There are three
main political parties in Great Britain:
the Conservative Party, the Labour Party, and the Liberal Democrats, as well as numerous small parties, such as
the great Party, which is supported by the environmentalists.
The Conservative Party is the most powerful
party and is sometimes called a ‘party of business directors’. It is supported
by the richest sections of society- the monopolists, landowners, business
owners. They are for minimal government interference in the economy. Their
social and economic policy is wage restraint, drastic cuts in social service,
promotion of private property and enterprise, maintenance of a strong military
and foreign policy and preservation of traditional cultural values and
institutions. Most of the money needed to run the party comes from large firms
and companies. Among the outstanding Conservatives was Margaret Thatcher, who
became Britain’s first woman prime minister in 1979.
The Conservative Party is known informally by the nickname of Tories, especially used in newspapers
as it takes less space. The word ‘tory’ means an Irish highwayman and was
applied to the Conservatives by their opponents; later the Conservatives
adopted this nickname.
The Labour Party was founded in 1900 by the
trade unions. Thus it represents the working class, plus a small middle-class intelligentsia.
The Labour Party supports the weaker people in society and stands for equality
and for more government involvement in the economy. Its concern is to provide
full social services. Prime Minister Tony Blair (1997) represents the Labour
Party.
The Liberal Democrats represent the middle
class. The party supports individualism, private enterprise, human rights and
promotion of social justice. It has always been strongly in favour of the
European Union. It also places more emphasis on the environment than other
parties.
The Liberal Democratic Party is nicknamed as the Whigs. A ‘whig’ was a Scottish preacher
who could go on for 4 or 5 hours at a time preaching moralising sermons.
Government in
Britain has alternated between only two political parties since 1945- the
Conservative and the Labour party. No other party has been in office since then
and there have been no coalitions. The Liberals enjoyed moments of success, but
no member of the Liberal party has held government office since 1945.
Theresa Mary May is a British
politician serving as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the
Conservative Party since 2016. She was first elected Member of Parliament for
Maidenhead in the general election of 1997
Key vocabulary:
support – աջակցել
environmentalist – [inˌvaıǝrǝn'mentǝlist] -շրջակա միջավայրի պաշտպանության հետևորդ
be in office – պաշտոն
զբաղեցնել
privileged – արտոնյալ
landowner –
հողատեր, կալվածատեր
interference- [ˌintǝ'fıǝrǝns] - միջամտություն
wage –աշխատավարձ
restraint- սահմանափակում
drastic cuts – սուր
կրճատումներ
enterprise –
ձեռնարկում
maintenance -['meıntǝnǝns] - պահպանում
involvement -
ներգրավվում
preacher - ['prı:tʃǝ]-քարոզիչ
sermon - ['sǝ:mǝn]- քարոզ
alternate – ['ɔ:ltǝneıt]- հաջորդել միմյանց
Talking
points:
1. Which
are the main political parties in Great Britain?
2. How are
the Conservatives/the Liberals most frequently reffered to in the British
press?
3. Which
party represents the rich/ the working class/ the middle class?
4. What policy
does each party support?
5. Who is
the present Prime Minister? Which party does he/she represent?