Understanding the UK’s Situation with their Prime Minister
The United Kingdom, or the UK, is a country located in western Europe. They are known for a lot of things, from sports (soccer and rugby) to poetry (Shakespeare and Dickens); however, everyone can agree that the Queen and the government have been and always will be the front of the country. To understand the role of the government in the UK, we first must understand how it came to be.
In short, the United Kingdom came together through the joint forces of Great Britain and Ireland in the early 1800s. Changes were made through acts and eventually the two separate parties created a singular parliament under the United Kingdom. The British monarchy overtook and claimed the office of the United Kingdom through a history of reformation and political power. Currently, the government system of the United Kingdom is considered a parliamentary system with a constitutional monarchy in a unitary state. What is the prime minister’s role in this type of monarchy?
Many people believe that the British monarchy obtains all power of the UK, which is incorrect. The correlation between the British monarchy and the prime minister can be almost compared to the United States’s Executive and Legislative branches. While the monarchy is the face of the country, it can oversee and give input on Parliament bills being passed, they do not have complete power to overrule the government itself. Just like in America, the President is the face of the country, with some power, however, Congress (Senate and House) has the power to authorize and execute laws and bills. Now, the prime minister oversees all government action in the UK and there are multiple different organs under the prime minister. Currently, the UK has had trouble with this position.
With the resignation of Boris Johnson in early September, along with a handful of his governmental officials after a series of scandals, the British parliament was in need of a new candidate. Liz Truss, formally the Secretary of State for the Foreign Commonwealth and Development Affairs, became a contender and was sworn in soon after. Her economic plan of tax cuts and low regulation was discussed while she was a contender for the position, but when put into play, shortly after, did not work out, As a result of this failure, she resigned. Former Treasury chief Rishi Sunak has just become Britain’s prime minister leading the conservatives with an idea of economic stability. The UK has seen three different faces serving as the prime minister in the past few months which can impact the solidarity of the country and the characteristics of their widely known diplomacy and interests. Now that we know what the United Kingdom is going through, how will these government changes affect the international world?
The UK is in the top ranks of diplomacy, military, development culture, and influence; however, these can and will probably suffer with such changes being made with prime ministers. What will be the outcome of the UK economically? Will there be new conflict in the international world considering the new prime minister and lack of certain experience? Will we see an economic boost with the new prime minister Rishi Sunak?
