202 BRITAIN: Area Studies       

Chapter 13               Pages 33-37

 

1A. THE CABINET

Leading Politicians   -> in the governing party usually become members of the Cabinet, where they are “tied” to government

policy by the convention of collective responsibility.

The Prime Minister   -> selects a Cabinet of ministers. He chairs the Cabinet, that consists of 20 members.

The Cabinet          -> develops the government’s policies and exercises control over government departments. The meetings of

the Cabinet are held in private, and strict privacy is maintained. They must act as a collective group and issue unanimous statements and policies.

The Government -> operates on the principle of ministerial responsibility and each Minister who heads a department is

responsible to Parliament for running that department. They must be prepared to answer questions about their

departments in the House of commons.

This System                         -> of parliamentary control over government departments discourages inefficiency and

irresponsibility.

The Main Departments     -> Treasury; which handles the country’s finances, the Ministry of Defense; which handles the

nation’s military and national defense, the Ministry of Health; which operates the national Health service; the

Home Office, which controls the police and other law-and-order institutions; the Foreign Office; and the Post

Office.

Every Member  -> is responsible as a group for the government’s policies and are expected to support publicly any policy

adopted byh th Cabinet. If any minister does not agree with Cabinet policies, that minister must resign

 

B. The Prime Minister

The Head          -> of the Government is the Prime Minister. This title dates back to the 18th century. He has 4 major

responsibilities;1. He is the leader of the “majority party” in Parliament and has the power; 2. He has the

power to appoint and dismiss ministers; 3. He is the main representative of the government and recommends

the appointment of some senior judges and of senior clergy of the church of England; 4. He draws up the

annual list of honors, which are usually awarded on New Year’s Day.

The Position         -> of the British Prime Minister (PM), is in direct contrast to that of the Monarch. The Queen appears to have a

great deal of power, in reality she has very little. The PM on the other hand, appears not to have much power

but in reality has a very great deal of power. The Queen is, in practice, obliged to give the job of Prime Minster

to the person who can command a majority in the House of commons. The leader of the party with the largest

numbers of MPs. He is the foremost of Her Majesty’s political servants, “primus inter pares (Latin for “first

among equals”, but in fact the most powerful of all other ministers. To the world it may look like that the Queen

is running the Government of Great Britain, but the true matter is that the Prime Minister is running the

Government because he is the leader of the majority political party.

The Cabinet Shuffle  -> is the PM’s 1st motive of power. The Queen appoints under the recommendations of the Prime Minister.

For the past 30 years the PM has made it a habit to change  his or her Cabinet quite frequently (at least once

every 2 years). A few Cabinet members are dropped and a few are brought in, but in large, the Cabinet is

shuffled like a deck of cards and each getting a new department to look after.

Public Image        -> is the PM’s 2nd motive of power. The mass media has tended to make politics a matter of personalities.

Everybody in the country can recognize the Prime Minister, while many cannot put a name to the faces of the

other ministers.  The PM can go “over the heads” of the other ministers and appeal directly to the public.

Keeping Busy      -> other ministers of departments is the 3rd reason for the PM’s power. They don’t have time to think about

and discuss government policy as a whole, but the PM does, and Cabinet committees usually report directly to

him or her, not to the Cabinet as a whole. As a result, the Prime Minister knows a lot more about what is

going on than the other ministers do. Thus, every one else in government must go along with what the Prime

Minister has decided.

 

C. NO. 10 Downing Street

Sir George Downing           -> (123-1684), a noted Parliamentarian and Ambassador is what the street is named after. This

building was given by King George II to Sir Robert Walplle as the official residence of the Prime Minister. The

Cabinet meets here an the Cabinet office works here. The PM lives on the top floor. From the outside it just

looks like a ordinary English type building.

Next Door             -> the Chancellor of the Exchequer lives nest door at No.11 and the Government Chief Whip at No.12. A lot of

Government lives and works on this street. Domestically, after the government loses an election, all 3

ministers must pack up their belongings and move out, just like any other family would. The PM has an

official country residence to the west of London.

 

Ø       WORDS AND PHRASES: Write them in your copybook

 

D. Whitehall

This Name            -> is another street that houses members of government. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the

Ministry of Defense are both located here, and the street leads to the House of Parliament.

“The Opinion In Whitehall”  -> refers to the opinions of government ministers but also, an more so, to the opinions of senior

civil servants. This famous London thoroughfare takes its name from the Royal Palace which stood there and

was used from time of Henry vIII to William III. The Palace was formally called York Place, but was named

Whitehall after it was confiscated by Henry VIII. It was mostly destroyed by fire in 1698 and only the

banqueting hal, built by Inigo Jones still stands.

E. Her Majesty’s Loyal Opposition 

HMLO                     -> is the largest political part in the House of Commons that opposes the party in the power. The head of the

opposing party is th leader of the Opposition. This position is official and the leader receives a salary. He has

the duty of criticizing the government in power and offering to set up a new government. This is also known as

“the Shadow Government”, and it may become a real Cabinet if its party comes to power, the leader of the

opposition usually becomes the new Prime Minister.

 

Ø       READING FOR INFORMATION; Write your answers in your copybook.

 

2A. TONY BLAIR

A British Lawyer  -> in 1994 became the leader of the British Labor Party. (which now is the majority political party in the House

of Commons). In 1997, the Labor Party won a landslide victory in the British national elections, and became

the Prime Minister.

Mr. Tony Blair      -> is the Prime Minister of Great Britain and of Northern Ireland. Born in 1953, he was educated at schools in

Durham, England and Edinburgh, Scotland. He then studied law at St. John’s College in Oxford, England and

became a lawyer specializing in trade union and industrial law in 1976. He began his political career in

1983 and was elected to Parliaments a member of the Labor Party. He achieved a lot and made himself a

great reputation in politics along the way. In 1994, after John Smith died, the leader of the Labor Party at the

time. Mr. Blair began working to make the party more effective and the “New Labor Party” sprang forth with

new ideas and purposes for the betterment of Great Britain. In the elections in 1994, the country’s approval

gave him the beginning of what is today’s benefits for Britain. He also is the youngest Prime Minister in the

history of Parliament.

 

Ø       HOMEWORK: Read chapter 14, Alphabetize Subject Titles, Number paragraphs, Be prepared for class discussion.