The British Imperial Establishment, Post Imperial Era, and the ‘Churchillian’ World View, 1945-2016. (Adjustments & Challenges in Contemporary British Diplomatic Strategy)

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in
society.”2 At intervals they provide the competing teams in general
elections,
as we also discussed in Chapter One, when we examined elite theory. At the same
time,
they link the electorate with their Members of Parliament and consequently
with Parliament and the
government itself. “Parties do not merely represent the
interests and opinions of their supporters.
Their role in forming and educating
public opinion is also notable.”3 This role has grown quite substantially in modern
times as means of
communication have improved sharply. Also parties
themselves have developed more efficient and
comprehensive publicity
departments and research teams. “The proper working of a party system
depends
on certain assumptions. No party majority should be permanent and there must
be a good
measure of tolerance between the parties. Each party must accept and
abide by the fundamental premises of
the constitution; and members should be
free to join or leave the party at will. These assumptions are
closely bound
together and cannot exist in isolation. “⁴

The
leader of the majority party in the House of Commons forms the
government and he/she is called the Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister is the
most powerful member of the British government. “He is the
principal adviser to
the Crown and the person who exercises most of the Crown’s
constitutional
powers. It is also his task to inspire policy and to act as the chief mediator
between
opposing groups in his party and between his party and the electorate.”5 It must
not be forgotten that if the Prime Minister wishes the government to
remain in
power he/she must always remember the need to keep colleagues and supporters
happy. The
Prime Minister, like his/her ministers, is restricted by the conventions
of ministerial and collective
responsibility.

Inside this corporate body, of all ministers being jointly responsible for
policy (or as it is
colloquially referred to, ‘the government’), is the inner council
of ministers, known as the
Cabinet. The Cabinet is the policy-making body and
prime-mover. It consists of the Prime Minister and a
group of about twenty or so

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