What does the British Prime Minister do?
The Prime Minister is the leader of the British Government. He is appointed by the British Queen herself. Usually, he is the leader of the party that wins the general election in the United Kingdom. However, as presently, Boris Johnson has left his post only during the tenure. In such a situation, the ruling Conservative Party, having a majority, got its new leader elected. The new Prime Minister was chosen by members of the Conservative Party instead of the voters of the UK. Liz Truss, who won this election, will remain prime minister for the remainder of her term.
PM responsible for all government policies and decisions
The British Prime Minister is responsible for all government policies and decisions. It is their job to choose the members of the government, who are called ministers. The senior-most members are called cabinet ministers and hold government departments – such as the finance ministry and the home ministry. The Prime Minister can keep and remove ministers at any time. They can also abolish government departments or create new ones. Along with the Chancellor, the Prime Minister is in charge of tax and spending policies. The Prime Minister and his ministers can also bring in new laws – as long as they have the support of Parliament.
What other powers does the British Prime Minister have?
The Prime Minister of Britain has overall control of the civil service – the people and departments that carry out the decisions of the government. They can also make decisions about the defense and security of Britain. For example, the British PM has the power to send the British Army into military action anywhere. However, according to British law, they should also seek the approval of Parliament for such a move, as far as possible. They may also approve the UK’s use of nuclear weapons. The prime minister also has a number of special responsibilities, such as deciding whether to shoot down a hijacked or unknown plane. The British Prime Minister also recommends for the country’s highest honors such as knighthood and damehood. They can also recommend nominated members to the House of Lords. The Prime Minister usually meets with the British Queen once a week to provide information on government matters. These meetings are completely private and there is no official record of the same.
What is the salary of British Prime Minister, what facilities are available
The British Prime Minister gets the official residence 10 Downing Street. There is also an executive office of the PM, where he can deal with day-to-day work apart from meetings. 10 Downing Street has been used as the PM House since 1735. However, recent prime ministers, including Boris Johnson, have opted to stay at No. 11, as it is much larger than No. 10. In addition, the Prime Minister has an official country residence at Checkers in Buckinghamshire. The salary of the British Prime Minister is 164,080 pounds (Rs 15058516). In this, 84,144 pounds (Rs 7722354) is given to become an MP and the rest 79,936 (Rs 7336162) pounds is given for the post of Prime Minister. However, Boris Johnson took only 75,440 pounds of PM allowance.
How is the responsibility of the British Prime Minister determined?
Despite having immense power, the British Prime Minister cannot take any decision of his choice. They need to maintain the confidence of most MPs in their decisions. This is because laws can be passed only if a majority of MPs support them. If a government repeatedly loses support, MPs can ask for a “prove no-confidence motion”. If a prime minister loses his majority, he faces the prospect of a general election. If the prime minister’s party loses a general election or is unable to prove a vote of confidence in parliament, it has to resign to allow the leader of the winning party to assume power.
How Liz Truss was chosen as Boris Johnson’s successor
As soon as British Prime Minister Liz Truss announced the resignation, a leadership contest began among her party’s 357 MPs. Several candidates filed nominations to become the new leader of the Conservative Party. For this, five rounds of voting were held among the party MPs. Rishi Sunak and Liz Truss were the only two candidates left for the post of Prime Minister in the final phase. After that, members of the Conservative Party voted for their leader. Rishi Sunak was way ahead of his rival Liz Truss in the five-round election between MPs, but lost in the party members’ voting. In such a situation, Liz Truss was elected the Prime Minister of Britain and the successor of Boris Johnson.
Will there be a general election in the UK?
When a British Prime Minister resigns, naturally there is no general election. For example, when Theresa May took over from David Cameron in July 2016, she decided not to call an immediate election. Boris Johnson became PM in July 2019, but did not hold elections until December. In such a situation, if the Liz Truss also chooses not to hold an early election, then the next election will have to be held by January 2025.