CAMBRIDGE
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED
UNIT 41
British politics
A
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Influencing
political decisions
www.parliament.uk
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Ordinary
citizens in the UK can have their say in political life in a number of
ways. They can:
•
Lobby1 MPs and Members of the House of Lords (who are
known as peers) about a particular issue.
• Petition2 the House of Commons to tell MPs about views on
an issue and request action.
•
Comment on legislation3 going through Parliament during
the committee stage4 of a Public Bill5 in
the House of Commons.
•
Submit evidence to a Select Committee6 inquiry scrutinising7
the work and policies of the government.
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1
try to influence the opinions of MPs and Lords
2
formal process involving sending a written appeal to an MP, following a set
format, which is then presented to the Commons by the MP
3
possible future laws
4
period aft era proposed law has been discussed by Parliament when it is
looked at in detail by a group of people
5
proposal for a law currently under discussion
6
committee that checks and reports on some aspect of government work
7
looking very closely at
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B
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Lobbying and petitioning
Methods
of lobbying vary and can range from sending letters, making presentations,
providing briefing1 material to Members and organised rallies2.
Often the result lobbyists are seeking for the MP or Lord to vote a certain
way on a specific issue. However, this decision will ultimately3
be down to4 the MP or peer’s own judgement and the influence
(if any) that existing party policy will have on them.
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1 informational
2 large political meetings or demonstrations
3 in the end
4 the responsibility of
The
public can petition the House of Commons to make MPs aware of their opinion
on an issue and to request action. All that’s needed is that the petition
is properly set out1 and has the signature and address of
at least one person. A petition can also be created and submitted online,
as an e-petition. The text of the petition is published in Hansard2.
There is a procedure for petitions in the Lords, but it is very rarely
used. Generally, MPs will present3 all petitions they
receive from their constituents4. MPs present petitions
by either giving a short statement in the debating chamber of the House of
Commons or by simply placing the petition in the Petition Bag (which hangs
behind the Speaker’s5 Chair). If a petition gets 100,000
signatures, the government will respond and it will be considered for
debate. A copy of the petition is sent to the appropriate government department.
Government departments are expected to offer observations6
on all substantive7 petitions.
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1 in the correct format
2 the official record of parliamentary business
3 make something known
4 people who voted for them, people in their constituency
[political region]
5 MP with responsibility for controlling the way
parliamentary business is done
6 comments
7 of significance
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C
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Select Committees
There
is a Commons Select Committee for each government department, examining
three aspects: spending, policies1 and administration.
Some Select Committees have a role that crosses departmental boundaries2,
such as the Environmental Audit3 Committee. Other Commons
Committees are involved in a range of ongoing investigations, such as allegations4
about the conduct5 of individual MPs. Lords Select
Committees do not shadow6 the work of government
departments. Their investigations look into specialist subjects, taking advantage
of the wide-ranging7 expertise8 of the
Lords and the greater amount of time (compared to MPs) available to them to
examine issues. Committees in the House of Lords concentrate on six main
areas: international relations, the European Union, science and technology,
economic affairs, communications and the UK constitution9.
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1 official plans of action
2 deals with different departments
3 closely examines environmental consequences of government
decisions
4 complaints that have not been proven
5 behaviour
6 follow closely to see how a job is done
7 covering many subjects, diverse 8 high level of knowledge
or skill 9 full set of laws of a country
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EXERCISES
41.1
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Are
these statements about the texts true or false? Explain why.
1
A lobbied MP has to do what his or her constituents request.
2
MPs make a statement in the Commons about all the petitions they receive.
3
You can read Hansard to find out what has been happening in Parliament.
4
Government departments should comment on all the petitions they receive.
5
The Environmental Audit Select Committee shadows a specific department.
6
Select Committees do not look at how individual MPs behave – that is up to
the law courts.
7
Lords are felt to have more time to give to committees than MPs.
8
Lords Select Committees focus on the same key areas as those of the
Commons.
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41.2
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Match
up the words to make collocations. Note that not all the nouns are in bold on
the opposite page.
1
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debating
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a
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chair
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2
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select
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b
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department
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3
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committee
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c
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material
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4
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government
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d
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chamber
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5
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wide-ranging
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e
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stage
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6
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Speaker’s
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f
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policy
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7
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party
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g
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expertise
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8
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briefing
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h
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committee
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41.3
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Now
choose one of the expressions from 41.2 to complete each sentence.
1
MPs discuss proposed legislation in the ________________ of the House of
Commons.
2
Before Question Time in Parliament, Ministers have to read a lot of ________________
provided by their advisers.
3
She was elected to the House of Lords because of her ________________.
4
Many journalists gave evidence to a ________________ investigating the
behaviour of the press.
5
I am not quite sure what ________________ is on renewable energy.
6
The bill has had two readings in the House of Commons and is now going
through the ________________ of procedures.
7
The ________________ is situated between the two sets of benches in the
Commons so that its occupant can more easily control the debates.
8
The Treasury in the UK is the ________________ which deals with the
country’s finances.
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41.4
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Complete
these sentences with words from the opposite page.
1
The ________________ of individual MPs may be investigated if it is thought
they have not behaved honestly.
2
There have been a number of ________________ claiming that the Speaker is
not doing his or her job properly.
3
On this particular issues, it is ________________ to the individual MP how
he or she votes.
4
It is the role of the Health Select Committee to ________________ the work
done in the Department of Health and to deal with any relevant issues
arising from that.
5
A petition to Parliament has to be ________________ out in accordance with
strict rules.
6
The work of this committee is complex because it ________________ departmental
boundaries.
7
There is a lot of ________________ in the House of Lords because of the
very different professional backgrounds among its members.
8
This committee ________________ the decisions made by the Department of
Transport.
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41.5
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Over
to you
Answer
these questions about politics in your own country.
•
How easy is it for ordinary citizens to lobby MPs?
•
How easy is it for ordinary citizens to petition MPs?
•
Does the legislative process have a committee stage?
•
Do ordinary citizens play any part in committee decisions in relation to
government?
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ANSWER KEY
41.1
1 False. It is down to the MP to make
up his or her own mind.
2 False. They only make a statement
about some of them. Others are simply placed in the Petitions Bag.
3 True.
4 False. Only on the substantive
ones.
5 False. It is an example of a Select
Committee that crosses departmental barriers.
6 False. They do investigate the
conduct of individual MPs.
7 True. (Presumably because they do
not have the same constituency work to do.)
8 False. They don’t. They focus on
six key areas, whereas Commons Select Committees focus on shadowing
government departments (as well as some other things).
41.2
1 d 2 h 3 e 4 b 5 g 6 a 7 f 8 c
41.3
1 debating chamber
2 briefing material
3 wide-ranging expertise
4 select committee
5 party policy
6 committee stage
7 Speaker’s chair
8 government department
41.4
1 conduct
2 allegations
3 down / up
4 shadow
5 set
6 crosses
7 expertise
8 scrutinises
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