Cabinet Selection Flashcards
what is one of the powers of the Prime Minister?
cabinet selection — the power to appoint, reshuffle and dismiss ministers belongs exclusively to the Prime Minister
what is reshuffling?
reshuffling is the appointing and dismissing of ministers
what are reasons for cabinet reshuffles?
• a vacancy may be created if a minister leaves due to professional or personal reasons, so members of the cabinet may be reshuffled into different positions
for example in 2017, Priti Patel left cabinet over meetings with Israeli officials without notifying the government
- dissatisfied with the actions or performance of a minister
- loyal backbenchers may be rewarded for towing the party line
- to refresh the cabinet and create a new face at the top of government
- showing authority by getting rid of members who disagree
- increasing diversity
what is the impact of reshuffling?
reshuffles impact hugely on the effectiveness of policy-making and government decisions
September 2012 reshuffle
The September 2012 reshuffle was David Cameron‘s first major reshuffle of cabinet
he intended a ’comprehensive clear out’ of people who have not been performing adequately
such as Andrew Lansley (former health secretary) who had failed to properly explain his plans to devolve much of the NHS budget to GP-led healthcare commissioning groups
he also wanted to promote promising MPs such as Andrew Mitchell, who was promoted to chief whip
2015 reshuffle
David Cameron reshuffled cabinet due to the end of the coalition and the election of a Conservative majority government
many ministers retained their positions such as Theresa May as Home Secretary and George Osborne as Chancellor of the Exchequer
other former junior ministers were awarded promotions
Vacancies also had to be filled (e.g. following the resignation of Iain Duncan Smith as Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, he was replaced by Stephen Crabb)
2017 reshuffle
Theresa May conducted a small reshuffle in 2017
for example, she brought Michael Gove back into cabinet as environment secretary, probably to prevent him from causing too much trouble on the backbenches
this is because in cabinet he would be bound by collective responsibility so will not be able to realistically cause as much trouble
this was important since she does not have a strong position in parliament
what powers does the Prime Minister have? What has been the one exception to this in recent times?
The power to appoint, reshuffle and dismiss ministers belongs exclusively to the Prime Minister
there has only been one exception to this in recent times — as part of the negotiations to form a coalition government in May 2010, David Cameron had to allow the Liberal Democrats 5 of the 22 cabinet posts
Nick Clegg, Liberal Democrat leader and deputy prime minister, was in charge of nominations to these posts
when a liberal democrat minister resigned, Nick Clegg found a replacement from his own party
this meant that there was a formal constraint on the Prime Minister‘s power of appointment
in what ways does the Prime Minister not have total freedom to appoint whoever they want in practice?
however, even in a single party government, a prime minister does not have total freedom to appoint whoever they want
in practice, the composition of a cabinet will depend on a range of factors
these factors include…
• the importance of including people with ability and experience
• establishing a Prime Minister’s authority
• rewarding loyalty and including allies
• maintaining a balance between factions
• diversity
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers
- The importance of including people with ability and experience
- establishing a Prime Minister’s authority
- rewarding loyalty and including allies
- maintaining a balance between factions
- diversity
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers: IMPORTANCE OF INCLUDING PEOPLE WITH ABILITY AND EXPERIENCE
within a party that will always be a large number of MPs who are ’natural backbenchers’ — they are not suitable for high office or their views may not align with the mainstream party attitude so this makes them unacceptable as ministers
General ability as an administrator and communicator is generally accepted to be more important than detailed knowledge of a particular policy area, as each department is staffed by civil servants who supply an incoming minister with the necessary specialist support
although, both Brown and Osbourne served substantial apprenticeships as shadow chancellor before taking over at the Treasury
there is also a need to include senior figures to make sure that there are experienced ministers within cabinet
A prime minister who has come to office by winning a leadership contest will usually include his or her defeated rivals in recognition of their standing within the party
for example, John Major retained Douglas Hurd at the Foreign Office in 1990 and offered the other leadership candidate, Michael Heseltine, a choice of senior posts
cabinet needs to avoid being criticised for being inexperienced and unable to govern the country effectively
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers: ESTABLISHING A PRIME MINISTER’S AUTHORITY
an incoming Prime Minister will want to stamp his or her own authority on the government, even if they have replaced a premier of the same party midway through a Parliament
not all prime ministers make radical changes to the cabinet they inherit
for example, John Major did not remove key people associated with Margaret Thatcher when he took over in 1990, but waited until he had won his own general election 18 months later to do major reshuffling
by contrast, Theresa May was determined to distance herself from David Cameron‘s administration when she became prime minister in 2016 and sacked the former Chancellor George Osborne and 9 other senior ministers
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers: REWARDING LOYALTY AND INCLUDING ALLIES
Tony Blair began his second term in 2001 by appointing several committed supporters of the New Labour project to key positions, including David Blunkett as Home Secretary and Alan Milburn as Health Secretary — they were also personally loyal to him
it is politically wise to give potentially troublesome MPs senior posts to prevent them causing trouble on the backbenches because within cabinet they are bound by collective responsibility
Blair’s appointment of Brown as Chancellor of the Exchequer and his acceptance that he could not move him to another post against his wishes is a good example of this limitation on a Prime Minister‘s freedom of action
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers: MAINTAINING A BALANCE BETWEEN FACTIONS
in order to maintain party unity it is often necessary to find posts for MPs with different ideological views from those of the Prime Minister and balance cabinet so a range of views are represented
taking over after the 2016 EU referendum, Theresa May had to include prominent supporters of Brexit such as Boris Johnson (Foreign Secretary) and Liam Fox (International Trade Secretary)
as well as individuals who, like her, had supported the Remain side such as Philip Hammond (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Amber Rudd (Home Secretary)
factors governing the Prime Minister‘s selection of ministers: DIVERSITY
when he formed his first cabinet in 1990, John Major faced criticism for including no women
since then it has become the norm for the prime minister to appoint a number of female ministers and not only to middle or lower ranking posts, but to higher ones too
Margaret Beckett, made Foreign Secretary by Tony Blair in 2006, was the first woman to hold one of the three most senior posts under the Prime Minister
there has also been greater representation of ethnic minority groups in recent years — for example, Sajid Javid, a leading MP of Asian background, has served in both the Cameron and May governments
it is also necessary to avoid only appointing those of Oxbridge backgrounds otherwise a cabinet may be perceived as elitist
