The Union Jack. The British Parliament

The Union Jack

This is the popular name given to the flag of Great Britain. Actually it is called the Union Flag and it is a mixtureof several flags.

It all began in 1606 when Scotland was joined to England and Wales. The Scottish flag, St Andrew's Cross, blue with a white cross from corner to corner, was joined to the English Flag, St George's Cross, white with a red cross. The flag of St George can still be seen on churchesin England.

Later, in 1801, when Ireland was joined to the Union, as it was called, the Irish Flag of St Patrick's Cross was added, white with a red cross from corner to corner.

In this way the English people got the Union Flag, which is red, white and blue. King James the Third (1566—1622) ordered that the Union Flag should be flown on the main mast of all British ships, except on ships of war. Here the flag was flown at the front of the ships, on what was called the bowsprit. The end of the bowsprit was called the Jack Star and so we get the name of Union Jack. A “jack”, by the way, is an old word for the sailor. The Union Jack is also on the flags of Australia and New Zealand.

The British Parliament

The British Parliament is the oldest in the world. It originated in the 12th century as Witenagemot, the body of wise councellers whom the King needed to consult pursuing his policy. The British Parliament consists of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and the Queen as its head. The House of Commons plays the major role in law-making. It consists of Members of Parliament (called MPs for short). Each of them represents an area in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. MPs are elected either at a general election or at a by-election following the death or retirement. Parliamentary elections are held every 5 years and it is the Prime Minister who decides on the exact day of the election. The minimum voting age is 18. And the voting is taken by secret ballot. The election campaign lasts about 3 weeks, The British parliamentary system depends on political parties. The party which wins the majority of seats forms the government and its leader usually becomes Prime Minister. The Prime Minister chooses about 20 MPs from his party to become the cabinet of ministers. Each minister is responsible for a particular area in the government. The second largest party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and " shadow cabinet". The leader of the opposition is a recognized post in the House of Commons. The parliament and the monarch have different roles in the government and they only meet together on symbolic occasions, such as coronation of a new monarch or the opening of the parliament. In reality, the House of Commons is the one of three which has true power. The House of Commons is made up of six hundred and fifty elected members, it is presided over by the speaker, a member acceptable to the whole house. MPs sit on two sides of the hall, one side for the governing party and the other for the opposition. The first 2 rows of seats are occupied by the leading members of both parties (called " front benches" ) the back benches belong to the rank-and-life MPs. Each session of the House of

Commons lasts for 160-175 days. Parliament has intervals during his work. MPs are paid for their parliamentary work and have to attend the sittings. As mention above, the House of Commons plays the major role in law making. The procedure is the following: a proposed law (" a bill" ) has to go through three stages in order to become an act of parliament, these are called " readings". The first reading is a formality and is simply the publication of the proposal. The second reading involves debate on the principles of the bill; it is examination by parliamentary committee. And the third reading is a report stage, when the work of the committee is reported on to the house. This is usually the most important stage in the process. When the bill passes through the House of Commons, it is sent to the House of Lords for discussion, when the Lords agree it, the bill is taken to the Queen for royal assent, when the Queen sings the bill, it becomes act of the Parliament and the Law of the Land. The House of Lords has more than 1000 members, although only about 250 take an active part in the work in the house. Members of this Upper House are not elected, they sit there because of their rank, the chairman of the House of Lords is the Lord Chancellor. And he sits on a special seat, called " Woolsack" The members of the House of Lords debate the bill after it has been passed by the House of Commons. Some changes may be recommended and the agreement between the two houses is reached by negotiations.

London

London dominates the life of Britain. And it is the greatest and nicest town in the world. Also, the nature of this city is very picturesque. There are a lot of sites and places of interest here. Many parks and theatres, museums and halls, which are always ready to surprise tourists and English with it’s beauty and charm. There are about 40 theatres, several concert halls, many museums including the British Museum, and the best art galleries.

Speaking about parks we can always see many people here listening to others or just heaving their rest. Hide Park with its Speaker's Corner is also in London. Among other parks are Kensington Gardens, St. James Park. In the West End is Buckingham Palace, which is the Queen's Residence, and the Palace of Westminster the seat of Parliament. The best-known streets here are Whitehall with important Government offices, Downing Street, the London residence of Prime Minister and the place where cabinet meets, Fleet Street where most newspapers have their offices, Harley Street where the highest paid doctors live, and some others. There are many statues and monuments there. I think that the majority is devoted to the famous and outstanding people.

London Is situated upon both banks of the River Thames and it is one of the largest cities in the world. Speaking about the West end of London we mean it’s center where famous parks and tropical places are situated. In Westminster Abbey begins and comes to an end royal destiny: in its walls the British monarchs are crowned, here they find their eternal rest. Besides Westminster Abbey is well known for the " poet’s Conner". So… many others memorial boards are established. But the present tombs are far from being all mentioned to the poets.

Well it is safe to say that it is the most famous building in England. It is a fine Gothic building, which stands opposite the Houses of Parliament. It is the work of many hands and different ages and the oldest part of the building dates from the 8th century.

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