Evaluate the view that the Cabinet plays a meaningful role in the UK's political system. Flashcards
Introduction - Themes
- Prime Minister
- Policy
- Consultations
Introduction - Argument
The UK Cabinet is by no means obsolete in the UK political system; however, it does play a limited role the majority of the time as it largely overrun by the PM
Disagree - Prime Minister - Point
It can be argued that the Cabinet does play a meaningful role as it is an important check on the power of the Prime Minsiter
Disagree - Prime Minister - Examples
- LBJ famously said it is ‘better to have your enemies inside your tent than outside pissing in.’ This quote is apt to describing a PM’s cabinet. Rishi Sunak has been forced to include his leadership rivals, Kemi Badenoch and Penny Mordaunt in his Cabinet
- Boris Johnson was forced to resign when 5 members of his Cabinet including Sunak and Javid resigned
Agree - Prime Minister - Point
Provided the Prime Minister has parliamentary and media support it is very difficult for the Cabinet to undermine their authority
Agree - Prime Minister - Examples
- After the 2019 general election, Boris Johnson emerged with a majority of 80 seats. In his first cabinet meeting he referred to North Korea and assumed a strong leadership position
- The Conservatives were endorse my many major newspapers including The Daily Mail, The Daily Telegraph and The Times. However, when Boris Johnson lost favourability, their headlines became more damaging - this media hostility was a big reason for Johnson’s fall
Disagree - Policy - Point
Cabinet ministers have at their disposal thousands of civil servants who are constantly devising policy. These ministers are, therefore, able to influence the policy presented by the government
Disagree - Policy - Examples
- Suella Braverman as Home Secretary has around 35,000 civil servants working for her. Due to the impartiality of the civl service the minister has the final say on what is adopted. Downing Street only has around 100 civil servants, none of which are concerned with policy
- Braverman would have been pivotal in the creation of the new Illegal Immigration Bill which is working its way through Parliament
Agree - Policy - Point
The Cabient as a whole massively lack in power when it comes to policy. Individual ministers may have some influence but due to Collective Cabinet Responsibility it is very difficult to have significant impact on policy
Agree - Policy - Examples
- The doctrine of CCR means that ministers have to present a united front and cannot speak out against policy they disagree with
- Boris Johnson was a strong Brexiteer and was able to get the UK to formally leave the EU. This would been against the will of remainers within his Cabinet such as Sajid Javid
Disagree - Consultations - Point
The Cabinet is a collective body which include the Prime Minister. In theory, the Prime Minister is meant to be the ‘first among equals.’ As a result, Cabinet meetings are where the majority of important decisions are made
Disagree - Consultations - Examples
- The Cabinet meets once a week - every Thursday - to discuss developoments and the direction of travel for the government. These meetings are not under CCR, so true opinions can be heard
- In 2018, Theresa May called an emergecy meeting to consult cabient over military response to Syrian government use of chemical weapons
Agree - Consultations - Point
If the Prime Minsiter has popularity it is difficult for the Cabinet to influence decisions even in Cabinet meetings
Agree - Consultations - Examples
- Blair was notorious for his use of a ‘sofa government’ in which he would often baltently disregard the decisions of Cabient. 2/3 of the Cabinet vote against the building of the milennium dome, but Blair still went ahead with it
- In 2016, Iain Duncan Smith resigned after he was not informed about the Pension Cuts decisions and could not accept CCR
