Great Britain

[Aimster]

They have power, but they do not use it? If the Queen wishes then she can overwrite Blair and control the country. Correct?

 

[Martin]

They have no practical power. Advise and be advised.

 

[Kibbo]

Umm, she might be able to call an election. But there are laws that constrain her legislative ability.

She does, however, have the power to appoint random people to invented positions of executive authority. Unlimited power in this regard, infact. She doesn't use them, though.

Yeah, I think that she might (technically) able to appoint anyone as PM, and it's just tradition that makes it so that that person is the leader of the majority party in parliament.

However, she can't affect the seats or composition of Parliament. If she appointed someone arbitrarily, that person would still need to maintain the confidence of the house, or there would be an election.

It's a long-standing tradition, however, that the Queen appoints people on the advice of parliament and the PM, meaning that the PM has all the real power.

 

[AFB]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E...England#Political_role

In theory, the Queen is an essential part of the legislative process of the United Kingdom. The Queen-in-Parliament (the Queen, acting with the advice and consent of Parliament) constitutes the British legislature, Parliament comprising the House of Lords and House of Commons. In practice, however, the Queen's role in the legislative process is entirely ceremonial. The Queen may legally grant or withhold Royal Assent to bills, but no British monarch has refused his or her assent to a bill since 1708. The Queen also gives a speech at the annual State Opening of Parliament, outlining the legislative agenda for the year, but the speech is written for her by ministers.

The Queen also has a ceremonial role in executive government. The British government is known as "Her Majesty's Government," and the Queen appoints the ministers who serve in it. In practice, again, the Government's composition is determined not by the Queen but by the Prime Minister, who "advises" the Queen. The Government is accountable in the first instance not to the Queen but to the House of Commons. The Queen's role in the judiciary is again ceremonial: the courts act in her name and prosecutions are brought on her behalf.

The Queen may not be brought to trial in the courts in her capacity as head of state, nor can she be sued personally for any official act carried out by her or in her name (although the Crown may be sued as a legal entity). The Queen is, however, a natural person under British common law, subject to the law like any other person. The question of whether the monarch could be tried for an offence committed in their personal capacity has never been tested. During the English Revolution of the 17th century, Parliament tried Charles I for treason, but after the Restoration of Charles II these proceedings were deemed to have been unlawful.

Prime Ministers take their weekly meetings with the Queen very seriously. One said he took them more seriously than Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons, because she would be better briefed and more constructive than anything he would face at the dispatch box. Elizabeth also has regular meetings with her individual ministers. Even ministers known to have republican views speak highly of her and value these meetings.

The Queen also meets the Scottish First Minister. The royal palace in Edinburgh, the Palace of Holyroodhouse, once home to Scottish kings and queens like Mary, Queen of Scots, is now regularly used again, with at least one member of the Royal Family (often the Prince of Wales or Princess Royal) in residence. She also receives reports from the new Welsh Assembly.
HM the Queen with Commonwealth Prime Ministers, in the 1950s. To her right, Sir Winston Churchill; to her left, Robert Menzies of Australia and Louis St. Laurent of Canada
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HM the Queen with Commonwealth Prime Ministers, in the 1950s. To her right, Sir Winston Churchill; to her left, Robert Menzies of Australia and Louis St. Laurent of Canada

Though bound by convention not to intervene directly in politics, her length of service, the fact that she has been a confidante of every prime minister since Churchill, and her knowledge of world leaders, means that when she does express an opinion, however cautiously, her words are taken seriously. In her memoirs, Margaret Thatcher offered this description of her weekly meetings with the Queen:

"Anyone who imagines that they are a mere formality or confined to social niceties is quite wrong; they are quietly businesslike and Her Majesty brings to bear a formidable grasp of current issues and breadth of experience."

The Queen has developed friendships with many foreign leaders, including Nelson Mandela, Mary Robinson and Bill Clinton. On occasion such contacts have proved highly beneficial for Britain. For example, John Major as prime minister once had difficulty working with a particular Commonwealth leader. The Queen informed Major that he and the leader shared a mutual sporting interest. Major then used that information to establish a personal relationship, which ultimately benefited both countries. Similarly she took the initiative when Irish President Mary Robinson began visiting Britain, by suggesting that she invite Robinson to visit her at the Palace. The Irish Government enthusiastically supported the idea. The result was the first ever visit by an Irish President to meet the British monarch.