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Politics Paper 2 > 3.1 Structure, role and power of the executive > Flashcards

3.1 Structure, role and power of the executive Flashcards

1
Q

4

List the components of the executive

A
  • Prime Minister
  • Cabinet
  • Junior Ministers
  • Government departments
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2
Q

3

Describe the PM

A
  • Head of executive (primus inter pares - first among equals)
  • Able to command majority of MPs in HoC
  • Conventially member of HoC (Hume renounced peerage to win by-election) - fusion of powers
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3
Q

5

Describe the powers of the PM

A
  • exercise royal prerogative powers
  • ‘exercise patronage’ - appoint and sack members of cabinet
  • abolish or create new government departments (e.g. Department for STI)
  • Chair cabinet meetings and set up Cabinet Committees to set government strategy and vision
  • provide vision for direction of government - increasingly drawn on personal ideology rather than democratic mandate e.g. British Baccalaureate
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4
Q

4

Describe the Core Executive

A
  • Comprises ministers, civil servants and SPADs who PM can freely confide with when developing policy
  • Includes institutions such as Cabinet Office and Policy Unit
  • May involve powerful interest group leaders or local/regional leaders
  • PMs increasingly reliant on this from Blair
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5
Q

4

Describe junior ministers

A
  • Oversee specific areas within department (e.g. schools, skills)
  • Report to head of department (cabinet minister)
  • Do not generally attend cabinet (exceptions such as Andrew Mitchell or Chief Sec to Treasury)
  • Two tiers: Minister of state (e.g. Damian Hinds - Schools) and Parliamentary under-secretary of state (Andrea Leadsom - Public Health, Start for Life and Primary Care)
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6
Q

3

Describe Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPS)

A
  • Backbench MP who acts as unpaid assistant to minister or shadow minister
  • ‘eyes and ears’ of minister in HoC
  • Johh Lamont served as PPS to FO during Liz Truss foriegn sec tenure (2021-22) - now a parliamentary under sec for Scotland
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7
Q

4

Describe the Civil Service

A
  • Politically neutral unlike political advisors
  • Defined by principles of neutrality, anonymity and permanence
  • Provide impartial advice on policy development and implementation to any government department
  • Therefore not expected to be held accountable for actions of department - overall focus of policy and adminsitration determined by elected politicians
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8
Q

3

Describe limits to civil service neutrality

A
  • Tom Scholar sacked as Perm Sec to Treasury by Truss
  • Simon McDonald (Perm Under-Sec at FO)
  • accusations of ‘blob’
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9
Q

5

Describe the role and composition of government departments

A
  • A branch of the executive
  • Comprises cabinet ministers (generally heads of department) and junior ministers
  • Manages particular area of government and develops policy
  • Each ministerial team makes proposals for legislation concerning their department (includes both primary and secondary)
  • Treausry holds special importance as control government finances
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10
Q

3

Describe responsibility within government departments

A
  • Secretary of State takes ultimate responsibility for department
  • Junior ministers bound by collective responsibility
  • Relies on support of civil service, headed by permanent secretary for that department
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11
Q

4

List the main roles of the executive

A
  • Proposing legislation
  • Proposing a budget
  • Making policy decisions (run domestic and foreign policy)
  • Day-to-day governance (most government action does not require legislation)
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12
Q

4

Describe the executive’s ability to introduce legislation

A
  • Introduce legislation proposals to Parliament via King’s Speech (state opening of Parliament)
  • Based on manfiesto which GE granted mandate for
  • ‘doctor’s mandate’ - can introduce legislation into Parliament in response to changing circumstances
  • Can also introduce secondary legislation
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13
Q

4

Describe the executive’s ability to propose a budget

A
  • Can introduce budget to parliament
  • Outlines how government intends to raise revenue
  • Drawn up by CX in negotiation with PM
  • May be other budgetary statements throughout year (autumn statement, mini-budget)
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14
Q

4

Describe the executive’s ability to make policy decisions

A
  • Decisions on how legislation will be implemented
  • Mostly done through secondary legislation
  • Run domestic policy - determine services provided for population
  • Conduct FP - done through attendance at summits, development of treaties/agreements and military action
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15
Q

3

Describe the royal prerogative

A
  • Powers held by constitutional monarch (rather than Parliament) delegated to executive, especially the Prime Minister
  • Include powers to declare war, patronage, set date of election (temporarily removed by FTA), grant pardon
  • Royal Prerogative of Mercy (grant pardon) used for Steven Gallant in 2020 who recieved reduced sentence for murder for heroic actions in London Bridge Attack 2019
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16
Q

4

Describe the composition of the cabinet

A
  • 20-25 senior ministers (cabinet ministers + others attending)
  • All appointed by PM
  • meet at least once a week
  • much of detailed work conducted in cabinet committees
17
Q

2

What are cabinet committees?

