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Where Is the Power?

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Abstract

The government of the United Kingdom is parliamentary. Parliamentary government links executive powers directly to legislative powers. The executive of a parliamentary government such as that of the United Kingdom is elected not directly and independently of the legislature but by the legislature. With modern political parties, voters know that when they vote for a certain political party, if that party becomes the majority in the legislature, they will have a certain person as the next executive (prime minister in the case of the United Kingdom). Becoming prime minister still requires action by Parliament. Tony Blair was not elected prime minister by the British people in 1997; they voted for a majority of Labour Party members of Parliament, who subsequently voted to have their party leader become prime minister.

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© 1998 Macmillan Publishers Limited

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Hancock, M.D., Conradt, D.P., Peters, B.G., Safran, W., Zariski, R. (1998). Where Is the Power?. In: Politics in Western Europe. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-14555-3_2

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