Britain

1. What was the reason why the British government was one of the last to organize the
education of everybody?
Britain's governments were one of the last countries in Europe to organize education for
everybody because, Britain was leading the world in industry and commerce, so it was felt
education must somehow be taking care of itself. Schools and other educational institutions (such
as understood existed in Britain long before the government began to take an interest. When it
finally did so, it did not sweep the existing institutions away, nor did it always take them over.

2. Give three examples that demonstrate the seemingly ‘absolute’ power of the Queen.
Ex1. The Queen has the power of “Royal Assent”, meaning that she has to approve of the sign
every piece of legislation passed by Parliament before it can be enacted as law.
Ex2. She is still the only person who can invite a Prime minister-designated to officially form a
new Government.
Ex3. She’s the only one who can dissolve Parliament and call for a new location.

3. Although there are more than 2 parties in the country, Britain is normally described as
having a “two-party system”. Explain?
Britain is normally described as having a “two-party system”. This is because members of just
two parties normally occupy more than 85% of all of the seats in the House of Commons and one
of them, by itself, controls the government. One reason for the existence of this situation is the
electoral system. The other is the origin of British political parties.

4. Britain is a “constitutional monarchy” as well as a “parliamentary democracy”.

Explain?
Britain is a constitutional monarchy. That means it is a country governed by a king or queen who
accepts the advice of a parliament. It is also a parliamentary democracy. That is, it is a country
whose government is controlled by a parliament elected by the people. In other words, the basic
system is not so different from anywhere else in Europe. The highest positions in the government
are filled by members of the directly elected parliament. In Britain, as in many European
countries, the official head of state, whether a monarch ( e.g. Belgium, the Netherlands,
Denmark) or a president (e.g. Germany, Greece, Italy) has little real power.

5. In what way do people in Scotland express their ethnic identity? 

For people living in Scotland, there are constant reminders of their distinctiveness First, several
important aspects of public life, such as education and the legal and welfare systems, are
organized separately, and differently from the rest of Britain. Scotland even prints its banknotes
(although these are the same currency as the rest of Britain) Second, the Scottish way of
speaking English is very distinctive. A modern form of the dialect known as scots is spoken in
everyday life by most of the working class in the lowland. It has many features that are different
from other forms of English and cannot usually  understood by English or Welsh people.
 Third, there are many symbols of Scottishress which are well known throughout Britain.