Centres of Power: Parliament and the Prime Minister
In a sense the prime minister is supreme. He (or she) can get away with just about anything so long as he commands a majority in the House of Commons. If his party has an overall majority there, and if party discipline is good, then he knows that his support is secure. If, however, his support in the House of Commons cracks, he is finished.
Read more in Access to English: Social Studies, pp. 169-174. Then do the tasks in the textbook and on this website.
Audio: Politicians "play language game"
Is the language politicians and policy makers use clear or confusing?
Links
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Audio: BBC4
(news.bbc. co. uk)
Articles and Resources
Going Further
Web resources
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House of Commons
(parliament.uk) -
House of Lords
(parliament.uk) -
How Parliament works in nearly 60 seconds
(parliament.uk) -
A brief history of representation video
(parliament.uk) -
Animation: What is the House of Commons?
(parliament.uk) -
Animation: What is the House of Lords?
(parliament.uk) -
Animation: Who is in the House of Lords?
(parliament.uk) -
Animation: How the House of Lords works
(parliament.uk) -
Audio: The Monarchy (BBC Radio)
(bbc.co. uk) -
A brief history of the UK Parliament
(bbc.com) -
Online tours of Parliament
(parliament.uk) -
Find your way - Reference guide to Parliament (PDF)
(parliament.uk) -
Prime minister (gov.uk)
(gov.uk) -
10 Downing Street
(gov.uk) -
David Cameron (The Telegraph)
(telegraph.co. uk)