His Majesty's Government
(abbreviated to
HM Government
, and commonly known as the
Government of the United Kingdom
) is the
central executive authority
of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
.
[2]
[3]
The government is led by the
prime minister
(currently
Rishi Sunak
, since 25 October 2022
[update]
) 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
.
[3]
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
,
[4]
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.
[5]
Under the
uncodified
British constitution
,
executive authority
lies with the sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council.
[6]
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 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
to differentiate their government from His Majesty's Government.
History
[
edit
]
The United Kingdom is a
constitutional monarchy
in which the reigning 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 Carta
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.
[7]
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 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 prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch, who "has a right and a duty to express [their] views on 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."
[8]
Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following:
Domestic powers
[
edit
]
HM Government wordmark (placed top-left in this example)
- 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 power to assent to and enact laws by giving
royal assent
to
bills
passed by Parliament, which is required 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 status of being a city, with its corporation) by
royal charter
, and to amend, replace and revoke existing charters.
Foreign powers
[
edit
]
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
.
[9]
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 UK Government logo.
Foreign Office, London
As of 2019, there are around 120 government ministers
[10]
supported by 560,000
[11]
civil servants
and other staff working in the 25
ministerial departments
[12]
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, the convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or the House of Lords 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.
[13]
Government in Parliament
[
edit
]
The government is required by convention and 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 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
[14]
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
,
[15]
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
.
[16]
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 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 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.
[17]
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
[18]
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 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 received 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, through financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefits and council tax benefits, are funded or substantially part-funded by the 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 several times). However, it is a criminal offence to make a false statement about any election candidate during an election, to reduce 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 government is also sometimes seen more broadly as including people or organisations that work for the ministers. The
civil service
, while 'independent of government',
[19]
is sometimes described as being part of the government,
[20]
[21]
[22]
[23]
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 titles, such as the
Government Actuary
and the
Government Chief Scientific Adviser
, as do civil service organisations 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
[24]
and
HS2 Ltd
.
[25]
Similarly,
Parliamentary Private Secretaries
are not ministers and so not part of the government.
[26]
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'.
[27]
[28]
They are sometimes described as being part of the government.
[29]
[30]
[31]
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 institutions, with their 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 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.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Branding guidelines"
.
Government Communication Service
.
UK Government
. 21 December 2023
. Retrieved
29 April
2024
.
- ^
His Majesty's Government
Archived
17 November 2019 at the
Wayback Machine
Retrieved 28 June 2010
- ^
a
b
Overview of the UK system of government : Directgov ? Government, citizens and rights
. Archived direct.gov.uk webpage. Retrieved on 29 August 2014.
- ^
"Legislation"
. UK Parliament. 2013
. Retrieved
27 January
2013
.
- ^
House of Commons ? Justice Committee ? Written Evidence
Archived
1 December 2020 at the
Wayback Machine
. Publications.parliament.uk. Retrieved on 19 October 2010.
- ^
The monarchy : Directgov ? Government, citizens and rights
. Archived direct.gov.uk webpage. Retrieved on 29 August 2014.
- ^
The Parliament Acts ? UK Parliament
Archived
5 November 2010 at the
Wayback Machine
. Parliament.uk (21 April 2010). Retrieved on 12 October 2011.
- ^
"Queen and Prime Minister"
. The British Monarchy. 2013. Archived from
the original
on 14 April 2010
. Retrieved
27 January
2013
.
- ^
Mystery lifted on Queen's powers | Politics
Archived
4 December 2020 at the
Wayback Machine
.
The Guardian
. Retrieved on 12 October 2011.
- ^
Maer, Lucinda; Kelly, Richard (31 March 2021).
"Limitations on the number of Ministers"
. Archived from
the original
on 9 May 2021
. Retrieved
31 March
2021
– via commonslibrary.parliament.uk.
