The government of the UK Key Terms

Parliamentary Sovereignty

The doctrine that Parliament is the supreme legal authority in the UK, capable of creating or repealing any law.

Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs)

A weekly session where MPs ask the Prime Minister direct questions, providing a high‑profile forum for executive scrutiny.

Collective Responsibility

A convention that requires all Cabinet members to publicly support Cabinet decisions, ensuring a unified government stance.

Prime Minister

The head of the UK government, appointed by the monarch on the advice of Parliament, who leads the Cabinet and sets government policy.

Constitutional Convention

A practice that is not legally enforceable but is followed by political actors as a matter of established custom.

Cabinet Collective Responsibility

The principle that all ministers must publicly support Cabinet decisions, ensuring unified policy.

Cabinet collective responsibility

A convention that requires all cabinet ministers to publicly support the decisions of the cabinet, ensuring a unified front.

Royal Prerogative

The set of powers historically exercised by the monarch, now largely ceremonial, including the appointment of ministers on the advice of the Prime Minister.

Collective responsibility

The constitutional convention that all cabinet ministers must publicly support cabinet decisions, even if they privately disagree, to preserve cabinet unity.

Individual responsibility

The principle that ministers are personally accountable to Parliament for the actions of their department.

Prime Ministerial prerogative

The set of executive powers exercised by the Prime Minister, including appointing ministers, summoning and dissolving Parliament, and representing the UK abroad.

Cabinet collective responsibility

A convention that requires all cabinet ministers to publicly support decisions made by the cabinet, ensuring a unified government front.

Constitutional Convention

A non‑legally enforceable practice that is treated as binding by political actors.

Prime Minister’s Cabinet

The group of senior ministers selected by the Prime Minister to advise and implement government policy.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to examine the legality of actions taken by public bodies and to declare them unlawful or incompatible with human rights.

Judicial Precedent

The principle that courts should follow the rulings of higher courts in similar cases, providing consistency and predictability in the law.

Judicial Appointments Commission

An independent statutory body responsible for selecting and recommending candidates for judicial office in England and Wales.

Judicial Independence

The principle that judges must be free from external pressures, including political influence, to make impartial decisions.

Judicial Review

The authority of courts to assess the legality of actions taken by the executive and legislative branches.

Judicial Independence

The principle that judges should be free from external influence to make impartial decisions.

Judicial Review

The power of courts to examine the legality of actions taken by public bodies and to invalidate those that are unlawful.

Separation of Powers

A constitutional principle that divides government functions into distinct branches—executive, legislative, and judicial—to prevent the concentration of power.

Ultra Vires

A legal principle meaning ‘beyond the powers’, used to describe actions taken by a public body that exceed its statutory authority.

Judicial Review

The process by which courts assess the legality of actions taken by public bodies, including the power to quash or remit unlawful decisions.

Devolution

The statutory transfer of powers from the UK Parliament to a recognised sub‑national legislature, allowing that body to legislate on devolved matters.

Decentralisation

The broader process of distributing authority from a central government to lower levels, which may include administrative, fiscal or local government powers.

Devolution

The statutory transfer of powers from the UK Parliament to separate, elected bodies in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland, allowing them to legislate on a range of domestic matters.

Reserved Matters

Policy areas that remain under the exclusive control of the UK Parliament, such as defence, foreign affairs, and immigration, and cannot be legislated by devolved administrations.

Devolution

The constitutional process of transferring powers from the UK Parliament to sub‑national bodies.

Greater London Authority

An executive body for London, comprising a directly elected mayor and an elected assembly, with powers over transport, policing, economic strategy and planning.