Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Tomassi, and I'm here to work with you on your citizenship lesson today.

Hopefully, you've got everything you need, you're all good to go, and then we can get started.

The title of today's lesson is how does the Prime Minister's role differ from other elected leaders? And this is part of the unit: How do others govern? So hopefully, by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to explain the role of the Prime Minister in the UK and describe how their role differs to other elected leaders across the world.

We have three key words in today's lesson.

Now the first one is Prime Minister.

That's the leader of the political party who is in power and head of the government.

Then is executive.

Now executive is the branch of government that is responsible for putting laws or decisions into effect.

And lastly, we have government.

So that is the group of people with the authority to govern a country.

In the UK, the government is chosen and led by the Prime Minister.

Now you will see these words in bold throughout the lesson.

If you ever need to refer back to them, you can see them here and you can find out what they mean.

So we have two learning cycles today and we're gonna make a start on the first, which is what is the role of the UK Prime Minister? So you can start thinking about if you know anything about the Prime Minister at all.

We have a picture of a person there.

Do you know who this is? So this, as of March 2025, is the UK's Prime Minister.

His name is Sir Keir Starmer.

If you managed to get that, well done.

So he's the leader of the Labour Party, and the reason he's Prime Minister is because they won in 2024, the General Election.

And at that time, he was the leader of the party, which meant then that he became the leader of the government and the Prime Minister.

He is not directly elected.

So the Prime Minister is not directly elected.

What that means is when everyone votes in the general election, when the votes are published, it is the party with the most votes that becomes the government.

Now whoever is the leader of that party, which is chosen by the members then becomes the Prime Minister.

Now each Prime Minister will also be a member of Parliament for an era.

So to give you an example, Sir Keir Starmer is the MP for Holborn and St.

Pancras.

Check for understanding: So the UK Prime Minister may change at least every five years in line with which election? So think about the election that they are involved in.

Is it a, local; b, devolved; or c, general? Hopefully, you managed to realise that it is the general election.

So if we talk now a bit about what the actual Prime Minister does, have you got any ideas already? If you could, you could start thinking about what you think they might do.

So what they do is they decide on new policies and they have significant influence over government decisions.

So when you think about policies, these are the ideas that they'd like to put in maybe proposed laws or proposed changes.

They appoint a Cabinet.

Now, if you don't know what a Cabinet is, the Cabinet would be members and ministers of certain departments.

So things like the Department for Transport, the Department for Health.

And they would all have ministers for each of those areas and they will specifically decide.

So it's not the Prime Minister here saying, "I'm gonna decide on everything in the country." They have a group around them and they all specialise in different areas.

They go off and they do all the research and they do all the ideas as well.

And it's a shared collective.

But ultimately, obviously the Prime Minister has a big role to play in that because they are the leader of that.

They also oversee the civil service.

So that's administrative arm of government.

So these that might be the people that support alongside the Cabinet and that they might be there to help support with policies or maybe they support with the admin side of it.

If we talk more about the policies now, so the Prime Minister is responsible for directing government policies and goals and they plan to address important issues.

So things like education, like we were talking about earlier, healthcare, the economy.

So how is the economy going to improve? What could they do? What can they put in place? What would they like to achieve? One of the ways that the Prime Minister gets others involved in this, and this is all also part of the scrutiny and to check that they're doing the right thing, they have something called Question Time.

So this happens weekly and it's where other MPs can ask questions about policies and what's going through to find out more information or to scrutinise what the government and the Prime Minister is doing.

Alex says here, "I've watched Prime Minister's Question Time on TV.

It's where MPs ask questions about policies and actions.

Prime Minister can answer and explain their decisions." Yes, that's very true and it is.

So have you ever seen it? If you have, then you'll have an idea how it works.

If you're not and you are interested, you could always go and you can watch it on the telly and you could see what's going on.

So we'll talk a little bit more about when we said about the Cabinet earlier.

Now the Prime Minister is responsible for appointing the Cabinet and it's the group of ministers who discuss and make decisions on how government policy will implement it.

They'll all be responsible for different areas.

And then, they will have their input into that as well.

Now the Prime Minister can change the Cabinet as they like.

Generally, it tends to happen after an election, but it could happen if there's a change in the government's priorities or if a minister resigns or is removed, then the Cabinet might have a reshuffle.

So you might have heard that.

You might hear that on the news.

If the Cabinet is going for a reshuffle, that's what it means.

It means that they'll be changing the ministers and the departments and who's in charge of each department.

The UK Prime Minister has got some other roles as well.

Have you got any ideas what these might be? Now think as well, 'cause we spoke about genuinely nationally some of the roles.

Do you know any of the other roles? So we said civil service, they provide national leadership.

Now, things like economic difficulties, times of crisis, you might see them delivering speeches, et cetera.

Obviously a good example is during COVID-19.

And they represent the UK internationally.

So they might meet with foreign leaders or leaders of other countries, participate in international organisations, help to shape foreign policy and policies across the world and negotiate trade deals.

