The central government contains the major central political institutions of the UK, these are the house of commons and the house of lords. These together with the ruling monarch are known as the Parliament. Devolved Parliaments Devolution is a process where power is transferred from a centralised governmental organisation to a regional organisation. The devolution consists of 3 elements. These are:- The transfer of power to another elected body that is lower down in the chain of authority, the geographical move of power from the capital to another city or town and the transfer of roles and responsibilities of government from central to regional assemblies.
This independence derives from the constitution as the founding fathers suggested Congress was to be “the central element of the new political system” allowing Congress to perform checks and balances on a powerful executive. Congress is the branch of government closest to the people and the framers of the Constitution intended it to be the most powerful. Although, in the nineteenth and twentieth century, Congress has decreased in importance as the powers of the presidency expanded. Constitutionally it was given three main powers, all of which remain important today. First, all legislative power is vested in the house of reps and the senate, and within this broad function, Congress is given special powers to appropriate monies, raise armies and regulate interstate commerce.
The leader of the most powerful elected party would usually then be appointed Chancellor by the President. The Chancellor could then choose his own Cabinet from the elected deputies. The Chancellor and the Cabinet answered to the Reichstag, so they were reliant upon the support of the majority of deputies. The President could dismiss the Chancellor and either call new elections or appoint an alternative Chancellor. The Reichstag debated issues and voted on proposed laws.
Thomas Wolsey held the position of Henry VIIIs chief adviser from 1514 until his fall from power in 1529. During this period Wolsey’s responsibilities included the administration of law and finance. As Lord Chancellor from 1515, Wolsey was responsible for overseeing the English legal system. Furthermore, as Henry VIII tended to leave Wolsey with day to day control of the government, Wolsey also had to find ways of increasing royal revenue to finance Henry’s foreign policy which, by 1514, had resulted in the revenue left to the crown by his father being used up. The key features of Wolsey’s administration of law and finance in this period appear to have been influence by his desire for greater efficiency and for personal benefit.
Prime ministerial power partly originates from being appointed by the Queen and it is they who then have the authority to hire, fire, promote and demote all ministers within their cabinet and government. Patronage is a strengthening asset for the prime minister as the power to control political careers of other ministers as well as a majority of backbenchers ensures that they remain loyal and supportive. More powers of the prime minister include long-standing powers such as the royal prerogative, where sovereignty is exercised on behalf of the monarch, and cabinet management, a recently-developing power where the prime minister has the capability to chair, manage and convene cabinet
Within the public intensions the king wanted to bring the clergymen into the sphere of his subjects. Clergymen of England were under the influence of the Pope, and saw the king as a second leadership figure. The Monasteries were also an outdated system that needed to be changed, for the better according to Henry VIII. The Dissolution would also show if the monasteries were suitable to serve as hospitals and as educational centres for the people of England. However, Henry and Cromwell had their own private intensions to dissolve the monasteries.
British government and devolution After a general election, the party in the Commons that gets most votes forms the government, which consists of the Prime Minister and other ministers. The government has the executive power and is in charge of running the country. Certain ministers, the senior ministers, are also called Secretaries of State. Within the government, we find the Cabinet, which is the main decision- making body. The Cabinet gives advice to the PM, and it consists of the Prime Minister and other ministers who have been chosen by the PM.
The original version was written and approved by a Council of bishops and church elders at a Council in Nicea, convened by Constantine in AD 325. It was modified in 381 at the council of Constantinople which added detail about the holy spirit, Christ's incarnation and crucifixion. A final controversial clause the 'Filioque clause' was added around the 6th century and but not given formal papal approval until the 11th century. The Nicene Creed and the New Testament are interwoven. The wording and concepts in the Creed come from the new testament and when the New Christian Church looked at the
The Parliament consists of the House of Lords and House of Commons -which include various party representatives. Lord Hailsham stated that the UK has an “elective dictatorship” implying that executive is able to dominate the legislature. It could be argued that parliament does control executive power because parliament has scrutiny features such as Prime Minister's Questions, Ministerial question time and select committees, which all make the government and its executive powers accountable for their decision making. However to some extent it could be argued that parliament does not control executive power effectively, due to the fact that the government naturally has an in built majority within the House of Commons, as well as that the whipping system and the ideology of ‘toeing the party line’ results in the executive powers having the ability to gain a majority of support from the House of Commons. Furthermore the increase in prime-ministerial or even ‘presidential’ government in the UK, with the leader of the executive having accumulated more power, makes it more difficult for Parliament to control executive power.
For example the conservative government introduced ‘the bedroom tax’ if this was David Cameron’s idea he has the power to ensure that his party vote for this law even if they disagree. In this essay I will evaluate evidence on how much the PM dominates the political system in the UK and conclude by giving my opinion on to what extent he controls the political system. The PM is head of the executive and seen as the most important figure of UK politics, with this comes powers and responsibility’s that arguably makes him the most powerful man in the country. The ability to hand pick your cabinet is a key factor on how much the PM controls the political system of, being able to choose who does what job in the country means the PM holds the careers and more importantly the livelihoods of the ministers in his hand because he has the ability to hire and fire ministers. For example after defeat in the vote on action in Syria David Cameron decided it was a time for a reshuffle of his government because 10 members of the Government are recorded as not having voted.