Executive Flashcards
What is a Minister?
old fashioned word for helper
What is a Privy Council?
- Came from Henry VIII, 1540
means Private council
What is the role of an Executive Branch?
Executive branch carries out actions of government such as implementing laws passed by parliaments, meeting foreign leaders, negotiating ending strikes
Until 1689, who worked under who in the executive branch and how was this chosen?
Until 1689- absolute monarch had all the power helped by advisors they chose who ministered to them. Ministers had more technical people who often stayed in post a long time, working anonymously. Now permenant officials called civil servants
How does a constitutional monarchy change the way the executive branch is appointed + why is this important?
Foundation of constitutional monarchy, monarch chose ministers from largest party in parliament rather than having a free choice
Important because they need to make sure their ministers could get new laws passed smoothly
What happened from the 18th century onwards within the executive branch?
From 18th century, monarchs stopped chairing meetings of ministers so they chose one of them to be the Prime Minister
What did the custom of the Monarch choosing the PM grow to?
the monarch would choose the leader of the largest party to be PM and the PM would choose the ministers
How many government departments are there?
25 government departments
How are government departments split?
Political or Administrative
What are the shorthands for the different government areas?
Whitehall- shorthand for departments
Westminster= shorthand for parliament
What are the levels of seniority
in political government departments?
- Secretary of state
- Has ministers of state (junior ministers)
- Parliamentary under-secretary (very junior)
- Political advisers (SPAD- Special Political ADvisors)
What are the different types of Administrative/Civil Servants in government departments?
- Permanent Secretary
- Civil Servants (From senior to junior)
What does the recent failure of Conservative PMs like Sunak Truss and Johnson show about the Executive?
Show the dysfunction of British Politics (ie Boris Johnson, Liz Truss) + show importance of a functioning executive for a smooth performance in government
How did Sunak’s appointment as PM in October 2022 differ from Johnson and Truss?
He restored executive competence and tried to improve cabinet decision making
- Better connectivity between cabinet members, Conservative MPs/backbenchers, advisers and civil servants
What style of Executive did Johnson have?
Presidential style
What are examples of Johnson’s presidential style of Executive?
- Unlawful prorogation, September 2019
- Redrawing electoral map (reminiscent of gerrymandering) to balance power in favour of PM over the Cabinet and Conservative party
How did Johnson resemble May?
Get Brexit Done’
- European Union Withdrawal Agreement Act published January 2020-> parallels to Theresa May pushing her version in 2019
What was an early example/sign of how his Executive overreach manifested within Johnson’s Cabinet + party?
Resignations:
First resignation= Sajid Javid, Chancellor, Feb 2020 over Johnson’s request to sack all his advisers
Also Cabinet was largely sidelined:
Government measures on COVID 19 largely decided by small court of cabinet ministers + advisers (ie lockdowns, vaccine rollouts)
What led to Johnson’s demise?
2022 Summer- 62 ministerial resignations led to his downfall, 6 cabinet resignations like Rishi Sunak (chancellor of the exchequer)
- Prompted by his disrespect for the cabinet importance as a decision making body
- Cabinet members said he failed to take difficult decisions
- Johnson blamed ‘herd instinct’ (ie others) in Westminster for his downfall
What was the initial opinion of Truss at the beginning of her premiership as PM?
Truss won the membership vote (57.4%) against Sunak but only 4/10 MPs endorsed her in the leadership contest
- Lack of support for her more Neo-liberal programme ie deregulations and tax cuts
What were highlights of how Truss ruled as Executive?
Cabinet of political allies (ie Kwasi Kwarteng as Chancellor)
- Marginalised one nation faction of party + those who supported Sunak
- Tainted with ‘mini budget’ that crashed the pound
- Resigned after 45 days as PM
How did Sunak fail at improving governing competence?
Some scandals/tensions with MPs
Lost Gavin Williamson and Dominic Raab to bullying charges + Nadhim Zahawi for breaching ministerial code in relation to tax affairs
What is the job of the Executive?
Execute laws and policy
What is the Executive’s relationship with legislature?
In the UK, Executive is fused with legislature
- some argue it allows the executive to dominate legislature, especially with a large majority
Who makes up the Executive?
1.PM appointed by monarch, head of executive
2.Ministers appointed by PM to a position of responsibility such as to lead a department within the executive. Ministers are split into a) top senior 22 (or so) who are members of the cabinet and b) junior ministers who assist cabinet ministers eg Secretary of State for Education Gillian Keegan has junior Ministers for Early years, Schools and Universities.
3.Civil servants (see next box)
4.Party advisers (Special party advisers known as SPADs)
What do members of the government also have to be members of?
Parliament, Commons or Lords
How many members of government are there usually?
Usually around 120
20 top ministers in cabinet, 100+ junior ministers
eg since 2019 116 in total consisting of 92 MPs and 24 peers
What does the salary for government members look like?
Nearly all unless very junior get an additional salary on top of their backbench MP one, or in case of peers, their allowance. They are sometimes known as ‘the payroll vote’ because gov’t could sack them from ministerial post if disloyal.
