Autor: Judith Cortis 

Parliament

In 1215, the King′s power was limited for the first time (Magna carta). Since then, the influence of the poeple on government has increased bit by bit. Today, any British citizen can try to influence decisions of the government - for example, through his or her local MP (Member of Parliament).

Example: In 1987 the Suffolk Education Authority decided to close two local primary schools and one secondary school in the town of Southwold.

What are the arguments of the education authorities and of the local people of the meeting? What do you think of each of them?

The local people, a parent, a pupil, a teacher and a manager of a local factory are against the closing of the school. They think that this school is as good as the others in the country and that it will be more expensive to close a school than to let it open, which I don′t understand.
But I believe that bussing isn′t so good because you have no time for activities in the afternoon. I also understand the argument that the town will grow into a town of old people.
The education authority is for the closing of the school. I think it′s a good argument and it′s true that a large school is able to offer more subjects and Southwold is too small. In this way, bussing isn′t too bad because you can take computer sciences or Italian and that′s very good.

A discussion: The pros and the cons of the monarchy !

Pros: Bundeskanzler: Only few years
- create jobs in the touristic industry Monarch: All the life must be crowned
- represent the UK
- tradition
- interesting stories for the people
- above politics
- work hard for the money

Cons:
- old-fashioned
- too expensive
- no power
- not elected

Members of Parliament: There are 650 constituencies in the UK, and each constituency elects one - and only one - Member of Parliament (MP). Because nobody can get a seat in the House of Commons without being elected by the poeple of a constituency, each MP must try to represent their interest effectively - or he or seh won′t be elected again.

Decide to take the case to >>Minister >> Prime Minister and the Cabinet >> to an Adjournment Debate >(Opposition; Department

Background information: Parliament and Government

Protecting the rights of the individual is one of the duties of the Parliament. Members of Parliament regularly meet people from their constituencies who have problems or complaints. What happens if an MP receives a complaint against the Government?
The MP can write to a member of the Government, or may go to see him or her. If the MP is not satisfied, he or she can raise the question in the House of Commons with an Adjournment Debate, which is held at the end of the day. MPs have the right to demand an answer to their questions from one of the minister.

The party that wins a General Election has the right to form a Government. The leader of this party becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister then chooses a team of Ministers to work in the Government. Most Ministers are heads of Government Departments. The Prime Minister and the most important Ministers meet regularly to make decisions - these meetings are called Cabinet meetings. Every Memeber of Parliament is supposed to control the Government, but it is the Opposition which plays the leading part in this.
Only Parliament can make laws. Parliament controls the way the Government spends the taxpayers` money.
House of Commons: The House of Commons is the most important part of Parliament because the 650 MPs who sit in the House of Commons represent the people of Britain.
¬ 650 elected members; 523 from England, 72 from Scotland, 38 from Wales and 17 from Northern Ireland
House of Lords: The House of Lords is one part of the Parliament and does also important work; but the House of Commons has no right to change or to stop laws made by the Commons. All it can do is to discuss important questions.
¬ about 1200 non-elected members; archbishops and 24 bishops of the Church of England; dukes, earls and barons. About 350 members of the House of Lords are respected citizens (for example ex-Prime Ministers) who have been made members of the House of Lords by the Monarch. Only about 60 are women.

The House of Commons, the House of Lords and the Monarch - all three are part of Parliament - and have to agree to any new law. The Monarch always signs these laws - although he or she is not even allowed to say whether they think a law is good for the country or not. Both the Lords and the Commons control the work of Government - by questions, by debate, and through committees.

Most British people (young and old) want to keep their monarchy. For them, the monarchy is not only their head of state, but also a symbol of their nation′s unity and ist long history.
Ever since, William, Duke of Normandy, was crowned King of England on Christmas Day, 1066, the crown has passed from one monarch to the next - except in the years 1649-1660, when England was a republic. The Kingdoms of England (and Wales) and Scotland were united as ,,Great Britain" in 1707. Ireland became part of the UK in 1801, but in 1921, most of Ireland became an independant state again. So today one of the monarch′s titles is King or Queen of the ,,United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland". The monarch is also traditionally Head of the Church of England. This goes back to King Henry VIII, who broke away from th Pope in Rome and formed his own Church in 1553.
The monarch is also Head of the ,,Commonwealth", a loose organization of states which used to be part of the British Empire. And what is more, he or she is also the official head of state in many of these countries, among them Australia, Canada, Jamaica and New Zealand.

What does the Royal Family do?

Engagements, opening, ceremonies, prize givings, church services & military pardes, Charity shows & galas, concerts & sporting events, receptions & garden parties, lunches, banquets & dinners, meetings, audiences, .....
How often ? Example: Duke of Edinghburgh: 520 engagements within 365 days.

Why has English become such an important language ?
English was introduced into all the countries which once belonged to the British Empire.
It was, and still is, the main language in places which were settled by English-speaking people, like Canada, Australia or New Zealand. It was also used as the language of government and business in colonies where there was already a native population. Even today, although almost these colonies have become independent, English is still widely spoken. Different accents have developed in different English-speaking countries. The great influence of the United States in the world means that English is more important than ever.

