The Interior of the House of Commons

Members of Parliament hold most of their debates in the House of Commons Chamber. The Speaker, who acts as a chairman of the debate, sits on a raised chair at on end of the Chamber. In front of him on his right sit the MPs of the biggest party, which forms the government, and facing them sit the MPs of the party which opposes them, the Opposition. The leader of the government, the Prime Minister, sits on the government front bench, next to his or her ministers. Government ministers and those speaking for the official Opposition are often called frontbenchers. The most important government ministers form the Cabinet. Its major members are the Foreign Secretary (the minister responsible for relations with other countries), the Home Secretary (the one responsible for law and security) and the Chancellor of the Exchequer (the minister who deals with financial matters and prepares the annual budget speech on the economic state of the country).

Opposite this group sits the Leader of the Opposition (the main person in the largest party opposing the government) and the Shadow Cabinet which is made up of front bench MPs from the official opposition party. The Opposition party appoints an MP to ‘shadow’ each of the members of the Cabinet. In this way the opposition can make sure that it looks at every part of the Government and can question them thoroughly. It also means that the Opposition has MPs ready to take on the job of the Cabinet if they win at the next General Election.

MPs without special positions in their parties sit behind their leaders at the back. They are called backbenchers.

The House of Commons Chamber is really quite small. Although there are 646 MPs, there are only seats for 427, so sometimes, when very important matters are being discussed, Members will be squeezed onto the benchers and some will sit on the steps. The benches and carpets are green – the colour traditionally associated with the House of Commons.

As there is not enough time for everything to be debated in the House of Commons Chamber, some debates take place in parallel in the Westminster Hall Chamber, located just off Westminster Hall. The House of Commons committees meet in smaller rooms upstairs in the Palace of Westminster or in Portcullis House which is a modern building next door to the Palace.

TASK 5. Translate the following terms into Russian:

• the Speaker
• the Prime Minister
• the Cabinet
• the Chancellor of the Exchequer
• the Foreign Secretary
• the Home Secretary
• the Opposition
• the Leader of the Opposition
• the Shadow Cabinet
• frontbenchers
• backbenchers

Speak on the role of these officers and bodies in the House of Commons.

TASK 6. Mark the statements TRUE or FALSE according to the information in the texts above. Where you have marked a statement as false, offer a correction.

1. The exclusive job Parliament does is to check that the Government is running the country properly.
2. The House of Commons is the non-elected part of the United Kingdom’s two-chamber Parliament.
3. The House of Commons consists of 646 Members known as MPs each of whom is elected by local residents to represent an area of the country in Parliament.
4. Parliament approves Acts of Parliament before they come into force as bills.
5. MPs debate important issues of the day such as public services, terrorism and relations with other countries.
6. MPs work either in their constituency or in the Houses of Parliament in London.
7. It is an MP’s job to represent the members of his/her political party in their constituency.
8. An MP will often be able to advise on how to address a particular issue and may write to the relevant authority or Minister.
9. MPs can raise local or personal issues in a variety of ways in the House of Commons; they can ask Government Ministers questions, speak about issues in the House and consider and propose new laws.
10. In the House of Commons Members of Parliament take their seats on the green leather benchers irrespective of their party and position.
11. The political party with the majority of MPs in the House of Commons is the Opposition, led by the Prime Minister.
12. The Opposition questions the Government about its actions and policies to check that the country is being properly managed, opposes new laws with which it disagrees and promotes its own policies as an alternative.

TASK 7. Read the text about the House of Lords and draw up a diagram illustrating the composition of the House of Lords. Be ready to comment on your drawing.