What is the Role of the Executive?
PEF
Proposing legislation including Budget
Executing carrying out government as specified by legislation
Foreign affairs/national crises
What is the title of top Civil Servants?
Permenant
- ie Permenant Secretary at Department of Education
What does the Title of Top Civil Servants entail?
Reflects that civil servants in the UK should not fear being sacked if they give advice to a Minister they do not like
What is expected of Top Civil Servants?
PAN
Permenant
Anonymous
Neutral
What does being anonymous mean as a Civil Servant?
Be in the background whilst the Minister takes the blame and credit
What does being neutral mean as a Civil Servant?
non party political including not joining a political party. Civil servants are supposed to advise the Minister on policy only, not do their party political or campaigning work
How did the Johnson government blur the neutrality of Civil Servants?
The Cabinet Secretary is the top civil servant and some argue Cab Sec during Covid Simon Case should have controlled parties in Number 10 more strictly and that he is less ‘neutral’ than his predecessors.
How has the practice of Ministers appointing party advisers grown in recent years?
They are increasingly being giving a temporary civil servant status
How can N10 SPADs become controversial?
if they are seen as too powerful or excluding ministers
What are examples of SPAD controversies?
May’s top chief of staff SPADs Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill, both ‘left’ conservatives on economic matters and starting the ‘levelling up’ agenda, were resented by ERG Ministers and sacked after the 2017 election. Johnsons Svengali Dominic Cummings (Barnard Castle fame) was considered to be his ‘brain’ and was the most controversial SPAD to date, sacked Nov 2020 due to COVID breaches and power struggle with Carrie Johnson, later to claim Johnson ‘unfit for office’. Sunak has deliberately uncontroversial SPAD chief of staff (Liam Booth-Smith).
What are Key Dates for the Executive topic
Until 1649
1721-42
18th Century
By 1800
By 1900
1979
What was the case until 1649?
Monarch has absolute power as head of executive
What happened between 1721-42?
Sir Robert Walpole, first ‘PM’: When monarch’s ministers meet without the monarch they need a leader who unofficially becomes known as Prime Minister
What happened in the 18th Century?
when ministers meet they call themselves cabinet (office furniture). The conventions develop that they should be collectively responsible as a cabinet and individually responsible for what happens in their departments as ministers
What happened by 1800?
gradually monarch has handed ‘royal prerogative powers’ to appoint ministers, declare war etc to Prime Minister and cabinet. Due to organic uncodified constitution the powers of PM and cabinet depend on conventions rather than being spelled out in statutes or other written docs.
What happened by 1900?
modern civil service (PAN) in shape it is today
What happened in 1979?
Thatcher has high profile SPAD Bernard Ingham as her Press Officer and number of SPADs increases from now on, leading to enlarged Downing Street and PM take over of what had been a tiny Department called Cabinet Office
What is the role of the PM?
a)Head of executive branch of government including Cabinet, de facto Head of State
b)More broadly, national leader
c)Party leader
d)Leader of parliament
These roles require different strengths: arguably the UK PM has a more difficult role than the US President
What are factors that affect the PMs power to appoint Ministers?
Party unity
Experience
Coalition
Diversity
How can party unity affect the PMs power to appoint Ministers?
May tried to create party unity by including hard (Johnson) and soft (Rudd, Lidington) Brexiteers BUT Johnson felt strong enough to purge the soft Brexiteers, Brown relied on close ally Mandelson, Cameron close to Chancellor Osborne
How can Experience affect the PMs power to appoint Ministers?
Experienced ministers may improve policy making and also be dangerous to keep on backbenches eg Cameron included TWO former party leaders William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith BUT May removed experienced George Osborne Ability eg Sunak promoted from Chief Secretary to Chancellor of Ex 2020
How can a Coalition affect the PMs power to appoint Ministers?
Cameron made Lib Dem leader Clegg Deputy PM and allowed him say over 4 other Lib Dem appointments to cabinet
How can Diversity affect the PMs power to appoint Ministers?
include Northerners (Prescott during New Labour years), women (Cameron increased proportion to nearly half), ethnic minority and so on
How has Prerogative power commander in chief changed?
Until recently assumed that because fast action might be needed/or nat security implications, PM could commit troops without prior parl approval. Thatcher did this 1983 Falklands (after only consulting cabinet). Blair got a vote of parl approval for 2003 invasion Iraq but was clear that he did not need it. However, in part because subsequently found to have ‘misled’ Parl over Iraqi threat, subsequent PMs have modified their stance. 2013 Syrian gov’t used chemical weapons on rebels; Cameron asked Parl if they would approve air strikes, to his surprise he lost the vote and complied with their wishes.
How is the PMs role and Power affected by external events?
Thatcher’s power increased because she had successfully fought off foreign invasion of Falklands,
Brown hurt by 2008 financial crisis, May post 2016 referendum affected by its dominance– the need ‘to get Brexit done’
Johnson not suited to dealing with health emergency
What are sources of power in the Executive?
