prime-minister and the executive

• the executive


  in the British parliamentary system the executive sits within the legislature and is responsible for the government of the country

  the most important elements of the executive are the prime-minister and the cabinet

  the executive is also served by senior civil servants
• the cabinet


  compromises the heads of departments of state such as the home secretary and the foreign secretary, as well as the chief whip
• senior civil servants 


  run administration of the departments of state and implement government policy

  the most important of these is the chief secretary to the cabinet, the country's most senior civil servant who advises the PM as well as taking minutes for the cabinet meetings
• the core executive


  the most important elements of the government, including the cabinet, senior civil servants and key political advisers based in the prime minister's Private Office
• how do the executive govern the nation

  • introduces proposals for new legislation based on their manifesto
  • introduces legislation into parliament in response to changing circumstances ('the doctors mandate')
  • introduces the Budget
  • can also introduces secondary or delegated legislation ( this means the government can modify previously passed legislation)
• secondary legislation


  also know as delegated legislation

  the process by which primary legislation is modified by government without requiring another act of parliament
• powers of the prime-minister


  is head of the executive and exercises the royal prerogative

  • determines the membership of government, including the cabinet and cabinet committees
  • makes senior appointments to the civil service and judiciary
  • recommends most appointments of life peers to the House of Lords
  • negotiates foreign treaties
  • directs military forces in combat
  • decides whether or not to activate the UK's Trident nuclear deterrant
• powers of the prime-minister


  key figure in casting out the narrative of their government

  Margaret Thatcher - free-market principles

  Boris Johnson - 'levelling-up'

  Liz Truss - (unsuccessfully) tried to redefine the Conservatives as a party of growth and low taxation