Chapter 14
Gazing at the Summit: The PM and Cabinet
In This Chapter
Taking in the prime minister
Looking at cabinet responsibilities
Meeting the bigwig cabinet members
Moving things around in the cabinet
This is the chapter to read if you want to know about the real bigwigs in British politics – the ministers and the prime minister – whose decisions affect your daily life, propel the economy into boom or bust, and even send soldiers to war.
The prime minister and cabinet are at the very pinnacle of British politics and in this chapter I explain why they’re so powerful and how they run the government day in, day out.
Going Straight to the Top: The Prime Minister
Whoever is prime minister (PM) is the most important person in British politics: the big cheese, the head honcho, the main man or woman – you get the idea!
The PM wields so much power for a whole host of reasons, including that the PM
- Leads the biggest political party in the House of Commons, the main law-making body in the country
- Gets to appoint ministers who perch at the top of all the main branches of government, called ...
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