Cabinet

Question 1

define cabinet and the debate surrounding it

Answer 1

the executive is the decision-making body of government consisting of the prime minister, Cabinet and junior ministers

while Cabinet is the group of senior ministers within the executive that forms the main collective decision-making body

however, the extent to which Cabinet is still an important part of the executive is widely debated

Question 2

arguments suggesting that Cabinet is still an important part of the executive

Answer 2

it is responsible for the approval of government decisions

the support of Cabinet is important for a prime minister to retain

it acts as a check on government power

Question 3

arguments suggesting that Cabinet is NOT still an important part of the executive

Answer 3

decisions are commonly taken elsewhere

the support of Cabinet is not as vital under a large majority

the prime minister still possesses many powers that Cabinet cannot touch

Question 4

conclusion

Answer 4

overall, Cabinet is still an important part of the executive

Question 5

decisions are commonly taken elsewhere: what tends to happen in practice?

Answer 5

perhaps the most significant argument suggesting that Cabinet is no longer an important part of the executive is that decisions are often taken outside of Cabinet

theoretically, government decisions should be taken within Cabinet, but this is not what tends to happen in practice

in recent times, it has been more usual for decisions to be taken elsewhere, such as in Cabinet committees that are controlled by the Prime Minister, or in small groups and bilateral meetings

Question 6

decisions are commonly taken elsewhere: examples of decisions being taken outside of cabinet (Tony Blair)

Answer 6

the decision to hand control of interest rates to the Bank of England in 1997 was taken in a private bilateral meeting between Tony Blair and Gordon Brown rather than in Cabinet and the rest of the Cabinet were informed later

Tony Blair’s ‘sofa government’, in which he preferred working closely and informally with his special advisors rather than collectively making decisions with Cabinet, meant that he did not go through Cabinet a lot

he mainly relied on Alistair Campbell, a spin doctor who was a key figure during Blair’s premiership, and Matthew Taylor, his political strategy advisor

Question 7

decisions are commonly taken elsewhere: examples of decisions being taken outside of cabinet (David Cameron)

Answer 7

similarly, during the coalition, the presence of two parties in government meant that it was necessary to have more discussion of policy in Cabinet

yet even then, an informal body known as the Quad (David Cameron, Nick Clegg and their two most senior colleagues, Chancellor George Osbourne and Chief Treasury Secretary Danny Alexander) met regularly to discuss policy and take decisions

both of these examples demonstrate that Cabinet is often undermined and side-lined, with decisions rarely being taken in Cabinet by holding a vote

it seems that Cabinet’s main role is to merely ‘rubberstamp’ decisions taken elsewhere

Question 8

it is responsible for the approval of government decisions: where are decisions taken under May’s government?

Answer 8

decisions being taken outside of Cabinet may been the case under Cameron and Blair but no longer seems to apply to Theresa May’s government

currently, Cabinet is still an important part of the executive and is responsible for the approval of government decisions

it is the place where government policy is decided and finalised

such decisions require Cabinet approval, meaning that policy tends to go through Cabinet first, being ‘rubberstamped’ and accepted, before being presented to the rest of the House and announced to the public

Question 9

it is responsible for the approval of government decisions: example of Cabinet being very important in policy decision making and approval

Answer 9

Theresa May’s Chequers plan was based on a three-page Cabinet agreement that laid out the type of future relationship that could exist between UK and EU after Brexit

the plan was finalised at a Cabinet meeting in 2018, in which it was agreed that the UK would seek continued access to the Single Market and no hard border between Ireland and Northern Ireland, among other conditions

if a minister cannot accept the agreed line, as David Davis and Boris Johnson could not over the Chequers plan, they should resign from Cabinet – this demonstrates the continued importance of Cabinet

Question 10

it is responsible for the approval of government decisions: what does Cabinet approval provide?

Answer 10

by approving such government decisions, Cabinet gives the government legitimacy in the eyes of Parliament and the public

essentially, the prime minister can only govern and the executive can only function effectively with the full support of Cabinet as decisions are reached on a collective basis

therefore, it can be argued that Cabinet is still an important part of the executive, because despite the fact that it may have waned in importance under previous administrations, decisions are now being taken in Cabinet again

Question 11

the support of Cabinet is not as vital under a large majority

Answer 11

another factor signifying the declining importance of Cabinet is that the support of Cabinet is not as important if the government has a large majority in the House of Commons

the importance of Cabinet as part of the executive depends on the prime minister as well as the size of the majority

for example, Cabinet was not very important under Thatcher as she dominated Cabinet and they rarely challenged her

even if they did, she had a strong enough majority so could push decisions through Parliament anyway, with or without their support

furthermore, under the first past the post electoral system, the government usually has a strong majority, meaning that keeping consensus within Cabinet is not as vital

Question 12

the support of Cabinet is important for a prime minister to retain: why is Cabinet support essential?

Answer 12

first past the post does not seem to be producing strong majorities anymore, making the support of Cabinet essential to keeping the executive afloat

in other words, the executive will be heavily undermined by a divided Cabinet or a Cabinet that does not support government decisions

the prime minister seems to recognise this need for Cabinet support, particularly for important issues

for example, after completing his renegotiation of the UK’s membership of the EU in 2016, David Cameron presented the deal to a full Cabinet meeting

not having full Cabinet support on such issues can be extremely damaging to the executive and the prime minister, which is reinforced by the fall of Thatcher who demonstrated the importance of keeping the support of senior ministers

this case confirmed that a presidential system in which the prime minister dominates and therefore alienates some of their most important senior colleagues is simply not sustainable and that the support of Cabinet is essential

Question 13

the support of Cabinet is important for a prime minister to retain: in what situation is Cabinet support vital?

Answer 13

Cabinet support is especially vital when the government has a small majority or no independent majority at all, which is exactly why Theresa May has been focused on securing agreement within her cabinet

May desires consensus and has to work with her Cabinet and must keep them on her side as her position in the House of Commons is weak and the only reason she has a majority is due to the confidence and supply agreement with the DUP

Question 14

the support of Cabinet is important for a prime minister to retain: what did Thatcher illustrate?

Answer 14

as Thatcher illustrated, even if the government does have a strong majority, resignations from senior ministers can still be extremely damaging

Thatcher tried to build a Cabinet in our own image, however by the end of the decade her dominance over Cabinet and alienation of senior colleagues was starting to undermine her position

the resignation of deputy prime minister Sir Geoffrey Howe triggered a leadership challenge in 1990 and when Thatcher needed the support of her Cabinet she found that goodwill had evaporated at the top, leading directly to her resignation

Question 15

the support of Cabinet is important for a prime minister to retain: Theresa May being undermined by lack of Cabinet support

Answer 15

Theresa May has been similarly undermined due to a Cabinet that does not support her

resignations from the likes of David Davis, Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab, as well as rebellions and abstentions from key Cabinet ministers such as Amber Rudd during the vote on a no deal Brexit despite May imposing a three line whip, have severely undermined her standing in the Commons and wider reputation, making her appear weak and ultimately lacking control

consequently, due to the continued need for the support of Cabinet, Cabinet can be said to still be an important part of the executive

Question 16

it acts as a check on government power

Answer 16

the Cabinet provides important checks on the powers of the prime minister, suggesting that it is still an important part of the executive

for example, under Margaret Thatcher, Cabinet withdrew its support over the controversial poll-tax and Thatcher resigned once she lost this support

this case goes to show how the Cabinet can prevent the prime minister acting in a way that goes against the public interest or using their power to push through contentious legislation

the ability of Cabinet to perform this task is enhanced in the event of a minority government

as already discussed, Theresa May needs consensus in Cabinet as her government is weak, allowing them more of an opportunity to curb her power

Question 17

the prime minister still possesses many powers that Cabinet cannot touch: prerogative powers

Answer 17

the prime minister still retains many powers that the Cabinet cannot touch, perhaps indicating that the importance of Cabinet as part of the executive should not be overstated

most notably, the Prime Minister retains prerogative powers which are powers not enjoyed by the Cabinet, such as declaring war

for example, Tony Blair did not gain approval from Cabinet over Iraq and Sir Gus O’Donnell claims that Tony Blair side-lined Cabinet over the decision to invade because he feared ministers would leak sensitive information

Question 18

the prime minister still possesses many powers that Cabinet cannot touch: control over Cabinet meetings

Answer 18

the Prime Minister also controls Cabinet meetings, dictating the agenda and length of these meetings, which have been less than an hour under some prime ministers

as the prime minister has full control over Cabinet minutes, they can decide what is and is not discussed and keep certain items off the agenda of Cabinet meetings

for example, Harold Wilson refused to allow discussion of devaluation of the pound in the period between 1964 and 1967, even though several ministers wanted to open up the argument

this suggests that the power and influence, and thus the importance, of Cabinet is essentially controlled by the prime minister, which suggests that the Cabinet may not provide an effective check on prime ministerial power and may not be an important part of the executive if it cannot fulfil this role