority in the House of Commons. Any member of the House may introduce a Bill. The maximum life of the House of Commons has been restricted³ to 5 years since the Parliament Act 1911.

Each session of Parliament is usually opened in the House of Lords. The House of Lords, or the Upper House⁴, consists of hereditary and life peers and top church officials. In the full House of Lords there are some 650 members. The House of Lords is not an elective body. The House of Lords like the Monarch has now lost most of its powers and cannot influence the process of decision-making⁵ in Parliament. In practice, the powers of the House of Lords have been truncated⁶ to limited revising and delaying functions. It is the House of Commons which is the dominant part of the legislature. The Lords and the Commons began to meet separately some five centuries ago. The House of Lords consists of the Lords «Spiritual and Temporal»⁷. The Lords Spiritual are the two archbishops⁸ (Canterbury and York) and twenty-four bishops of the Church of England. The Lords Temporal include peers by hereditary right, peers by virtue of their office (the Law Lords), and Life peers created under the Life Peerage Act, 1958.

Notes:

¹ strictly speaking - строго говоря

² the Sovereign, the House of Commons and the House of Lords — монарх, палата общин и палата лордов

³ to restrict — ограничивать

⁴ Upper House — верхняя палата парламента

⁵ decision-making — принятие решений

⁶ to truncate — сокращать

⁷ the Lords «Spiritual and Temporal» — лорды духовные и светские

⁸ archbishops – архиепископы

Date: 2016-02-19; view: 1291; Нарушение авторских прав