MPPP
Monarch, party, parliament, people
What do the 4 sources of PM power (MPPP) also stand for?
4 reasons why the MPs power can fluctuate
What is the Monarch’s power in relation to the PM?
Monarch has delegated royal prerogative powers to PM such as to declare war, so PM is de facto Head of State. While Monarch would never interfere in selection of PM the fact has to go to palace after election for monarch to signal approval shows PM benefits from this public transfer of monarch’s trad authority. PM’s royal prerogative power to appoint including Ministers (also called patronage) then consolidates this power
- Prerogative powers
- PM becomes temporary head of the state when monarch delegates power to them
- Monarch appoints PM
- Inherits traditional authority
What is the Party power in relation to the PM?
PM usually becomes PM because they are leader of largest party after election (Cameron 2010 and 15) or they become leader after largest party changes leader (Brown 07, May 2016, Johnson 2019, Truss 2022, Sunak 2022). If party united (Thatcher 1979-87) Blair (1997-2005) PM will have more power than when divided (May).
- Leader of majority party - Elections only happen after Parliamentary vote of no confidence or resignation, or party votes of no confidence ○ 1990: Conservatives replaced Thatcher with John Major ○ 2019: Theresa May resigned, Boris Johnson took over - Allows PM to take lead in policy making
What is the Parliament power in relation to the PM?
Parl shows approval not through any formal ceremony but approving PM’s budget or by not passing a vote of confidence. The larger the PM’s parl majority the more clear cut they should be PM: May had less authority in Parl after 2017 because she was seen to depend on DUP confidence and supply, Major re-asserted control over parl 1995 by winning leadership election he called (while staying PM) to silence Eurosceptic critic John Redwood. If PM has a lot of new MPs (Johnson 2019) in theory they should be more impressionable and easier to control than if lots of embittered old hands
- Recognises PM authority to lead the government - Pass a budget - Parliament can only dismiss whole government through vote of no confidence - PM is leader of largest party in Parliament-> larger government majority, more power PM has - MPs in the governing party tend to support the PM 1995: John Major PM resigned as party leader but not PM, re-elected in subsequent leadership election, asserting his authority and power in Parliament
What is the People power in relation to the PM?
People demonstrate their approval by voting for PM’s party in an election, even if they do not vote directly for PM (as in USA). PM who has not ‘fought an election’ usually has less authority eg Brown 2007-10, Sunak now. In between elections PM will have more authority if high opinion poll rating leads MPs to believe ‘coattails effect’ eg most Tories from 2019 believed Johnson should stay as leader to help them win next election, only when partygate turned polls consistently negative they got rid.
- People vote for alternative candidates + party-> partially impact who is chosen as PM - Problems only occur for PMs who take the position without a General election (people have no say) Opinion polls show how popular the PM is
What are the PMs powers?
Appoint Ministers and others
Cabinet Chair
Foreign policy leader and commander in chief
Election Caller
What is the PMs role of Appointing others?
Appoint Ministers (few constraints), Judges (Judicial Appointments Commission constrains), peers (H of L Appointments Commission constrains) other public posts like Chair BBC (EG controversy Johnson chose Richard Sharp, Tory sympathiser who had allegedly organised him a loan, subsequently resigned 2023)
What does the PM role of Cabinet Chair entail?
set agenda, chair meeting, ‘sum up’, write minutes, organise cabinet committees
What does the PM role of Election Caller entail?
Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011-2021 (see Parl KO) constrained PM somewhat eg Johnson wanted election to get a majority to get Brexit done almost as soon as took over from May summer 2019 but Lab refused to give support until Dec). PM also has power to prorogue and recall Parl (controversial prorogation 2019).
Where does the PM get power from?
- Monarch
- Party
- Parliament
- People
When was the last time Parliament passed a vote of no confidence, successfully ejecting a PM out of office?
1979
What are examples of failed votes of no confidences in Parliament?
Boris Johnson had a failed Parliamentary vote of no confidence, won and stayed PM
- But resigned a month later (2019)
May had one, resigned 7 months later (2022)
What power does American Congress have that is their equivalent to a vote of no confidence?
American Congress doesn’t have the power to vote of no confidence, can only impeach if the President has done something illegal.
What is Patronage?
- Power to make important appointments to public offices
- Those who aspire to be in high office tend to be loyal to person who has power
- Disloyalty can lead to dismissal
- PM= government ministers, peers, heads of various state bodies
- Majority of MPs and peers in PM party tend to be loyal-> gives PM power and influence over party + PARLIAMENT
What is the American equivalent to Patronage?
American president has less power in Congress + doesn’t have power of patronage as if they appoint someone in a position, they no longer have a seat in congress/do not have a seat in congress
What are the PMs Formal Powers?
- Patronage
○ Appointing ministers
○ Appointing judges and peers
○ Granting other honours- Charing of Cabinet, including setting the agenda
- Foreign policy leader
- Commander in chief
- Signing foreign treaties and international agreements
- Ability to call an early general election if Parliament approves with a 2/3 majority or passes a vote of no confidence
Power to recall parliament
What are the PMs Informal Powers?
