Culture I

Book: “Britain for Learners of English” O’Driscoll

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Chapter 1 I Country and People

Why is Britain “Great”? The origin of the adjective in the name Great
Britain was because it was used to distinguish it from the smaller area in
France which is called Brittany in modern English.

Geographically speaking

There are two large islands. The largest is called Great Britain. The other
large one is called Ireland.

Politically speaking

There are two states. The Republic of Ireland and the other state has
authority over the rest of the area (the whole of Great Britain, the north-
eastern area of Ireland and most of the smaller islands). Its official name is
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, often referred to as “United
Kingdom”.

There are the Channel Islands and The Isle of Man, which are “crown dependencies” and not
officially part of the UK. Each has complete internal self-government, including its own
parliament and its own tax system.

The four nations (N. Ireland, Wales, Scotland and England)

Their political unification was a gradual process that took several hundred years. It was
completed in 1800 when the Irish parliament was joined with the parliament for England,
Scotland and Wales, so that the whole area became a single state – the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Ireland. However, in 1922, most of Ireland became a separate state.

Culture and language

Ireland
Wales Celtic/Celtic language
Highland Scotland

England Germanic/Germanic dialects

Lowland Scotland.

The dominance of England

It cannot be denied that the dominant culture of Britain today is specifically English. Language
English is the main language of all four nations.

Money controlled by the bank of England.

Monarch “Elizabeth II”, eventhough Scotland and Northern Ireland have never had an
“Elizabeth I”.
“Anglo” the Angles were a Germanic tribe who settled in
England in the fifth century.

Flag

The Union flag, often known as the “Union Jack” is the national flag
of the UK. It’s a combination of the cross of St. George, the cross of
St. Andrew and the cross of St. Patrick.

Chapter 3 I Geography

Climate
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Book: “Britain for Learners of English” O’Driscoll
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Rain: Generally speaking, the further west you go, the more rain you get.

The winters are in general slightly colder in the east of the country than they are in the west,
while in summer the south is warmer and sunnier than the north. The lack of extremes is the
reason why on the few occasions when it gets genuinely hot or freezing cold, the country seems
to be totally unprepared for it.

London

London (the largest city in western Europe) dominates Britain. It is the country’s business and
banking centre and the centre of its transport network. About a fifth of the total population of
the UK lives in the wider London area. More than 300 languages are spoken there, its
restaurants offer cuisine form more than 70 different countries. In fact, nearly a third of the
people in London were born outside Britain.

Chapter 6 | Political life

Politicians do not have a good reputation with British people. People just regard them with
suspicion, they do expect them to be frequently dishonest.

Britain is one of the very few European countries whose citizens do not have identity cards.
British people are not obliged to carry identifications with them. You do not even have to have
your driving license in your car. There is no national service, people are not obliged to vote at
elections if they can’t be bothered, and people do not have to register a change of address with
a government authority. In Britain, democracy has never meant that people have a hand in the
running of the country; rather it means that they choose who is to govern the country and let
them get on with it. Not like in the USA, where people often have the chance to vote on
particular proposals for changing laws that directly affects their everyday life.

Monarchy is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. In a monarchy, a king or
queen is Head of State. The British Monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. This means
that, while The Sovereign is Head of State, the ability to make and pass legislation resides with
an elected Parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy, whose government is controlled by
a parliament elected by the people.

Britain is almost alone among modern states in that it does not have a constitution. Of course,
there are rules, regulations, principles and procedures for the running of the country – all the
things that political scientists and legal experts study and which are known collectively as “the
constitution”.

Constitution: Magna Carta, Bill of rights

Chapter 7 I The Monarchy

The reality

The Queen cannot just choose anyone to be Primer Minister. She has to choose someone who
will command majority support in the House of Commons. The person she chooses is the leader
of the strongest party in the Commons. In reality, the Queen has almost no power at all. She
cannot actually stop the government going ahead with any of its policies.

The house of Windsor

Windsor is the family name of the British royal family.

