US President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister David Cameron, March 2012
REX
The fusion of executive and legislative powers in the UK allows for a governing executive to use its Commons majority to dominate the legislature. At the same time it requires that the executive — both individually and collectively — be accountable to Parliament.
Such a blurred relationship is in stark contrast to the USA. There the legislative and executive branches are constitutionally separate from one another. They hold separate elections which result in separate mandates. While the UK executive is accountable to Parliament, the US president and his or her executive body are accountable to the US people.
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