Informal Powers:
- Controlling and setting government policy
- Controlling and setting legislative agenda
- Economic leadership
- Media focus and platform
National leadership in times of crisis
What Acronym represents the PMs powers?
CAFE
What is CAFE?
Appoint Ministers (few constraints), Judges (Judicial Appointments Commission constrains), peers (H of L Appointments Commission constrains) other public posts like Chair BBC (EG controversy Johnson chose Richard Sharp, Tory sympathiser who had allegedly organised him a loan, subsequently resigned 2023)
Cabinet chair – set agenda, chair meeting, ‘sum up’, write minutes, organise cabinet committees
Foreign policy leader and commander in chief
Election caller – Fixed Term Parliaments Act 2011-2021 constrained PM somewhat eg Johnson wanted election to get a majority to get Brexit done almost as soon as took over from May summer 2019 but Lab refused to give support until Dec). PM also has power to prorogue and recall Parl (controversial prorogation 2019).
What do members of government also have to be members of?
Parliament
How does being a member of government differ in USA?
USA: members of government don’t have to be members of Parliament
How many junior ministers does each Secretary of state have?
5 junior ministers
What is an MP salary?
£86,000
What is PM salary?
£86,000 as MP + £86,000 as PM
What roles does PM have to appoint that work directly for him?
a chief SPAD and top civil servant, Cabinet Secretary
What do Cabinet meetings look like?
Oval table- designed for easy discussion of around 22 people
All people in the cabinet are ministers
Who is the current Cabinet Secretary?
Chris Wormald
Who is the only non minister to attend cabinet meetings?
Cabinet Secretary
What does Cabinet minister do during Cabinet meetings?
Take minutes
What do ministers have to do about their private vs public views on Government bills?
Even if ministers disagree with bills, they have to publicly agree
What does the Cabinet system of government mean in the UK vs the US?
- To be a member of cabinet you have to be a member of parliament
US- do not have to be a member of congress
Who has the stronger cabinet system: UK or USA?
UK
How does the Cabinet make and pass decisions?
Decisions are made by the whole cabinet and all have to be approved to be official policy, not just the PM
Power is based in convention, not really written down
How does the US cabinet operate?
US cabinet meet a couple ties a year, President doesn’t have to listen to what they say, even if they have ministers and have a cabinet
What is the role of the Cabinet Secretary?
Role of Cabinet Secretary (top civil servant in gov’t) to help PM chair cabinet, prepare its docs and take minutes (official and secret, usually for 30 years)
How does the PM come to a decision of the overall Cabinet views?
- PM doesn’t ask for votes at the end of an agenda item, but sums up what they think ‘consensus’ view is
Cabinet ministers bound by convention
When can the cabinet call the government?
In emergencies PM may (if time) call the cabinet
Ie July 2007 London terrorist attacks
What is COBRA?
Smaller group= COBRA
- Used for emergencies
- Senior government officials + other key figures
What does the cabinet do?
Cabinet helps PM formulate how to present policy to the party
What is the Political Cabinet?
Often at the end of the government business, PM has section called political cabinet
- Then send the Cabinet Secretary out
What is the role of the Cabinet?
- Political cabinet
- Court of Appeal
- Parliamentary timetable
- Ratify official policy
- Support PM (or remove them)
How does the Cabinet play a role in disputes between ministers?
Final court of appeal in disputes between departmental ministers
- Most common disputes are the ones about which minister gets the most money from the treasury
What is the Cabinet role in the Parliamentary timetable?
Settle parliamentary timetable issues
What are Cabinet Committees?
PM sets them up on certain subjects ie Education Bill, around 3-4 ministers to discuss in detail
What is the Cabinet role on official policy?
Ratify official policy
usually detail is decided in smaller cabinet committees or informally between PM and relevant cabinet minister
Why is it bad when PMs don’t use the formal cabinet meetings?
- Bad when PM use the formal meetings as no one takes minutes and doesn’t follow tradition and policy (ie info is secretive, only released 30 years later, not to be compromised) (ie Blair, didn’t like arguing, used to do one-on-one meetings-> lacked record as no one took notes)
- Led Blair to misinform and leave out information, ie 2003 Iraq
- Boris Johnson used Whatsapp to contact others like Matt Hancock to decide complicated things, sometimes leading to those being deleted, not available to all members of cabinet.
What is some examples of PMs not using the formal meeting system of the Cabinet?
(ie Blair, didn’t like arguing, used to do one-on-one meetings-> lacked record as no one took notes)
- Led Blair to misinform and leave out information, ie 2003 Iraq
- Boris Johnson used Whatsapp to contact others like Matt Hancock to decide complicated things, sometimes leading to those being deleted, not available to all members of cabinet.
What is the relationship between the Cabinet and the PM?
Support PM, or remove him/her
What are examples of the Cabinet showing efforts to remove the PM?
Margret Thatcher- Ministers told her one by one they lost support
Theresa May- Boris Jonson resigned as Cabinet secretary, but also lost vote of no confidence (just loss of support overall?)
