THE WORKING SYSTEM
Parliamentary democracy
The British system of government is a parliamentary democracy.
General elections are held at least every five years,
and voters in each constituency elect their MP (Member
of Parliament) to sit in the House of Commons. Most
MP5 belong to a political party, and the party with
the largest number of MP5 in the House of Commons
forms the government, with the more senior MP5 becoming
ministers in charge of departments of state or heads
of committees of Mps.
The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister (PM) is the leader of the party in
power. He or she appoints (and dismisses) ministers
of state, and has the ultimate choice and control
over many important public appointments. The Prime
Minister's leading ministers form the Cabinet. The
Prime Minister used to be called (in the lawyers"
Latin of the old days) "primus inter pares", first
among equals; but nowadays the office has become so
powerful that some people liken it to the French or
American Presidency, an office directly elected by
the people for a fixed term.
However, a Prime
Minister who is defeated in an important vote in the
House of Commons, or who loses the confidence of the
Cabinet, can be removed by their party at any time.
This rarely happens, but when it does, the event is
dramatic and the effects can be great. For example,
Winston Churchill replaced Prime Minister Neville
Chamberlain in 1940; and Margaret Thatcher was forced
to resign in 1990, when she lost the confidence of
her colleagues.
Modern Prime Ministers
have their official residence at 10 Downing Street, and have a considerable
staff of civil servants and personal advisers. The
PM has special advisers for publicity and relations
with the press and broadcasting media - all of which adds
to the power of the Prime Minister over his or her
colleagues. Government statements are usually reported
as coming from "Number Ten". If something is directly
attributed to the Prime Minister it is of special
importance.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet is a small committee of about twenty senior
politicians who normally meet weekly to decide the
general policies for the Government. Amongst those
included in the Cabinet are ministers responsible
for the economy (the Chancellor of the Exchequer),
law and order and immigration (the Home Secretary),
foreign affairs (the Foreign Secretary), education,
health, and defence. Cabinet
decisions on major matters of policy and law are submitted
to Parliament for approval.
This material is
based on "Life in the United Kingdom, A Journey to
Citizenship" book and produced with the permission
of Controller of HMSO (under special license). No
part of this material may be reproduced, stored in
a retrieval system or transmitted without the written
permission of HMSO's copyright
unit.
