whitehall
whitehall — noun
1. the UK government and its senior administrative departments, seen as a single ce
the UK government and its senior administrative departments, seen as a single central institution
Whitehall announced new funding for primary schools in Cornwall on Tuesday.
Whitehall as metonymic subject + verb for official action
After the floods, Whitehall sent emergency grants to several coastal towns.
Hui's charity spent two years trying to persuade Whitehall to change the law.
The council leader complained that Whitehall had ignored rural transport problems.
Whitehall departments must now work together under the new data-sharing rules.
- Westminster
refers more to Parliament and elected politicians than to government departments
- the British government
broader term that includes ministers and the Prime Minister's office
- the civil service
refers specifically to permanent government employees, not the government as a whole
用法筆記
Common in British journalism and political writing. Refers collectively to government departments and senior civil servants rather than to elected ministers.