Le système politique britannique en anglais en prépa

Fiche sur le système politique au Royaume-Uni en anglais en prépa

L’expression écrite en anglais en prépa ne se résume pas à exécuter correctement la méthode apprise par cœur. Si la grammaire, le vocabulaire et la syntaxe comptent bien évidemment pour le correcteur, il n’en reste pas moins que le fond et le contenu du devoir vont tout autant être évalué.

Contrairement à ce que certains étudiants en cours de prépa pensent, l’anglais n’est pas une matière secondaire à laisser de côté. Travailler régulièrement ses cours d’anglais, permet d’acquérir une bonne connaissance du monde anglo-saxon et de montrer lors des khôlles et des oraux d’anglais en écoles de commerce, que vous maitrisez le système politique britannique.

Pour rappel, le sujet du système politique américain est traité dans un autre article du blog : « Le système politique américain pour l’anglais en prépa« . Ces fiches de civilisation vous seront d’une grande aide au moment des concours que ce soit à l’écrit ou à l’oral.

The Crown in UK

Britain is a monarchy, a country governed by a monarch, a King or a Queen – as is the case today with Elisabeth II ; Britain celebrated the Queen’s jubilee in 2012, which means that she has been reigning over the country for sixty years.

Yet the Crown has a limited political sway, the country is actually governed by the Prime Minister and his or her Cabinet – keep the word “government” or “administration” for the United States and prefer “Cabinet” for Britain.

The Queen is the head of the State – in theory – and the head of the Church of England. This is important because in republics, such as France or the United States, one of the fundamental principles of the constitution is the separation of Church and State.

Another political specificity of Britain is the importance of the nobility, especially with the House of Lords, which is the British Upper Chamber – the equivalent of a Senate, as opposed to the Lower House, which is the House of Commons.

The Parliament in UK

Parliament – also referred to as “Westminster”, after the name of the building, consists of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, that is to say a Lower and Upper Chamber. Each year, the Queen delivers what is known as “the Queen’s Speech”, a speech written by the Government that sets out Parliament’s agenda for the year; this takes place in the House of Lords.

The House of Commons is publicly elected. The party with the largest number of members in the Commons forms the government. Members of the Commons (MPs) debate the big political issues of the day and proposals for new laws. It is one of the key places where government ministers, like the Prime Minister and the Chancellor, and the principal figures of the main political parties, work. The Commons alone is responsible for making decisions on financial Bills, such as proposed new taxes. The Lords can consider these Bills but cannot block or amend them.

The House of Lords is the second chamber of the UK Parliament. It is independent from, and complements the work of, the elected House of Commons. The Lords shares the task of making and shaping laws and checking and challenging the work of the government.

Parliament is an essential part of UK politics. Its main roles are :

• Examining and challenging the work of the government
• Debating and passing all laws (legislation)
• Enabling the government to raise taxes

The Cabinet in UK

The Party with the largest number of seat after a general election forms H.M.’s Government – Her Majesty’s Government. The leader of this party automatically becomes Prime Minister; there is no such thing as an appointment by the Queen, there is no surprise, the name of the two possible Prime Minister, one Labour, one Tory, is known beforehand.

The other party becomes H.M.’s Opposition and forms the Shadow Cabinet which could take over in any case of change of majority. The Cabinet and the Shadow Cabinet are those sitting in the front row of the House of Commons. To belong to the Cabinet, one must be an M.P., the Prime Minister included.

The Cabinet is made up of the senior members of government. Every Tuesday during Parliament, members of the Cabinet (Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers) meet to discuss what are the most important issues for the government.

Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from the members of the House of Commons and House of Lords. They are responsible for the actions, successes and failures of their departments.

Important positions and vocabulary :

• Chancellor of the Exchequer = Finance
• Lord Chancellor = Justice
• Home Secretary = Intérieur
• Foreign Secretary = Affaires étrangères

A historical reminder

There is no need for you to know the history of the British Monarchy in all details. However it is always much easier and smarter to understand things, in this case, to understand the principles of the British Monarchy and Democracy.

A first fact which is absolutely essential to remember: for the United States, the Constitution explains a great deal of current political debates. In the United Kingdom, THERE IS NO WRITTEN CONSTITUTION.

The constitutional system is thus mainly based on precedent and custom, rather than on a written text of reference. Of course, some Acts of Parliament have also come to change or reform the system; this is namely the case of the 1999 House of Lords Act which abolished the hereditary peers. One may therefore say that the system is very much based on trust and confidence.

Checks and balances : Parliament has no theoretical boundary to its action. There is no Supreme Court stating whether or not a law is constitutional, since there is no constitution, or may harm democracy. Consequently, in theory, there is no constitutional guaranty of human rights or individual freedom, for instance.

Lire d’autres articles pour réussir en langues en prépa HEC :

• Séjour linguistique pour travailler les langues
• Réussir l’anglais aux concours en prépa HEC
• Méthode de l’essai d’anglais en prépa HEC
• Réussir la version d’anglais en prépa HEC
• Méthode du thème d’anglais en prepa HEC
• Synthèse de document en anglais en prépa HEC
• Fiche d’anglais en prépa HEC sur l’esclavage aux Etats-Unis

D’autres ressources pour progresser en allemand et en espagnol :

• Préparer l’oral d’espagnol en prépa HEC
• Travailler la prononciation en espagnol
• Fiche d’espagnol en prepa HEC sur les féminicides
• Fiche d’espagnol en prépa HEC sur les inégalités en Amérique Latine
• Fiche d’espagnol en prépa HEC sur les violences faites aux femmes
• Réussir la colle d’Allemand en prépa HEC