Comparing the executives

Question 1

chief executive

Answer 1

UK:
- chief executive of government
- heads a collective executive, shares powers with cabinet members who hold collective responsibilities
- PM is primus inter pares (first among equals)

US:
- chief executive of government
- singular executive, sole executive authority
- ability to use direct authority to issue executive orders, agreements and signing statements

Question 2

head of state

Answer 2

UK:
- monarch is head of state

US:
- president is head of state
- president receives ceremony and pageantry

Question 3

legislation: UK

Answer 3

• executive is part of the legislature so programme f legislation receives majority of parliamentary time
• democracy allows PM more opportunities to influence voting
• use of patronage powers to offer government jobs to induce votes
  -whip system ensures party discipline
• elective dictatorship as there is few checks and balances
• parliament is sovereign so SC cannot strike down laws
• House of Lords can only delay legislation
• PM cannot veto legislation

Question 4

legislation: US

Answer 4

• congress is separate from the executive so it has its own programme of legislation, presidents suggestions can be rejected
• house and senate whips work for party leadership not the president
• patronage powers limited (cannot offer jobs)
• has ability to veto legislation

Question 5

financial powers

Answer 5

UK:
- government shutdowns don’t exist so its easier for PM to pass a budget
- UK minority governments are rare and generally receive enough votes to pass their budget/make enough change to prevent vote of no confidence

US:
- congress must approve presidents budget every year
- agreement often difficult to achieve and requires significant compromise
- occasional shutdowns

Question 6

military powers: UK

Answer 6

• PM acts as overall military decision maker
• can declare war using royal prerogative powers (formally done by the monarch)
• no legal need for PM to consult parliament to deplete troops (military action was taken in Libya in 2011 without preceding vote)

Question 7

military powers: US

Answer 7

• president is commander-in-chief of the armed forces
• president cannot declare war (War Powers Act 1973), this is done by Congress (hasn’t been done since WW2 showing use of military action as more significant)

Question 8

appointments

Answer 8

UK:
- PM can appoint whoever they choose
- no influence over judiciary

US:
- presidents appointments to executive positions require senate confirmation
- has right to nominate federal judges (needs senate approval but gives president power over judiciary)

Question 9

election

Answer 9

UK:
- PM authority comes from leading the largest party in the house of commons which has mandate from last general election

US:
- directly elected so has personal mandate

Question 10

term limits

Answer 10

UK:
- no term limits
(longest serving = Margret Thatcher 11 years 208 days, Tony Blair 10 years 56 days)
- power tends to decrease towards end of time in office but no clear end point

US:
- constitution prevents president from being elected for more than two terms
- weakens power of president (final years of final term = lame duck president)

Question 11

succession

Answer 11

UK:
- pm may appoint deputy but its not a constitutional requirement
- Johnson had no deputy when he had COVID so his secretary of state deputised for him
- a deputy PM may stand in at PMQs but unlikely to succeed
- not been deputy PM since 1955

US:
- constitution states line of succession
- VP automatically succeeds if president dies, resigns or is removed
- presidential candidates choose running mate
- if VP dies, resigns, removed or becomes president, president chooses another that is confirmed by congress

Question 12

patronage

Answer 12

UK:
- can reward supporters with government positions, increases support of parliament as PM can depend on payroll vote
- can recommend supporters for life peerage (allows PM to influence HOL) and honours
- can reward supporters with government positions
- separation of powers prevents presidents from influencing members of congress
- can give presidential awards such as the presidential medal of freedom

Question 13

pardon

Answer 13

UK:
- monarch can issue royal pardon on the advice of the justice secretary (eg. Alan Turner homosexual indecency 1952)

US:
- power held by president

Question 14

president has greater power

Answer 14

• head of state and government
• head of executive
• directly elected, personal mandate
• commander-in-chief of US military
• larger bureaucracy to support them (EXOP)
• USA position as worlds largest economic and military power
• presidents cannot be removed except by impeachment

Question 15

PM has greater power

Answer 15

• great power when there is a large majority and good party discipline
• whip system used to dominate MPs
• less restricted by checks and balances
• no legal requirement for PM to to seek parliamentary approval for military action
• no term limits

Question 16

Passing legislation: US

Answer 16

• legislative agenda the State of Union Address to congress
• difficult to pass legislation in divided government
• congressmen less subservient to their party leadership and more critical leading to gridlock
• presidents relationship with congress is difficult even in unified government (Trump and Obamacare)
• president has power to veto legislation and its hard for congress to obtain supermajority and overrule veto
• presidents have to work harder to convince