The many (-coloured) faces of Britain

Some people don′t feel British, but they don′t feel (e.g) Indian either. They are between two cultures and they feel as they are in a noman′s land. They don′t know exactly their identitiy and perhaps they are unhappy because the can′t get a job because of their race.
Others are very happy and have the best of both world. This people are proud of their culture, but they enjoy the British life, too. They move easily between one and the other.

Some facts and figures:

In the 1950`s, Britain didn′t have enough white workers, especially in traditional industries and public transport. British employers first tried to get European workers to fill these jobs, which often meant heavy work, long hours, and were badly paid. When this plan didn′t work, the British invted people from the Commonwealth countries to come and take over the work. For the first few years things seemed to go well. But when these immigrants began bringing their families over and settling in Britain′s cities in large numbers, more and more white people disliked the change. By the 1970`s, non-whites were being blamed for taking jobs from the whites, and the people who had once welcomed them so warmly began to talk about sending them ,,back where they came from".
The non-white population is mainly in the North and in the South of England over 10%. In the middle near Birmingham and Nottingham there are about 5% of the population who are non-white.
Most of these ,,groups" are from Indian, West Indian or Guyanese, Pakistani.
Example in the year of 1987 with a total population of 54.000.000:
Ethnic group Population Born in UK
West Indian or Guyanese 526.000 272.000
Indian 763.000 264.000
Pakistani 378.000 156.000

The education in Britain (16 to 24-year-old males):

White West Indian Asian

No qualifications 27% 35% 35%
Continuing education until 29% 41% 58%
age 17 or over
GCE ,,A-Level" 8% 6% 14%
University degree 4% under 0,5% 5%

Descriptions: fair, hard-working, clean, polite, mean, good at cocking, keen on showing off, dark, blond, religious, serious, boring, friendly, lazy, intelligent, wealthy, poor, peaceful

A land divided

The historical background:

432: St Patrick brings Christianity to Ireland
12^th-16^th century:English kings try to conquer Ireland, but without real succes.
17^th century: The English take away land from the Irish to ,,plant" it with Protestant settlers

from England and Scotland. The most famous Protestant ,,Plantation" is in the North
(Ulster). An Irish rebellion is cruelly put down by Oliver Cromwell.

1690: The Protestants` final victory over Ireland at the Battle of the Boyne. Under new laws,

Catholics are not allowed to buy land, to vote or to become MPs.

1801: Ireland becomes part of the United Kingdom. Catholics begin to fight for full civil rights and Home Rule for the Irish.
1845-1848: The Great Famine: half the Irish population either die or emigrate when the potatoe crop fails. (At that time the poor Catholics live mainly on potatoes.) Rebellions begin. A new movement (which develops into the IRA) fights to found an Irish republic.
1916: A Republican rebellion in Dublin on Easter Monday 1916 is put down by the British Army; its leaders are executed. Years of war between Republicans and the British follow.
1921: Southern Ireland becomes an independent Commonwealth country. Northern Ireland (mainly Protestant) remains part of the UK.
1949: Southern Ireland leaves the Commonwealth and becomes the Republic of Ireland.
1968-1969: The Catholics` struggle for civil rights ends in violence on both sides, especially in Londonderry and belfast. British soldiers are sent to Ulster. Since then, violence and terror have continued.

Why do they kill each other ? Because of their religion? >> REVENGE!

If-Sätze:

If I find your book, I′ll give it to you (Possible)
If I found 100 DM, I would keep it. (Impossible or very unlikely)
If I had found your keys, I would have given them to you (Past)

Nebensätze mit der -ing Konstruktion / Gerund

I hope you don′t mind me/my opening the window.
Her father is against her going out in the evenings.

VOCABULARY

What people do in Parliament:

to agree zustimmen to raise a question eine Frage aufwerfen
to discuss diskutieren to demand an answer eine Antwort verlangen
to disagree nicht zustimmen to become a MP MP werden
to vote on abstimmen über to make/take decisions Entscheidungen treffen
to take a vote abstimmen to prove beweisen
to elect (a person) jdn. wählen to declare eine Erklärung abgeben
to demonstrate demonstrieren to explain erklären, erläutern
to examine prüfen to find a majority eine Mehrheit finden
to decide (on) (etw.) beschließen to make laws Gesetze machen

Political paties in GB:
the) Conservative Party: die konservative Partei
(the) Labour Party: die sozialistische Partei
(the) Liberal Party: die liberale Partei
(the) Social Democratic Party: die sozialdemokratische Partei

Parliament:
The two houses of parliament die zwei Häuser (Kammern) des Parlaments
parliament Parlament
MP (Member of Parliament) Abgeordnete(-r) des Unterhauses
monarch Monarch(in), König(in)
House of Commons Unterhaus
House of Lords Oberhaus
Adjournment Debate aktuelle Fragestunde am Ende des Tages

Government:
Prime Minister Ministerpräsident(in), Premierminister(in)
Minister Minister(in)
Department Ministerium, Abteilung

Explaining:
to assimilate to become oart of another group
prejeduce a feeling or opinion formed without knowing the facts
battle fightning between the soldiers of two countries
rebellion fightning against a government
terror sth. which is done to make people afraid ; the feeling of being afraid