英国概况2.docVIP

PAGE  PAGE 5 英美文化与概况 British and American Studies ( British Part ) Unit Two 大学英语第一教研室 余非 2011年2月 Unit 2 The British Government Contents: Constitutional Monarchy The Monarch Parliament The Government and the Cabinet Civil Servants Constitutional Monarchy （君主立宪政体） The British system of government is known as a constitutional monarchy. In this system, the head of state is a monarch, king or queen., but the monarch’s power is limited by a basic law known as the Constitution. Britain was the first country to institute the parliamentary system in the 13th century. Parliament, meaning a place for argument and debate, is the nation’s supreme legislative organ. The British system of parliamentary government is often referred to as the Westminster model because the building that houses the British Parliament is originally called the Palace of Westminster, which is situated in Westminster, a city within Great London. Many countries around the world follow the Westminster model. In this system, Parliament is the legislature, and its members are elected through general elections. The legislature elects the country’s chief executive officer, called the prime minister, from among members of the majority party of Parliament. The prime minister then selects ministers, mainly from among members of Parliament, so the parliamentary majority also controls the executive departments of the government. The British Government is composed of three tiersthe central government, the country government, and the district government. The last two tiers are also called local governments In terms of structure, the British central government includes three parts: the monarch, Parliament, and the cabinet. The Monarch The three terms “monarch”, “monarchy”, and “crown” are different in meaning in the British system of government. The monarch refers to the king or queen, monarchy means a political system in which a state is ruled by a monarch, while the cr