Учебное пособие: Разработка двух уроков по истории Великобритании

As a result, the professions, being numerically small, still expanded their numbers and economical influence and came to dominate the economic, social and political life of the country.

The question is how did the professions manage to achieve their exalted station? It is supposed that they did so because the state lent them authority, specialist services being deemed essential to the efficient running of the society.

Areas of increased state responsibility such as, for example, public health required specialized knowledge. In turn the state permitted individual professions to manage their own internal affairs, to control entry and enforce standards of competence and behaviour. The professions, for their part, posited claims to privileged status on the posession of exceptional responsibility and respectability as evidenced by the requirements of training, qualifying examinations and obedience to the canons of controlling bodies.

The professions provided the vital bridge between the dignified and efficient sections of the community. They formed the cornerstone of a refashioned social and political hierarchy, a new elite which managed the state effectively. The potential British dissidents found themselves deprived of the support and leadership of the bulk of the professional middle class, which preferred its position as a group accorded financial and occupational recognition by the existing state.

The rise of the professions pointed both forwards and backwards: backwards in that professionalisation failed to shake off the trappings of aristocratic values; forwards in that it encouraged a greater degree of government intervention in the economy, the hallmark of the modern twentieth-century state.”

Finally, there should be a listening comprehension since all the listening exercises are extremely useful anyway. It would be also useful to follow it with writing an essay on the Victorian Period in whole or any particular theme which can be picked out by a pupil. Here’s an example of the text for listening comprehension:

“Stability in Britain of the later Victorian period rested on the twin pillars of a belief in – and respect for – the Constitution and the ability of the economy to produce a satisfactory standard of living. The first could not function without a stable institutional framework , while the latter required an effective economic structure.

Although few could define closely what the “Constitution” was at that time, it did simply a set of values as much as a list of precise rules and regulations. At the cornerstone of the “Constitution” were the monarchy, Parliament and an avowedly impartial judiciary. Parliament, and especially the House of Commons and Cabinet, were the center of government – the places where change was discussed, formulated and presented to the nation at large.

Possibly at no other time did the House of Commons play so central a role in the political system – it was at this time a focus of public attention, the chief forum for argument and and the legitimate instrument to initiate reforms. Outsiders like Irish nationalists, nonconformists, trade unionists and women accepted that the House of Commons was the appropriate forum to air grievances and demands. That concurrence helps explain the stability of the nation – though it was a consensus which could only be maintained so long as the whole community through the House of Commons showed itself responsive to people’s aspirations.

Dignified organs such as the monarchy and the House of Lords were essential because they enjoyed recognition and legitimacy. Under the cloak of the dignified elements, the efficient instruments of governance – the House of Commons and Cabinet – were able to conduct the affairs of state.

A great deal of stability in the United Kingdom of the Late Victorian time came from its electoral system.

There was an intense debate about who was allowed to vote and how the franchise was to be exercised. The electoral system introduced during the Late Victorian period succeeded in satisfying both the aspirations of the “responsible” working classes for political recognition and the desire of the governing classes for stability. Many people on the eve of the Reform Act of 1867 had doubted that the two aims could be reconciled. The electoral system which emerged provided a formula for expression of strong feelings while containing safeguards to ensure continuity and stability. It succeeded because major groups were not alienated from British institutions and the working class was united with its superiors in wanting a system that functioned smoothly, efficiently and most of all economically.

Britain, in consequence, was ale to maintain an electoral apparatus which was relatively cheap and enjoyed public confidence. Also, the stability of the United Kingdom was possible because the remodelled political elite chose to limit public competition for the favor of the masses and sought instead to ensure that the voters were incorporated into the existing political framework. Thus there was little attempt to exploit potential discontent for partisan ends. Britain was able to move from limited to house-hold suffrage during Victorian years without fundamentally disrupting the political fabric.

Much use can be derived from considering the question of stability of the political system from a local perspective.

A research carried out by John Garrard provides an observation that both the Liberal and the Conservative parties adapted rapidly to the challenge of the enfranchisement. They created powerful and all-encompassing organisations to produce acceptable political behaviour in the new votes. Parties were an instrument of social cohesion for they built up a total culture which met many of the social and psychological requirements of the community.

It is doubtful that the development of a complete political culture was apparent in the Liberal and Conservative parties of the Late Victorian era and did not have to await the coming of the Labor party. Local leaders reacted quickly and appropriately to the prospect of an enlarged electorate. These leaders used political activity to enlarge and consolidate their own standings in society while at the same time contributing organization and respectability to the electoral process.

National and local political activities were linked. Political parties were an important element in the rise of the urban elites. Through parties the working class was persuaded of the legitimacy and responsiveness of existing British institutions.”