The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

There are two major British institutions in the executive Government. All the politicians who have been appointed by the monarch (on the advice of the Prime Minister) help run the country through Government Departments. The other institution includes the most powerful of these politicians namely the Prime Minister and his Cabinet. Most of them are Heads of Government Departments.

The Prime Minister is the most senior officer of Her Majesty's Government.

The Prime Minister's main responsibilities include: running the Government; appointing Cabinet Ministers and other ministers; coordinating the activities of the Cabinet and Government Departments; appointing judges, creating Life Peers and making appointments to senior positions in the Church of England; leading the majority party; being the 'face' of the Government in the UK and abroad.

The Prime Minister is technically appointed by the Monarch. The appointment takes place after the results of a General Election indicate which political party wins the majority of seats in the House of Commons. After a General Election, the Queen calls upon the leader of the largest party to officially appoint him to a post of a Prime Minister, who then forms the Government and the Cabinet.

The Cabinet is composed of about 20 ministers, although the number can vary.

The functions of the Cabinet are to initiate and decide on policy, to exercise the supreme control of the Government and to coordinate Government Departments.

A great deal of work is carried on through the committee system. This involves referring issues either to a Standing Cabinet Committee or to an ad hoc committee composed of the ministers directly concerned. The committee then considers the matter in detail and either disposes of it or reports upon it to the Cabinet with recommendations for action.

Departmental ministers normally decide all matters within their responsibility. However, on important political matters they usually consult their colleagues collectively, either through the Cabinet or through a Cabinet committee. A decision by a departmental minister binds the Government as a whole.

Cabinet ministers are responsible for their departments, but the Cabinet as a whole is accountable to Parliament for its actions, and its individual members must be willing and able to publicly defend the Cabinet's policies both in the Commons and before the general public. The loss of a vote of confidence or the defeat of a major legislative bill in the Commons can mean a Cabinet's fall from power and the collective resignation of its members. Despite the need for consensus and collective action within a Cabinet, ultimate decision-making power rests with the Prime Minister as the leader of his party.

 

Vocabulary

accountable adj подотчетный

ad hoc committee лат. временный комитет; ad hoc лат. для данного случая

bind v 1 скреплять; 2 обязывать (законом)

department n министерство, управление, департамент

dispose (of) v отклонить

exercise v 1 осуществлять; 2 выполнять

Her Majesty’s Government правительство Её Величества (официальное название правительства при правлении королевы)

issue n 1 спорный вопрос; 2 предмет обсуждения, спора или разногласий

Life Peer пожизненный пэр (лицо, получившее титул барона, дающий право быть членом палаты лордов, но не передающийся по наследству)

Prime Minister премьер-министр

resignation n отставка

rest with v возлагать (ответственность) на

Standing Cabinet Committee постоянная комиссия при кабинете министров

ultimate adj окончательный

vote of confidence вотум доверия

 

Reading tasks

Answer these questions.

 

1 What are the major functions of the Prime Minister in the UK?

2 How does the Prime Minister take office?

3 How is the Cabinet formed?

4 What are the functions of the Cabinet?

5 How does the committee system ease the workload of the Cabinet?

6 What are individual ministers within the Cabinet responsible for? How is the Government accountable to the people?

7 Who holds the ultimate decision-making power in the Government?

 

Language focus

Make these sentences negative. Add the correct variant.

 

1 The position of the Prime Minister exists constitutionally.

2 The Government and the Cabinet are formed by the political party having the minority support in the House of Commons.

3 The number of ministers in the Cabinet depends on the population in the country.

4 The Prime Minister’s main responsibility is to make speeches in the House of Lords.

5 The Cabinet plays the leading role in law-making.

6 The Committee system is the way of getting the majority of seats in the House of Commons.

7 The monarch holds the ultimate decision-making power in the Government.

Vocabulary tasks

A Complete the following text with the words and phrases from the box.

 

Parliament failure in administration ministerial responsibility Departmental Ministers Government’s policy House of Commons collective responsibility

 

The doctrine of 1) _____ _____ means that the Cabinet acts unanimously even when Cabinet ministers do not all agree on a subject. The policy of 2) _____ _____ must be consistent with the policy of the Government as a whole. Once the 3) _____ _____ on a matter has been decided, each minister is expected to support it or resign.

The doctrine of 4) _____ _____ means that ministers are answerable to 5) _____ for all their departments' activities. They bear the consequences of any 6) _____ _____, any injustice to an individual or any aspect of policy which may be criticized in Parliament, whether personally responsible or not. Since most ministers are members of the 7) _____ _____, they must answer questions and defend themselves against criticism in person.

 

B Match these terms with their definitions.

 

	Cabinet	a	a person in a court who has the authority to decide cases
	Parliament	b	a person who rules a country
	Standing Committee	c	a person who is in a position of authority in the government
	ad hoc	d	a group of chosen members of a government which is responsible for advising and deciding on government policy
	Monarch	e	members of the nobility
	Prime Minister	f	the group of people who are elected to make and change the laws of a country
	Peers	g	arranged or happening when necessary and not planned in advance
	Judge	h	committee existing or arranged permanently
	Officer	i	the main minister and leader of the government

Text E