Parliamentary government system is established in Britain.

One of the main

features of this system is the efficient Council of Ministers and the leadership of
the Prime Minister. Therefore, the post of Prime Minister is very important in
Britain. He is the head of the cabinet, the head of government, the leader of
parliament and the principal advisor to the emperor.

Origin of the Office

The office of the Prime Minister is the result of a mere accident. Sir Robert
Walpole was the first Prime Minister of England. As "George I" did not know the
English language, and was not interested very much in British politics, he asked
Robert Walpole to preside over the Cabinet meetings. His successor, "George II"
also followed the same precedent. The man who presided over the Cabinet
meetings came to be known as the ‘Prime Minister’.

Prime Minister's post in England based on conventions until 1937. But, The
Ministers of the Crown Act, 1937, gave a formal recognition to his office and
allowed
him to draw a salary of £10,000 per annum as the first Lord of the Treasury.
Even today,
the Prime Minister draws the salary as the first Lord of Treasury. The power and
authority of the Prime Minister, therefore, much depends
on constitutional conventions. The office has little legal status.

Selection of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is appointed by the Emperor. The emperor cannot exercise
free will in this regard. He will appoint the leader of the majority party of the
House of Commons as the Prime Minister and invite him to form the cabinet. The
Emperor may exercise discretion in certain situations in the appointment of the
Prime Minister. All Prime Ministers since Sir Robert Walpole have been
appointed from House of Commons. A convention has been developed since 1923
that the Prime Minister should belong to the House of Commons. In 1923, the
King had to select either Lord Curzon or Stanley Baldwin as the Prime Minister.
The former was a member of the House of Lords and the latter belonged to the
House of Commons. Lord Curzon had greater cabinet experience than Stanley
Baldwin. But the King finally selected Baldwin as the Prime Minister after due
consultation with the prominent members of the party. As the Cabinet is
responsible to the House of Commons and the House of Commons is more
powerful than the House of Lords, it is natural to expect the leader of the
majority party of the House of Commons to be appointed as the Prime Minister.

Further, the Prime Minister is responsible for the party organization and in the
ultimate analysis; he is responsible to the electorate. Party activities are seen
only in the House of Commons but not in the House of Lords. The precedent that
the Prime Minister should belong to the House of Commons seems to be a sound
one. It has become a well- established convention in England in the twentieth
century.

There is no definite eligibility for the post of Prime Minister, but in practice it is
necessary for him to have personal qualities.

In Finner's words - "He must possess qualities, be alert to all dangers, not run
away from them, all greater knowledge and ability, not more distinctness or
ignorance, not the ability to instantiate and steady likeness and enthusiasm."

Functions of the Prime Minister

The whole position of the Prime Minister, as stated above is based, not on law
but on convention. The constitution is silent with regards to the office of the
Prime Minister. His functions are many and varied. He has immense powers and
considerable amount of prestige, which can, be seen from the following
description of his functions.

(i) Formation of the ministry

The Prime Minister forms the ministry. With the appointment of the Prime
Minister, the essential function of the Monarch is over, for it is left to the Prime
Minister to select his ministers and present the list to the Monarch. The Monarch
has no other alternative but to appoint the ministers as recommended by the
Prime Minister. The Prime Minister also has to select his cabinet colleagues. If the
Prime Minister resigns or dies, it means the resignation or death of the whole
ministry.

The Prime Minister can change the members of the ministry at any time. He can
request any of his colleagues to resign if he thinks that his presence in the
ministry is prejudicial to either efficiency or stability of the government.
He can also advise the King to dismiss a minister. Thus, the Prime Minister is the
keystone of the Cabinet–arch and can make or unmake the Cabinet in any way he
likes.

(ii) Distribution of portfolios

Distribution of portfolios is another important task of the Prime Minister. He has

a free hand in allocating various departments to his colleagues. It is for him to
decide the size of the Cabinet and the ministry.

(iii) The chairman of the Cabinet committee

The Prime Minister is the Chairman of the Cabinet Committee. He convenes the
meetings of the Cabinet and presides over them. He is to fix the agenda of the
meetings and it is for him to accept or reject proposals put by its members for
discussion in such meetings.He is the head of the Cabinet. He acts as the
Chairman of various standing and ad hoc Committees of the Cabinet. In short, he
acts as the chief guide to the Cabinet.

