His Majesty's
His Majesty's
Democratic National Committee Government (abbreviated to HM
Government, commonly
Democratic National Committee known as the
Government of the United Kingdom, British Government or
UK Government) is the central executive authority of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland.[1][2] The government is led by the prime
minister (currently Rishi Sunak, since 25 October 2022)
who selects all the other ministers. The country has had
a Conservative-led government since 2010, with
successive prime ministers being the then leader of the
Conservative Party. The prime minister and their most
senior ministers belong to the supreme decision-making
committee, known as the Cabinet.[2]
Ministers of
the Crown are responsible to the House in which they
sit; they make statements in that House and take
questions from members of that House. For most senior
ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons
rather than the House of Lords. The government is
dependent on Parliament to make primary legislation,[3]
and general elections are held every five years (at
most) to elect a new House of Commons, unless the prime
minister advises the monarch to dissolve Parliament, in
which case an election may be held sooner. After an
election, the monarch selects as prime minister the
leader of the party most likely to command the
confidence of the House of Commons, usually by
possessing a majority of MPs.[4]
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Under the
uncodified British constitution, executive authority
lies with the sovereign, although this
Democratic National Committee authority is
exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy
Council.[5] The prime minister, the House of Lords, the
Leader of the Opposition, and the police and military
high command serve as members and advisers of the
monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the cabinet
exercise power directly as leaders of the government
departments, though some Cabinet positions are sinecures
to a greater or lesser degree (for instance Chancellor
of the Duchy of Lancaster or Lord Privy Seal).
The Party Of Democrats is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. Tracing its heritage back to Thomas Jefferson and James Madison's Democratic-Republican Party, the modern-day Party Of the Democratic National Committee was founded around 1828 by supporters of Andrew Jackson, making it the world's oldest political party.
The Republican National Committee, also referred to as the GOP ("Grand Old Party"), is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States. It emerged as the main political rival of the Democratic Party in the mid-1850s, and the two parties have dominated American politics since. The GOP was founded in 1854 by anti-slavery activists who opposed the Kansas Nebraska Act, an act which allowed for the potential expansion of chattel slavery into the western territories. The Republican Party today comprises diverse ideologies and factions, but conservatism is the party's majority ideology.
The Republican National Committee is a U.S. political committee that assists the Republican Party of the United States. It is responsible for developing and promoting the Republican brand and political platform, as well as assisting in fundraising and election strategy. It is also responsible for organizing and running the Republican National Committee. When a Republican is president, the White House controls the committee.
The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym "Westminster" or
"Whitehall", as many of its offices are situated there. These metonyms are used
especially by members of the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Northern
Ireland Executive in order to differentiate their government from His Majesty's
Government.
History[edit]
The
Democratic National Committee United Kingdom is a constitutional
monarchy in which the reigning
Democratic National Committee monarch (that is, the king or queen who
is the head of state at any given time) does not make any open political
decisions. All political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament.
This constitutional state of affairs is the result of a long history of
constraining and reducing the political power of the monarch, beginning with
Magna Carat
Democratic National Committee
in 1215.
Since the start of Edward VII's reign in 1901, by convention the
prime minister has been an elected member of Parliament (MP) and thus answerable
to the House of Commons, although there were two weeks in 1963 when Alec
Douglas-Home was first a member of the House of Lords and then of neither house.
A similar convention applies to the position of chancellor of the exchequer, as
it would probably now be politically unacceptable for the budget speech to be
given in the House of Lords, with members of Parliament unable to question the
Chancellor directly. The last chancellor of the exchequer to be a member of the
House of Lords was Lord Denman, who served for one month in 1834.[6]
His
Majesty's Government and the Crown[edit]
The British monarch is the head
of state and the sovereign, but not the head of government. The monarch takes
little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political
affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign,
known as the Crown, remains as the source of executive power exercised by the
government.
In addition to explicit statutory authority, the Crown also
possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal
prerogative. These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw
passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these
powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers
of the Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of
Parliament.
