Text 76. The government of Great Britain

The organs of government in the United Kingdom are: 1) the legislature, which consists of the Queen in Parliament, and is the supreme authority of the state; 2) the executive, which con­sists of: a) the Cabinet and other ministers of the Crown, who are responsible for conducting national policy; b) Government departments, most of them under the control of ministers; c) lo­cal authorities; and d) statutory boards, which are responsible for the operation of particular nationalized industries or public services; 3) the judiciary, which determines common law and interprets statutes.

Today, the Queen acts only on the advice of her ministers, which she cannot constitutionally ignore. She reigns but she does not rule.

The Prime Minister is responsible for every measure submitted to Parliament.

When a Prime Minister dies or resigns the monarch has to choose his successor. The choice is limited by the fact that the new Prime Minister must be able to command a majority in the House of Commons and must be able to form a Cabinet. Neither Par­liament nor the majority party has the right to elect its own Prime Minister. Nobody but the Queen can confer peerages.

The Prime Minister (or Premier) is the Principal Statesman in Parliament and he chooses from the Lords and Commons the men numbering about 60, to fill the principal offices. He obtains the Queen’s permission for their appointment, and they form the Ministry. From these are chosen the fifteen to twenty to form the Cabinet. These are the holders of the most important offices, e.g. Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Home Secretary, the Secretary of Foreign Affairs, the Minister for Defence, the Minister of Health, the President of the Board of Trade, etc.

Answer the following questions:

1. What are the three main powers in Great Britain?

2. Is the Queen an independent ruler?

3. For what is the Prime Minister responsible?

4. Why is the choice of a Prime Minister’s successor limited?

5. Who can summon or dissolve Parliament?

6. What does the Principal Statesman do?

7. What are the holders of the most important offices?