What does the Prime Minister do?
The nutshell
The Prime Minister is the leader of the UK government. The Prime Minister picks the government's team of ministers and answers for its decisions in Parliament.
Every fact on this page comes from official government pages and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like GOV — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What the Prime Minister leads
The Prime Minister is the leader of the UK government. According to GOV.UK, the Prime Minister is responsible for the policy and decisions of the whole government.GOV The Prime Minister also oversees the Civil Service, the staff who carry out the government's day-to-day work.
Choosing the ministers
The Prime Minister does not run the country alone. The Prime Minister picks a team of ministers to take charge of different areas, such as health, schools or defence. The most senior ministers form the Cabinet — around twenty people chosen by the Prime Minister to lead the main government departments.Parl
How the job is handed over
The monarch formally appoints the Prime Minister. By custom, the monarch picks whoever can command a majority in the House of Commons, normally the leader of the party with the most MPs, according to the Institute for Government.IfG
Answering to Parliament
The Prime Minister must answer for the government in Parliament. Every Wednesday the Prime Minister takes questions from MPs in the House of Commons, a session known as Prime Minister's Questions.Parl There is no single law that lists everything the job involves, the House of Commons Library notes.HoC
- The Prime Minister is also an MP, chosen by voters in one local area just like every other MP
- The monarch formally appoints the Prime Minister, but by custom picks whoever can command a majority of MPs
- There is no single law that lists everything the job involves, according to the House of Commons Library
- The Prime Minister is not the head of state, a role that belongs to the monarch
- The Prime Minister cannot pass a law alone, because laws need a vote in Parliament
- Voters do not choose the Prime Minister directly, as each general election vote picks a local MP
The deep end6 min
A powerful job with few rules written down
The office of Prime Minister grew over centuries out of custom, not a single founding law. The House of Commons Library records that there is no constitutional definition of the Prime Minister's role, and that the Cabinet Manual describes the Prime Minister as head of the UK Government but with few statutory functions.HoCMuch of what the office does rests on convention — long-standing practice — rather than on Acts of Parliament.
Leader of the government
GOV.UK sets out the core of the job. The Prime Minister leads His Majesty's Government and is ultimately responsible for its policy and decisions.GOVThe Prime Minister also oversees the Civil Service, the permanent staff who put government decisions into practice, and is the principal government figure in the House of Commons.
Choosing and leading the Cabinet
One of the main powers of the office is choosing who else sits in government. UK Parliament explains that the Cabinet is the team of around twenty most senior ministers, chosen by the Prime Minister to lead on policy areas and head departments such as Health, Transport or Defence.Parl Ministers are then formally appointed by the monarch on the advice of the Prime Minister, according to the Institute for Government.IfG
How a Prime Minister is chosen, and held to account
The public does not vote for a Prime Minister on the ballot paper. Each vote in a general election picks one local MP. The monarch then appoints as Prime Minister the person who can command the confidence of the House of Commons, which normally means the leader of the party with the most MPs, the Institute for Government explains.IfG
Once in office, the Prime Minister must keep the support of the Commons to govern. Every Wednesday the Prime Minister answers questions from MPs at Prime Minister's Questions, and Parliament can hold the government to account for its decisions.Parl