What the Royal prerogative allows the PM to do

• Prime minister

  De facto commander-in-chief of the armed forces Theresa May

  • Authorised bombing of Syria in 2018 without a vote in the House of Commons
• Prime minister

  Effectively chief diplomat, able to sign treaties and enter into negotiation with other countries Successive prime ministers after the 2016 referendum

  • Took the lead in negotiating a post-Brexit relationship with the EU
• Prime minister

  Has huge influence in deciding the date of the next election, capitalising on favourable circumstances, as they can ask the monarch to dissolve Parliament Thatcher

  • Called an election in 1983 to capitalise on her popularity after the Falklands War