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DNHA-M - Good

Đất nước học Anh Mỹ (Học viện Ngoại giao Việt Nam)

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1. What happened to the gap between rich and poor during the period 1979 to
1994, and what were the main causes?
Between 1945 and 1979, the gap between the poorest and richest narrowed, but
after 1979 it widened significantly.
In 1979 the poorest tenth of the population received 4.1% of the national income.
By 1995 this has fallen to 2.5% of the national income. Over the same period, the
share of national income taken by the richest tenth increased from 20 to 26%. After
taking into account housing costs, the average income of the poorest 10% of the
population fell, by 13% in the period 1979-94. During the same period the income
of the richest 10% rose by 60%. This was a direct result of economic policy and of
changes to the tax system which intentionally rewarded the richest most, on the
assumption that the highest-income earners were the most productive members of
society.
The total number of those living in poverty has also grown. During the period from
1979 to 1994 the number of people living on less than half the national average
income increased from roughly 1/10 to ¼ of the whole population. Poverty seems
to have increased more rapidly than elsewhere in the European Community. While
the number of seriously poor people has undoubtedly increased, the remaining 75%
of the population are wealthier than they were in 1979. The problem is the gao
which is now greater than at any piont since 1939 and is continuing to grow. There
is now a growing belief that societ as a whole would benefit both economically and
socially from the elimination of acute poverty.

2. What are the powers of the monarch?

Monarchy is the oldest form of government in the United Kingdom. The British
Monarchy is known as a constitutional monarchy. Although The Sovereign no
longer has a political or executive role, he or she continues to play an important
part in the life of the nation.
The reigning monarch is not only the head of state but also a symbol of the unity of
the nation. Since 1689. The monarch’s powers have been formally limited by the
idea that the Crown is only sovereign by the will of Parliament. The remaining
powers of the monarch are basically to summon, suspend until the next session and
dissolve Parliament; to gove royal assent to legislation passed by Parliament; to
appoint government ministers, judges, officers of the armed forces, governors,
diplomats and bishops of the Church; to confer honours, scuh as peerages and

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knighthoods; to remit sentences oassed on convicted criminals; and finally to

declare war on or make peace with an enemy power. In most matters of state, the
refusal of the sovereign to exercise his power according to the direction of her
Prime Mininster would risk a serious constitutional crisis.
Morover, the function of the monarch is politically important. For as someone who
reigns but does not rule, the sovereign separates the “magic” of sovereignty from
the power of the executive head of the state.The monarch also plays a more pratical
role. The King or the Queen is visited regularly by her Prime Minister to receive an
account of the Cabinet decisions and to be consulted on matters of national life.

3. What values does the House of Lords have, if any, in a democracy? Give
reasons for your opinion.
The House of Lords is one of the bodies that make up Parliament. It is a panel of
Lords, who often previously worked in the political or legal field, who sit on
matters of legislation.
The House of Lords holds an important role in the creation of legislation. It works
as part of the billing process when new legislation is proposed to parliament. In
order for this legislation to be enacted and be written into law, it must be
scrunitised to the highest quality. This is where the House of Lords comes into play,
it works alongside the House of Commons in order to make sure the law is suitable
to be enacted.
The House of Lords is the reason there are lords present in the parliament, they
have to allow for ministers to stand in other areas of parliament asides from the
House of Lords. The lords whithin the House do not only sit on the meeting held
within the House of Lords but are also provided to sit on Cabinet. Helping provide
ministers to advise and guide the rest of the government by holding their position in
cabinet.
Another power of the House is not only to debate new legislation but to carry out
parliamentary scrunity. Through this process they analyse government policies and
proceedings to make sure the government is carrying out their role correctly. This
scrunity is highly important as it manages to keep the body in check.
However, its members remain creatures of patronage, and wholly unaccountable to
the UK’s citizens. All parties except the Tories now support its replacement by an
elected Senate.

