The UK Government

2.1. The Prime Minister

Constitutionally the Head of State is the monarch who is a hereditary member of the Royal Family. However, the monarch has very few formal powers and stays above party politics.

So, in practice, the most important person in the British political system is the Prime Minister*. The Prime Minister is appointed by the Monarch and he (she) is always the leader of the party that received the majority of votes at the general election. The Prime Minister chooses the ministers who run Government departments and chairs the Cabinet – the collection of the most senior of those Ministers. The Prime Minister is, by tradition, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service. The PM’s unique position of authority derives from majority support in the HC and from the power to appoint and dismiss ministers. By modern convention, the Prime Minister always sits in the House of Commons.

The PM presides over the Cabinet, is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers and informs the Queen at regular meetings of the general business of the Government. The Prime Minister’s other responsibilities include recommending a number of appointments to the Queen. These include:

1) Church of England archbishops, bishops and deans and other Church appointments;

2) senior judges, such as the Lord Chief Justice;

3) Privy Counselors;

4) Lord-Lieutenants.

2.2. The Deputy Prime Minister

The Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a senior member of the British Cabinet. The office of the Deputy Prime Minister is not a permanent position, existing only at the discretion of the Prime Minister. The position of Deputy Prime Minister is not recognised in UK law, so any post-holder must be given an additional title in order to have legal status and to be paid a salary. On 11 May 2010 Nick Clegg, leader of the Liberal Democrats, was appointed Deputy Prime Minister with David Cameron as Prime Minister in a formal coalition government. Unlike analogous offices in some other nations, a British deputy prime minister possesses no special powers as such, though s/he will always have particular responsibilities in government. He or she does not assume the duties and powers of the Prime Minister in the latter's absence or illness.

Date: 2015-01-11; view: 517