Boris Johnson- 6 minister resignations, but 62 MP resignations (loss of support overall)
What are Considerations the PM makes when appointing ministers?
Party unity
Experience/Ability
Diversity
Coalition- Lib Dem + Conservative
How does the PM consider party unity when appointing ministers?
- They may choose close political allies who have been guaranteed a post. For example, David Cameron chose George Osborne.
- They may decide on a personal friend that they are close to. For example, Theresa May chose her university friend, Damien Green, to be her First Secretary of State. Truss chose Kwasi Kwarteng
- There may be some individuals that are popular figures with the public and media. For example, Theresa May chose Boris Johnson as he was one of the big beasts who if outside the Cabinet might be a significant challenge to her authority.
How does the PM consider experience/ability when appointing ministers?
- They may identify some individuals with potential and have the ability to manage a Department. For example, David Cameron chose Oliver Letwin to work in the Cabinet Office because of his skill as an administrator.
- Some people might be bought into the government simply because they were seen as good at managing a department. For example, Theresa May chose Damian Hinds as Secretary of State for Education.
- Some people are chosen because of their vast political experience. For example, David Cameron bought Kenneth Clark into the cabinet as Minister without Portfolio.
How does the PM consider diversity when appointing ministers?
- They may choose an individual who can represent an important section of their Party. For example, Boris Johnson chose Priti Patel as a representative of the right-wing of the Conservative Party whilst Tony Blair made John Prescott Deputy Prime Minister to appease left-wingers in his party.
- In addition to these considerations a Prime Minister might want to consider the descriptive representation of the Cabinet. This means that they appoint a Cabinet who represents the diversity of Britain. This may be in terms of factors such as ethnicity, religion and socio-economic background
What is the average time for a Cabinet minister to stay in their position?
2 years
What does the lifespan per cabinet minister show about the PM?
Maybe PM have shuffles too often (NEG)
What are the different roles of the PM?
Chief executive
Chief legislator
Chief diplomat
Chief government spokesman
Party chief
What is the role of PM as chief executive?
- Makes decisions on behalf of the government
- Takes charge in emergency situations
○ Tony Blair returned to London after 2005 bombings to chair the COBRA meetings - Can order military action
Theresa May ordered UK air forced to bomb Syria after chemical attacks on civilians by the Syrian Government
- Takes charge in emergency situations
What is the PMs role as Chief Legislator?
- Legislation is largely based on the PMs decision (Government is dominant party in the Commons, PM is head of that party)
2019 GE-2021 prorogation: 59 bills received Royal Assent, 50 were government bills
What is the PMs role as Chief Diplomat?
- PM represents Britain internationally (ie G7, G20 meetings)
2021, Boris Johnson went to G7 meeting in Cornwall
What is the PMs role as Chief Government Spokesman?
- PM has role to sell the Government message to the population, especially prior to GE
During COVID 19 Pandemic, Boris Johnson gave speeches from Downing street to update the nation on the pandemic + answer questions from the media and public
What is the PMs role as Party Chief?
- PM remains head of the party
Each yearly Party Conference, PM gives Keynote speech
What are the 4 sources of PM power?
- Royal prerogative powers
- Powers that emerged through convention
- Powers based on being the leader of the largest party
- Individual personality and decisions
How do Royal Prerogative Powers give the PM power?
- Cannot be controlled by parliament or any other body
- Mainly to wage war, make foreign treaties, to appoint ministers and other people to public office
○ Deploying Armed Forces: Theresa May used military force in Syria 2018
○ Appointing Government Ministers: Boris Johnson appointed Liz Truss as Foreign Secretary in 2021
○ The Power to Reorganise Government Departments: Theresa May created Department for Exiting the European Union, Boris Johnson disbanded it
Appointing Peers to the House of Lords: Boris Johnson made Evgeny Lebedev a peer despite advice that he may be a security concern
- Mainly to wage war, make foreign treaties, to appoint ministers and other people to public office
How do powers that have emerged through convention give the PM power?
PM is treated with deference by other Ministers, but traditionally was the ‘Primus inter Pares’ (‘First among equals’)
How do powers based on being the leader of the largest party give the PM power?
- Prime Minister normally has support of their party within the Houses of Parliament and across the country. Party is the largest in the House of Commons gives them a popular mandate from the people of Britain.
How does Individual personality and decisions give the PM power?
Some Prime Ministers can extend their power through the power their personalities.
What are the PMs powers?
Power of Patronage
Power over cabinet, government and civil service
Party Leadership and Parliament
Power over Public policy and spending
Power as figure on world stage
What are the PMs powers of patronage?
- PM appoints and dismisses government ministers
- In charge of reshuffling cabinet, can promote and demote ministers (gives PM power as they need to stay loyal and hardworking for PM respect)
- Also appoints senior civil servants, senior Bishops in CofE, Peers in the Lords
THEREFORE people rely on the PM for career advancement
What is the PMs power over Cabinet, government and Civil service?
- They control the number and timing of Cabinet Meetings.
- They control Cabinet Agendas and Minutes.
- The control who speaks in Cabinet.
- They decide on the make-up and structure of Cabinet Committees
Decide broader makeup of government- ie how many ministers per government department
What is the PMs power over Party Leadership and Parliament?
- Indisputable leader of a party
- Authority over party members due to power of Patronage
- Criticism of party leader= criticism of party, hurts the party as a whole
1990, Michael Heseltine ran against Margaret Thatcher for Conservative Party Leadership. He did not win the contest, which was eventually won by John Major after Thatcher resigned. However, in 1995, Michael Heseltine was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Major, primarily because he was a serious threat to Major’s leadership.
What are the PMs powers over Public policy and spending?
- Head of the party with a majority or plurality in the House of Commons, also has power over the parliamentary agenda
Responsible for drafting the Queen’s Speech presented at the State Opening of Parliament (formal announcement of the Government’s legislative agenda for the year.)
What are the PMs powers as a figure on the world stage?
position as a leader of a G7 country, the Prime Minister has an authority that other politicians do not have.
What are Limits of the PMs power?
Limits of Cabinet
Limits of Parliament
Motions of no Confidence
Limits of Party
Limits from their own abilities and performance
Limits by events
How does Cabinet limit the PMs power?
- Cabinet cannot formally remove the PM, but is a check on the PM
- Cabinet includes major figures of the party, usually rivals of the PM
- Not including major figures makes them, seem like an outsider and alternative leader, maybe better than the PM
○ 1990, Michael Heseltine ran against Margaret Thatcher for Conservative Party Leadership. He did not win the contest, which was eventually won by John Major after Thatcher resigned. However, in 1995, Michael Heseltine was appointed Deputy Prime Minister by Major, primarily because he was a serious threat to Major’s leadership.
Prime Minister is not involved in the policy decisions within all of the Cabinet Committees he has created. This means that Government policy may be increasingly dominated by other members of the Cabinet.
How does Parliament limit the PMs power?
- PM suffers defeats in Parliament
Theresa May – Theresa May’s suffered the biggest debate in modern parliamentary history when her first Brexit Deal was defeated by 230 votes.
David Cameron – One of David Cameron’s most prominent defeats in the House of Commons occurred in August 2013 when the House of Commons voted 286-272 against authorising the use of military force in Syria. Overall, David Cameron was defeated six times in the Commons between 2010 and 2015.
Gordon Brown – Gordon Brown’s most significant defeat in the House of Commons occurred in April 2009 when the House of Commons voted 276-246 with a Liberal Democrat motion to allow more Gurkhas to stay in the UK. Overall, Gordon Brown lost three times in the Commons between 2007 and 2010.
Tony Blair – Tony Blair’s most significant Commons defeat came when an attempt to be able to hold Terror Suspects for 90 days without trial was defeated by 322-291 votes. Overall, Tony Blair only lost four times in the Commons between 1997 and 2005.
How do Motions of No Confidence limit the PMs power?
- Prime Minister may have even be removed from their position by a Vote of No Confidence. It is a key principle of parliamentary democracies that the Government can only hold power if it can exhibit that it has the support of the elected Parliament.
○ 1979 vote of no confidence was entirely by party. This shows the importance to a Prime Minister of having a majority to protect their position:
Theresa May – 16th January 2019 Survived by 325 to 206 John Major – 23rd July 1993 Survived by 339 to 229 Major called this Motion of No Confidence in himself.
James Callaghan – 28th March 1979 Lost by 311-310 Although he started his term with a majority, this was reduced by several by-election losses. On the 28th March 1979 he lost a Vote of No Confidence by 311 votes to 310 votes.
How does Party limit the PMs power?
- Rebellions by Backbench MPs weaken the Prime Minister’s authority and can, sometimes, lead to their removal.
Boris Johnson – In December 2021 Boris Johnson suffered a rebellion by 99 Conservative MPs on his plan to introduce ‘Plan B’ COVID measures.
Theresa May – In her record-breaking defeat by 230 votes on her first Brexit Deal a total of 118 Conservative MPs voted against it.
David Cameron - David Cameron’s biggest Backbench Rebellion came in October 2012. 53 Tory MPs, led by Mark Reckless, joined with Labour to demand a real-terms cut in the EU budget. This was a major embarrassment to David Cameron.
Gordon Brown - Towards the end of his premiership Gordon Brown suffered a number of damaging rebellions. Over the course of two and half years as Prime Minister 137 Labour MPs voted against him at least once. The most famous example was a loss on the rights of Gurkhas to settle in the UK.
Tony Blair - The biggest rebellion that Tony Blair faced during his ten years in office was over the Iraq War. In February 2003 122 Labour MPs said that the UK did not have a case for war in Iraq. Despite this, the House of Commons overall voted in favour of military action.
John Major - John Major faced a number of Backbench Rebellions, most notably over the issue of Britain’s relationship with the EU. In 1995 he even resigned as Leader of the Conservative Party and ran in a leadership contest. He famously said “now put up, or shut up” to his rivals. The biggest rebels came over
How do PMs own ability and performances limit their power?
Gordon Brown struggled to engage effectively with the media, especially when compared with his predecessor Tony Blair.
How do events limit the PMs power?
- Factors PM cannot control
○ In December 2019 Boris Johnson won an election with an 80-seat majority, the largest majority since 2001. His showpiece Brexit deal soon passed the House of Commons by 358-254 and then passed the Lords without amendment, confounding those who said that his hard-line approach to Brexit would not work. The furore over the prorogation of Parliament felt a long time ago and the political stage was set for him to begin a wide-ranging agenda. However, just three months later, he was beset by the social, political and economical challenges bought by COVID-19. It was amazing that his whole premiership will likely be defined by a global pandemic that started thousands of miles away in China
. Perhaps no political event in History better encapsulates Macmillan’s “events dear boy, events”.
What is the Downing Street Machine?
- Recent growth in Downing Street
a term given for the resources available to the Prime Minister in doing their job, most of which are not available to the Leader of the Opposition.
What does the Downing Street Machine include?
A huge number of Special Advisors - A 171% growth in the Government since 1997.
A Director of Communications – A figure responsible solely for how the Government appears and how it is portrayed in the media.
A Policy Unit – This was founded by Harold Wilson in 1974 and has grown in size and scope since.
A dedicated team of Civil Servants – These include the Cabinet Secretary and the Permanent Secretary. The Cabinet Office has over 2,000 staff.
How is the cabinet organised?
23 members
Prime Minister – Boris Johnson
Deputy Prime Minister/Justice Secretary – Dominic Raab
Chancellor of the Exchequer – Rishi Sunak
Home Secretary – Priti Patel
Foreign Secretary – Elizabeth Truss
Defence Secretary – Ben Wallace
Secretary of State for Levelling Up, House and Communities – Michael Gove
Health Secretary – Sajid Javid
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Steve Barclay
Business Secretary – Kwasi Kwarteng
Minister for the Cabinet Office – Alok Sharma
Secretary of State for International Trade – Anne-Marie Trevelyan
Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Therese Coffey
Education Secretary – Nadhim Zahawi
Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – George Eustice
Transport Secretary – Grant Shapps
Northern Ireland Secretary – Brandon Lewis
Scotland Secretary – Alister Jack Welsh Secretary – Simon Hart
Leader of the House of Lords – Baroness Evans
Secretary of State for Digital, Media, Culture and Sport – Nadine Dorris
Chairman of the Conservative Party – Oliver Dowden
Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities – Jacob Rees-Mogg
Other than the cabinet, who else attends the meetings?
Government Chief Whip – Chris Heaton-Harris Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Simon Clarke Leader of the House of Commons – Mark Spencer Minister for the Cabinet Office – Michael Ellis Attorney-General – Suella Braverman
Minister of State for Crime and Policing – Kit Malthouse Minister of State without Portfolio – Nigel Adams Minister of State for Universities – Michelle Donelan
Where can the members of cabinet come from?
Commons or Lords
What are features of the Deputy PM job?
- Can be vacant
- Not a line of succession unlike the US
- Vacancies between: * 1963-1979 * 1990-1195 * 2007-2010 * 2015-2021
Next most senior minister after PM= First secretary of state
What did Boris Johnson’s first cabinet in 2019 look like?
- Women were 24% compared to 51% of people nationally.
- BAME MPs were 18% compared to 14% nationally.
Privately educated MPs made up 64% compared to 7% nationally (including four Old Etonians).
- BAME MPs were 18% compared to 14% nationally.
What is a Cabinet reshuffle?
- PM regularly reshuffles cabinet
- Appoint and remove members and move ministers to different jobs
- Averagely every 2 years
Why can Cabinet reshuffles occur?
- A vacancy in the Cabinet
- Attempt to change the direction of Government Policy.
- Make sure that the Prime Minister has the best possible team in place
- Remove Ministers who are underperforming
- To promote ministers or bring in new ministers to government.
Why might a cabinet reshuffle occur due to a vacancy in the cabinet?
- Cabinet Ministers may be sacked, they may resign or occasionally they might die.
○ Gavin Williamson was sacked as Education Secretary in September 2021.
Amber Rudd resigned as Work and Pensions Secretary in September 2019
Why might a cabinet reshuffle occur due to an attempt to change direction of government policy?
- moving key figures in Government, different emphasis can be placed on different policies.
For example, in July 2014 Michael Gove was removed as Education Secretary after continually upsetting teaching unions.
Why might a cabinet reshuffle occur to make sure the PM has the best team possible in place?
- A Prime Minister wants to promote allies and also ensure the big characters in their party have important roles in the Cabinet
In June 2017 Theresa May surprisingly bought Michael Gove back into the Cabinet as the Environment Secretary. This was because as an outspoken Brexiteer, he was a dangerous character to have outside of the Cabinet.
Why might a cabinet reshuffle occur to remove ministers who are underperforming?
- A Cabinet Reshuffle is a good way to get rid of failing ministers under the cover of a change they could claim was happening anyway.
Gavin Williamson had overseen a number of mishaps in his Department, including the ALevel results catastrophe in August 2020 and perceived failures over COVID-19. Despite widespread criticism he did not resign. Finally, in September 2021, Boris Johnson decided that his position was simply no longer tenable and removed him from the Cabinet.
Why might a cabinet reshuffle occur to promote ministers or bring in new ministers to government?
In 2019 Rory Stewart was appointed to the Cabinet. Previously, he had been an Environment Minister and Prisons Minister and was seen to have done both successfully. He was considered a rising star in the party and this small reshuffle saw his talents rewarded.
What are problems with Cabinet reshuffles?
- Rare for ministers to stay in post for a long enough to build up significant expertise.
○ Gordon Brown was Chancellor for 10 years before becoming Prime Minister whilst Theresa May was Home Secretary before ascending to the same position. However, these examples are very much the exception rather than the norm. Since 1997 the average tenure of a government minister in a particular post is just 2 years. This often means that just when they are building up confidence and expertise in a certain position, they find themselves being moved to an entirely new department.
What are the roles of the Cabinet?
- Decision making
- Coordinating department
- Forward planning
What is the cabinet role of decision making?
The Cabinet used to be the key decision-making mechanism in the Government. Despite a reduction in its importance, it remains a key decision-making, or at least decision-ratifying, machine.
What is the cabinet role of coordinating departments?
The Cabinet has an important role in making sure that Government departments are working effectively together and giving out the same public message. As such, it is also important in resolving disputes between Ministers, especially when a dispute has become public knowledge.
What is the cabinet role of forward planning?
The Cabinet provides an arena for discussing the direction of the Government
What are some examples of key cabinet committees?
- National Security Council -> Considers National Security Issues and International Relations (Chaired by the Prime Minister)
- Climate Action Implementation Committee -> Considers matters relating to the delivery of the COP26 targets and reaching Net Zero carbon emissions.
- Economic Operations -> Considers the delivery of the Government’s economic priorities across the UK.
- War cabinet during war
What are features of Cabinet committees?
- Cabinet Committees and their membership are decided by the Prime Minister and are headed by either the Prime Minister or another Cabinet Minister.
- Most have around five members.
- Some Cabinet Committees are Permanent (IE Economy and Defence Cabinet Committees.) Others may be temporary, (ie Cabinet Committee for the 2012 London Olympics)
Key decisions are now often made in Cabinet Committees, with the decision then passed up to the full Cabinet for distribution. This has increased the power of the Prime Minister over the Cabinet because the Prime Minister strictly controls both the creation and membership of the Committees.
Who is the Cabinet Secretary?
Most senior member of civil service
What are the roles of the Cabinet Secretary?
- To support the Prime Minister as leader of the Government
- To support the Cabinet in its implementation of policy
To coordinate intelligence of security matters
Sits on Cabinet Meetings and takes the Minutes of those meetings. The Cabinet Secretary will also often be used by the Prime Minister as an impartial arbitrator of political disagreements between Ministers.
- To support the Cabinet in its implementation of policy
What is the Inner Cabinet?
This refers to informal meetings by Senior Members of the Cabinet. Such members might include the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Foreign Secretary. The existence of an ‘Inner Cabinet’ enhances the control of the Prime Minister as they are able to keep powerful figures in the Cabinet under a close watch
What is the Kitchen Cabinet?
Most Prime Ministers also have what is known as a ‘Kitchen Cabinet’. This group is made up of some Cabinet Members but also Special Advisors (SPADS). It provides an informal decision-making mechanism, the membership of which can be more tightly controlled by the Prime Minister. In this environment unelected officials can become powerful and even dominant.
What are cabinet committees and sub committees?
The use of Cabinet Committees allows the Prime Minister to assert his personal authority over the policies of the Cabinet. Increasingly, in recent years there has also been a growth in Cabinet Sub-Committees.
What are Bilaterals?
Bilaterals are meetings between the Prime Minister and individual Secretaries of State. The increasing number of these in recent years has been criticised as being one of the reasons why government has become less transparent
How did Cabinet change under Tony Blair?
- He operated what has been called a Sofa Government
- This was where key decisions would be made by a small group of advisors, away from the rest of the Cabinet
- Importantly, many of these figures were not elected, they were not accountable to anyone apart from Blair himself
How has cabinet been marginalised?
- The personal authority and power of the Prime Minister alone had grown in contrast to the collective power of the Cabinet in preceding years
- The Cabinet itself had become something of a ‘network’, with meetings being ceremonial more so than anything else
- The real work tended to occur elsewhere, meaning that the Cabinet’s involvement in actual work tended to be minimal
- There has been a shift in policy making functions to 10 Downing Street itself, therein extending Prime ministerial control and subverting any real Cabinet power
- The Prime Minister still conducts much government business on a bilateral business, insofar as reaching agreements with ministers on policy, prior to meetings, and then presenting the decision to the full Cabinet
How has the use of Special Advisors grown?
- 1996 to 7 : 38
- 2006 to 7 : 68
- 2020 to 21 : 113
- Some special advisors are nicknamed ