From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishcentral governmentˌcentral ˈgovernment noun [countable, uncountable] especially British English PGthe level of government which deals with national rather than local things → local government
Examples from the Corpus
central government• Welfare benefits, local and central government were most affected.• The risk was to be shared by central government, local authorities and building societies.• Overall, more diversity in local spending priorities emerged in the 1980s within the constraints central government imposed.• Market testing procedures in central Government have often taken far too long.• Equally, so-called autonomous bodies are subject to a high degree of central government control.• However, as we have seen, central government has always had power to control capital spending and still does.• Mr Yeltsin's appeal looks like a gesture of despair after his failure to influence the central government. 