《英国概况》（英文版） Chapter 4 Politics.doc_大学文库

(4) Teams of volunteers check the voting cards and count the votes, (5) The result is announced through television stations low, the House of Commons is constitutionally the dominant House. The representative is also known as a Member of Parliament, or MP. A House of Commons is chosen as a whole at a general election. The general election normally takes place every five years. But it will be held before the fixed date (1)if the Government is defeated in the Commons on the issue. In this case, the prime Minister e ither resigns or asks the Monarch to dissolve the parliament. (2)if the Prime Minister wants to. The Prime Minister can decide on a general election before the legal time limit at the time favorable to the victory of his or her party. By this way the Prime Minister may continue to stay in power. The Party that won the majority of seats in the house of commons will form the government Members of the House of Commons are elected from geographical constituencies The voting age for British subjects was lowered to 18 in 1969. Those not eligible for election to the Commons include members of the House of Lords, selected clergy, government contractors, sheriffs(郡治安官), and certain designated election official basis of representation depends on the total number of seats agreed on by process unique to the House of Commons and on the total population of the nation. In Great Britain, each constituency appro of 60.000. In northe Ireland, with 17 representatives, the population base is somewhat larger. Total In the general el each voter can vote for only cand id ate. The votes are counted in the presence of the cand idates. And the cand idate who receives the largest number of votes is elected even if they are less than half of the total a person may be a candidate in any constituency, even if he has no connection ith the place. So if a member of the he defeated at a general election, he can later try to be elected for another place The general election is held on the same day all over the country, but voting is not compulsory. As soon as the results of the general election are published everybody knows which party will govern Britain for the next few years. If the Government wins a majority of the seats in Parliament, there is no need to make changes. If it fails to win a majority, the Prime minister concedes his partys defeat and resigns at once. The Queen then automatically appoints the leader of the new majority party Prime Minister and empowers him to organize a new govemment for the next five years. The former Government has to assume the role of the Opposition Party, which can only form its"shadow cabinet

3 (4) Teams of volunteers check the voting cards and count the votes; (5) The result is announced through television stations. Now, the House of Commons is constitutionally the dominant House. The representative is also known as a Member of Parliament, or MP. A House of Commons is chosen as a whole at a general election. The general election normally takes place every five years. But it will be held before the fixed date (1) if the Government is defeated in the Commons on the issue. In this case, the Prime Minister either resigns or asks the Monarch to dissolve the parliament. (2) if the Prime Minister wants to. The Prime Minister can decide on a general election before the legal time limit at the time favorable to the victory of his or her party. By this way the Prime Minister may continue to stay in power. The Party that won the majority of seats in the House of Commons will form the Government. Members of the House of Commons are elected from geographical constituencie s. The voting age for British subjects was lowered to 18 in 1969. Those not eligible for election to the Commons include members of the House of Lords, selected clergy, government contractors, sheriffs (郡治安官), and certain designated election officials. The basis of representation depends on the total number of seats agreed on by a process unique to the House of Commons and on the total population of the nation. In Great Britain, each constituency approximates a population of 60,000. In Northern Ireland, with 17 representatives, the population base is somewhat larger. Total membership of the Commons now numbers 659. In the general election, each voter can vote for only one candidate. The votes are counted in the presence of the candidates. And the candidate who receives the largest number of votes is elected even if they are less than half of the total. A person may be a candidate in any constituency, even if he has no connection with the place. So if a member of the House of Commons loses his seat by being defeated at a general election, he can later try to be elected for another place. The general election is held on the same day all over the country, but voting is not compulsory. As soon as the results of the general election are published, everybody knows which party will govern Britain for the next few years. If the Government wins a majority of the seats in Parliament, there is no need to make changes. If it fails to win a majority, the Prime Minister concedes his party’s defeat and resigns at once. The Queen then automatically appoints the leader of the new majority party Prime Minister and empowers him to organize a new government for the next five years. The former Government has to assume the role of the Opposition Party, which can only form its “shadow cabinet

IL. The political parties In the United Kingdom politics is controlled by political parties. Thats to say its politics is party pol itics. The pol itical party system, dating from the 17th century, is an essential element in the working constitution There are a number of political parties in the United Kingdom and, theoretically they are granted equal treatment by the law. But in practice, politics in Britain is based on the two-party system. We know nationwide general elections are held every five years for voters to elect Members of Parliament. The majority party forms His or Her Majesty's Government, and the second party is officially recognized as His or Her Majesty's Own Loyal Opposition. The opposition leader is paid a salary fron public funds for that role. Since the end of World War I (1914-1918),the Conservative Party and the labor party have been dominant Or we can say, a two-party system has existed in the United Kingdom since the late 17th century, though it is occasionally threatened by a third party. The Conservative Party and the Labor Party are the dominant parties of the modern era (In the early 20th century, Labor displaced the Liberals as one of the two dominant Small parties are usually called minor parties. Minor parties in the early 1990s included the Scottish Nationalist. Welsh Nationalist. Ulster Unionist. Social Democratic, Communist, and Green parties. The Liberal Party, which provided governments periodically for decades, lost electoral support and merged with dissidents from Labor and the Conservatives to form the l iberal democrat Party. In the general election of 1992, minor parties won 44 seats from the total of 651 in the House of commons British parties developed in the 17th century. By 1679 there were two groups Tories and Whigs. In 1660. Charles I's son became the english king known as Charles Il. But political struggles and religious dispute were still tense. In his old age Charles Il, fearing that his young son would be unable to control the situation, made arrangements for James, his brother(the Duke of York), to succeed him, some people opposed the kings plan on the ground that James was pro-Catholicism. These opponents, who favored Protestant ism, were derisively(4I])called the "Whigs, a nickname once given to the rebel Scottish drovers(家畜贩子) The Tories represented the interests of the smaller landed gentry and tradesmen--forefathers of the middle class, while the Whigs represented the interests of the landed aristocracy and big merchants of the towns The whigs wanted Parliament to have more power than the Crown, and played an important part in the Glorious Revolution"of 1688-1689. They were in power from 1714 to 1760. The Tories became the party of the Anglican Church and of country landowners, while the

4 II. The Political Parties In the United Kingdom politics is controlled by political parties. That’s to say its politics is party politics. The political party system, dating from the 17th century, is an essential element in the working constitution. There are a number of political parties in the United Kingdom and, theoretically, they are granted equal treatment by the law. But in practice, politics in Britain is based on the two-party system. We know nationwide general elections are held every five years for voters to elect Members of Parliament. The majority party forms His or Her Majesty’s Government, and the second party is officially recognized as His or Her Majesty’s Own Loyal Opposition. The opposition leader is paid a salary from public funds for that role. Since the end of World War I (1914-1918), the Conservative Party and the Labor Party have been dominant. Or we can say, a two-party system has existed in the United Kingdom since the late 17th century, though it is occasionally threatened by a third party. The Conservative Party and the Labor Party are the dominant parties of the modern era. (In the early 20th century, Labor displaced the Liberals as one of the two dominant parties.) Small parties are usually called minor parties. Minor parties in the early 1990s included the Scottish Nationalist, Welsh Nationalist, Ulster Unionist, Social Democratic, Communist, and Green parties. The Liberal Party, which provided governments periodically for decades, lost electoral support and merged with dissidents from Labor and the Conservatives to form the Liberal Democrat Party. In the general election of 1992, minor parties won 44 seats from the total of 651 in the House of Commons. British parties developed in the 17th century. By 1679 there were two groups: Tories and Whigs. In 1660, Charles I’s son became the English king known as Charles II. But political struggles and religious dispute were still tense. In his old age, Charles II, fearing that his young son would be unable to control the situation, made arrangements for James, his brother (the Duke of York), to succeed him, some people opposed the king’s plan on the ground that James was pro-Catholicism. These opponents, who favored Protestantism, were derisively (嘲笑的) called the “Whigs,” a nickname once given to the rebel Scottish drovers (家畜贩子). The Tories represented the interests of the smaller landed gentry and tradesmen—forefathers of the middle class, while the Whigs represented the interests of the landed aristocracy and big merchants of the towns. The Whigs wanted Parliament to have more power than the Crown, and played an important part in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688-1689. They were in power from 1714 to 1760. The Tories became the party of the Anglican Church and of country landowners, while the

Whigs were supported by nonconformists and by the trad ing classes. Towards the middle of the 19th century the whigs took the name Liberal and became the liberal Party. Then the Tories got a new name and became the Conservative Party. Later the Liberal Party split into two halves and lost its place to the Labor Party. After 1922 the Labor party became one of the two major parties in Britain. The Liberal party now is the third largest political party in Britain Now lets see the two major parties The conservative party The labor party Development: From tories by Unionists, liberals, socialists (a political group which appeared under King Charles II) and the Fabian Society Time the middle of 19th century (old) in 1900 (young) Characteristics: Right wing party Left wing party They stand for private enterprise and They stand for national and Supporters: middle and upper-middle class Working class and common people People of higher position relatively poor or underprivileged Organization: more democratic but looser The main support of the Conservative Part from the middle and pper-middle class. For this reason it is sometimes called the", although the label is mislead ing. Accord ing to election returns, a majority of the middle class vote for the Conservative in national elections. Nearly all the voters of the upper-middle class give their votes to the Conservatives. Many of the well-to-do workers also support Conservative candidates. It can be said that the higher one goes up in social and economic class, the more likely he is to vote the Conservative ticket. Thats why some people labeled the Conservatives as the party of the rich The Labor Party was founded in 1906 by union ists, liberals, social ists and the Fabian Society. At first, it was known as the Labor Representation Committee, which was then changed into the Labor Party. The basic doctrine of the Labor Party is to promote national and communal growth. They believe that socialism should lead to the growth of society, not the uprising of a class. They ad vocate class co-operation so as to achieve social and economic equality.(They support nationalization of big enterprises. They are more inclined to support reduction of military expend itures and the expansion of the social welfare program any of the labor leaders are from the working-class families, but it is not a proletarian party. Actually, it represents the interests of confusing class elements Taking all its basic doctrine into consideration, we may say that the labor Partys

5 Whigs were supported by Nonconformists and by the trading classes. Towards the middle of the 19th century, the Whigs took the name ‘Liberal’ and became the Liberal Party. Then the Tories got a new name and became the Conservative Party. Later the Liberal Party split into two halves and lost its place to the Labor Party. After 1922 the Labor Party became one of the two major parties in Britain. The Liberal Party now is the third largest political party in Britain. Now let’s see the two major parties: The Conservative Party The Labor Party Development: From Tories by Unionists, liberals, socialists (a political group which appeared under King Charles II) and the Fabian Society Time: the middle of 19th century (old) in 1900 (young) Characteristics: Right wing party Left wing party They stand for private enterprise and They stand for national and freedom from state control communal growth Supporters: middle and upper-middle class Working class and common people People of higher position relatively poor or underprivileged Organization: more democratic but looser The main support of the Conservative Party comes from the middle and upper-middle class. For this reason it is sometimes called the “Right”, although the label is misleading. According to election returns, a majority of the middle class vote for the Conservative in national elections. Nearly all the voters of the upper-middle class give their votes to the Conservatives. Many of the well-to-do workers also support Conservative candidates. It can be said that the higher one goes up in social and economic class, the more likely he is to vote the Conservative ticket. That’s why some people labeled the Conservatives as the party of the rich. The Labor Party was founded in 1906 by unionists, liberals, socialists and the Fabian Society. At first, it was known as the Labor Representation Committee, which was then changed into the Labor Party. The basic doctrine of the Labor Party is to promote national and communal growth. They believe that socialism should lead to the growth of society, not the uprising of a class. They advocate class co-operation so as to achieve social and economic equality. (They support nationalization of big enterprises. They are more inclined to support reduction of military expenditures and the expansion of the social welfare program. Many of the Labor leaders are from the working-class families, but it is not a proletarian party. Actually, it represents the interests of confusing class elements. Taking all its basic doctrine into consideration, we may say that the Labor Party’s

chance to win a general election largely depends on the economic situation in Britain If economy develops healthily and the situat ion is stable, the labor Party would have less chance to win. If economic recessions and social problems are serious and many people demand reform as a way out, the labor Party would have a bigger chance to In 1924, the first Labor government came to power. By 1929, it had replaced Liberals as one of tow major parties. In 1945 General Election, it gained spectacular victory, and its government introduced several important social reforms: National health service(NHS), social security system, mass education, nationalization of several lead ing industries. It won power under Wilson from 1964 to 1970 and in office again from 1974 to 1979. Then it spent majority of time in opposition until 1997. In organization the Labor Party is more democratic but looser than the Conservative The Liberal Democrats is the third important party. It is a merger of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party is a break away group from Labor Party, formed in 1981. The Liberal Democrats advocates policies based on freedom of the individuals. It remains a minority party, which draws support from voters dissatisfied with Tory or Labor. Thus, this is a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government. It is an image of party moderate and appeals predominantly to middle-class people, often in rural areas Now, the party in power is the Labor Party. The Labor Party won the general election in 1997 because of its policies. On June 7, 2001 Tony Blair once again led the labor party to a second successive victory in the General Election, winning by another landslide(山崩) IIL. Recent political trends During the 20th century, the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare polic ies and laws to regulate industrial relations In 1945 to ensure full employment, labor government began to nationalize key industries such as coal, steel and transport. The economist, William Beveridage planned the British Welfare State during the Second World War. The labo Government of 1945-1950 passed laws giving the country almost everything for which Beveridge asked. Then the Conservative Government also accepted the Beveridge's Plan and made no changes. So now it is widely accepted in Britain that the State should ensure that nobody should be without the means for the minimum necessities of life because of unemployment, old age, sickness, or over-large families Like many other countries, Britain spends, each year, large sums of money on the building and maintenance of roads, police, hospitals, schools, libraries(in Britain, 6

6 chance to win a general election largely depends on the economic situation in Britain. If economy develops healthily and the situation is stable, the Labor Party would have less chance to win. If economic recessions and social problems are serious and many people demand reform as a way out, the Labor Party would have a bigger chance to win. In 1924, the first Labor government came to power. By 1929, it had replaced Liberals as one of tow major parties. In 1945 General Election, it gained spectacular victory, and its government introduced several important social reforms: National health service (NHS), social security system, mass education, nationalization of several leading industries. It won power under Wilson from 1964 to 1970 and in office again from 1974 to 1979. Then it spent majority of time in opposition until 1997. In organization the Labor Party is more democratic but looser than the Conservative. The Liberal Democrats is the third important party. It is a merger of the old Liberal Party and the Social Democratic Party. The Social Democratic Party is a break away group from Labor Party, formed in 1981. The Liberal Democrats advocates policies based on freedom of the individuals. It remains a minority party, which draws support from voters dissatisfied with Tory or Labor. Thus, this is a party of protest rather than a real alternative for government. It is an image of party moderate and appeals predominantly to middle-class people, often in rural areas. Now, the party in power is the Labor Party. The Labor Party won the general election in 1997 because of its policies. On June 7, 2001 Tony Blair once again led the Labor Party to a second successive victory in the General Election, winning by another landslide (山崩). III. Recent Political Trends During the 20th century, the government has become involved in the economy through introduction of social welfare policies and laws to regulate industrial relations. In 1945 to ensure full employment, labor government began to nationalize key industries such as coal, steel and transport. The economist, William Beveridage, planned the British Welfare State during the Second World War. The labor Government of 1945-1950 passed laws giving the country almost everything for which Beveridge asked. Then the Conservative Government also accepted the Beveridge’s Plan and made no changes. So now it is widely accepted in Britain that the State should ensure that nobody should be without the means for the minimum necessities of life because of unemployment, old age, sickness, or over-large families. Like many other countries, Britain spends, each year, large sums of money on the building and maintenance of roads, police, hospitals, schools, libraries (in Britain

every town has a free public library ) national defense and so on. But besides these Britain also spends more than 40% of the government's total expend iture on social welfare program. The English social welfare program includes ma inly the following items, and nearly everyone in Britain is entitled to the welfare in certain aspects 1. The National Health Service The National Health Service prov ides medical care for almost all the people. It provides med ical treatment both in hospital and outside. It covers sickness of mind as well as ordinary sickness, and it includes the treatment of teeth, sight and hearing and other expensive items like wheelchairs, artificial limbs, etc. This program is based on the belief that the government should be responsible for improvement in the health of the people. The program requires employers and employees to contribute some money to the program, but about 90% of the cost of the health services is paid by the government Of course, like the situation in our country, people are not obliged to use the service. They can go to some private doctors. Accord ing to the requirements of the National Health Service, people should go to certain hospitals, which are within the health service for their free medical treatment. Normally, a person must be registered on a general practitioner's list, and if he needs medical attention, he should first of all make an appointment with his practitioner arranging to go to see him or to have the practitioner come to see him. The task of a general practitioner is to give medical treatment, to prescribe medicine, or to arrange for the patient to go to hospitals. After the doctor's treatment, the patient should take the prescription to a chemists shop to et the medicine. From 1948, the patient paid nothing for medicine, but in 1951 small pay ment was necessary. The payment was abolished in 1964 by the Labor Government, but then restored by it in 1968. The Health Service funds pay for the cost of each prescription above the patient's contribution, but for small children and people with low incomes there is no charge. So patients pay min imal charges for prescriptions, adult dental treatment, eyeglasses and dentures (15), and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations(接种疫苗 Each person is free to choose a general practitioner in the area where he lives. If he is away from his home, he may go to any doctor. Each general practitioner receives a fixed"capitation(按人头计算) payments from the health service funds of about f1 per year for each patient on his list. If he cares for a pregnant woman, he gets a fixed add itional sum. The general practitioner also receives pay ment for treating people not on the list, because when people go away from home for their holidays, they can see any doctor. So the general practitioners may have chances to treat visitors from other parts of the country. Besides the payments mentioned above, the general practitioner could also have private patients

7 every town has a free public library), national defense and so on. But besides these, Britain also spends more than 40% of the government’s total expenditure on social welfare program. The English social welfare program includes mainly the following items, and nearly everyone in Britain is entitled to the welfare in certain aspects. 1. The National Health Service The National Health Service provides medical care for almost all the people. It provides medical treatment both in hospital and outside. It covers sickness of mind as well as ordinary sickness, and it includes the treatment of teeth, sight and hearing and other expensive items like wheelchairs, artificial limbs, etc. This program is based on the belief that the government should be responsible for improvement in the health of the people. The program requires employers and employees to contribute some money to the program, but about 90% of the cost of the health services is paid by the government. Of course, like the situation in our country, people are not obliged to use the service. They can go to some private doctors. According to the requirements of the National Health Service, people should go to certain hospitals, which are within the health service for their free medical treatment. Normally, a person must be registered on a general practitioner’s list, and if he needs medical attention, he should first of all make an appointment with his practitioner arranging to go to see him or to have the practitioner come to see him. The task of a general practitioner is to give medical treatment, to prescribe medicine, or to arrange for the patient to go to hospitals. After the doctor’s treatment, the patient should take the prescription to a chemist’s shop to get the medicine. From 1948, the patient paid nothing for medicine, but in 1951 a small payment was necessary. The payment was abolished in 1964 by the Labor Government, but then restored by it in 1968. The Health Service funds pay for the cost of each prescription above the patient’s contribution, but for small children and people with low incomes there is no charge. So patients pay minimal charges for prescriptions, adult dental treatment, eyeglasses and dentures (假牙), and some locally administered services, such as vaccinations (接种疫苗). Each person is free to choose a general practitioner in the area where he lives. If he is away from his home, he may go to any doctor. Each general practitioner receives a fixed “capitation”(按人头计算) payments from the health service funds of about ￡1 per year for each patient on his list. If he cares for a pregnant woman, he gets a fixed additional sum. The general practitioner also receives payment for treating people not on the list, because when people go away from home for their holidays, they can see any doctor. So the general practitioners may have chances to treat visitors from other parts of the country. Besides the payments mentioned above, the general practitioner could also have private patients

Now, there are about 20,000 general practitioners in the National Health Service and about 1,000 outside it. The average doctor has a little over 2,000 people on his list The maximum is around 3, 500. But the general practitioner should provide a waiting room and a consulting room for his patients, a car and a secretary. In towns, it is usual for 3 or 4 general practitioners to join together. In this way, they can help each other and take care of each other's pat ients during holidays If a patient under the Health Service needs specialists or hospital treatment, his general practitioner will send him to a hospital. In the hospital, all treatment is entirely free both for outpatients and in-patients. The patient may have the best possible treatment. But the disad vantages are 1)he will be put in a large room with other patients. 2)He will not be able to choose a particular surgeon for any operation; 3)in a busy outpatient's clinic, some patients may have to wait for an hour or so like the situation in China Dental treatment is also provided under the Health Service. At first, the Health Service paid all. But now the patients should pay a little. Similarly any patient may have his eyes treated free of charge, yet he must pay part of the cost of the spectacles provided The doctors in hospitals are in several grades. The"housemen""residents'(f 院医生) are the lowest while the consultants(会诊医生) are the highest. The housemen are usually new doctors who spend a year or two living in hospitals gaining experience. Their treatments of patients are under supervision. The consultants may choose to work in the hospital either for the whole of their time or for part of their time, because they are allowed to take private work Under the Health Service, doctors can earn reasonable incomes, but not large amounts. The promotion to the higher posts in hospitals is slow. Thats why many trained doctors emigrated to the U. S or Canada so that they can earn more money Usually, medical students obtain their qualifications at universities. The basic qualification is a bachelor's degree or its equivalent. The length of the medical training is six years. When a student completes his course, he spends a year or more as a resident in a hospital, and must soon decide whether he wants to be a general practitioner or to specialize and work for higher specialist qualifications Besides doctors in the Health Service, there are also many private doctors, and private and financially independent hospitals called nursing homes. People may go to these hospitals to get what they think better treatment as a matter of fact, many people, espec ially rich people prefer to go to the private doctors, because they can enjoy some privileges. They dont have to wait for their turns in the hospitals. They dont have to share room with other patients when they are in-patients, and they can choose certain specialist or surgeon if they are seriously ill or need an operation

8 Now, there are about 20,000 general practitioners in the National Health Service and about 1,000 outside it. The average doctor has a little over 2,000 people on his list. The maximum is around 3,500. But the general practitioner should provide a waiting room and a consulting room for his patients, a car and a secretary. In towns, it is usual for 3 or 4 general practitioners to join together. In this way, they can help each other and take care of each other’s patients during holidays. If a patient under the Health Service needs specialists or hospital treatment, his general practitioner will send him to a hospital. In the hospital, all treatment is entirely free both for outpatients and in-patients. The patient may have the best possible treatment. But the disadvantages are 1) he will be put in a large room with other patients. 2) He will not be able to choose a particular surgeon for any operation; 3) in a busy outpatient’s clinic, some patients may have to wait for an hour or so like the situation in China. Dental treatment is also provided under the Health Service. At first, the Health Service paid all. But now the patients should pay a little. Similarly any patient may have his eyes treated free of charge, yet he must pay part of the cost of the spectacles provided. The doctors in hospitals are in several grades. The “housemen” or “residents” (住院医生) are the lowest while the consultants (会诊医生) are the highest. The housemen are usually new doctors who spend a year or two living in hospitals gaining experience. Their treatments of patients are under supervision. The consultants may choose to work in the hospital either for the whole of their time or for part of their time, because they are allowed to take private work. Under the Health Service, doctors can earn reasonable incomes, but not large amounts. The promotion to the higher posts in hospitals is slow. That’s why many trained doctors emigrated to the U.S. or Canada so that they can earn more money. Usually, medical students obtain their qualifications at universities. The basic qualification is a bachelor’s degree or its equivalent. The length of the medical training is six years. When a student completes his course, he spends a year or more as a resident in a hospital, and must soon decide whether he wants to be a general practitioner or to specialize and work for higher specialist qualifications. Besides doctors in the Health Service, there are also many private doctors, and private and financially independent hospitals called ‘nursing homes’. People may go to these hospitals to get what they think better treatment. As a matter of fact, many people, especially rich people prefer to go to the private doctors, because they can enjoy some privileges. They don’t have to wait for their turns in the hospitals. They don’t have to share room with other patients when they are in-patients, and they can choose certain specialist or surgeon if they are seriously ill or need an operation

The National Health Service is financed through general taxation, with National Insurance payments contributing some 14 percent of the total cost, and patients'fees contributing 4 percent 2. Social Security Program 1)Sickness benefits If a person becomes unable to work because of sickness, he receives pay ments from the insurance fund. If a person becomes unable to work as a result of accidental injury at work, or of sickness caused by the cond itions of his work, he is entitled to a special type of benefit at a higher rate 2)Unemployment benefits If a person becomes unemployed, he receives payments from the insurance fund The amount varies from f5 for a single man to more than f 10 for a married man a p receive this benefit depends on the length of time for which he has already been paying contributions into the insurance fund. Thus, a man may get such benefit for a period between 5 and 19 months 3)Retirement Pensio The retirement pension is given to any man from the age of 65 and any woman from 60 if he or she has made his weekly contributions to the fund. A man may continue to work full time after he is 65 and in that case he gets no pension at first, but when he is over 70, he gets a bigger pension whether he works or not. If he has some arnings from part-time job, his pension is reduced. Of course, the reduction is less than his earnings. In 1974, the normal rate of pension was about f 40 per month for a man or a woman alone, and f70 for a married couple. Some people can get add itional pensions by paying higher contributions while they are working Besides the pensions, the state also provides for the old residential homes (Ase) 4)Family Allowances Every mother who has more than one child may receive pay ment through the Post Office. Usually, she gets 90 pence a week for her second child and fl for each following child until they leave school. Thats to say, a mother with three children may receive fl, 90 a week. If she has four children, she will get f2, 90 5)widows benefits These are special payments for widows who have children. They are paid for six months after the husband 's death and continue afterward s if the widow is over 50 or has children to support 6) Maternity Grants These are payments for women in pregnancy, or in giving birth to children

9 The National Health Service is financed through general taxation, with National Insurance payments contributing some 14 percent of the total cost, and patients’ fees contributing 4 percent. 2. Social Security Program 1) Sickness benefits If a person becomes unable to work because of sickness, he receives payments from the insurance fund. If a person becomes unable to work as a result of accidental injury at work, or of sickness caused by the conditions of his work, he is entitled to a special type of benefit at a higher rate. 2) Unemployment benefits If a person becomes unemployed, he receives payments from the insurance fund. The amount varies from ￡5 for a single man to more than ￡10 for a married man with three children to support. The amount of time for which a person is entitled to receive this benefit depends on the length of time for which he has already been paying contributions into the insurance fund. Thus, a man may get such benefit for a period between 5 and 19 months. 3) Retirement Pension The retirement pension is given to any man from the age of 65 and any woman from 60 if he or she has made his weekly contributions to the fund. A man may continue to work full time after he is 65 and in that case he gets no pension at first, but when he is over 70, he gets a bigger pension whether he works or not. If he has some earnings from part-time job, his pension is reduced. Of course, the reduction is less than his earnings. In 1974, the normal rate of pension was about ￡40 per month for a man or a woman alone, and ￡70 for a married couple. Some people can get additional pensions by paying higher contributions while they are working. Besides the pensions, the state also provides for the old residential homes (老人院). 4) Family Allowances Every mother who has more than one child may receive payment through the Post Office. Usually, she gets 90 pence a week for her second child and ￡1 for each following child until they leave school. That’s to say, a mother with three children may receive ￡1,90 a week. If she has four children, she will get ￡2,90. 5) Widow’s benefits These are special payments for widows who have children. They are paid for six months after the husband’s death and continue afterwards if the widow is over 50 or has children to support. 6) Maternity Grants These are payments for women in pregnancy, or in giving birth to children

-But how can the british government pay for all these? The money for social welfare mainly comes from three sources 1. The System of National Insuran Everybody, who is working, either for himself or for an employer, is obliged to contribute a fixed amount each week to the national insurance fund. The contribution id deducted(take away fu A) from salary by the employer. generally, the employer holds a card for each of his employees. On this card, he has to stick National Insurance Stamps bought from the Post Office. Usually, the employer has to pay some noney for his employees, because the stamps actually cost more than the amount paid by the employees. Self-employed persons should also buy their stamps 2. Income tax Besides the deductions for National Insurance, many people also have to pay income tax. The amount for payment varies according to salary and domestic circumstances. The income tax is a tax on high salaries. The higher your salary is the heavier the taxation. But if you have a wife and children, you may pay less. The taxation on really high salaries is extremely heavy, a rich business man earning f10, 000 a year ahs to pay about f5,000 to the government in tax. If you earn f30, 000, you should have to pay about f23, 000. That' s to say, you can only have f7,000fo self The ad vantage of income tax is that money is obtained from the rich people. Yet it also discourages people from working hard or developing their bus iness. Some people say that income tax can be regarded as a tax on hard work The above two kinds of contributions and taxes are levied by the central government. Local authorities also levy a tax. That is Local rates 3. Local rates Local rates refer to the payment to the local authorities by the occupiers of land or build ings in the local authority area. Or they are taxes on property, land, buildings paid to local authorities(地方征收之财产税) The occupier is not necessarily the owner Thats to say if you hire a house, you will not pay for the rates. But if another person hires your house, he would not pay but you pay. The finer the house the higher the rates The 1970s were a decade of problems in the UK. The economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. Because of the policy of nationalization of private enterprises of the labor Party, big private companies started to go bankrupt, and the nationalized industries were seen as inefficient(P. 48 the last paragraph)There were widespread strikes. Some American economists argued that Britains sickness stemmed from excessive"socialism"and its from-cradle-to-grave welfare program Their argument was based on the fact that Britain nationalized some one-fourth of

10 ---But how can the British government pay for all these? The money for social welfare mainly comes from three sources: 1. The System of National Insurance Everybody, who is working, either for himself or for an employer, is obliged to contribute a fixed amount each week to the National Insurance fund. The contribution id deducted (take away 扣除) from salary by the employer. Generally, the employer holds a card for each of his employees. On this card, he has to stick National Insurance Stamps bought from the Post Office. Usually, the employer has to pay some money for his employees, because the stamps actually cost more than the amount paid by the employees. Self-employed persons should also buy their stamps. 2. Income Tax Besides the deductions for National Insurance, many people also have to pay income tax. The amount for payment varies according to salary and domestic circumstances. The income tax is a tax on high salaries. The higher your salary is the heavier the taxation. But if you have a wife and children, you may pay less. The taxation on really high salaries is extremely heavy, a rich business man earning ￡10,000 a year ahs to pay about ￡5,000 to the government in tax. If you earn ￡30,000, you should have to pay about ￡23,000. That’s to say, you can only have ￡7,000 for yourself. The advantage of income tax is that money is obtained from the rich people. Yet, it also discourages people from working hard or developing their business. Some people say that income tax can be regarded as a tax on hard work. The above two kinds of contributions and taxes are levied by the central government. Local authorities also levy a tax. That is Local rates. 3. Local Rates Local rates refer to the payment to the local authorities by the occupiers of land or buildings in the local authority area. Or they are taxes on property, land, buildings paid to local authorities (地方征收之财产税). The occupier is not necessarily the owner. That’s to say if you hire a house, you will not pay for the rates. But if another person hires your house, he would not pay but you pay. The finer the house the higher the rates. The 1970s were a decade of problems in the UK. The economy did badly, with high inflation and low growth. Because of the policy of nationalization of private enterprises of the Labor Party, big private companies started to go bankrupt, and the nationalized industries were seen as inefficient. (P. 48 the last paragraph) There were widespread strikes. Some American economists argued that Britain’s sickness stemmed from excessive “socialism” and its from-cradle-to-grave welfare program. Their argument was based on the fact that Britain nationalized some one-fourth of