Is the UK Queen over the prime minister?
20714373#18
Today the Queen delegates much royal authority to Ministers in government, allowing the Queen to engage in the ceremonial role outlined by the Danish constitution. The Prime Minister and Cabinet attend the regular meetings of the Council of State, at which the Monarch presides and gives royal assent to laws. The Prime Minister and the Minister of Foreign Affairs report regularly to the Queen to advise her of the latest political developments. The Queen hosts official visits by foreign Heads of State, pays state visits abroad, receives letters of credence from foreign ambassadors and signs those of Danish ambassadors. The convention for appointment of a new prime minister after a general election is that after consultation with representatives of the political parties, the Queen invites the party leader who has the support of the largest number of seats in the Folketing to form a government. Once it has been formed, the Queen formally appoints it.
Monarchy of Denmark
718792#0
Since succeeding her father on 6 February 1952, Queen Elizabeth II has been head of state of 32 different independent states; currently, there are 16 states, called Commonwealth realms. Within the Westminster system in each realm, the Queen's government is headed by a prime minister. Appointment and dismissal of prime ministers are common reserve powers that can be exercised by the Queen or her governors-general.
List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II
51049154#2
After being appointed by Queen Elizabeth II on 13 July 2016, May became the United Kingdom's second female Prime Minister, after Margaret Thatcher, and the first female UK Prime Minister of the 21st century. May told the media on 11 July 2016 that she was "honoured and humbled" to be the party leader and to become prime minister.
Premiership of Theresa May
718792#2
The Queen has had over 160 individuals serve as her realms' prime ministers throughout her reign, the first new appointment being Dudley Senanayake as Prime Minister of Ceylon and the most recent being Scott Morrison as Prime Minister of Australia. Several of the Queen's prime ministers from various realms have been appointed for life to the Privy Council of the United Kingdom.
List of prime ministers of Elizabeth II
14472504#9
One of the main duties of the Crown is to appoint a prime minister, who thereafter heads the Cabinet and advises the monarch or governor-general on how to execute their executive powers over all aspects of government operations and foreign affairs. Though the monarch's power is still a part of the executive process—the operation of the Cabinet is technically known as the "Queen-in-Council" (or "Governor-in-Council")—the advice tendered is typically binding; the requirement of the governor-general to follow ministerial (either generally or specifically the prime minister's) advice is constitutionally enshrined in Barbados, unlike in other Commonwealth realms, where it is a matter of convention.. Since the death of Queen Anne in 1714, the last monarch to head the British Cabinet, the monarch "reigns" but does not "rule". This means that the monarch's, and thereby the viceroy's, role is almost entirely symbolic and cultural, acting as a symbol of the legal authority under which all governments and agencies operate, while the Cabinet directs the use of the Royal Prerogative, which includes the privilege to declare war, maintain the Queen's peace, and direct the actions of the Barbados Defence Force, as well as to summon and prorogue parliament and call elections. However, it is important to note that the Royal Prerogative belongs to the Crown and not to any of the ministers, though it may sometimes appear that way, and the constitution allows the governor-general to unilaterally use these powers in relation to the dismissal of a prime minister, dissolution of parliament, and removal of a judge in exceptional, constitutional crisis situations. There are also a few duties which must be specifically performed by, or bills that require assent by, the Queen. These include appointing the governor-general, the creation of Barbadian honours, and the approval of any change in her Barbadian title.
The governor-general, to maintain the stability of government, must appoint as prime minister the individual most likely to maintain the support of the House of Assembly; usually this is the leader of the political party with a majority in that house, but also, when no party or coalition holds a majority (referred to as a minority government situation), or other scenarios in which the governor-general's judgement about the most suitable candidate for prime minister has to be brought into play. The governor-general must additionally appoint to Cabinet, at the direction of the prime minister, at least five other ministers of the Crown. All ministers are accountable to the democratically elected House of Assembly and, through it, to the people. The Queen is informed by her viceroy of the acceptance of the resignation of a prime minister and the swearing-in of a new prime minister and other members of the ministry, she remains fully briefed through regular communications from her Barbadian ministers, and she holds audience with them where possible. Members of various executive agencies and other officials are appointed by the Crown. The commissioning of privy councillors, senators, the Speaker of the Senate, and Supreme Court justices also falls under the Royal Prerogative. Public inquiries are also commissioned by the Crown through a Royal Warrant and are called "Royal Commissions".
