3.1 - The Structure, Role, and Power of the Executive Flashcards
What are the four key elements of the executive?
- The Prime Minister
- The Cabinet
- Junior ministers
- Civil service
Structure of the Executive - The Prime Minister - Who is the PM appointed by and what is he head of?
Appointed by the monarch – head of the executive
Structure of the Executive - The Cabinet - Who are the Cabinet, what do they run, and who are they appointed by?
The senior members of the executive, mostly made up of senior minsters who are responsible for running gov departments – appointed by PM
Structure of the Executive - Junior ministers
Members of the executive who assist the senior minsters in the running and policy decisions of a gov department – appointed by PM but not part of the cabinet
Structure of the Executive - Civil service
Permanent officials who carry out the day-to-day running of gov departments – advise minsters and enact policy decisions made by minsters – expected to act in a neutral fashion outside of party politics – members of the civil service forbidden from being a member of a party and from serving the political interests of gov
What role does the monarch play in running the executive?
In theory the executive is under the control of the monarch, but this is an illusion as this branch is under the control of the PM through the royal prerogative (a set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised by the PM or Cabinet, EG granting honours or legal pardons)
Role of the executive - What is the main role of the executive?
Main role of the executive is to govern and ensure the country operates efficiently – it has four ways of doing so
Role of the executive - Proposing legislation
- Executive will often develop legislation for a first reading in Parliament based on policy decisions of ministers and advice of civil servants
- As much of the legislative role of Parliament is spent dealing with gov-proposed legislation this is a crucial role of the executive
Role of the executive - Proposing a budget
- Executive must calculate how much money it will need to run the country and carry out proposed policies
- Based on these estimates, funding can be handed out to each gov department so they can carry out their work
- Budget must be approved by parliament as much of it is raised through public taxation
- If a budget fails to pass through parliament, the gov has no funds and the executive, by convention, must resign, though this rarely happens as the executive usually has a large majority in parliament
- Role of the budget is more about speaking to the voters and pledging money for what they want while avoiding unpopular tax increases which can be politically damaging
Role of the executive - Making policy decision within laws and the budget
- Executive also has the power to make secondary legislation – changes to the law within certain specific rules – this is where parts of an Act are amended to make it more workable in the real world
- Also has the power to make delegated legislation, where P grants the executive power to make changes without P approval
- The executive will still have to answer to P for its actions, but these decisions are not the same as passing primary
Role of the executive - Other important roles (5)
- Conducting foreign policy, including relations with other states and international bodies
- Organising the defence of a country from external and internal threats
- Responding to major problems such as armed conflict, security threats, economic difficulties or social disorder
- Controlling and managing the forces of law and order, including the police, courts, armed forces and intelligence services
- Organising and managing the services provided by the state
Powers of the executive - Where are the sources of the PM’s power? (5)
- Traditional authority from the monarch
- Power from being head of the governing party
- Authority recognized by parliament
- Patronage (the power an individual may enjoy to make important appointments to public office)
- The people
Powers of the executive - What are the powers of the UK PM? (6)
- Complete power to appoint or dismiss all gov minsters, whether in or out of the Cabinet – also has a say in most other public appointments including the most senior civil servants
- Negotiate foreign treaties including trade arrangements with other states or international organisations
- Commander-in-chief of the armed forces and can commit them to action – although it is now accepted that the PM should only make major military commitments with P’s consent
- Conducts foreign policy and determines the relationship with foreign powers – represents the country internationally
- Heads the cabinet system, choose its members, set sits agenda and determines what Cabinet committees should exist and who should sit on them
- Generally sets the tone of economic policy, albeit alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer
