THE STATE SYSTEM OF GREAT BRITAIN

Britain is a parliamentary monarchy. It does not have a single constitutional document. Instead the unwritten constitution of Britain has evolved over several centuries, and it consists of parliamentary laws, judicial precedents, and constitutional agreements of customs.

The chief of state is the king (or queen). Royal power is for live and is inherited by the monarch’s direct descendants in the male line, and in case there are none, in the female line, according to seniority. The monarch is considered to be the supreme bearer of executive power, the head of the judicial system, the supreme commander-in-chief of the armed forces, the temporal head to the Anglican Church, and the head of the Commonwealth. Juridically the monarch has the right to appoint the prime minister, the other ministers, judges, diplomats, officers of the army, navy, and air forces, bishops and archbishops, and governors, as well as concluding international treaties, declaring war, and concluding peace. The monarch is considered to be an integral part of Parliament, and in this capacity summons Parliament into session, which is opened by his speech from the throne.

The highest organ of legislative power is Parliament, which consists of the King (or Queen), the House of Lords, and the House of Commons. These component parts of Parliament are considered independent of each other, since they are constructed on different principles, have separate residences, and different power; however, in order that laws may be adopted it is usually necessary that they come to an agreement.

The general national representative institution of Britain is the lower house – the House of Commons.

The upper house of the British Parliament, the House of Lords, is an archaic institution that consists of pears.

The government of Britain comprises 80 to 100 persons. It includes departmental ministers, who head certain departments; non-departmental ministers, who are engaged in so called traditional duties and others. The overwhelming majority of ministers are members of the House of Commons, while a small part of them represent the government in the House of Lords. The government is headed by a prime minister. As a rule, this post is attained by the leader of the party that has a majority in the House of Commons. In fact, since the beginning of the 18^th century the highest organ of executive power in Britain has been the cabinet of ministers, which concentrates in its hands all the important powers for carrying out domestic and foreign policy.

The members of the cabinet are selected personally by the prime minister. The formation of the cabinet of ministers is not provided for by the legislature of Britain.

In a juridicial sense the government bears a collective responsibility for its political activity to the House of Commons, and in case of a loss of confidence it is obliged to resign.

LONDON

London is the capital of Great Britain, its political, economic and commercial centre. It is one of the largest cities in the world and the largest city in Europe. Its population is about 8 million.

London is one of the oldest and most interesting cities in the world.

Traditionally it is divided into several parts: the City, Westminster, the West End and the East End. They are very different from each other and seem to belong to different towns and epochs.

The heart of London is the City, its financial and business centre. Numerous banks, offices and firms are situated there, including the Bank of England, the Stock Exchange and the Old Bailey. Few people live here, but over a million people come to the City to work. There are some famous ancient buildings within the City. Perhaps the most striking of them is St Paul’s Cathedral, the greatest of English churches. It was built in the 17^th century by Sir Christopher Wren. The Tower of London was founded by Julius Caesar and in 1066 rebuilt by William the Conqueror. It was used as a fortress, a royal palace and a prison. Now it is a museum.

Westminster is the historic, the government part of London.

Westminster Abbey has more historic associations than any other building in Britain. Nearly all English kings and queens have been crowned here. Many outstanding statesmen, scientists, writers, poets and painters are buried here: Newton, Darwin, Chaucer, Dickens, Tennyson, Kipling, etc.

Across the road from Westminster Abbey is Westminster Palace, or the House of Parliament, the seat of the British Parliament. The Clock Tower of the House of Parliament is famous for its big hour bell, known as “Big Ben”.

Buckingham Palace is the official residence of the Queen.

The West End is the richest and most beautiful part of London. It is the symbol of wealth and luxury. The best hotels, shops, restaurants, clubs, and theatres are situated there. There are splendid houses and lovely gardens belonging to wealthy people.

Trafalgar Square is the geographical centre of London. It was named in memory of Admiral Nelson’s victory in the battle of Trafalgar in 1805. The tall Nelson’s Column stands in the middle of the square.

On the north side of Trafalgar Square is the National Gallery and the National Portrait Gallery. Not far away is the British Museum – the biggest museum in London. It contains a priceless collection of ancient manuscripts, coins, sculptures, etc, and is famous for its library.

The East End is the poorest district of London. There are a lot of factories, workshops and docks here. The streets are narrow, the buildings are unimpressive. The East End is densely populated by working class families.