Government of Erealand
{{Infobox executive government | government_name = His Majesty's Government | nativename = | border = central | image = HM Government logo.svg | caption = | date_established = June 24, 1712 | state = Erealand | country = | address = 10 Hanaghan Street, Whittington | leader_title = Prime Minister | appointed = Sovereign of the United Kingdom (Alexander I) | budget = | main_organ = Cabinet of Erealand | ministries = 18 ministerial departments, ?? non-ministerial departments | responsible = Parliament of Erealand | url = gov.er The Government of Erealand, domestically referred to as His Majesty's Government, is the main government of the United Kingdom of Erealand and ???. The Prime Minister heads the government, appointing other government ministers and officials. The government is sometimes referred to by the metonym "Westhaughton" or "Whitehall", due to these locations being where many of its offices are situated.
Erealand has had a Conservative-led government since 2011, with successive prime ministers being the then leaders of the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister and their most senior ministers belong to an executive body, known as the Cabinet.
Ministers of the Crown are responsible to the House in which they sit; they make statements in that House and take questions from their members. For most senior ministers this is usually the elected House of Commons rather than the House of Lords. The government is dependent on the Parliament to make primary legislation, and the general elections are held every five years (at most) to elect a new House of Commons, unless the Prime Minister advises the monarch to dissolve the Parliament, which may lead to an earlier election. After an election, the monarch selects as Prime Minister the leader of a political party, who is most likely to command the confidence of the House of Commons, usually by possessing a majority of MPs.
Under the uncodified Erealandian constitution, executive authority lies with the sovereign, although this authority is exercised only after receiving the advice of the Privy Council. The Prime Minister, the House of Lords, the Leader of the Opposition, police members and military high command all serve as members and advisers of the monarch on the Privy Council. In most cases the Cabinet members exercise power directly as leaders of the government departments, though some Cabinet positions are rudimental to a greater or lesser degree.
History
Erealand is a constitutional monarchy in which the reigning monarch (i.e. the king or queen, who are the head of state at any given time) can neither make nor take any overt political decisions. All actual political decisions are taken by the government and Parliament. This constitutional situation is the result of a long history of limiting and curtailing the monarch's political powers, beginning with the Magna Carta of 1296.
Since the start of Edward VII's reign in 1905, by convention the Prime Minister has been an elected Member of the Parliament and thus answerable to the House of Commons. A similar convention applies to the Chancellor of the Exchequer, as it is still considered politically unsound for the budget speech to be delivered in the House of Lords, with members of Parliament unable to question the Chancellor directly.
Her Majesty's Government and the Crown
The Erealandian monarch, currently Alexander I, is the head of state and the sovereign, but not the head of government. The monarch takes little direct part in governing the country and remains neutral in political affairs. However, the authority of the state that is vested in the sovereign, known as the Crown, remains as the source of executive power exercised by the government.
In addition to explicit statutory authority, the Crown also possesses a body of powers in certain matters collectively known as the royal prerogative. These powers range from the authority to issue or withdraw passports to declarations of war. By long-standing convention, most of these powers are delegated from the sovereign to various ministers or other officers of the Crown, who may use them without having to obtain the consent of Parliament.
The prime minister also has weekly meetings with the monarch, who has their right and duty to express any views on Government matters. These meetings, as with all communications between the King and his Government remain strictly confidential. Having expressed their views, the monarch abides by the advice of their ministers.
Royal prerogative powers include, but are not limited to, the following:
Domestic powers
- The power to appoint (and in theory, dismiss) a prime minister. Exercised by the monarch personally. By convention they are expected to appoint the individual most likely to be capable of commanding the confidence of a majority in the House of Commons.
- The power to appoint and dismiss other ministers. This power is exercised by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister.
- The power to assent to and enact laws by giving royal assent to bills passed Parliament, which is required in order for a law to become effective (an act). This is exercised by the monarch, who also theoretically has the power to refuse assent.
- The power to give and to issue commissions to commissioned officers in the Armed Forces.
- The power to command the Armed Forces. This power is exercised by the Defence Council on the King's behalf.
- The power to appoint members to the Privy Council.
- The power to issue, cancel or revoke Erealandian passports and the general power to provide or deny Erealandian passport facilities to Erealandian citizens and nationals. This is exercised by the Home Secretary domestically.
- The power to pardon any conviction (the royal prerogative of mercy).
- The power to grant, cancel and annul any honours.
- The power to create corporations (including the status of being a city, with its own corporation) by royal charter, and to amend, replace and revoke existing charters.
Foreign powers
- The power to make and ratify treaties.
- The power to declare war and conclude peace with other nations.
- The power to deploy the Armed Forces overseas.
- The power to recognise states.
- The power to credit and receive diplomats.
Although Erealand has no single constitutional document, the government published the above list in 2003 to increase transparency, as some of the powers exercised in the name of the monarch are part of the royal prerogative. However, the complete extent of the royal prerogative powers has never been fully set out, as many of them originated in ancient custom and the period of absolute monarchy, or were modified by later constitutional practice.
Ministers and departments
As of 2022, there are around ??? government ministers supported by more than 500,000 civil servants and other staff working in the 18 ministerial departments and their executive agencies. There are also an additional ?? non-ministerial departments with a range of further responsibilities.
In theory, a government minister does not have to be a member of either House of Parliament. However, convention is that ministers must be members of either the House of Commons or House of Lords in order to be accountable to Parliament. From time to time, prime ministers appoint non-parliamentarians as ministers. In recent years such ministers have been appointed to the House of Lords.