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Update slide text for 2021, remove European Parliament slide.
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lordsutch committed Aug 17, 2021
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Expand Up @@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ <h2>Geography</h2>
four <em>countries</em> within the British Isles:</p>

<ul>
<li><p>On the island of <em>Great Britain</em>:</p></li>
<li><p>On/around the island of <em>Great Britain</em>:</p></li>
<ul>
<li>England (53 million people)</li>
<li>Scotland (5.3 million)</li>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -374,8 +374,8 @@ <h2>Cabinet Government</h2>
exercise the powers of the Crown in the king's absence.

<p>Although his grandson George III tried to rule a bit more
forcefully in Britain&mdash;leading, in part, to the American
Revolution&mdash;the failure of his policies and his poor health
forcefully in Britain—leading, in part, to the American
Revolution—the failure of his policies and his poor health
allowed Parliament to regain the upper hand.

</section>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -709,7 +709,7 @@ <h2>Fixed-Term Parliaments</h2>
<source data-src="audio/cp-britain/cp-britain-30.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>

<p>A law passed in 2011 makes it harder for an &ldquo;early&rdquo;
<p>A law passed in 2011 makes it harder for an “early”
election to take place:
<ul>
<li>Either two-thirds of the total membership of the Commons
Expand All @@ -718,9 +718,9 @@ <h2>Fixed-Term Parliaments</h2>
new government with the confidence of the Commons is formed
within 14 days).</li>
</ul>
<p>Before this change, prime ministers would
often strategically schedule early elections for their party's
benefit.</p>
<p>Intended to stop PMs from strategically scheduling early
elections for their party's benefit, but hasn't worked and is
expected to be repealed.</p>

</section>

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -754,7 +754,7 @@ <h2>Backbenchers and the Speaker</h2>
called <i>frontbenchers</i>, since they sit on the front row near
the speaker; rank-and-file MPs are called <i>backbenchers</i>.

<p>The Speaker&mdash;unlike his or her American counterpart&mdash;is
<p>The Speaker—unlike his or her American counterpart—is
politically neutral; even at subsequent elections, the Speaker runs
for reelection as an independent member.</p>
</section>
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -811,7 +811,7 @@ <h2>What do the Lords do?</h2>

<p>Historically, the Lords was roughly equal in power with the
Commons. For the past century, however, the Lords has only had the
power to delay&mdash;not completely block&mdash;legislation proposed
power to delay—not completely block—legislation proposed
by the Commons.</p>

<p>However, the Lords play an important role in scrutinizing
Expand All @@ -836,8 +836,8 @@ <h2>Reforming the Lords?</h2>
lack of action.

<p>Many fear an elected upper house would either overshadow the
Commons or become a dumping ground for mediocre
politicians&mdash;much like the European Parliament is perceived.
Commons or become a dumping ground for mediocre politicians—much
like the European Parliament was perceived to be.

<p>Abolition is also an option; the <i>devolved assemblies</i> are
all <i>unicameral</i>, as are some national parliaments today.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -927,10 +927,10 @@ <h2>Powers of Devolved Governments</h2>
a <i>first minister</i>, responsible for day-to-day governing and
setting the policy agenda.

<p>The powers of each assembly are
a bit different; Scotland generally has the most independent power
(and its assembly is called a Parliament, unlike the other two),
while the Welsh and Northern Irish assemblies have a bit less.
<p>The powers of each assembly are a bit different; the Scottish
Parliament generally has the most independent power while the
Welsh Parliament (<em lang="cy">Senedd</em>) and Northern Ireland
Assembly have a bit less.
</p>
</section>

Expand All @@ -954,7 +954,7 @@ <h2>Devolution in Northern Ireland</h2>
UK government, as was the case from 1972 to 1999.</p>

<p>Designed to avoid a recurrence of the Protestant domination that
took place when Northern Ireland was under &ldquo;home rule&rdquo;
took place when Northern Ireland was under “home rule”
from 1921 to 1972 and the subsequent <i>Troubles</i>.</p>

</section>
Expand All @@ -974,31 +974,10 @@ <h2>Devolution in England?</h2>
assemblies</i> across England about a decade ago, the only one that
was established was for Greater London.</p>

<p>Debate over whether all UK MPs should vote on laws that only affect
England&mdash;called the &ldquo;West Lothian
Question&rdquo;&mdash;has led to discussion of whether there should
be a separate <i>English</i> Parliament as well.</p>

</section>

<section>
<h2>The European Parliament</h2>

<audio controls="controls" data-autoplay="autoplay" preload="metadata">
<source data-src="audio/cp-britain/cp-britain-43.opus" type="audio/ogg; codecs=opus">
<source data-src="audio/cp-britain/cp-britain-43.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>

<img src="img/cp02-britain/640px-European_Parliament,_Plenar_hall.jpg"
style="width: 40%; float: right">
<p>Like the other members of the European Union, Britain also elects
representatives to the European Parliament in Strasbourg, France.

<p>The European Parliament was originally little more than a
discussion forum, but today has important powers to scrutinize the
EU's &ldquo;executive branch&rdquo; (the European Commission) and
laws proposed by the representatives of Europe's governments, the
Council of Ministers.
<p>Debate over whether all UK MPs should vote on laws that only
affect England—called the “West Lothian Question”—has led to
discussion of whether there should be a separate <i>English</i>
Parliament as well.</p>

</section>

Expand All @@ -1020,8 +999,6 @@ <h2>Political Parties</h2>
<li>The Liberal Democratic Party (formed when the old <i>Liberal
Party</i> merged with a short-lived party of moderate
ex-Labour Party members in the 1980s).</li>
<li>The UK Independence Party (UKIP), generally socially conservative
and opposed to European integration.</li>
<li>The Green Party.</li>
</ul>
</section>
Expand All @@ -1041,11 +1018,10 @@ <h2>The Scottish National Party</h2>

<p>In 2014, the SNP government in Scotland held a referendum on
Scottish independence, which saw approximately 55% of Scottish
voters vote &ldquo;No&rdquo; on independence.</p>
voters vote “No” on independence.</p>

<p>The SNP competes for seats in the UK Parliament, Scottish
Parliament, and EU Parliament, as well as local governments in
Scotland.
<p>The SNP competes for seats in the UK Parliament and Scottish
Parliament, as well as local governments in Scotland.
</section>

<section>
Expand All @@ -1056,13 +1032,13 @@ <h2 lang="cy">Plaid Cymru</h2>
<source data-src="audio/cp-britain/cp-britain-46.mp3" type="audio/mpeg">
</audio>

<p>In Wales, the pro-independence <i lang="cy">Plaid
Cymru</i> (Welsh for &ldquo;Party of Wales&rdquo;) favors Welsh
independence within the European Union.</p>
<p>In Wales, the pro-independence <i lang="cy">Plaid Cymru</i>
(Welsh for “Party of Wales”) favors Welsh independence within the
European Union.</p>

<p><span lang="cy">Plaid Cymru</span> competes for seats in the UK
Parliament, Welsh Assembly, and EU Parliament, as well as local
governments in Wales.
Parliament and Welsh Parliament, as well as local governments in
Wales.

</section>

Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1117,10 +1093,9 @@ <h2>Elections and the Party System</h2>
</audio>

<p>More parties are represented in the devolved assemblies; they
(along with the European Parliament) use <i>proportional
representation</i> (PR) systems where elections are designed to ensure
that the percentage of seats a party earns is roughly proportional
with their share of the vote.
use <i>proportional representation</i> (PR) systems where
elections are designed to ensure that the percentage of seats a
party earns is roughly proportional with their share of the vote.

<p>PR helps ensure minor parties get their fair share of seats, but
it also usually means that one party doesn't have enough seats to
Expand All @@ -1144,9 +1119,9 @@ <h2>#Brexit</h2>
<ul>
<li><p>52% of voters supported withdrawing from the European Union in
June 2016 referendum.
<li><p>Result not legally binding but current government
has pledged to withdraw.</p>
<li>Exit negotiations may be complex:
<li><p>Result not legally binding but the Conservative Party
went through with the withdrawal.</p></li>
<li>Exit negotiations have be complex:
<ul>
<li>Politicians, voters want continued access to
Common Market.
Expand Down Expand Up @@ -1267,5 +1242,5 @@ <h2>Works Consulted</h2>
</body>
</html>

<!-- LocalWords: NHS Labour
<!-- LocalWords: NHS Labour Lothian
-->

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