AO1: Separation of powers in the US means that the president is not the direct head of the government, whereas the UK has fusion of power AO2: This means that UK prime ministers usually have more direct influence over the legislature as the head of the dominant party in parliament AO1: Both the US President and the UK Prime Minister make appointments to the Cabinet, but only the US president is required by the Constitution to seek approval of his appointments AO2: This allows the UK Prime Minister considerably more flexibility in choosing the Cabinet, however, s/he is also constrained by the requirement to choose cabinet members from within parliament, whereas the US President must choose from outside the legislative branch AO1: The US President has the ability to sign and veto legislation, whereas the UK Prime Minister cannot veto legislation and the final signature on bills is the Royal Assent AO2: UK prime ministers are therefore unable to completely block legislation they disagree with - however, as the UK Prime AO1: Minister controls the legislative agenda within Parliament, it is unlikely that a bill s/he does not wish to pass would reach the final stages of the legislative process AO2: The US President has more influence over the judiciary, as all federal and Supreme Court justices are nominated by the President AO1: However, the power to appoint judges in the UK lies in the hands of the independent Judicial Appointments AO2: Commission rather than with the UK Prime Minister AO1: US Presidents have the power of the pardon, which is widely used at key times, e.g. Obama pardoned 142 people in his last month in office AO2: • There is no equivalent power of pardon for UK prime ministers - this power is reserved to the monarch, and usually for moral issues e.g. pardoning Alan Turing, whereas the US President can use the pardon for any federal offence except impeachment