4.Executive Flashcards
Party unity affecting the Prime Minister’s power
As the PM usually has a majority in the Commons, if the party is united behind the PM then they will be able to dominate the political system
With Brexit from 2016-2020 there has been less unity in the Conservative Party
A majority in Parliament affecting the Prime Minister’s power
The larger the majority, the more the PM can cope with party rebellions
Boris Johnson was more successful after winning a 80 seat majority in 2019
whereas May had no majority after 2017 and suffered 28 defeats
A mandate affecting the Prime Minister’s power
A clear electoral mandate secured during a general election gives the PM a useful tool to force public approved legislation through
After May lost the majority in the 2017 election, May had to drop many of the proposals from her manifesto
Boris Johnson had a mandate to get Brexit done after the 2019 election
Whether it’s a first-term government affecting the Prime Minister’s power
A new government will get a ‘honeymoon’ with goodwill from the media and public and any problems can be blamed on the previous government
May’s was a 3rd term government and had to take responsibility for the previous failures under Cameron and the coalition
Prime ministerial coattails affecting the Prime Minister’s power
A popular PM can expand support for their party and help MPs in marginal seats to secure victory, and create a personal loyalty from that MP
If a PM becomes an electoral liability such as Thatcher by 1990 then they will oppose them
May’s lack of popularity mean she had little power over her MPs
Threat of election affecting the Prime Minister’s power
PMs could threaten an election to exercise power over MPs fearful of losing their seats but the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 made this harder
Now that the Fixed-term Parliaments Act has been scrapped in 2022, the PM can use that threat again - though it never really stopped them e.g. Theresa May 2017 election
Controversy of reforms affecting the Prime Minister’s power
Controversial issues divide parties and create strong reactions from the public, making it harder for PMs to exercise their powers
Blair was able to enact many sweeping reforms because, in his first term, few of them were very controversial such as the House of Lords Act 1999 or Devolution in 1998
Brexitwas an enormous divide that caused May many problems
Prime Ministers becoming Presidents
For much of his premiership (1997-2007), Tony Blair was considered to have become a ‘president’ and that he had outgrown the parliamentary system
Presidentialism fell further from favour when Brown proved to be a weaker prime minister (2007-2010) than Blair when
The importance of the prime minister’s political environment
Prime ministerial authority is facilitated by parliamentary system as it empowers the executive that commands a legislative majorit
The demand of collegiality imposed by the parliamentary system will always prevent a prime minister from being all powerful
e.g. Blair failed in his personal ambition to have Britain enter the euro due to his inability to persuade his chancellor Gordon Brown
The Party being a strength of the prime minister
The party is a resource to the prime minister because it encourages stability within the executive and provides control over the legislature
In the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition of 2010-2015 Cameron had to be far more collegial, but it also meant the party would usually work with him
The Party being a weakness of the prime minister
The party can also be a source of weakness by being an obstacle to the prime minister
The parliamentary Labour Party were sometimes willing to oppose Blair and force him to make compromises
e.g. Blair failed in his personal ambition to have Britain enter the euro due to his inability to persuade his chancellor Gordon Brown
Prime ministerial power is a movable feast
Having sufficient resources enables a prime minister to circumvent these constraints to an extent and lacking power means being bound by them
An electorally popular and politically successful prime minister is better able to ensure the party is more of a resource than an obstacle
Cabinet Ministers being ‘functional’ - deputy prime minister
Most cabinet ministers are heads of the highly important government departments
Although the position of deputy prime minister is not set and it comes with no specific powers or responsibilities as part of the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition, Nick Clegg became deputy prime minister as leader of the Lib Dems from 2010-2015
Cabinet meetings being ‘dignified’
The frequency and length of cabinet meetings has fallen since the 1950s, as it used to meet twice per week but now it is only once per week
Cabinet meetings are highly formal with a fixed seating arrangement, a fixed agenda, and an order of priority
Cabinet meetings being ‘functional’
Meetings under Cameron in the coalition of 2010-2015 lasted longer as he adopted a more collegiate style, but he came to prefer to do business outside the cabinet
Cabinet Committees being ‘functional’
Ministerial standing committees have considerable autonomy to determine the direction and detail of policy
The PM is responsible for the creation, membership, and chairmanship of these cabinet committees
Cabinet committees were given greater priority following criticism of Blair’s preference for informal meetings
Revived as forums for discussion and resolution between the Conservative-Lib Dem coalition
Cabinet Committees being ‘dignified’
PM Blair (1997-2007) preferred to make 1-to-1 meetings with departmental ministers to make decisions
The Cabinet Office being ‘functional’
Coordinates work on issues that cross departmental boundaries
Under Blair, the Cabinet Office was given a leading role in policy delivery and public service reform
Under the coalition, it led on political reform
Role of the cabinet in Registering and ratifying decisions taken elsewhere in the cabinet system
Decisions that engage collective responsibility of government or are of critical public importance, or matters of dispute between departments that have not been resolved
Cabinet ministers spend too much time and energy focused on their own department to have the expertise on the issues of another department
The cabinet makes fewer decisions than it did in the 1960s and 70s with discussions on things like EEC membership, and Thatcher and Blair avoided lengthy cabinet discussions and key decisions were taken by small groups of minister and advisers
Role of the cabinet in Discussing and making decisions on major issues
Is formally the ultimate decision-making body in the government, yet for most areas of government activity, the cabinet is not an important actor
Cabinet is more likely to advise as it is the prime minister who makes the final decision e.g. In 2003, a special cabinet meeting was devoted to membership of the euro, but in reality, the decision had already been made by the prime minister and chancellor