Monarchy of Barbados
48425413#8
The UK Prime Minister hosted the WePROTECT Global Summit in London in December 2014. The summit gathered government leaders, leading technology companies and civil society organisations to galvanise action to end online child sexual exploitation. The Home Secretary opened the summit, speaking about the scale of abuse and what the UK is doing to combat it. The Prime Minister was the keynote speaker on the second day. Alongside a raft of measures and technical innovations to tackle those who use the Internet to view and share indecent images, the Prime Minister announced that the UK would work with UNICEF to develop a new global Child Protection Fund and that the UK would be making a £50 million contribution to the fund over a five-year period.
WeProtect
4618604#13
The prime minister may advise the Queen to recall the governor-general, and (so long as the prime minister has the confidence of the House of Representatives) the Queen is bound by convention to implement the advice of her prime minister. As no New Zealand governor-general has ever been dismissed on the advice of the prime minister, it is unclear how quickly the Queen would act on such advice. Some constitutional lawyers dispute whether the Queen would implement such advice at all, while others argue that the Queen would delay its implementation. Others argue that the Queen would be obliged to follow the prime minister's advice, and further that the Queen would be bound to implement the prime minister's advice immediately if so advised.
Governor-General of New Zealand
31717#47
The position of prime minister, the UK's head of government, belongs to the person most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons; this individual is typically the leader of the political party or coalition of parties that holds the largest number of seats in that chamber. The prime minister chooses a cabinet and its members are formally appointed by the monarch to form Her Majesty's Government. By convention, the monarch respects the prime minister's decisions of government.
The cabinet is traditionally drawn from members of the prime minister's party or coalition and mostly from the House of Commons but always from both legislative houses, the cabinet being responsible to both. Executive power is exercised by the prime minister and cabinet, all of whom are sworn into the Privy Council of the United Kingdom, and become Ministers of the Crown. The current Prime Minister is Theresa May, who has been in office since 13 July 2016. May is also the leader of the Conservative Party. For elections to the House of Commons, the UK is divided into 650 constituencies, each electing a single member of parliament (MP) by simple plurality. General elections are called by the monarch when the prime minister so advises. Prior to the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011, the Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 required that a new election must be called no later than five years after the previous general election.
United Kingdom
747416#10
In 1999, he opened "BBC 2000 Today", the BBC's coverage of the millennium celebrations, from Greenwich, England. He commentated on the funerals of Diana, Princess of Wales in 1997, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother in 2002, and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 2013, as well as the state visit of US President George W. Bush to the UK in 2003. In 2002, Dimbleby hosted the Golden Jubilee of Queen Elizabeth II coverage. A profile by Ben Summerskill for "The Observer" in 2001 quoted an unnamed former Cabinet Minister who had observed Dimbleby's career for many decades: "I suspect he has an almost medieval view, that the Queen governs through Parliament... There are a few quarrels among the subjects – over which he presides very capably – but they have very little to do with what Britain is really about." Dimbleby, though, has himself criticised what he sees as archaic elements of the State Opening of Parliament.
David Dimbleby
17702739#11
The executive branch, while subservient to Parliament and judicial oversight, exercises day to day power of the UK government. In form, the UK remains a constitutional monarchy. The formal head of state is Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II, a hereditary monarch since 1952. In reality, no Queen or King has attempted to usurp the will of Parliament since 1708, and all constitutional duties and power are accepted by binding convention to have shifted to the Prime Minister, Parliament or the courts. Over the 17th century, the Petition of Right 1628 was asserted by Parliament to prevent any taxation by the monarch without Parliament's consent, and the Habeas Corpus Act 1640 denied the monarch any power to arrest people for failing to pay taxes. The monarch's continued assertion of the divine right to rule led to Charles I being executed in the English Civil War, and finally the settlement of power in the Bill of Rights of 1689. Following the Act of Union 1707 and an early financial crisis as South Sea Company shares crashed, Robert Walpole emerged as a dominant political figure. Leading the House of Commons from 1721 to 1742, Walpole is generally acknowledged to be the first Prime Minister ("Primus inter pares"). The PM's modern functions include leading the dominant political party, setting policy priorities, creating Ministries and appointing ministers, judges, peers, and civil servants. The PM also has considerable control through the convention of collective responsibility (that ministers must publicly support the government even when they privately disagree, or resign), and control over the government's communications to the public. By contrast in law, as is necessary in a democratic society, the monarch is a figurehead with no political power, but a series of ceremonial duties, and considerable funding. Aside from private wealth and finance, the monarchy is funded under the Sovereign Grant Act 2011, which reserves 25 per cent of the net revenue from the Crown Estate. The Crown Estate is a public, government corporation, which in 2015 held £12 billion in investments, mostly land and property, and therefore generates income by charging rent to businesses or people for homes. The monarch's major ceremonial duties are to appoint the Prime Minister who can command the majority of the House of Commons, to give royal assent to Acts of Parliament, and to dissolve Parliament upon the calling of an election. Minor ceremonial duties include giving an audience to the Prime Minister, as well as visiting ministers or diplomats from the Commonwealth, and acting on state occasions, such as delivering the "Queen's speech" (written by the government, outlining its political platform) at the opening of Parliament. It has frequently been debated whether the UK should abolish the monarchy, on the ground that hereditary inheritance of political office has no place in a democracy. On the other hand, there are powerful attachments of emotion and tradition: in Australia a referendum was held in 1999 on becoming a Republic, but failed to get a majority. 
