Quote:
Originally Posted by Chrysalis
Im not sure but she can sack the PM on a whim if she chooses to, the population wrongly think she has very little power when she still has the ultimate power.
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The Monarch's powers, when exercised directly rather than by ministers acting on her (his) behalf, are exercised on the advice of ministers. In the case of the dissolution of Parliament (which is how a general election is triggered), she acts on a request from the Prime Minister.
She can't do otherwise, because it is part of her modern constitutional role to respect the democratic will of her people. It would provoke a constitutional crisis were she to try to dissolve Parliament other than on the request of the PM. I would guess the only time she could get away with it, would be if the ruling party itself were itself acting in a way likely to wreck the constitution (yes, I know Blair can be accused of that, but I'm talking really, really wrecking it, e.g. 1930s Germany).
There are one or two very rare occasions when the Monarch acts without 'advice'. One of those is when she invites someone to become Prime Minister. She has to choose the one who, in her judgement, is most likely to command a majority in the Commons. In practice it is usually very obvious who she has to choose - whoever won the election - but if there is a hung Parliament, then she has a little more latitude.