41
British politics A
Influencing political decisions
1
try to influence the opinions of MPs and Lords 2 formal process involving sending a written appeal to an MP, following a set format, which is then presented to the Commons by the MP 3 possible future laws 4 period after a proposed law has been discussed by Parliament when it is looked at in detail by a group of people 5 proposal for a law currently under discussion 6 committee that checks and reports on some aspect of government work 7 looking very closely at
www.parliament.uk Ordinary citizens in the UK can have their say in political life in a number of ways. They can: • Lobby1 MPs and Members of the House of Lords (who are known as peers) about a particular issue. • Petition2 the House of Commons to tell MPs about views on an issue and request action. • Comment on legislation3 going through Parliament during the committee stage4 of a Public Bill5 in the House of Commons. • Submit evidence to a Select Committee6 inquiry scrutinising7 the work and policies of the government.
B
Lobbying and petitioning 1 Methods of lobbying lobbying vary varyand andcan canrange rangefrom fromsending sendingletters, lettersmaking and making presentations to providing presentations, providing briefing1briefing material 2 2 material to Members and organising rallies Oftenlobbyists the result seeking for the MP or peer toway to Members and organised rallies . Often the .result arelobbyists seeking are for the MP orisLord to vote a certain 3 3 vote a certain wayHowever, on a specific issue. However, this decision will ultimately beLord’s downown to4 judgement the MP or peer’s on a specifi c issue. this decision will ultimately be down to4 the MP or and the own judgement influence any)will that existing party policy will have on them. infl uence (if any) and that the existing party (if policy have on them. 1
informational
2
large political meetings or demonstrations
3
in the end
4
the responsibility of
The public can petition the House of Commons to make MPs aware of their opinion on an issue and to request action. All that’s needed is that the petition is properly set out1 and has the signature and address of at least one person. A petition can also be created and submitted online, as an e-petition. The text of the petition is published in Hansard2. There is a procedure for petitions in the Lords, but it is very rarely used. Generally, MPs will present3 all petitions they receive from their constituents4. MPs present petitions by either giving a short statement in the debating chamber of the House of Commons or by simply placing the petition in the Petition Bag (which hangs behind the Speaker’s5 Chair). If a petition gets 100,000 signatures, the government will respond and it will be considered for debate. A copy of the petition is sent to the appropriate government department. Government departments are expected to offer observations6 on all substantive7 petitions. 1
2 3 in the correct format the official record of parliamentary business make something known 5 people who voted for them, people in their constituency [political region] MP with responsibility for 6 7 controlling the way parliamentary business is done comments of significance
4
C
Select Committees There is a Commons Select Committee for each government department, examining three aspects: spending, policies1 and administration. Some Select Committees have a role that crosses departmental boundaries2, such as the Environmental Audit3 Committee. Other Commons Committees are involved in a range of ongoing investigations, such as allegations4 about the conduct5 of individual MPs. Lords Select Committees do not shadow6 the work of government departments. Their investigations look into specialist subjects, taking advantage of the wide-ranging7 expertise8 of the Lords and the greater amount of time (compared to MPs) available to them to examine issues. Committees in the House of Lords concentrate on six main areas: international relations, the European Union, science and technology, economic affairs, communications and the UK constitution9. 1
official plans of action 2 deals with different departments 3 closely examines environmental consequences of government decisions 4 complaints that have not been proven 5 behaviour 6 follow closely to see how a job is done 7 covering many subjects, diverse 8 high level of knowledge or skill 9 full set of laws of a country 88
English Vocabulary in Use Advanced
