boris johnson as PM

Question 1

why did May lose her government?

Answer 1

• Theresa May was unable to cope with Brexit and her government collapsed
• Lost parliamentary majority in June 2017
• Struggled with a minority government and deeply divided conservative party
• Forced to resign after failing three times to get her European withdrawal agreement

Question 2

what is brexit?

Answer 2

• withdrawal of the UK from the European Union, which became government policy after a referendum on the country’s membership
• it was not finally delivered until January 2020 with a ‘transition period’ to run until the end of the year

Question 3

what did Boris achieve as PM?

Answer 3

• Completed the Brexit process after winning an 80-set majority in Dec 2019
• Handled the COVID-19 pandemic
• Emerged as a leading ally of Ukraine

Question 3

what is a minority government?

Answer 3

• a government which does not have an overall majority of MPs in the House of Commons

Question 4

what was boris’ governing style?

Answer 4

• Governed in a highly individual manner
  Flair and charisma
  Disregarded many of the rules and conventions that usually constrain a PM
• ‘Larger than life’, extroverted personality with optimism
  ‘Heineken tory’- refresh the parts that other beers cannot reach

Question 5

what were boris’ previous roles?

Answer 5

• Had been one of the leaders of ‘Vote Leave’ campaign three years earlier
• Former journalist, mayor of London and foreign secretary

Question 6

why did Johnson have to resign?

Answer 6

• Disregarded many of the rules and conventions that usually constrain a PM
• His personality and conduct aroused such mistrust that he lost the confidence of his ministerial and parliamentary colleagues
• July 2022 forced to resign

Question 7

what influences a PM when choosing candidates?

Answer 7

1. establishing their own authority
2. rewarding loyal allies and conciliating potential rivals
3. including experienced, able individuals
4. maintaining diversity- for example including female and ethnic minority members
5. maintaining the balance between different factions within the governing party

Question 8

what was Johnson strongly guided by when choosing his cabinet ministers?

Answer 8

1. establishing his own authority
2. rewarding loyal allies and conciliating potential rivals

but he did not
- maintain the balance between different factions within the governing party

Question 9

what was Johnson’s approach to defeated rivals?

Answer 9

• some leading members of Theresa May’s cabinet, who had been outspoken opponents of a possible no-deal outcome, had already made it clear that they did not want to continue in office.
• they included the outgoing Chancellor Phillip Hammond, and Justice Secretary, David Gauke.
• Nor did Johnson show much sign of wishing to conciliate defeated rivals
• Jeremy Hunt was offered a less important cabinet position, that of defence secretary, which he turned down

Question 10

who were the key posts on Johnson’s cabinet?

Answer 10

• all held by ministers who were noted Eurosceptics and supporters of Johnson’s candidacy for the leadership

Question 11

who is Dominic Raab?

Answer 11

• had resigned from May’s government in opposition to her Brexit deal.
• he had run for the party leadership but was endorsed by Johnson after being eliminated.
• was foreign secretary and first secretary of state 2019-21, before being moved to the post of justice secretary
• throughout the government he was effectively deputy prime minister, acquiring the title as well as the responsibility in September 2021.

Question 12

boris and diversity in cabinet

Answer 12

• Sajid Javid (Johnson’s first chancellor of the exchequer)
• and Priti Patel (home secretary)
• both from modest immigrant family backgrounds

Question 13

Sajid Javid

Answer 13

• experience in the city before entering politics provided relevant preparation for the critical role of running for the treasury.
• in February 2020 he was succeeded as chancellor by Rishi Sunak, who also came from an ethnic minority background and had experience as an investment banker before entering politics

Question 14

what was Johnson’s approach to losing ministers?

Answer 14

• proved extremely reluctant to lose ministers who came under pressure in parliament or the media
• in November 2020, he supported Priti Patel when an enquiry into allegations of bullying held that she had breached the ministerial code.
• in June 2021, when a photo appeared of health secretary Matt Hancock embracing his girlfriend in office, thereby breaking his department’s rules on physical contact during the covid 19 pandemic, the prime minister did not initially see this as a resigning matter. Hancock was forced out 24 hours later as the scale of public sense of outrage became clear and the media criticism proved unrelenting.
• these incidents suggest that Johnson was a prime minister who did not want to have the composition of cabinet dictated by external pressures

Question 15

what was the relationship between Johnson and the cabinet?

Answer 15

• it was clear from the outset that Johnson intended to control his cabinet, to assert his authority and ensure that the government’s commitment to Brexit was delivered without delay.
• All ministers had to accept the possibility of leaving the EU without a deal if this was considered necessary

Question 16

what was the machinery of government?

Answer 16

• was set up to oversee the UK’s departure from the EU
• until the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle it consisted of six ministers: Johnson himself, Javid Raab, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay and Attorney-General Geoffrey Cox.
• Johnson also created two new cabinet committees to handle to Brexit process
• the overall number of cabinet committees concerned with climate change were later created, and four ‘implementation committees’ were set up in response to the coronavirus pandemic in March 2020.
• a further committee, whose task was to shore up the union between the parts of the UK, was set up in February 2021 in response to the growth of support for Scottish independence.
• other committees were set up to deal with particular issues, including climate change and the resettlement of refugees from Afghanistan after Britain evacuated the country in August 2021.

Question 17

what was Boris’ preferred cabinet committee set up?

Answer 17

• initially preferred a slimmed-down set-up, in the belief that this would be more effective, but this approach did not last
• his preference for creating separate committees for ‘strategy’ and ‘operations’ in several policy areas added to the number
• as with many PMs, the chairing of committees was decided in a way that confirmed his own grip on power
• Johnson chaired 11 of them, with others chaired by key allies

Question 18

what are special advisers

Answer 18

• advisers to a minister who provides party political input which regular civil servants are not allowed to offer.
• they may have policy expertise or skills in communicating with the media

Question 19

what is the downing street press secretary?

Answer 19

• an official who manages the PMs relations with the news media

Question 20

what is the chief of staff?

Answer 20

• the PMs most senior minister aide, who may be either a political appointee or a civil servant

Question 21

what is the ministerial code?

Answer 21

• an official document setting out expected standards of behaviour by ministers.
• a breach of the code would normally result in a minister’s resignation

Question 22

what is a cabinet committee?

Answer 22

• a group of ministers, appointed by the PM to take responsibility for a particular policy area, which reduces the decision-making workload of the full cabinet.

Question 23

johnson’s key failures: control

Answer 23

• inability to create a settled team in number 10 with the ability to impose order on the government machine