ÉlÉments de civilisation
The United Kingdom
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I FACTS AND FIGURES
●●The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (UK) is
made up of England, Scotland, Wales (Great Britain) and Northern Ireland, also called Ulster.
●●The flag of the UK is the Union Jack.
●●UK population: 59,834,300.
●●England: 50,093,100.
●●Scotland: 5,078,400.
●●Wales: 2,952,500.
●●Northern Ireland: 1,710,300.
II INSTITUTIONS
1. Powers and places
●●The United Kingdom is a parliamentary democracy, based on universal suffrage. It is also a constitutional monarchy – although there is no
“written constitution” – in which ministers of the Crown govern in the
name of the Sovereign.
●●The Sovereign, King or Queen is both Head of State and Head of the
Government but follows ministerial advice. He or She is also Head of the
Church of England (place: Buckingham Palace).
●●The UK Parliament (place: Westminster) has two houses.
●●The House of Commons consists of 646 elected MPs (Members of
Parliament).
●●The House of Lords consists of the Lords Spiritual and the Lords
Temporal. But in 1999 the number of hereditary peers was reduced.
Non-political peers were appointed for the House of Lords to be more
representative of British society in a number of areas including science,
social policy, housing, employment, education, business and international affairs.
●●In 1999 the Devolution arrangements led to the establishment of
the Scottish Parliament and the National Assembly for Wales. These
regional elected assemblies are responsible for most of the issues of
day-to-day concern including health, education, justice, rural affairs and
transport.
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●●The Prime Minister and his Cabinet make the final decisions on all
government policy. (Place: 10 Downing Street.)
●●Political parties: for the last 150 years, Britain has had a predominantly two-party system with the Conservative Party, and the Labour
Party. The Liberal Democrats were formed in 1988.
2. Landmarks
From about
800 B.C.
The Celts settle in Britain.
5th to 8th century Anglo-Saxons settlements.
9th century
Viking raids and settlements.
1066
William of Normandy – the Conqueror – defeated
Harold (Battle of Hastings) and became King of
England.
1215
Magna Carta established for the first time that the
power of the King could be limited by a written grant.
1642
Civil War. Cromwell’s Republic was established.
King Charles I was executed in 1649.
1660
Charles II was restored.
1689
The Bill of Rights gave Parliament more power.
1707
Act of Union by which England and Scotland joined.
Middle of the 18th The Industrial Revolution started. It was to make
britain the most powerful industrial country in the
world.
III VOCABULARY
act
ballot
bill
law
mayor
Member of
Parliament (MP)
rule (v)
rule out (v)
town hall
vote (v)
voter
poll
opinion poll
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loi, décret
scrutin
projet de loi
le droit, la loi
maire
député
gouverner, diriger, régner sur
exclure, éliminer
mairie, hôtel de ville
voter
électeur / électrice
vote, scrutin
sondage d’opinion
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