(iv) Leader of the House of Commons

It is now an established convention that the Prime Minister should belong to the
House of Commons. He represents the Cabinet as a whole and acts as the leader
of the House. He announces the important policies of government and speaks on
most important bills in the House of Commons.

(v) Chief coordinator of policies

The Prime Minister is the chief coordinator of the policies of several ministries
and departments. He has to see that the government works as an organic whole
and activities of various departments do not overlap or conflict with one another.
He has to keep an eye over all the departments. The functions of the government
have expanded so widely and its activities have become so complex that this
work of coordination has become a very difficult task for the Prime Minister. In
the case of conflict between two or more departments, he acts as the mediator.
He irons out conflicts among various ministries and various departments. Thus,
he plays a major role in coordinating the policies of the government.
(vi) Sole advisor to the Monarch

The Prime Minister is the sole adviser to the Monarch. The Prime Minister
communicates decisions of the government to the Monarch. He is the only
channel of communication between the Monarch and the Cabinet. If the Monarch
does not accept the advice of the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister may resign.
As long as the Prime Minister enjoys the confidence of the majority of House of
Commons, it is not possible for the Monarch to dismiss him. On certain occasions,
he may act as a personal advisor to the Sovereign. He also carries the opinion of
the King to his colleagues and thus acts as a link between the Sovereign and the
Cabinet. He advises the Sovereign in matters of appointment and in other
matters of national importance.

Thus, he has a legal right to access the Sovereign which other members of the
Cabinet ordinarily do not possess. For this reason, he frequently visits the
Buckingham Palace to meet the Monarch. He acts as the sole link between the
Cabinet and the Sovereign.

(vii) Leader of the nation

The Prime Minister is not only the leader of the majority party but also the leader
of the nation. A general election in England is in reality an election of the Prime
Minister. He should feel the pulse of the people and try to know the genuine
public opinion on matters which confront the nation. He is the chief spokesman
of the government policies in the House of Commons. He is the recognized leader
of the nation and his appeal to the people in critical times saves the nation.
Sometimes, in emergencies, he may take action without consulting the Cabinet.

(viii) Power of dissolution

The Prime Minister possesses the supreme power of dissolution and it is his sole
right to advise the Monarch to dissolve the House of Commons.

(ix) Other powers

The Prime Minister possesses wide powers of patronage, including the

appointment and dismissal of ministers. A large number of important political,
diplomatic, administrative, ecclesiastical and university appointments are made
by the Monarch, on his recommendations. He may occasionally attend
international conferences. He meets the Commonwealth Prime Minister in
regular conferences. He may meet the Heads of other Governments at the summit
talks and discuss the international problems. The Prime Minister often
discharges these functions without consulting the cabinet.

Position of the Prime Minister

The Prime Minister holds a key position in the British Constitutional system. The
description of the above functions and powers makes it crystal clear that the
Prime Minister is ‘the pivot of the whole system of the government’.

Lord Morley also describes him as ‘the key-stone of the Cabinet–arch’. He is, in
fact, though not in law, the working head of the State induced with a plentitude of
powers as no other constitutional ruler in the world possesses, not even the
President of the United States’. In relation to other members of the Cabinet, the
Prime Minister occupies a superior position, a position of an undisputed leader.
Even the description of the Prime Minister as‘the key stone of the Cabinet–arch’
is considered inadequate by Sir Ivor Jennings. He rather regarded the office as
‘the key-stone of the constitution’.

Sir William Harcourt used the Latin phrase when he described the Prime
Minister as luna inter stellas minores, i.e., ‘moon among lesser stars’.

Although this description explains the position of pre-eminence of the Prime

Minister of England, Sir Ivor Jennings goes a step further and describes him as ‘a
Sun around which other planets revolve’. In fact, the Prime Minister is like the
sun around which other planets revolve, and without him the ministers have no
existence.

With the growth of the party system and rigidity in party discipline, the Prime
Minister has become both the leader of the nation and the leader of the party. He
appeals to the electorate not as an individual but as a leader of the party.

Recent developments in the field of science and international relations have also
increased the importance of the Prime Minister. Radio and television focus
maximum attention on the Prime Minister than any other politician.

In the international field, the Prime Minister attends various summits and
conferences and has a very significant position in the implementation of policies.