Task 15. Fill in the gaps while viewing

Queen Ann died in 1714 but remarkably none of her 17 children survived into adulthood. As a result, she was succeeded by her second cousin, the German Prince George of Hanover. He became George I.

German George left the business of ruling Britain to his 1)…... From 1721 onwards this was the politician Robert Walpole who held the office for 2)….., spanning the reigns of both 3)….. and …... Walpole was such a successful Prime Minister that George II gave him property in 4)….. as a gift. 5)…… is still the official home of the Prime Minister but that’s actually not his real title. On the door it says: 6)…...

Walpole is generally considered to be our first Prime Minister. In the absence of the king he had to make the decisions. Most crucially who should be a minister alongside him. And this led to a new idea – 7)…... Before Walpole all ministers reported to the king, now Cabinet ministers reported to Walpole. As king George away, Walpole 8)…… all the other ministers. He also developed the doctrine of 9)….. ……. It meant that when the Cabinet had agreed on the policy, all ministers had to 10)…. ….. ….. or 11)…... Lord Melbourne summarized it beautifully: “It matters not what we say, gentlemen, so long as we all say the same thing”.

Task 16. Describe Robert Walpole* and his role in British politics. Use the Cultural Commentary and the following key words: to use every trick of the trade to ensure Parliament support, to govern the country successfully and peacefully, to have Parliament firmly on his side, “Every mind has his price”, to spend a lot of time dining every new MP, to hand out government jobs, to manage the House of Commons effectively, Robinocracy, the most powerful role in government)