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4. Do you think the Royal Family has a future? Give reasons for your answer.
There is little doubt that the British people strongly support the monarchy. Opinion
polls consistently show that less than one in five people want Britain to become a
republic, while three-quarters want Britain to remain a monarchy. Furthermore,
monarchy support remains extraordinarily stable. Even at the time of Princess
Diana's death in 1997, when polls showed some dissatisfaction with the Palace's
response, support for Britain remaining a monarchy remained stable.

One reason why the Queen is so popular is that she has been on the throne for a
very long time. Anyone under the age of 65 can remember no other monarch. The
Queen was 25 when her father died and she ascended to the throne. She was
recently married, had two young children and gave birth to two more after
becoming Queen. This young family were every bit as interesting and appealing as
the current generation of young royals. Since then the royal family has weathered
some personal storms and the country, and its place in the world, has changed
beyond all recognition, but the Queen has remained a remarkably stable fixture.
However, because she has reigned for so long, Britain will have to adjust to a very
different monarch and monarchy in the years ahead. The Queen’s successors will
not be on the throne for nearly as long. Unless fate intervenes, Britain is likely to
have a series of elderly monarchs with relatively short reigns for a long time.
Maintaining popular support for the monarchy in such circumstances may prove
difficult.

5. If Britain has managed perfectly well since 1688 without a written

constitution, does it need one now? Give your own opinion.
Britain is one of only a handful of nations that has an uncodified constitution.
While it is often described as unwritten, that is not strictly true: the UK is governed
by statutes, laws and precedents that date back hundreds of years.
On the one hand, there are many arguments supporting the view that the UK should
adopt a written constitution. One is that a written constitution would make rules
clearer. It is easier to refer to. They are more clearly defined than in an unwritten
constitution where rules are spread across many different documents. Another
advantage is a written constitution is limited government. A written constitution
would effectively end the principle of parliamentary sovereignty. If a written
constitution were introduced it would significantly affect people’s rights and
freedom. The strongest advantage is that a written constitution protects rights.
Individual liberty would be more securely protected by the written constitution

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because it would define the relationship between the state and the citizens. Another
advantage is stability.

On the other hand, there are many disadvantages of a written constitution. One is
that written constitutions are considered rigid while unwritten constitutions are
flexible. Flexibility is a very important, useful ability for a constitution. Another
disadvantage is adopting a written constitution, the parliamentary sovereignty
would be effectively abolished. The principle of parliamentary sovereignty states
that parliament can make, unmake, or amend any law it wishes. With a codified
constitution, parliament would not be able to do that. A less important but still valid
disadvantage against a codified constitution is that it is unnecessary codified
constitution may also not be the most effective way of limiting government power.
Improving the checks and balances in its political system may be a better way of
preventing government rather than having a codified or unwritten constitution.

6. Questions are being raised about the effectiveness of the British system of
government. What are they? What changes would you propose?
The system of decision-making at the top has grown more complex and extensive.
That lead to a loss of government unity. Improved policy-making coordination and
more long-term stategic planing will be vital.
One frequently repeated criticism is that Westminster provides too small a pool
from which to draw sufficiently talented ministers. There is an increasing need for a
wider range of thinkers who can view the distant future more readily than recent
ministers. It is likely therfore that policy research groups will be brought into the
governing process.
Another fear for senior civil servants is that a new minister may either fail to grasp
the complexities of forging coherent policies, or be so headstrong that he or she
will press ahead with ideas that are fundamentally wrong. The duty of civil servants
is to support their minister, unless they believe he or she is taking actions agaisnt
the agreed policies, in which case it is their duty to record their protests.
There has also been a serious problem of overload, with ministers and civil servants
trying to cope with an increasing workload. Today, the problem is worse than ever.
One recommendation made then, but ignored, was to create regional bodies which
could relieve the central government of some of its burdens.
Another problem is the traditional British obsesion with secrecy. The Cabinet’s
tradition of secrecy conceals a much wider network hidden from public view. In
theory, there are probably about 200 formal committees working on different

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aspects of government policy under the Cabinet’s direction. Officially, they do no

exist, but these committes are the “engine machine” of the government. Prime
Minister Blair has promised more open government and a Freedom of Information
Act, to make government more transparent.

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