A
  • small groups of ministers chaired by PM or other senior cabinet member
  • may be tasked with developing and implementing specific policies or serving important governance role
18
Q

2

Describe the membership of cabinet committees

A
  • membership and remit decided by PM (enhance PM authority over cabinet)
  • reduces burden on whole cabinet e.g. National Security Council excludes Culture Sec
19
Q

2

Describe the decisions taken in cabinet committees

A
  • decisions of cabinet committees are binding
  • hold same legitimacy as those of full cabinet
20
Q

2

When might the PM chair cabinet committees themselves?

A
  • Chairs committees that are of particular important to government strategy and policy
  • e.g. Boris Johnson chaired Climate Action Strategy Committee
21
Q

All ministers are (…) to Select Committees and MPs at Ministerial Question TIme

A

accountable

22
Q

8

List factors that limit Prime Ministerial power

A
  • Existence and size of electoral mandate
  • Parliamentary majority
  • Cabinet unity
  • Party unity
  • National circumstances
  • PM style
  • Personal popularity
  • Media presentation
23
Q

4

List some current SPADs

A
  • Isaac Levido - election guru (though not official position)
  • Eleanor Shawcross - Head of policy
  • James Forsyth - political secretary
  • Nerissa Chesterfield - director of comms
24
Q

Who has the powers of patronage to appoint chairs of public inquiries?

A

The PM

25
Q

4 for and against points

Describe the argument that the Prime Minister is powerful

A
  • Determines policy objectives of Government through core executive vs influenced by internal party factions
  • Dominate cabinet vs Prescence of big beasts
  • Powerful with large parliamentary majority vs limited when parliamentary majority is weak
  • Royal Prerogative grants significant powers vs Supreme Court reinforces parliamentary sovereignty
26
Q

3

Describe the PM’s ability to determine the policy objectives of the Government

A
  • Media spotlight grants strong communicators ability to set political agenda e.g. Get Brexit Done
  • Based on own ideology e.g. Boris Johnson and Levelling Up
  • Use of Core Executive to create policy (policy unit) and ensure its implentation in government departments (cabinet office) - PM chooses membership of such bodies, inc Cabinet Secretary (civil service)
27
Q

3

Describe how the PM’s power is influenced by internal party factions

A
  • prescence of big beasts outside cabinet e.g. Boris under May
  • factions shape policy agenda - CGG influence criticial in decision to cut NI
  • Can remove sitting PM
28
Q

3

Describe how the PM dominates cabinet

A
  • uses powers of patronage to decide membership of cabinet and cabinet committees
  • chairs cabinet and key cabinet committees, allowing them to steer the development of government policy
  • ultimately decides government decisions and can override cabinet will - May decision to hold talks with Labour over brexit deal
29
Q

4

Describe how the prescence of big beasts in government limits the PM’s power

A
  • Exert significant factional influence e.g. Penny Mordaunt
  • Contravene collective responsibility - Suella Braverman
  • Present direct threat by posing as alternative PM
  • Affected by prescence of electoral mandate
30
Q

5

Describe how the large parliamentary majority can increase the PM’s power

A
  • Large parliamentary majorities grant them significant power as they are unlikely to be challenged - personal status tied to electoral success
  • do not require the support of all party factions to pass legislation
  • Can therefore pursue their political agenda
  • e.g. 59 Con MPs voted against smoking ban
  • Blair suffered no defeats from 1997-2005
31
Q

4

Describe how the small parliamentary majority can limit the PM’s power

A
  • Small parliamentary majority/minority will lead to dealmaking
  • more contentious policy as it is less likely to pass the HoC
  • Sept 2019, Boris Johnson minority government so weak that the House of Commons voted to take control of the legislative agenda
  • limit - much of policy enacted is secondary legislation which bypasses HoC
32
Q

1

Describe a limitation to a coalition limiting the PM’s power

A

Cameron passed radical austerity policies despite LD’s previous opposition to such extensive cuts in 2010 election campaign

33
Q

3 for and against paras

Describe the argument that the PM is presidential

A

Note: much of this essay may be similar to the ‘PM dominance question’

  • Focus of media attention vs Party image more significant (e.g. Sunak intiial popularity vs Tory unpopularity)
  • Use of SPADs and core executive to determine policy vs Cabinet remains significant
  • Policies can be dependent on personal ideology vs Parliamentary sovereignty remains key
34
Q

2

How did Rishi Sunak sideline his cabinet in 2024?

A
  • Called election for July 4 without consultation of cabinet prior to makug request to King
  • Relied on SPADs + Dowden

Politics Paper 2 (22 decks)

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