Thatcher did not open discussions on entry to the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, to avoid cabinet dissent, however this simply widened the rift between Thatcher and senior cabinet ministers`
Role of the cabinet in Settling disputes between government departments
Issues may be settled in a cabinet meeting if it cannot be settled in a cabinet committee or a bilateral meeting
In the 1985 Westland Affair, Secretary of State for Defence Michael Heseltine resigned due to Thatcher’s ruling that cabinet would not hear his appeal against a cabinet committee decision on the awarding of a defence contract
Collective Ministerial Responsibility cases in action
If a minister wishes to dissent publicly from a government policy, he or she is expected to resign first e.g. Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson resigned in July 2018, accusing PM May of delivering Brexit ‘in name only’
If a minister dissents without resigning, he or she can expect to be dismissed by the prime minister e.g. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson was sacked in May 2019 for leaking information from a national security council
Collective Ministerial Responsibility
It creates a strong sense of unity within government, giving it strength and authority
It enable minister to disagree in private without jeopardising government unity
As it applies to all ministers it ensures that around 100 MPs will support the government in a vote in Parliament (the ‘payroll vote’
Suspensions to Collective Ministerial Responsibility
By using ‘agreements to differ’
Used during the coalition government (2010-15) and the EU Referendum 2016
e.g. During the 2010–15 Conservative-Liberal Dem coalition, collective responsibility was set aside for certain party political issues, (e.g. the 2011 referendum on electoral reform)
It was formally set aside during the 2016 EU referendum campaign so that ministers could campaign for either side of the vote
EU referendum proving the worth of Collective Ministerial Responsibility
It was formally set aside during the 2016 EU referendum campaign so that ministers could campaign for either side of the vote
After the UK voted to leave the EU, the government was left with many ministers who were expected to carry out the wishes of the British public but had openly disagreed with such an outcome
Convention of Collective Ministerial Responsibility coming under strain
After the UK voted to leave the EU in 2016, PM May’s government struggled to uphold collective responsibility, and unity was especially needed after May lost her majority in 2017
On a number of times, ministers openly voted against the government without facing any punishment e.g. In March 2019, 8 cabinet ministers voted against a government motion to request an extension to Article 50`
Individual Ministerial Responsibility
Ministers must be accountable to Parliament for their department, mean answering questions in Parliament and attending Select Committees, and must resign if they fail in their position
Individual Ministerial Responsibility - Ministers resigning due to government policy
Lord Carrington resigns as Foreign Secretary (under Thatcher’s government) in 1982 due to his failure to foresee the Falklands War
Individual Ministerial Responsibility - Ministers resigning due to scandal
Liam Fox resigns as Defence Secretary (under Cameron’s government) in 2011 due to corruption allegations of him giving access to Defence Ministry meetings
Individual Ministerial Responsibility - ministers being heavily criticised by parliament for their policies, but refusing to resign.
Ester McVay did not resign as Work and Pensions Secretary in 2018 after misleading Parliament over the new Universal Credit scheme by claiming in Parliament a National Audit Office report said it should be rolled out quicker when in fact it said the report rollout should be paused
Individual Ministerial Responsibility - Ministers resigning due to scandals but not policy
When a minister makes a personal mistake the responsibility is solely on him rather than any pressure to act brought upon him by the PM so a minister can resign without tarnishing the reputation of the party or the PM.
Policy mistakes are derived from policy set by the Party or the PM in the manifesto or election campaign meaning its harder for the PM to make a minister resign or for a minister to be inclined to resign because it might imply the policy is unpopular or hard to implement damaging the PM’s or Party’s political credibility
Margaret Thatcher’s government - General successes
- 1979-1990
- Her refusal to bow to pressure to tone down the monetarist budget of 1981, at a time of recession, proved decisive in her cementing her authority
- Victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy meant she was re-elected
Margaret Thatcher’s government - General failures
- By 1990, thatcher had few allies left in cabinet and Chancellor John Major used this weakness to persuade her to agree to entering the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, despite her long opposition to it
- Thatcher then failed to win a large majority of the party in the Conservative leadership election and she resigned in 1990
Margaret Thatcher’s government - Policy Problems: The poll tax
- Replaced tax paid based upon property value with a flat rate for everyone to local councils, was a regressive tax, and many blamed the Thatcher government
- Riots in London before the introduction of the tax in 1990
- Warning from the chancellor and Treasury were not given consideration and Thatcher pushed the proposal through Parliament without major amendments
- Tory MPs, seeing the electoral damage, voted against her in the Conservative leadership election in 1990
Tony Blair’s government
- 1997-2007
- Preferred bilateral meetings with individual ministers over cabinet meetings
- In his first two terms, Blair had a large parliamentary majority, a strong position in his party, and a mostly loyal cabinet
-During Blair’s government, policy areas were largely split between him and Chancellor Gordon Brown e.g. It was Blair and Brown who decided to allow the Bank of England set interest rates in the Bank of England Act 1998, not the cabinet
Tony Blair’s government - Policy Problems: The invasion of Iraq
- 2003
- Weapons of mass destruction were not found and Iraq falling into anarchy after the fall of Saddam Hussein
-Meant that Opinion polls of Blair saw a sharp decline in public trust of Blair, and his standing in the Labour Party was badly damaged
David Cameron’s government
- 2010-2016
- Cameron appeared suited to coalition and allowed ministers more freedom to do their job but this backfired as he was criticised for making policy U-turns, and the radical plans for reorganising the NHS ran into problems
-Intra-party divisions proved difficult to manage and so to quell Tory Party dissent, Cameron promised a referendum on EU membership and he resigned in 2016 after the UK voted for Brexit
