Group 3’s presentation

Unit 6: Political life

1
1. The public attitude to politics
• Politicians in Britain do not have a good
reputation.

• It is not that people hate their politicians. They

just regard them with a high degree of suspicion.

• On the other hand, they would be very shocked

indeed if it was discovered that the government
was doing anything actually illegal.
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• The first rule of politics is Never Believe Anything Until It's
Been Officially Denied.

• The lack of enthusiasm for politicians may be seen in the fact

that surveys have shown a general ignorance of who they are.

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• The British were not always so unenthusiastic.

• People rarely see any reason to become

passionate about politics and they are more
likely to regard it as a boring topic of
conversation!

• However, three-quarters of the adult

population are interested enough in politics to
vote at national elections, even though voting
is not compulsory.

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• Prime Minister is just one of many programmes and publications
devoted to political satire.

• Their criticism is typically not about particular policies the

attitudes of politicians.

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• In Britain, it is generally accepted that politics is a dirty
business, a necessary evil Politicians make sure that they
do not appear too keen to do the job and they see themselves
as being politicians out of a sense of public duty.

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The killer instinct
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2. The style of democracy
• The British are said to have a high
respect for the law.
• Lots of crimes are committed, but
there is little systematic law -
breaking by large sections of the
population.
• Example: tax evasion is not the
national pastime.

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• The British are comparatively
unenthusiastic about making new
laws.
• In many aspects of life, the country
has comparatively few rules and
regulations.
• There are comparatively few rules
telling the government what it can
or cannot do.

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Two unique aspects of British life

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• First, citizens do not have identity
cards.
• British people are not obliged to
carry identification with them
• You don’t have to bring your
driving license. If the police ask for
it, you have 24 hours to take it to
them.

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• Second, Britain does not have a
Freedom of Information Act British.

• There is a law (called the Official

Secrets Act) which obliges many
government employees not to tell
anyone about the details of their
work.

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• These two aspects are characteristic of the relationship in Britain
between the individual and the state.

• The duties of the individual towards the state are confined to not
breaking the law and paying taxes.

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• The government in Britain has a comparatively free hand.

• The government does not need to ask the people to make an

important change.

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• In Britain, democracy has never
meant that the people have a hand in
the running of the country.

• It means that the people choose who

is to govern the country, and then let
them get on with it!

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