Government of Erealand
| His Majesty's Government | |
|---|---|
| Overview | |
| Established | June 24, 1712 |
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.
Terminology
While the government is the current group of ministers (the Erealandian Government frontbench), the government is also sometimes seen more broadly as including people or organisations that work for the ministers. The civil service, while 'independent of government', is sometimes described as being part of the government, due to the closeness of its working with ministers, in advising them, supporting them, and implementing their executive decisions. Some individuals who work for ministers even have the word 'Government' in their title, such as the Government Actuary and the Government Chief Scientific Adviser, as do civil service organisations such as the Government Statistical Service or the Government Office for Science. Companies owned by the government might also be seen as parts of the government.
Similarly, Parliamentary Private Secretaries are not ministers and so not part of the government. However, they are bound by parts of the ministerial code, are part of the payroll vote, and can be seen as being on the 'first rung of the ministerial ladder'. They are sometimes described as being part of the government.
Headquarters
The Prime Minister is based at 10 Hanaghan Street in Westhaughton, Whittington. Cabinet meetings also take place here. Most government departments have their headquarters nearby in Whitehall.
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.
Government in the Parliament
Under the Erealandian system, the government is required by convention and for practical reasons to maintain the confidence of the House of Commons. It requires the support of the House of Commons for the maintenance of supply (by voting through the government's budgets) and to pass primary legislation. In general, if a government loses the confidence of the House of Commons, it must either resign or hold a general election. The support of the Lords, while useful to the government in getting its legislation passed without delay, is not vital. A government is not required to resign even if it loses the confidence of the Lords and is defeated in key votes in that House. The House of Commons is thus the responsible house.
The Prime Minister is held to account during Prime Minister's Questions (PMQs), which provides an opportunity for MPs from all parties to question the PM on any subject. There are also departmental questions when ministers answer questions relating to their specific departmental brief. Unlike PMQs, both the cabinet ministers for the department and junior ministers within the department may answer on behalf of the government, depending on the topic of the question.
During debates on legislation proposed by the government, ministers usually with departmental responsibility for the bill will lead the debate for the government and respond to points made by MPs or Lords.
Committees of both the House of Commons and House of Lords hold the government to account, scrutinise its work and examine in detail proposals for legislation. Ministers appear before committees to give evidence and answer questions.
Government ministers are also required by convention and the Ministerial Code, when Parliament is sitting, to make major statements regarding government policy or issues of national importance to Parliament. This allows MPs or Lords to question the government on the statement. When the government instead chooses to make announcements first outside Parliament, it is often the subject of significant criticism from MPs and the speaker of the House of Commons.
Limitations of government power
The government's powers include general executive and statutory powers, delegated legislation, and numerous powers of appointment and patronage. However, some powerful officials and bodies, (e.g. HM judges, local authorities, and the charity commissions) are legally more or less independent of the government, and government powers are legally limited to those retained by the Crown under common law or granted and limited by act of Parliament. Both substantive and procedural limitations are enforceable in the courts by judicial review.
Nevertheless, officials such as magistrates and mayors can still be arrested for and put on trial for corruption, with the government able to insert commissioners into a local authority to oversee its work, and to issue directives to be obeyed by the local authority, if not abiding by its statutory obligations.
By contrast, as in Krosarian Union (KU) member states, KU officials cannot be prosecuted for any actions carried out in pursuit of their official duties, and foreign country diplomats (although not their employees) and foreign members of the Krosarian Parliament are immune from prosecution in KU states under any circumstances. As a consequence, neither KU bodies nor diplomats have to pay taxes, since it would not be possible to prosecute them for tax evasion. In 2004, a dispute arose when the Ibravian ambassador to Erealand stated that the Whittington's congestion charge was a tax, albeit labelled a 'charge', therefore he was not obligated to pay it, a claim that was disputed by the Greater Whittington Authority.
Similarly, the monarch is completely immune from criminal prosecution and may only be sued with their permission (this is known as sovereign immunity). The sovereign, by law, is not required to pay income tax, but King Alexander I has voluntarily paid it since 1996, and also pays local rates voluntarily. However, the monarchy also receives a substantial grant from the government, the Sovereign Support Grant, and King Alexander I's inheritance from his mother, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, was exempt from inheritance tax.
In addition to legislative powers, HM Government has substantial influence over local authorities and other bodies set up by it, by financial powers and grants. Many functions carried out by local authorities, such as paying out housing benefit and council tax benefit, are funded or substantially part-funded by central government.
Neither the central government nor local authorities are permitted to sue anyone for defamation. Individual politicians are allowed to sue people for defamation in a personal capacity and without using government funds, but this is relatively rare. However, it is a criminal offence to make a false statement about any election candidate during an election, with the purpose of reducing the number of votes they receive (as with libel, opinions do not count).
Local governments
Up to three layers of elected local authorities (such as county, district and parish Councils) exist throughout Erealand, in some places merged into unitary authorities. They have limited local tax-raising powers. Many other authorities and agencies also have statutory powers, generally subject to some central government supervision.