In Britain, the House of Commons is a representative assembly
elected by voters or electors through a general election and
by-elections. 66. ______. A by-election is a
special election held between regular elections. It is an election of a new
Member of Parliament in a single constituency, which takes place when a vacancy
occurs in the Commons as a result of the death or resignation of an MP, or when
an MP is given a peerage. 67. ______. Suffrage
refers to the right to vote in political elections. In Britain, universal adult
suffrage refers to the right of all adults to vote. A voter or
an elector is a person who votes or who has the right to vote in political
election. The electorate refers to all the people in a county or in an area who
have the right to vote in an election. On polling day, each voter or elector
goes to cast one vote at a polling station. Every voter writes their choice on a
ballot paper. After making a choice, they put the ballot paper into a ballot
box. If a person is a British subject, who is over the age of eighteen, he or
she may vote. Besides, the voter must live for a fixed period of time in any
constituency. But there are a few exceptions to this, the strangest one being
the Queen. As the Sovereign is considered to be above politics, the Queen has no
right to vote. Member of the House of Lords also have no fight to vote.
Criminals and Lunatics have no right to vote. The person who applies for
election to the Parliament is a candidate. The candidate must be aged 21 or over
21. 68. ______. Traditionally, the two major
parties held different views in some issues. But now their differences are
getting smaller and smaller. And even they don’t make much difference in their
political views. They come to power in rotation. 69.
______. The party which wins the majority of seats (although not
necessarily the majority of votes) in a general election, or which is able to
command a majority of supporters in the House of Commons, forms the
Government. 70. ______. The largest minority
party with the next largest number of seats becomes the official Opposition,
with its own leader who has the title of "Leader of Her Majesty’s Opposition".’
And the leader of the Opposition also has a cabinet but since it is not in power
it is called the "Shadow Cabinet". A. The United Kingdom is
divided into 659 constituencies. A constituency is a district with its own
elected representative in the Parliament. The constituency may also refer to the
body of votes living in that district. Each constituency chooses one member to
the House of Commons. The member is called Member of Parliament of MP, who will
occupy one seat in the Parliament. The Member of Parliament will go the House of
Commons to represent his or her constituency. Every MP must be responsible for
their constituency. Every constituency has a returning officer to oversee the
voting and make sure that the votes are counted correctly. If the result of the
election is very close, the official in charge may order a recount.
B. Major parties are big parties with more members and supporters ’while
minor parties are small parties with fewer members and supporters. The majority
party is the party, which has won most of the seats in the Parliament, and is
usually in power. The minority party is the party, which has a few seats in the
Parliament, and is usually out of power. C. A general
election takes place after a Parliament has been dissolved and a new one
summoned by the Sovereign. Under ordinary circumstance, the political parties
launch campaigns and the government officials organize the election for several
weeks. The general election is a massive undertaking and all the voters in the
country must be notified. D. In the summer before the
election, each of the major political parties holds a convention. The
Republicans hold the Republican Party Convention, while the Democrats hold the
Democratic Party Convention. Delegates from every state meet together to choose
candidates for President and Vice-President. The number of delegates from each
state is determined by the population and its support for that party in previous
elections. The way of choosing delegates varies from state to state. In some
states, delegates are elected by the voters. In others, they are appointed by a
state party convention or by state political leaders. E. The
present electoral system is based on the existence of organized political
parties, each laying rival policies before the electorate. Now the two main
political parties in Britain are the Labour Party and the Conservative Party.
Many trades unions support the Labour Party. Trades unions were originally
formed in the early 19th century to try to change the long hours of work,
disgraceful conditions and low rates of pay in factories. Unions of many
different types of workers were formed. They gained in strength through the 20th
century and are now a strong force, negotiating pay and working conditions with
the employers. F. By tradition, the leader of the majority party
is appointed as Prime Minister by the Sovereign. The Prime Minister is
responsible for making the Cabinet. The Cabinet is a group of the most senior
and powerful ministers in the government, who meet regularly to discuss and
decide policies.