That's very interesting, I don't think Scottish, English or Welsh people use "government" it that way though FWIW. What word does one use for the government if the word government is co-opted for the Cabinet & PM?
Well, you'd be wrong. That's exactly how we use it when we're talking about people. I won't pretend you don't hear the same word used to refer to 'the State' (which is the term we use for the overall apparatus of the State) colloquially, but you can always distinguish from context.
I'm not arguing that the more intellectual echelons such as political scientists don't use it in the described manner however; don't move in those circles.
I never hear people refer to our country [the UK] as "the state" either. I perceive state as including the people (but ours is a [pseudo] democratic state so I'm coloured by that.
It's strange that I've not heard this usage, isn't it?
I just jumped to the first newspaper I thought of (well the 2nd, but paywall ...) and the first story in the UK Politics section that mentioned government (Ctrl+f search on the UK Pol' page).
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/david-cameron-...
"The Government's immigration cap should not affect inter-company transfers for global firms, David Cameron said today. "
Well it's not the "cabinet and prime ministers immigration cap". The immigration cap is that [on some level] agreed in parliament, passed by the Lords and implemented by the relevant civil servants. I'm still not seeing it.
Whereabouts in the UK are you all (upvoters) from, what occupations are you in?
That's a really good example. He's defending a policy of the current PM and Cabinet. Of course this has been passed by the parliament - that's how the Westminster system works. If parliament stops passing the policies of the cabinet then the government falls.
"The Government" refers to the Prime Minster and his/her Cabinet. It is supported by other parliamentary members of the ruling parties.
Colloquial usage of the phrase "the government" to refer to the civil service, and to ministries etc (eg, "I work in government" or "you'll need government approval to build that there") is common. As soon as politics is involved, though "The Government" refers to those who actually hold power.
(Disclaimer: I'm Canadian. This is how it works in Canada. There are differences between the Canadian and British systems, but they are much smaller than the differences between the American and British systems).
[0] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_Acts_1911_and_1949