Cette leçon contient 20 diapositives, avec diapositives de texte et 4 vidéos.
La durée de la leçon est: 50 min
Éléments de cette leçon
Politics
Slide 1 - Diapositive
Why?
CITO selects articles from major British and American newspapers (Guardian, Economist, Washington Post, Times) that deal with political and social issues.
Having more background information helps you get the "feel" of a text before reading and place certain terms in a relevant context.
Slide 2 - Diapositive
The United Kingdom
First, take a look at the following clip.
Afterwards, we'll discuss the different parts of British Parliament.
Slide 3 - Diapositive
Slide 4 - Vidéo
3 parts
Britain has no written constitution. ( > Magna Carta, 1215)
Political power lies with Parliament, which consists of 1. House of Commons (NL 2e kamer) 2. House of Lords (NL 1e kamer) 3. Sovereign (King)
Slide 5 - Diapositive
House of Commons
- 650 elected members
- Members are called Member of Parliament (MP)
- They represent a constituency
The House of Commons is the main law-making body of Parliament
Slide 6 - Diapositive
House of Lords
- Around 800 members
- Consists of:
- Life peers (awarded by the Queen)
- Hereditary peers (inherit)
- (Arch)Bishops
- Review bills, can decide to delay a bill for 6 months.
Slide 7 - Diapositive
Sovereign
- Monarch
- King Charles II
- Symbolic power only
- Speech from the Throne
- The eldest son of the monarch is called the Prince of Wales (now Prince William)
Slide 8 - Diapositive
Elections
- take place at least every 5 years
- Winner takes all
- That party's leader is Prime Minister (PM), now Rishi Sunak
- Members of other parties form the opposition
Westminster / Whitehall / 10 Downing Street
Slide 9 - Diapositive
Slide 10 - Vidéo
Political parties
Only three political parties play a significant role in Parliament:
The Conservative Party (or Tories), right-wing
The Labour Party, left-wing
The Liberal Democrates (or Lib Dems), centre
Slide 11 - Diapositive
What to call them
Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales
The United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (= Ulster)
The British Isles: United Kingdom ánd the Republic of Ireland (= Eire), the Channel Islands, the Orkneys and the Shetlands.
Slide 12 - Diapositive
The Commonwealth
an association of 54 states; all members were at one time part of the British Empire.
Most have become independent states (e.g. Cyprus, Zimbabwe), some others still recognise the British monarch as Head of State (e.g. Canada and New Zealand).
Slide 13 - Diapositive
The United States
Now, let's switch to the United States of America.
Here's another clip to introduce the subject.
Slide 14 - Diapositive
Slide 15 - Vidéo
Federation of states
Each state (50) has its own governor, independent court system and can make its own laws.
The White House, Supreme court and Congress are all located in Washington D.C. (= District of Columbia)
Slide 16 - Diapositive
Checks and balances
To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches:
- legislative
- executive
- judicial
Slide 17 - Diapositive
The three different branches and their tasks
Slide 18 - Diapositive
Political parties
The two leading political parties are:
The Democrats: left-of-centre/ liberal, currently in power: Joe Biden
The Republicans: right-wing
However, the Representatives and Senators are not bound to their party programme (voters' interests).
La durée de la leçon est: 50 min