So that would be about the countries that the United Kingdom is going to trade with and how it's gonna work and what they get in return, et cetera.

Andeep says here, "So the civil service are government employees who help ensure government policies are carried out effectively.

They're not elected but hired to work in different departments." So that's actually a good thing to remember, it's that the civil service are elected employees.

A bit like if you've ever looked at the local council and you look at council officers.

So they're the ones that are hired and they work in the departments.

This is kind of the same as the civil service.

They are the hired part.

They're not the elected.

The elected part would be the MPs, the House of Commons.

So check for understanding now 'cause we've gone through a lot of different roles that the UK Prime Minister has.

Take some time.

And if you need to, you can pause.

And can you highlight the roles that apply to the UK Prime Minister? So we've got there, directing government policies, signing the royal assent, maintaining order in the House of Commons, meeting with foreign leaders, the leader of the opposition, overseeing the civil services, providing national leadership, and being the Monarch's chief advisor.

How did you get on? Did you manage to work out that it is these four here? So the role of the Prime Minister is to direct government policies, meet with foreign leaders, oversee the civil service, and provide national leadership.

Some of the other roles on there were responsibilities of other people in either the House of Commons or in the UK Parliament.

So we will move on a little bit now to find out a little bit more about the Prime Minister.

The Prime Minister is not required to serve the full term in office.

Do you know what that means? So when we say full term, we have a general election every five years.

This means the Prime Minister doesn't have to stay in for the full five years.

The reason is, well, there could be many reasons.

So actually a Prime Minister could choose to resign if they cho- if they wanted to.

If a Prime Minister didn't choose to resign, they might leave if the House of Commons lacks confidence in the government, then a vote and no confidence can be called.

So this is when they lack confidence in the whole government and they think, you know, the government, the Cabinet, the Prime Minister isn't doing what they said they're supposed to be doing and all members of the House of Commons can vote.

And if the majority agree that there is no confidence, then the Prime Minister may be forced to resign or request for Parliament to be dissolved and an early election is called.

Now, this has happened.

It's not a common occurrence but it has happened in the past.

So to give you some examples.

In 2022, Boris Johnson faced a vote of no confidence.

However, it did not result in his removal, as only 41% voted against him.

But in contrast, in 1979, James Callaghan lost a vote of no confidence and that led to his resignation.

So that is the last time it happened in the UK where a vote with no confidence was lost and led to a resignation.

But it is to say, so obviously, it doesn't happen all the time, but it is something that can happen.

So if the government is not holding up to what they say they're doing, there is an opportunity for them to be changed.

Check for understanding now.

True or false? The UK Prime Minister has to stay in power for the full term.

That's false, can you remember why? The Prime Minister could choose to resign voluntarily at any moment or if a vote of no confidence in the government is lost, the Prime Minister would be expected to resign.

That moves us onto our first task for today.

Can you draw an outline of a UK Prime Minister and write around it all the roles they have? This is the first part of the task.

Now if you are really creative and you'd like to, you could find a Prime Minister through the histories and you could find one that you would like to draw.

If not, you could just draw an outline of what a Prime Minister might wear or their attire.

The key part here is thinking about the different roles they have.

So you can branch off around it and see the roles.

If you take some time to pause, we'll feedback, and then we'll go onto the second part of the task.

How did you get on with that? As you can see, this example here is just an outline.

If you did draw a current or historical Prime Minister, great job.

And, but did you manage to get the roles? So some of the roles include: directing and debate policies, representing the UK and internationally, appointing the Cabinet, overseeing the civil service, and providing a national leadership.

Great job if you did.

Now we're gonna move on to the second part.

So can you order the roles from most to least important and give a justification for your decision? Now remember with this task, there is no right or wrong answer.

What is gonna make your answer here is how you justify your decisions.

So make sure you have a think about that side of why you are picking the order of roles.

And then when you are ready, unpause and we can feedback.

How did you get on with that? Now, as I said, your response could have the roles in a completely different order, and that is fine.

The main thing here is thinking about your justification.

So if you've justified why it should be important and why it shouldn't, then that is a great answer.

So I'll show you here.

So this one, the response could look like this.

So number one, representing the UK internationally; two, directing debate and policies; three, appointing the Cabinet; four, provide a national leadership; five, overseeing the civil service.

The reason representing the UK internationally is the most important is 'cause it helps to build relationships with other countries who could be allies and help to trade.

Directing and debate policy should be near the top because the Prime Minister is held accountable to the citizens of the UK.

So as you can see in that answer, it's the justification that shows why the ones that have been put at the top have.

Hopefully, you managed to get on all right with that.

And then, we'll move on to the second learning cycle.

So what is the role of other elected leaders? Andeep says, "Does every country have a Prime Minister?" Izzy says, "No, each country has its own political system.

This means the roles of the leaders vary in each country." So we start here.

Do you know who this person is? And do you know where they are or have been a leader of? So this is Donald Trump.

And as of March 2025, he's the leader of the US.

Now the USA is a representative democracy, so that's similar to the UK, but they have a presidential system.

