Политическая система Великобритании. Нужна ли Британии монархия?

Geographical position.

The United Kingdom of great
Britain and Northern Ireland

UK Political System.
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a constitutional monarchy. This means that Great Britain is governed by the Parliament and the Queen is Head of State.
The legislative power in the country is exercised by the Houses of Parliament. The British Parliament consists of two chambers: the House of Lords and the House of Commons. The House of Lords is composed of hereditary and life peers and peeresses. The members of the House of Commons are elected by the people. They are elected from the constituencies in England, Scotland, Wales, Northern Ireland. The House of Commons is the real governing body of the UK. The executive power is exercised by Prime Minister and his Cabinet.
The government is usually formed by the political party which is supported by the majority in the House of Commons. Prime Minister is the majority party leader and is appointed by the Queen. Prime Minister chooses a team of ministers; 20 of the ministers are in the Cabinet.
The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and the Shadow Cabinet. The two leading parties in Great Britain are the Conservative Party (the Tories) and the Labour Party.
The judiciary branch of the government determines common law and is independent of both the legislative and the executive branches.
There is no written constitution in Great Britain, only precedents and traditions.

British Monarchy
THE MONARCH
THE GOVERNMENT
The Prime Minister
leader of the majority party,
appointed by the Queen
The Cabinet
20 ministers
PARLIAMENT
The House of Commons
650 elected members
The House of Lords
peers, life peers
THE PEOPLE
all men and women over 18

MEETING THE QUEEN

WHAT'S IT LIKE BEING QUEEN?
Being Queen is a really busy job. Elizabeth II gets up early and begins the day by looking through the newspapers. Then she reads letters from the public (she gets more than 1000 each week), and tells her staff how she would like them to be answered. The Queen has daily meetings with her Private Secretary who helps her to go through her paperwork, and lots of meetings with ambassadors, new judges, and bishops.
In the afternoon Elizabeth II often goes out on public engagements — she gets thousands of invitations each year. She opens new hospitals, bridges and factories.
Being Queen is not a 9 to 5 job, and Elizabeth II has to work from early in the morning until late at night. And people watch her all the time.
Of course, she has some free time, and some private life, but less than most people.
In her spare time Elizabeth II enjoys horse racing, fishing, and walking in the countryside. She also enjoys photography and likes taking photos on her travels. In 50 years the Queen has been on 251 official visits to 128 different countries.

Control tasks:
Complete sentences and tell about political system of Great Britain:
The head of the state is…
The legislative power belongs to…
The parliament consists of…
The executive power is exercised by…
The judicial power belongs to…
The local governments are named… and are responsible for….

The History of the British Monarchy.
Historical Note.
1066 – The Normans came to Britain. William the Conqueror, the Duke of Normandy, ruled the country with a firm hand: he made laws and determined policies. No one revised his bills.
1215 – King John the Lackland succeeded his brother Richard 1 the Lionheart. He was an unpopular and unsuccessful king: he lost most of the English territory in France, and his methods of raising large amounts of money by taxation annoyed the barons so much that they forced him to sign Magna Carta, which limited royal powers. People got certain political and civil freedoms which have been fundamental principles of the British constitution ever since.
1295 – Parliament was formed where lords and rich people discussed political problems and new taxes.
1509 - 1547 – King Henry 8 had great power: parliament did what the king wanted.
1649 -1660 – The rule of the House of Commons was led by Oliver Cromwell, an English general and politician. He became the leader of the Parliamentarian army in the English Civil War. After the execution of Charles 1 he crushed the opposition, dissolved Parliament, took the title of Lord Protector of England and ruled the country as a dictator until his death.
1660 -1832 – the Monarch and the House of Lords returned.
Today - the Queen and Parliament act under the unwritten British constitution.