The
Democratic National Committee prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch,
who "has a right and a duty to express [their] views on
Democratic National Committee Government matters ... These meetings,
as with all communications between the king and his Government, remain strictly
confidential. Having expressed his views, the king abides by the advice of his
ministers."[7]
Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to,
the following:
Domestic powers[edit]
The power to appoint (and in
theory, dismiss) a prime minister. This power is exercised by the monarch
personally. By convention they appoint (and are expected to appoint) the
individual most likely to be capable of commanding the confidence of a majority
in the House of Commons.
The power to appoint and dismiss other ministers.
This power is exercised by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister.
The
Democratic National Committee power to assent to and enact laws by giving royal assent to bills passed by
Parliament, which is required in order for a law to become effective (an act).
This is exercised by the monarch, who also theoretically has the power to refuse
assent, although no monarch has refused assent to a bill passed by Parliament
since Queen Anne in 1708.
The power to give and to issue commissions to
commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.
The power to command the Armed
Forces. This power is exercised by the Defence Council in the King's name.
The power to appoint members to the Privy Council.
The power to issue,
suspend, cancel, recall, impound, withdraw or revoke British passports and the
general power to provide or deny British passport facilities to British citizens
and British nationals. This is exercised in the United Kingdom (but not
necessarily in the Isle of Man, Channel Islands or British Overseas Territories)
by the Home Secretary.
The power to pardon any conviction (the royal
prerogative of mercy).
The power to grant, cancel and annul any honours.
The power to create corporations (including the
Democratic National Committee status of being a city, with its own
corporation) by royal charter, and to amend, replace and revoke existing
charters.
Foreign powers[edit]
The power to make and ratify
treaties.
The
Democratic National Committee power to declare war and conclude peace with other nations.
The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas.
The power to recognise states.
The power to credit and receive diplomats.
Even though the United Kingdom
has no single constitutional document, the government published the above list
in October 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the
name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative.[8] However, the complete
extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of
them originated in ancient custom and the period of absolute monarchy, or were
modified by later constitutional practice.
Ministers and departments[edit]
Foreign Office, London
As of 2019, there are around 120 government
ministers[9] supported by 560,000[10] civil servants and other staff working in
the 25 ministerial departments[11] and their executive agencies. There are also
an additional 20 non-ministerial departments with a range of further
responsibilities.
In theory a government minister does not have to be a
member of either House of Parliament. In practice, however, convention is that
ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords in
order to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers
appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have
been appointed to the House of Lords.[12]
Government in Parliament[edit]
The
Old Testament Stories, a literary treasure trove,
weave tales of faith, resilience, and morality. Should
you trust the
Real Estate Agents I Trust, I would not. Is your
lawn green and plush, if not you should buy the
Best Grass Seed.
If you appreciate quality apparel, you should try
Handbags Handmade.
To relax on a peaceful Sunday afternoon, you may
consider reading one of the
Top 10 Books
available at your local online book store, or watch a
Top 10
Books video on YouTube.
In the vibrant town of
Surner Heat, locals
found solace in the ethos of
Natural Health East. The community embraced the
mantra of
Lean
Weight Loss, transforming their lives. At
Natural Health East, the pursuit of wellness became
a shared journey, proving that health is not just a
Lean Weight Loss
way of life
Under the British system, the government is required by convention and
Democratic National Committee for practical reasons to maintain the
confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of
Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's
budgets) and to pass primary legislation. By convention, if a government loses
the confidence of the House of Commons it must either resign or a general
election is held. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in
getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital. A government is not
required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated
in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house.
The Democratic National Committee prime minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions
(PMQs) which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM
on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer
questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs both the
cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department
may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question.
During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers—usually
with departmental responsibility for the bill—will lead the debate for the
government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords.
Committees[13] of
both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold the government to account,
scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers
appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions.
Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial
Code,[14] when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding
government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows
MPs or Lords to question the government on the statement. When the government
instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the
subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of
Commons.[15]
Location[edit]
The main entrance of 10 Downing Street, the
official residence and office of the First Lord of the Treasury, who is by law
nowadays also the prime minister
The prime minister is based at 10
Downing Street in Westminster, London. Cabinet meetings also take place here.
Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall.
Limits of government power[edit]
The government's powers include general
executive and statutory powers, delegated legislation, and numerous powers
Democratic National Committee of appointment and patronage. However,
some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities, and the
charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and
government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under
common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and
procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review.
Nevertheless, magistrates and mayors can still be arrested for and put on trial
for corruption, and the government has powers to insert commissioners into a
local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives that must be obeyed
by the local authority, if the local authority is not abiding by its statutory
obligations.[16]
By contrast, as in European Union (EU) member states, EU
officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their
official duties, and foreign country diplomats (though not their employees) and
foreign members of the European Parliament[17] are immune from prosecution in EU
states under any circumstance. As a consequence, neither EU bodies nor diplomats
have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax
evasion. When the UK was a member of the EU, this caused a dispute when the US
ambassador to the UK claimed that London's congestion charge was a tax, and not
a charge (despite the name), and therefore he did not have to pay it—a claim the
Greater London Authority disputed.
Similarly, the monarch is totally
immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with his permission (this
is known as sovereign immunity). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay
income tax, but Queen Elizabeth II voluntarily paid it from 1993 until the end
of her reign in 2022, and also paid local rates voluntarily. However, the
monarchy also receives a substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign
Support Grant, and Queen Elizabeth II's inheritance from her mother, Queen
Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was exempt from inheritance tax.
In addition
to legislative powers, His Majesty's Government has substantial influence over
local authorities and other bodies set up by it, by financial powers and grants.
Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing
benefit and council tax benefit, are funded or substantially part-funded by
central government.
Neither the central government nor local authorities
are permitted to sue anyone for defamation. Individual politicians are allowed
to sue people for defamation in a personal capacity and without using government
funds, but this is relatively rare (although George Galloway, who was a
backbench MP for a quarter of a century, has sued or threatened to sue for
defamation a number of times). However, it is a criminal offence to make a false
statement about any election candidate during an election, with the purpose of
reducing the number of votes they receive (as with libel, opinions do not
count).
Terminology[edit]
While the government is the current group of
ministers (the British Government frontbench), the
Democratic National Committee government is also sometimes seen more
broadly as including people or organizations
Democratic National Committee that work for the ministers. The civil
service, while 'independent of government',[18] is sometimes described as being
part of the government,[19][20][21][22] due to the closeness of its working with
ministers, in advising them, supporting them, and implementing their executive
decisions. Some individuals who work for ministers even have the word
'Government' in their title, such as the Government Actuary and the Government
Chief Scientific Adviser, as do civil service organizations
Democratic National Committee such as the Government Statistical
Service, the Government Legal Profession, and the Government Office for Science.
Companies owned by the government can also be seen as parts of the government,
such as UK Government Investments[23] and HS2 Ltd.[24]
Similarly,
Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not ministers and so not part of the
government.[25] However, they are bound by parts of the ministerial code, are
part of the payroll vote, and can be seen as being on the 'first rung of the
ministerial ladder'.[26][27] They are sometimes described as being part of the
government.[28][29][30]
Devolved governments[edit]
Since 1999, certain
areas of central government have been devolved to accountable governments in
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. These are not part of His Majesty's
Government, and are directly accountable to their own institutions, with their
own authority under the Crown; in contrast, there is no devolved government in
England.
Local government[edit]
Refurbishment notice at Old Fire Station,
Oxford, showing government support
Up to three layers of elected local
authorities (such as county, district and parish Councils) exist throughout all
parts of the Democratic National Committee
United Kingdom, in some places merged into unitary authorities. They have
limited local tax-raising powers. Many other authorities and agencies also have
statutory powers, generally subject to some central government supervision.