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother - the mother of Queen Elizabeth II.
Queen Elizabeth II - 1952. She is the second longest-reigning monarch in British history.
Prince Philip Mountbatten - He married Queen Elizabeth II in 1947
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Book: “Britain for Learners of English” O’Driscoll
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Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales - the eldest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, he is
heir to the throne.
Princess Diana - married Prince Charles in 1981
Prince William - born in 1982, is the eldest son of Charles and Diana and therefore next in line to
the throne after his father. Prince Henry - born in 1984.

The role of the monarch

The monarch is the personal embodiment of the government of the country. There’s a clear
separation between the symbol of government (the Queen or King) and the actual government,
changing it does not threaten the stability of the country. The monarchy gives British people a
symbol of continuity and a harmless outlet for expressions of national pride.

Chapter 8 I The Government

The government refers to all the politicians who run government departments or have other
special responsibilities, such as managing the activities of Parliament. The other meaning of it
refers to the most powerful of these politicians, namely, the Prime Minister and the other
members of the cabinet.

Britain, unlike much of western Europe, has “single-party government”. That is, all members of
the government belong to the same political party. The habit of single-party government has
helped to establish the tradition known as collective responsibility. That is, every member of the
government shares in responsibility for every policy of the government.

The cabinet

Obviously, no government wants an important member of its

party to start criticizing it. This would lead to divisions in the
party. Therefore, the leading politicians in the government
usually become members of the cabinet, where they are tied to
government policy by the convention of collective responsibility.
Once a week, the cabinet meets and takes decisions about new
policies, the implementation of existing policies and the running
of the various government department. Because all government
members must be seen to agree, exactly who says what at these
meetings is a closely guarded secret.

The Prime Minister

The position of a British Prime Minister is in direct contrast to that of the monarch. While the
Queen appears to have a lot of power but in reality, has very little, the PM appears not to have
much power but in reality, has a very great deal.

The Queen is obliged to give the job of PM to the person who can command a majority in the
House of Commons. This normally mean the leader of the party with the larger number of MPs
(Member of Parliament).

The strength of the PM’s power of patronage is apparent from the modern phenomenon known
as the “cabinet reshuffle”. It is the habit of the PM to change his or her cabinet quite frequently
(at least once every two years). A few cabinet members are dropped, and a few new members
are brought in. The second reason for a modern PM’s dominance over other ministers is the
power of the public image. A single person whose face appears constantly on the television and
in the newspapers is much easier to identify with.

Local government
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Book: “Britain for Learners of English” O’Driscoll
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In Britain, local government authorities (generally known as “councils”) only have powers
because the central government has given them powers. Indeed, they only exist because of the
central government. They are elected representatives called councillors (the equivalent to MPs)
who meet in a council chamber in the Town Hall or County Hall (the equivalent of Parliament)
where they make policy which is implemented by local government officers (the equivalent of
civil servants). Local councils are allowed to collect one kind of tax. This is known as council tax
and is based on the estimated value of a property. More than half of a local council’s income is
given to it by the central government.

Chapter 9 I The Parliament

The British Parliament works in a large building called the

Palace of Westminster. It contains two larger rooms. One
of these is where the House of Lords holds its meetings.
The other is where the House of Commons holds its
meetings. Only members of the Commons are known as
MPs. The Commons are by far the more important of the
two.

The Speaker is the person who chairs and controls

discussion in the House, decides which MP is going to
speak next and makes sure that the rules of procedure
are followed. It is a very important position. In fact, the
Speaker is officially the second most important
‘commoner’ in the kingdom after the Prime Minister.

MPs do not have their own place to sit. No names are

marked on the benches. MPs just sit down wherever they can find room.

The House of Lords has no real power and only limited influence. Although the Lords can delay a
bill, they cannot stop it becoming law in the end. Its role is a consultative one. The Lords act as
a forum for discussion and can sometimes bring to attention matters that the Commons has
been ignoring.

Chapter 10 I Elections

Formal arrangements

The law says that an election has to take place at least every five years. When a party has a
very small majority in the House of Commons, or no majority at all, the interval can be much
shorter. To be a candidate in a constituency, people must get their names on the ballot paper
for that constituency. To do this, they have to deposit 500 with the Returning Officer.
Candidates are allowed to indicate their political affiliation after their names on the ballot paper.
However, it is not necessary to belong to a party to be a candidate. They can write
‘Independent’ after their names.