Although called the royal prerogative, a series of important powers that were once vested in the King or Queen are now exercised by government, and the Prime Minister in particular. These are powers of day-to-day management, but tightly constrained to ensure that executive power cannot usurp Parliament or the courts. In the "Case of Prohibitions" in 1607, it was held that the royal prerogative could not be used to determine court cases, and in the "Case of Proclamations" in 1610 it was held new prerogative powers could not be created by the executive. It is also clear that no exercise of the prerogative can compromise any right contained in an Act of Parliament. So, for instance, in "R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the EU" the Supreme Court held that the Prime Minister could not notify the European Commission of an intention to leave under Article 50 of the Treaty on European Union without an Act of Parliament, because it could result in rights being withdrawn that were granted under the European Communities Act 1972, such as the right to work in other EU member states or vote in European Parliament elections. Royal prerogative powers can be categorised in different ways, there are around 15. First, the executive may create hereditary titles, confer honours and create peers. Second, the executive can legislate by an Order in Council, though this has been called an 'anachronistic survival'. Third, the executive can create and administer financial benefits schemes. Fourth, through the Attorney General the executive can stop prosecutions or pardon convicted offenders after taking advice. Fifth, the executive may acquire more territory or alter limits of British territorial waters. Sixth, the executive may expel aliens and theoretically restrain people from leaving the UK. The executive can sign treaties, although before it is considered ratified the treaty must be laid before Parliament for 21 days and there must be no resolution against it. Eighth, the executive governs the armed forces and can do "all those things in an emergency which are necessary for the conduct of war". The executive cannot declare war without Parliament by convention, and in any case has no hope in funding war without Parliament. Ninth, the Prime Minister can appoint ministers, judges, public officials or royal commissioners. Tenth, the monarch needs to pay no tax, unless statute states it expressly. Eleventh, the executive may by royal charter create corporations, such as the BBC, and franchises for markets, ferries an fisheries. Twelfth, the executive has the right to mine precious metals, and to take treasure troves. Thirteenth, it may make coins. Fourteenth, it can print or license the authorised version of the Bible, Book of Common Prayer and state papers. And fifteenth, subject to modern family law, it may take guardianship of infants. In addition to these royal prerogative powers, there are innumerable powers explicitly laid down in statutes enabling the executive to make legal changes. This includes a growing number of Henry VIII clauses, which enable a Secretary of State to alter provisions of primary legislation. For this reason it has often be argued that executive authority should be reduced, written into statute, and never used to deprive people of rights without Parliament. All uses of the prerogative, however, are subject to judicial review: in the "GCHQ case" the House of Lords held that no person could be deprived of legitimate expectations by use of the royal prerogative.
Although the Prime Minister is the head of Parliament, Her Majesty's Government is formed by a larger group of Members of Parliament, or peers. The "cabinet" is a still smaller group of 22 or 23 people, though only twenty ministers may be paid. Each minister typically heads a Department or Ministry, which can be created or renamed by prerogative. Cabinet committees are usually organised by the Prime Minister. Every minister is expected to follow collective responsibility, and the Ministerial Code 2010. This includes rules that Ministers are "expected to behave in a way that upholds the highest standards of propriety", "give accurate and truthful information to Parliament", resign if they "knowingly mislead Parliament", to be "as open as possible", have no possible conflicts of interest and give a full list of interests to a permanent secretary, and only "remain in office for so long as they retain the confidence of the Prime Minister". Assisting ministers is a modern civil service and network of government bodies, who are employed at the pleasure of the Crown. The Civil Service Code requires civil servants to show "high standards of behaviour", uphold core values of "integrity, honesty, objectivity and impartiality", and never put themselves in a position that "might reasonably be seen to compromise their personal judgment or integrity". Since the Freedom of Information Act 2000, it has been expected that government should be open about information, and should disclose it upon a request unless disclosure would compromise personal data, security or may run against the public interest. In this way the trend has been to more open, transparent and accountable governance.
United Kingdom constitutional law