So they do not have a Prime Minister, they have a President as their leader.

Now Donald Trump is a member of the Republican Party and he served as a 45th and 47th president of the United States.

That means he served twice.

If you can remember, the UK general election happens how long? So that's at least every five years.

Now in the US, the presidential election happens every four years.

And the US citizens vote for the presidential candidate.

To give you a bit more about the role of the President, 'cause it's not exactly the same.

So it's set out by the American Constitution.

And some of these powers include: being the head of state and the leader of the executive branch of government.

They're responsible for overall governance and running the country.

If you think in the UK, the UK Prime Minister is the leader of the executive branch, but they are not the head of state.

That's the Monarch.

In the US, they propose legislation to Congress, which is the legislator, and they sign their legislation.

Again, that's not the same as the UK.

They also nominate all federal judges, which is the judiciary.

So it's the President's responsibility to pick and choose and nominate them.

That, again, isn't a responsibility in the UK and it is the US appointing the Cabinet.

Can you remember? That one is the same as the UK, and the president is responsible for representing the USA internationally.

Again, similar to the Prime Minister.

So check for understanding.

Can you tick all the statements that apply to the role of the US President? One, the President is head of state and executive branch; two, the President nominates federal judges; three, the President appoints the Cabinet in the House of Commons; four, the President signs legislation; five, the President leads Prime Minister's Question Time.

Number one is correct.

The President is Head of State and executive branch.

Number two, they nominate federal judges.

Number four, they sign the legislation.

The other two are responsibilities of the UK Prime Minister, not the US President.

How did you get on with that? Hopefully, that was okay.

And we're gonna move on to the next one here.

So we've got Saudi Arabia.

Now Saudi Arabia is a monarchy.

As of March 2025, the leader of Saudi Arabia is a King.

So that's because they're a monarchy, and it is King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud.

In Saudi Arabia, what that means is rulers are descendants, so that's their children, of the original King.

To give you an example, he ascended to the throne in 2015.

So if you're thinking back to the UK Prime Minister, the general election happens at least every five years.

And in the US, it happens, presidential elections happen every four years.

Here, the King has been the leader since 2015.

So, so far 10 years.

Now the main role they have is they're the King, they're the Prime Minister, and they're the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques.

So they have three different major roles.

To give you a bit of example and a bit more detail, they appoint a Council of Ministers.

So that's the equivalent to their Cabinet to develop and implement policy under their leadership.

So again, that's quite similar to the UK.

However, they're not elected, they're appointed from the King.

They're the Head of State and the government.

Can you remember what country that's similar to? It's that similar to the US.

They have a significant authority over the executive, legislative, and judiciary branches.

Now this is a little bit different, because in the UK and the US, you have a separation of powers.

Here, in Saudi Arabia, the King has authority over each three branch.

They represent Saudi Arabia internationally.

Again, similar to the other elected leaders.

And they can issue royal decrees, appoint ministers, and make major policy decisions.

The Council of Ministers provide support.

However, the King has the ultimate authority on most matters.

So this is what's a little bit different is because when the King, when you have somewhere that's a monarchy, the King holds most of the authority and power.

So check for understanding now.

Which of these statements apply to the role of the leader of Saudi Arabia? a, the King has ultimate authority on most matters; b, Parliament create laws and the King only signs off on them; c, the King of head is Head of State and the government? There is two correct answers here.

Did you manage to get 'em? Well done if you did.

So we will carry on now with the second task.

Can you write a paragraph comparing the lead role of the UK Prime Minister to another leader? Now it's up to you which leader you pick.

Main thing is knowing how it compares.

So maybe some similarities and some differences to this other leader to the UK Prime Minister.

Take some time now, pause.

And then when you are ready and you have your response, unpause and we can feed back.

How did you get on with that? So your response could look like this.

The UK Prime Minister serves as the head of government, but is not the Head of State.

In the UK, this is the monarch.

The UK Prime Minister is member of both the executive and legislative branches.

In contrast, in the US, the President is both head of government and Head of State.

The President is also responsible for nominating federal judges, a task that is not part of the Prime Minister's duties.

Both the UK Prime Minister and the President are leaders of the executive branch and represent their countries internationally, although their functions vary due to their differences in their political systems. How did you get on? Now if you picked a different leader and a different country, that's fine as long as you've managed to remember the differences.

So if you have a look at some of what the UK does, how did that country differ or how is it similar? And now that brings us to a close of this lesson.

So to summarise, the Prime Minister is the head of the executive branch in the UK.

The main roles of the Prime Minister include directing and debate policies and representing the UK internationally.

Other countries' elected leaders might have different roles and responsibilities.

These vary from each country.

For example, in the USA, the President is the elected leader and head of both State and Government.

In Saudi Arabia, the leader is the King who has the authority of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches.

Did you manage to get that? And hopefully, you now know what the role of the UK Prime Minister is and some responsibilities of different leaders and how it can vary across the world.

So thank you for working with me today and enjoy the rest of your day.