Question 17

Passing legislation: UK

Answer 17

• introduce legislative agenda in Queens speech
• PM has to only convince one chamber and rarely face divided government
• whip system party discipline
• may struggle to get legislation through during minority government (Theresa May failed to get her withdraw through which led to her resignation)

Question 18

scrutiny of the executive

Answer 18

UK:
- PM personally held to account by HoC at PMQs and key debates

US:
- separation of powers means president does not address congress outside outside of State of Union Address and occasional joint sessions

Question 19

removal from office

Answer 19

UK:
- HOC can call vote of no confidence at any time for any reason
- simple majority vote
- PM may be forced to resign when it is clear they cannot command enough support in HOC

US:
- much more difficult
- must navigate process of impeachment
- no president has ever been found guilty by senate and removed from office
- three presidents have been impeached (Trump twice)

Question 20

US v UK cabinet

Answer 20

• senate confirmation v no confirmation
• president does not share executive authority v ‘primus inter pares’
• officers only responsible for running their department v ultimate decision making body
• policy specialists v not policy specialists
• reshuffles not to control party v reshuffles as a form of patronage and control

Question 21

executive administration

Answer 21

• both leaders receive considerable administrative support to help run their governments
  -scale and scope of EXOP is much more extensive than PMO and the Cabinet Office

Question 22

wider bureaucracy

Answer 22

UK:
- chief executive for whole bureaucracy
- PM controls civil service and government agencies
- majority of top officials do not change from one government to the next

US:
- chief executive of whole bureaucracy
- president heads the federal government and federal agencies
- new US government administration needs to fill 4,000 positions
- character of the federal government is fundamentally changed from one administration to the next

Question 23

structural: role of political institutions

Answer 23

• government part of parliament gives PM with majority more ability to influence legislature compared to president
• PM can rely on payroll vote, president cannot
• key parliamentarians take collective responsibility, increasing influence but in US cabinet members not part of congress
• singular executive v system of cabinet government
• US president more administrative support
• due to process of removal, president has more job security
• president has greater ceremonial role to play

Question 24

rational: Obama and Cameron

Answer 24

Cameron:
- cons lacked majority so coalition government formed
- focused on cabinet and Quad committee
- without agreement of both parties to Cameron’s policies, coalition would’ve ended
-his emphasis on collective decision making was a rational response to hung parliament

Obama:
- lacked control over legislature for most of presidency
- democrats lost senate and Obama rarely met with his cabinet
- his rational response was to use direct authority to govern
- used executive orders and agreements to avoid asking congress

Question 25

rational: Bush and Blair

Answer 25

• time in office transformed by 9/11 terrorist attacks
• both maximised control during a time of war
• both knew the public and politicians tolerate a more assertive style of government during national emergency

Bush:
- declared ‘war on terror’
- used emergency powers to authorise extraordinary rendition of terrorist suspects and detention without trial

Blair:
- believed UK had a duty to support USA and became Bush’s closest ally
- accused of ‘presidential’ style of government as he ignored his cabinet (two resigned in protest of the Iraq War)
- cabinet meetings were more like briefings not discussions (decisions made in smaller meetings)

Question 26

rational: Trump and Johnson

Answer 26

• both adopted populist (champion of ordinary people) policies to win elections and harnessed informal powers to bypass media

Trump:
- used Twitter to commandeer the political agenda
- dismissed the media as ‘fake news’
- claimed the New York Times was siding with China over the USA
- bolstered distrust between supporters and liberal news outlets

Johnson:
- famously refused to interview for 2019 election campaign
- his aides caused controversy when they prevented some news organisations from attending a briefing

Question 27

cultural: respect and presidential status

Answer 27

• political culture grants more respect to president than PM (head of state and commander-in-chief)
• president has an important ceremonial reflected by the grandeur of the White House and Air Force One
• when a president’s term ends they still retain the title and retire with highest possible status
• when PM resigns they still remain MP (many choose to return to backbench)
• respect for presidency has eroded by division in politics (eg. ‘birther movement’ claims Obama was not born in the USA)

Question 28

cultural: limited v parliamentary government

Answer 28

• USA created as alternative to british rule so hostility to overly powerful government is at heart of culture
• PM evolved in context of parliamentary government
• sovereignty rooted in culture since English Civil War (1642)
• PM exercises enormous power with little restraint
• PM plans only blocked by one chamber v president faced opposition by both chambers

Question 29

cultural: imperial v presidential criticism

Answer 29

• US public expect president to act independently from congress and take executive action
• president only accused of being imperial if they exceed the parameters of presidential authority
• public expectations of PM to follow collegiate approach, if not they’re accused of being domineering and too presidential