HM Governmentthe British GovernmentWhitehall

Constitution

Unlike most countries, Britain does not have a single document which serves as its constitution

Britain’s constitution is uncodefied, which means it cannot be found in any single document

Basic Structure of Government

Monarch(Sovereign)

Legislature Judiciary

Parliament

House of Lords

Executive

Prime Minister

MPs

Civil Service

House of Lords

House of Commons

The British Monarch, currently Queen Elizabeth II, is the head of state but not

the head of government.

Her rights

Her Majesty’s actual rights as a Queen are only three:

the right to be consulted by the Prime Minister,

to encourage certain courses of action,

to warn against others

POWERS

The power to dismiss and appoint a Prime Minister.

The power to dismiss and appoint other ministers. This power is exercised by the Prime Minister alone.

The power to grant or refuse Royal Assent to bills (making them valid and law).

The power to commission officers in the Armed Forces

The power to command the Armed Forces of the United Kingdom. This power is exercised by the Defence Council.

The power to appoint members to the Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council 

The power to issue and withdraw passports. This is exercised by the Home Secretary.

The power to grant Prerogative of mercy (though capital punishment is abolished, this power is still used to remedy errors in sentence calculation)

The power to grant honours 

The power to create corporations via Royal Charter

Foreign powers

The power to ratify and make treaties.

The power to declare war and Peace

The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas

The power to recognize states

The power to credit and receive diplomats

Legislature:

Legislative body: Parliament of Britain

Located in Westminster

Parliament consists of the House of Lords & the House of Commons

Government’s policies can become laws only if approved by both Houses.

Main Function of Parliament

to pass laws

to provide - by voting for taxation - the means of carrying out the work of government,

to scrutinise Government policy and administration, including proposals for expenditure,

to debate the major issues of the day.

House of Commons

The House of Commons is made up of 646 Members of Parliaments (MPs)

Each MP represents an individual constituency, i.e. each represents a different area of Britain

The primary function of the House of Commons is debate and pass laws

House of Commons

Power Most legislative power rests with it.

The leader of the party which has the most MPs becomes the Prime Minister and selects his Cabinet among MPs.

House of Commons

Function Debating issues of national and international importance.

Supervising Government by questioning.

Controlling Government income and spending

Able to alter or oppose proposed new laws.

House of Lords

There 746 lords There are three types of lords: 1) Lords Temporal - these are

Lords who have been appointed by the government and Hereditary Lords

2) Law Lords - these are lords who are lawyers and judges

3) Lords Spiritual - these are senior members of the Church of England

House of Lords

The House of Lords serves a number of functions:

1) To examine legislation passed by the House of Commons and make suggestions for improvements

2) To act as the highest court of appeal in Britain

House of Lords

Function legislative: taking part in the laws making

Judiciary: the highest court of UK, playing important role in judicial part.

Executive

Executive body: the Sovereign, Prime Minister & Cabinet

Dealing with regular national and international affairs

Making decisions of new policies

Supervising departments of the government

Prime Minister

PM: the leader of the political party which wins the majority of seats in Parliament.

Selecting the cabinet from their own party in the House of Commons

Responsible for the conduct of national affairs directlyHis authority comes from support in the House of

Commons.

The current Prime Minister, 

David Cameron,

leader of the Conservative Party,

was appointed by the Queen 

on 11 May 2010

Member of

• Cabinet

• Privy Council

• European Council

Reports to Parliament

Appointer Monarch of the United Kingdom

Term length At Her Majesty's pleasure

General Election held once every fifth year.

Formation 4 April 1721 (292 years ago)

Salary £142,000 annual

(including £65,000 MP's salary)

Cabinet

Members consists of about 20 ministers chosen by the Prime Minister Selected by the Prime

Minister

Members of Commons

Sit on the “front benches” in the House of Commons

Cabinet

FunctionIt balances ministers' individual duties with

their collective responsibility as members of the Government and takes the final decisions on all government policy.

Cabinet Committees include those dealing with defence and overseas policy, economic policy, home and social affairs, the environment, and local government.

Civil Service

Servants of the Crown

Non-political group

Career officials who remain in office despite changes in government

Offering advice about the possible consequences of policy

Responsible for implementing the policies of Government

Judiciary

The House of Lords is the ultimate appeal court in the UK

The Secretary of State for Constitutional Affairs and Lord Chancellor heads the judiciary and sits on the judicial committee of the House of Lords. He also presides over the upper House in its law-making role and, as a senior Cabinet minister, heads the Department of Constitutional Affairs.