- ^
Civil Service Statistics
Archived
10 November 2013 at the
Wayback Machine
. civilservant.org.uk. September 2011
- ^
LIST OF MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITIES Including Executive Agencies and NonMinisterial Departments
. Cabinet Office 2009
- ^
Maer, Lucinda (4 September 2017).
"Ministers in the House of Lords"
.
- ^
Committees ? UK Parliament
Archived
7 December 2017 at the
Wayback Machine
. Parliament.uk (21 April 2010). Retrieved on 12 October 2011.
- ^
Ministerial Code
. Cabinet Office 2010
- ^
"Speakers' statements on ministerial policy announcements made outside the House"
(PDF)
. Archived from
the original
(PDF)
on 16 July 2011
. Retrieved
29 November
2010
.
. Parliamentary Information List. Department of Information Services. www.parliament.uk. 16 July 2010
- ^
"Secretary of State sends in commissioners to Tower Hamlets"
.
Gov.uk
. 17 December 2014
. Retrieved
10 April
2015
.
- ^
"The Immunity of Members of the European Parliament"
(PDF)
.
European Union
. October 2014
. Retrieved
10 April
2015
.
- ^
"Civil Service: About us"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
26 October
2021
.
We're politically impartial and independent of government
- ^
The Comptroller and Auditor General
(5 June 2015).
Central government staff costs
(Report). National Audit Office
. Retrieved
26 October
2021
.
- ^
"Civil service"
.
Encyclopedia Britannica
. Retrieved
29 October
2021
.
civil service, the body of government officials...
- ^
"UK government action to reduce the HGV driver shortage"
.
GOV.UK
. Retrieved
23 October
2021
.
The government... have sent nearly one million letters to thank HGV drivers
- ^
"HMG personnel security controls"
.
GOV.UK
. 1 April 2013
. Retrieved
23 October
2021
.
- ^
"What we do"
.
UKGI.ORG.UK
. Retrieved
27 October
2021
.
UKGI's purpose is to be the government's centre of excellence in corporate governance and corporate finance
- ^
"Government provides construction sector certainty by confirming 'Notice to proceed' on High Speed 2"
.
GOV.UK
. 15 April 2020
. Retrieved
27 October
2021
.
HS2 Ltd today marks the next step for the project, issuing a 'Notice to proceed' on Britain's new railway.
- ^
S Priddy (22 October 2021).
Parliamentary Private Secretaries to Prime Ministers since 1906
(Report).
House of Commons Library
. Archived from
the original
on 11 December 2021
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs) are not members of the Government although they do have responsibilities and restrictions as defined by the Ministerial Code
- ^
"Back to the future: PPS role for mid Wales MP"
.
BBC News
. 6 September 2016
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
Montgomeryshire Tory MP Glyn Davies is about to put his foot on the first rung of the ministerial ladder, rejoining the government as a parliamentary private secretary.
- ^
"The female power base that helped Theresa May win her day"
.
Financial Times
. 18 September 2016
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
A handful of other alumni who won their seats in 2015, including Victoria Atkins, Lucy Frazer and Victoria Prentis have just set foot on the first rung of the ministerial ladder, being appointed this week as parliamentary private secretaries.
- ^
"Tory MP Caroline Ansell resigns from government over free school meals rebellion"
.
SKY NEWS
. 22 October 2020
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
A Tory MP has quit her junior government role... Caroline Ansell resigned as a parliamentary private secretary to the environment secretary
- ^
"Six MPs could quit Government in Covid restrictions rebellion"
.
Daily Telegraph
. 10 December 2021.
Archived
from the original on 11 January 2022
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
As many as six MPs could quit as members of the Government next week... The Telegraph has learned that at least six parliamentary private secretaries are preparing to defy Boris Johnson and vote against elements of his "Plan B" restrictions
- ^
"Chris Green quits as junior government member over Bolton local lockdown"
.
LBC NEWS
. 13 October 2020
. Retrieved
11 December
2021
.
A junior government member has resigned over the local lockdown in Bolton... Bolton West Conservative MP Chris Green has stepped down as a parliamentary private secretary (PPS)
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[
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]
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