Politics

 

                                        

1. Vocabulary

Ballot - the system of voting in writing and usually in secret; an occasion on which a vote is held

Chamber - one of the parts of a parliament

Civil servant - a person who works in the civil service

Coup - a sudden change of government that is illegal and often violent

Electable candidate - (of a politician or political party) having the qualities that make it likely or possible that they will win in an election

To lobby (somebody) (for/against something) - to try to influence a politician or the government and, for example, persuade them to support or oppose a change in the law

Lobbying is the practice of approaching politicians in order to persuade them to support a particular aim or cause, and to speak about it and draw attention to it. In the US this means trying to obtain the support of members of Congress or a state legislature (= people making laws at state level). In Britain

lobbying involves persuading MPs or members of the House of Lords to speak in parliament and the same is true for members of the Scottish Parliament or Welsh Assembly.

Mandate -  the authority to do something, given to a government or other organization by

the people who vote for it in an election

Rally - a large public meeting, especially one held to support a particular idea or political party.

To abstain (from something) -  to choose not to use a vote, either in favour of or against something

Apolitical - ​(of a person) not interested in politics; not thinking politics are important

Back benches - (in the House of Commons in the UK, and in certain other parliaments) any of the seats for Members of Parliament who do not have senior positions in the government or the other parties.

Bilateral - ​involving two groups of people or two countries

To canvass - to ask people to support a particular person, political party, etc., either by going around an area and talking to people or by phoning them

Crony capitalism - (disapproving) an economic system in which there are close relationships between government officials and business leaders, in a way that may give personal advantage to the government officials and unfair influence in government to the business leaders

Détente - an improvement in the relationship between two or more countries which have

been unfriendly towards each other in the past

the Electoral College (in the US) a group of people who come together to elect the President and Vice- President, based on the votes of people in each state. People do not vote directly for the President and Vice-President. In each state, they vote for "electors" who then vote for a particular candidate. All the electoral votes of a state go to one candidate. It is therefore possible for the President to be elected without getting a majority of the US people' votes. Many Americans think that the system is old-fashioned and should be changed.

First-past-the-post (of a system of elections) in which only the person who gets the most votes is elected.

Popular vote - [uncountable, countable] the act of voting by the people in a country or an area who have the right to vote

Spin doctor - a person whose job is to present information to the public about a politician, an organization, etc. in the way that seems most positive

Unrest - a political situation in which people are angry and likely to protest or fight

Absentee ballot = postal vote - ​a vote in an election that you can send when you cannot be present

2. Text

Many people feel the British electoral system is in need of reform. The government can decide to hold a general election any time within five years of coming to power. For the election, the country is divided into 646 areas or constituencies. In each constituency, the people who live in that area vote to elect one MP to represent them. The party with the majority of MPs forms the government. Where no party wins an overall majority, there is a hung parliament and the biggest parties form a coalition. In the UK, coalitions are rare. This is partly because of the 'first- past-the-post system'. In each constituency, the candidate who wins the most votes becomes the MP and all the other votes that have been cast for other candidates do not count towards the national result. This is why the Labour government in 2001 could win a landslide victory with a 166-seat majority, despite having only received 41% of the vote. 

 One suggested benefit of this system is that people have a more direct relationship with their MP. If you have a problem, you can write to your MP and they are obliged to answer you. They also hold weekly or monthly surgeries when you can go and visit them in person. However, some people believe we should adopt a system of proportional representation - where the number of MPs each party gets is in direct relation to the total number of votes cast nationally. So, if the Labour party were to poll 51% of the total vote, they would then have 51% of the members in Parliament. 

 In the UK, there are three main parties: Labour, which was traditionally left wing, but which moved to the centre to get elected, the Conservatives (or Tories) and the Liberal Democrats (Lib-Dems). The Tories were most popular in the eighties when Margaret Thatcher was their leader, but after 1997, they were in opposition. The party suffered from a lot of infighting. The Lib-Dems are the third party. They were traditionally in the centre, but have adopted more left-wing policies. There are also a number of Nationalist parties - in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - which want either more autonomy or complete separation from England.

3. Questions

1. What are the arguments for and against the first-past-the-post electoral system used in the UK? 2. How does the proportional representation system differ from the first-past-the-post system? 3. What are the key differences between the Labour, Conservative, and Liberal Democrat parties in the UK?

4. https://learningapps.org/display?v=pded6pm5v24 

5. Home assignment

Read the text again and underline the verbs that go with the nouns: 

• constituencies 
• MP 
• an overall majority 
• a hung parliament 
• a coalition 
• a landslide victory 
• surgeries 
• a system of proportional representation
•  the centre 
• in opposition 
• infighting
• left-wing policies 
• autonomy 

 Translate the whole verb and noun collocations into your language. Then discuss which things in the text are: 

a. exactly the same in your country. 

b. similar in your country.

c. quite different.