In this third and final section of the Political Systems unit of the Higher Politics course, you will learn about the governments of the UK and USA. The government may also be known as the executive branch.

You will compare the influence of the executive branch and look specifically at:

• the distribution of power
• the policy-making function
• the relationship between the executive and other branches of government

The UK Executive Branch

Currently (July 2020), the executive in the UK is the Prime Minister, The Rt Hon Boris Johnson MP who leads the government with the support of the Cabinet and ministers.

The Cabinet is made up of the senior members of government. Every week during Parliament, members of the Cabinet (Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers) meet to discuss the most important issues for the government. You can find out who is currently in the Cabinet here. You can gain an overview of the UK executive branch here.

The US Executive Branch

The power of the Executive Branch is vested in the President of the United States, who also acts as head of state and Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. The current President of the United States is Donald Trump. The President is responsible for implementing and enforcing the laws written by Congress and, to that end, appoints the heads of the federal agencies, including the Cabinet. The Vice President is also part of the Executive Branch, ready to assume the Presidency should the need arise.

The Cabinet and independent federal agencies are responsible for the day-to-day enforcement and administration of federal laws. These departments and agencies have missions and responsibilities as widely divergent as those of the Department of Defense and the Environmental Protection Agency, the Social Security Administration and the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Including members of the armed forces, the Executive Branch employs more than 4 million Americans. You can gain an overview of the US Executive branch here.