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by thaumasiotes 2764 days ago
> This wasn't the UK government

In American usage, "the government" is the totality of the body which exercises sovereign authority. All MPs, minister or backbencher, are part of the government, because Parliament is a government body. Similarly, any official action by any part of Parliament is an action of the British government.
3 comments
pmyteh 2764 days ago
In British usage, the government is strictly the executive. We don't have formal separation of powers, and the courts and Parliament are very clear they aren't part of the government. You can see this from Parliament's insistence on using 'parliament.uk' rather than .gov.uk, and the judges similarly with judiciary.uk.

Bluntly, Parliament is Parliament. (Her Majesty's) Government overlaps it, but is not the same. The DCMS committee in particular scrutinises government, but isn't part of it. I guess you could describe Parliament as being able to exercise (a few) State powers, but they really aren't a branch of government on the US theory.

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NeedMoreTea 2764 days ago
In the UK context the government is a body of Parliament, not the other way around.

A committee is not of government as it will include MPs from all sides, and seeks non-partisan balance no matter which party is currently in government. The Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee currently has 5 members from each of the main parties and one from the LibDems.

Committees can, at times, be quite strident in their criticism of government.

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tobylane 2764 days ago
I believe it's normal to use the language of the context/subject, that a brand new Congressman is part of the US government but the chairman of a Parliament select committee isn't. Other times that chairmain could be considered part of the government, such as when he follows the whip on a vote.
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thaumasiotes 2764 days ago
It's normal for everyone to use their own language. We refer to the Chinese government, not the Chinese zhengfu. And the same criteria that let us know that the Chinese "全国人大" is part of a "government", despite the Chinese preferring not to use that word, also let us know that the British "Parliament" is part of a "government", despite the British preferring not to use that word.
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tobylane 2764 days ago
Different meaning of language. If you're American, is May the prime minister or the president of the UK?
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anoncake 2764 days ago
> It's normal for everyone to use their own language.

Das wage ich zu bezweifeln.

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