GBThe comp. Of Br, government.The role of Br. Prime Minister and the Cabinet. The Term ‘Shadow Cabinet
The party which, wins most seats (but not necessarily most votes) at a general election, or which has the support of a majority of the members in the House of Commons, usually forms the. government. On occasions when no party succeeds in winning an overall majority of seats, a minority Government or a coalition may be formed. The leader of the majority party is appointed Prime Minster by the Sovereign, and all other ministers are appointed by the Queen on the recommendation of the Prime Minister. The majority of ministers are members of the Commons, although the Government is represented by some ministers in the Lords Since the late 19 century the Prime Minister has normally been the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Commons. The monarch's role in government is virtually limited to acting on the advice of ministers.
The Prime Minister informs the Queen of the general business of the Government, presides over the Cabinet, and is responsible for the allocation of functions among ministers, recommends to the Queen a number of important appointments. Ministers in charge of Government departments, who are usually in the Cabinet, are known as 'Secretaries of State or 'Ministers', or may have a traditional title, as in the case of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Postmaster General, the President of the Board of Trade. All these are known as departmental ministers. The Lord Chancellor (the Speaker of the House of Lords) holds a special position, being a minister with departmental functions and also head of the judiciary in England and Hales.
Ministers of State (non-departmental) work with ministers in charge of departments with responsibility for specific functions, and are sometimes given courtesy titles which reflect these particular functions. More than one may work in a department. Junior ministers (generally Parliamentary Secretaries or Under-Secretaries of State) share in parliamentary and departmental duties. They may also be given responsibility directly under the departmental minister, for specific aspects of the department's work.
The largest minority party becomes the official opposition with its own leader and its own 'shadow cabinet’ whose members act as spokesmen on the subjects for which government ministers have responsibility. The members of any other party support or oppose the Government according to their party policy being debated at any given time.
The Government has the major share in controlling and arranging the business of the House. As the initiator of policy, it dictates what action it wishes Parliament to take.
A modern British Government consists of over ninety people, of whom about thirty are heads of departments, and the rest are their assistants. Until quite recent times all the heads of departments were included in the Cabinet, but when their number rose some of the less important heads of departments were oat included in the Cabinet. The Prime .Minister, decides whom to include.
The Cabinet is composed of about 20 ministers and nay include departmental and non-departmental ministers. The prime ministers may make changes in the size of their Cabinet and may create new ministries or make other changes.
The Cabinet as such is not recognized by any formal law, and it has no formal powers but only real powers. It takes the effective decisions about what is to be done. Its major functions are: the final determination
of policies, the supreme control of government and the coordination of government departments. More and more power is concentrated in the hands of the Cabinet, where the decisive role belongs to the Prime Minster, who in fact determines the general political line of this body. The Cabinet defends and encourages the activity of monopolies and big business, does everything to restrain and suppress the working-class movement. The County Councilor county) is the most important .unit of local government. The District Councils-for districts.