Politics

Politics
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Slide 1: Slide
EngelsMiddelbare schoolvwoLeerjaar 6

This lesson contains 21 slides, with text slides and 4 videos.

time-iconLesson duration is: 50 min

Items in this lesson

Politics

Slide 1 - Slide

Kennis van Land en Volk
Van eindexamenleerlingen wordt verwacht dat zij elementaire kennis hebben met betrekking tot de traditionele moederlanden op de volgende gebieden:
- hoofdzaken van staatsinrichting
- zeer belangrijke gebeurtenissen uit de recente geschiedenis
- belangrijke geografische gegevens
- hoofdzaken van het onderwijssysteem
- opvallende verschillen met de eigen cultuur

Slide 2 - Slide

The United Kingdom
First, take a look at the following clip.
Afterwards, we'll talk about the different parts of British Parliament.

Slide 3 - Slide

Slide 4 - Video

3 parts
In Britain there is no written constitution. (-> Magna Carta)

Political power lies with Parliament, which consists of
1. House of Commons    (NL 2e kamer)
2. House of Lords             (NL 1e kamer)
3. Sovereign                        (Koningin)

Slide 5 - Slide

House of Commons
- Dutch: Tweede Kamer
- 640 elected members
- Members are called Member of Parliament (MP)
- They represent a constituency
- The House of Commons is the main law-making body of Parliament.

Slide 6 - Slide

House of Lords
- Dutch: Eerste Kamer
- Around 800 members
- Consists of:
   - Life peers (awarded by the Queen)
   - Hereditary peers (inherit)
   - (Arch)Bishops
   -  Senior judges (Law Lords)
- Review bills, can decide to delay a bill for 6 months.

Slide 7 - Slide

Sovereign
- Monarch
- Queen Elizabeth II (95/ 70)
- Symbolic power only
- Speech from the Throne
- The eldest son of the monarch is called the Prince of Wales (now Prince Charles)

Slide 8 - Slide

Elections
- takes place at least every 5 years
- Winner takes all and forms government
- That party's leader is Prime Minister (PM), now Boris Johnson
- Members of other parties form the opposition

Westminster/ Whitehall - "Den Haag"

Slide 9 - Slide

Slide 10 - Video

Political parties
Only three political parties play a significant role in Parliament:
  1. The Conservative Party (or Tories), right-wing, Dutch VVD, currently in power.
  2. The Labour Party, left-wing, Dutch PvdA.
  3. The Liberal Democrates (or Lib Dems), center, Dutch D'66.

Slide 11 - Slide

What to call them
Great Britain: England, Scotland and Wales
The United Kingdom: England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland (= Ulster)
The British Isles: United Kingdom ánd the Republic of Ireland (= Eire), the Channel Islands, the Orkneys and the Shetlands.

Slide 12 - Slide

The Commonwealth
an association of 54 states; all members were at one time part of the British Empire.
Most have become independent states (e.g. Cyprus, Zimbabwe), some others still recognise the British monarch as Head of State (e.g. Canada and New Zealand).

Slide 13 - Slide

The United States
Now, let's switch to the United States of America.

Here's another clip to introduce the subject.

Slide 14 - Slide

Slide 15 - Video

Federation of states
Each state (50) has its own governor, independent court system and can make its own laws.

The White House, Supreme court and Congress are all located in Washington D.C. (= District of Columbia)



Slide 16 - Slide

Checks and balances
To ensure a separation of powers, the U.S. Federal Government is made up of three branches:
- legislative
- executive
- judicial

Slide 17 - Slide

The three different branches and their tasks

Slide 18 - Slide

Political parties
The two leading political parties are:
The Democrats: left-of-centre/ liberal, Dutch PvdA, currently in power: Joe Biden
The Republicans: right-wing, Dutch VVD
However, the Representatives and Senators are not bound to their party programme (voters' interests).

Slide 19 - Slide

Slide 20 - Video

Slide 21 - Slide