Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Executive definition

What does Executive mean? In local government practice, “Executive” refers to the political leadership that takes day-to-day decisions on council services, typically senior councillors holding portfolio responsibilities. In England (and many Welsh authorities) it is a statutory body under the Local Government Act 2000: either a leader and cabinet or an elected mayor and cabinet. It exercises “executive functions”, with decisions (including key decisions) subject to publication, transparency rules and overview and scrutiny (including call-in), while full council sets the budget and policy framework. In Wales, executives are similarly provided for under the 2000 Act and Welsh regulations, though councils may instead operate a committee...

UK constitutional monarchy and Parliament: the Crown’s powers, conventions, royal prerogative, State Opening, dissolution and prorogation, Royal Assent and consents, hung Parliaments, and succession

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Practice notes

Who is the Head of State?

The monarch serves as Head of State and is formally:

the State’s Supreme Executive Officer
the Supreme Governor of the Church of England
the titular commander-in-chief of the three services of the armed forces (army, navy and air force)
the fount of justice and of all titles of honour, distinctions and dignities

Foreign affairs—including treaty-making and the declaration of war and peace—are carried out by the executive in the monarch’s name, known as the exercise of the royal prerogative. Without a single written Constitution, the Crown stands as the State’s symbol, with the monarch acting as a figurehead through significant ceremonial roles, such as the State Opening of Parliament.

Relationship with Parliament

The Crown’s reliance on its people is mirrored in its relationship with Parliament. In earlier periods, the monarch personally exercised the State’s supreme executive, legislative and judicial authority. Through modern history—particularly after the enforced abdication of James II and the Bill of Rights 1688—the monarchy’s role has shifted to that of a public institution acting as...

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Adam Cygan

University of Leicester

Professor Adam Cygan is Professor of European Union Law at the University of Leicester. His research focuses on institutional and constitutional governance within the Internal Market with a particular emphasis upon the legislative process. Professor Cygan has published extensively on the role of national parliaments in EU decision-making and his research challenges core assumptions within EU integration concerning the constitutional principles of accountability and democracy. In particular, his research has examined the contribution made by parliamentary committees to improving accountability within EU governance. Professor Cygan also has also published extensively on governance issues surrounding the operation of the Internal Market including access to healthcare and free movement of persons. Professor Cygan has significant experience of delivering elite-level consultancy and training to a variety of target groups including members of the judiciary, civil servants, policy makers and legislators. He has worked on a...

Darragh Connell

Darragh deals with all aspects of commercial law with specific emphasis upon domestic and international contractual disputes, insolvency, civil fraud as well as crypto asset recovery. He has a busy commercial litigation practice regularly appearing in the High Court. Prior to joining the Bar, Darragh worked as an analyst with Goldman Sachs in London. He holds a First Class Honours law degree from University College Dublin and he was the Swift MacNeill Scholar at the Honorable Society of the Kings Inns in 2008. Darragh also holds a Masters in Commercial Law from the University of Cambridge (Gonville and Caius College)....

Web page updated on 27/05/2026

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