1. The role of government in Great Britain has changed in different ways over time. For
example the functions of government in the middle Ages differ from the functions of
government in Victorian England, as does functions of government today.
MIDDLE AGES
During the middle ages, the form of government was the feudal system. The Feudal
system is based on the ownership of land. The main structure consists of the king,
lords, knights and peasants. The king owned all of the land in the kingdom. Some of
the land was kept by the king for private use but the rest of it was given to lords in
the kingdom. In return for the land, the lord had to take an oath saying that he would
be loyal to the king and would provide soldiers for the king’s army. The lord could
then divide up his land among his own followers. As the lords had promised to
provide soldiers for the kings army, the lords gave their land to knights. In return for
the land, the knights promised to fight in the king’s army. The peasants were at the
bottom of the feudal system. They worked on the land of the king, lords and knights.
Even though the peasants were very poor, they were still heavily taxed and had to
pay heavy rent to the king lords and knights.
There were many different functions of the government during the middle ages. One
of the main functions was to keep law and order. A bailiff was elected by the lord to
look after the village for him. Some rules that the people of the village were expected
to follow included: -1. You couldn’t leave the manor without permission. 2. You had
to work a certain number of days on the lords land as part of rent.-The bailiff was
also in charge of making sure that peasants had paid taxes and rent. Because of the
poverty in villages, peasant often attempted to steal from places like the lords
orchard. In other cases people were drunk and started fights. One of the main things
that peasants got into trouble for was trying to escape the manor. It was the bailiff’s
job to take these people to the manor house which acted as a court. The lord
decided whether the peasant was guilty or not. If guilty they would be sentenced for
punishment. The most common punishment was being put in the stocks. Other
punishments included the ducking stool, and also having your hand cut off if you had
stolen something.
Another main function of government during the middle ages was defence. Castles
were an important form of defence. Castles were crucial for the people living nearby
because they were protected by the lords and knights from their enemies. When an
enemy came near a castle, the local people gathered inside the castle walls for
safety. The defenders of the castle were able to shoot the enemies with arrows from
the windows.
In June 1215, the Magna Carta was signed between the barons of England during
the middle ages and king John. The Magna Carta was the most important document
in medieval England. The document contains a list of promises made by the king and
his subjects. The Magna Carta was put in place by the barons to stop the king

2. abusing his power and causing the people of England to suffer. ‘The Magna Carta
promised laws that were good and fair. It states that everyone shall have access to
courts and that costs and money should not be an issue if someone wanted to take a
problem to the law courts.’
(www.historylearningsite.co.uk)
Victorian era
During the Victorian era, the form of government was a constitutional monarchy. A
constitutional monarchy is when a monarch share power with a constitutionally
organized government, which in this case is a parliamentary system. Although the
monarch is officially the head of the government, the constitution gives the
parliament the power to create laws and control court systems. The difference
between monarchy and the feudal system is that in monarchy the monarch has the
final say on all matter; however in the feudal system the king elects representatives
to make decisions on his behalf (lords). In June 1837, Victoria was made Queen of
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and Empress of India.
There are different functions of the government during the Victorian era. The main
function was social protection. The state organised social protection such as
workhouses. These workhouses were set up as an attempt to lift the expense of the
poor people on the parish. This was because of the rise in the population in Britain
during the 19th century. The workhouses were set up by the government however
they were funded by the rich people in the parish-‘from those to whom much has
been given much is expected’. This differs from the middle ages, as during that time
the money was taken from the poor through taxes and rent. Hospitals and schools
were also supported by charity. The rich people also provided food for the poor, and
pushed on rights for the poor people of the parish. State protection came into play
through the law when the state got involved in human rights.
(angelfire.com, Britannica.com, differencebetween.net)
21 st century Britain
In the present day, the government in Britain has remained a constitutional
monarchy. Queen Elizabeth II is the current British monarch and is the head of state
of the government of Great Britain. However the government is led by the prime
minister, who is currently David Cameron.
There are many different functions of the British government. The British government
is divided up into different departments. Each department has a certain
responsibility. For example, the department of education. This department is in
charge of all state schools in England and is currently led by the secretary of state,
Michael Gove; The department of health is in charge of health and social care
matters and is currently led by the secretary of state for health, Jeremy Hunt; The
department for travel is responsible for the British travel networks and currently is

3. led by the secretary of state for transport, Patrick McLoughlin; The ministry of
defence is responsible for putting the defence policy that has been set by the uk
government in place. This department is currently led by Phillip Hammond; the
department for environment, food and rural affairs for environmental protection,
agriculture, food production and standards, fisheries and rural communities. The
department is currently led by secretary of state, Owen Paterson. These different
departments show the different roles and functions that the uk government have.
(number10.gov.uk)
These examples show how the government of Great Britain has changed greatly
overtime.