Lesson12 The Government of the United Kingdom
The British method of government has developed very slowly over hundreds ofyears. This is perhaps why it can be rather difficult to understand. Forexample, the Queen is the head of State, but she has no real power.
Parliament is the real government of Britain. It has two 'Houses', the Houseof Lords, and the House of Commons. The 'Lords' are members of the oldaristocracy, bishops, lawyers, and retired politicians. They have littlepower now, but they can suggest new laws and change or delay laws that theHouse of Commons wants to pass. The House of Commons makes laws, agrees onpolicy, and decides what taxes the people must pay.
The British people choose the 650 members of the House of Commons every fiveyears. In each area there are usually two or three main political parties tochoose from. The party who gets most members into parliament makes the newgovernment.
The Prime Minister is the leader of the winning party. Only party members(not the whole British people) choose their leader. The Prime Ministerchooses the members of the Cabinet, who are called ministers. Each ministerhas a special job to do, for example, education, or health, or transport.
parliament 国会，议会
House of Lords （英国国会的）上议院
bishop 主教
cabinet 政府内阁
英国的政体
英国的政体几百年间发展缓慢，这恐怕也是人们很难弄明白它的原因。例如，女王是国家首脑，但她没有实权。
议会是英国真正的管理机关，它分为上议院和下议院两院。上议院议员是由旧贵族、主教、律师以及退休的政治家组成。他们拥有的权力不多，但可以提议新法，改变或推迟下议院想要通过的法律。下议院制定法律、协商政策，并决定税收种类。英国人每五年选出下议院的六百五十名议员。在每个选举区，通常有两个或三个主要政党参选。在议会获得最多席位的政党组成新政府。
获胜政党的领导人成为首相。只有政党成员（而不是全体英国人）选举他们的领导者。
首相挑选内阁成员，这些人称为大臣。每个大臣有特定的负责范围，如教育、健康、交通。 |