Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers.Review the role of the Essay

Critically assess the Prime Minister's powers.Review the role of the media in British politics.Is the higher civil service a - Essay Example Nevertheless, the individual who is appointed to this position must enjoy the support of the majority in the parliament, especially the lower house of the British legislature, also referred to as the House of Commons. This is because, the House of Commons is charged with the responsibility of enacting the necessary legislations that runs the government and the whole country. Therefore, the prime minister must enjoy the support of the majority in the House of Commons, so that he can be supported in enacting the necessary legislations and policies, which runs the government (Hennessy, 2001 p17). The most important aspect of the position of the British Prime Minister is the fact that; this position is not established by the British constitutional laws, but is just guided by the conventions, which have been in place for a long-term. The British Prime Minister plays various roles. First, he is the head of the political party or the coalition of parties that have the majority members of pa rliament in the House of Commons, and thus plays a legislative role (Kavanagh & Seldon, 2008 p87). He is responsible for guiding the legislation of the policies that favors the running of the government, as well as those necessary to execute the objectives and manifestos of the party or coalition enjoying the majority in the parliament. This position evolved as a result of the long term historical struggle to shift power from the sovereign to the parliament. However, constitutionally and legally, the monarch still remains the head of government, who enjoys the prerogative powers and is thus responsible for the whole running of the country. Therefore, the position of the British Prime Minister is political, which occurs as a result of the monarch sharing his/her powers to head the government with an individual of his/her choice, who enjoys the confidence of many members of parliament (Blick & Jones, 2010 p62). Despite the immense political authority that the position of the British P rime Minister holds, it is merely an extension of the powers of the Sovereign, who is the legal and constitutional leader of the government (King, 1985 p257). As the head of the party of the majority in parliament, the British Prime Minister is responsible to oversee the formulation and passing of the necessary legislations, which are essential to see the government operate effectively. In this sense therefore, the British Prime Minister heads the policy and law formulation process, to ensure that the laws and the policies that are formulated are in line with the government intentions and objectives, thus serves to facilitate the performance of the government (Hennessy, 2001 p21). This remains the reason as to why the British Prime Minister must be the leader of the party or coalition that enjoys majority support. The other role of the British Prime Minister is the executive role. The British Prime Minister is the head of the cabinet, which is the executive arm of the government (Ka vanagh & Seldon, 2008 p84). The power of the British Prime Minister as the head of the executive arm of the government includes the powers to constitute the cabinet. Therefore, he is responsible for appointing the cabinet ministers, who in turn heads different departments of the government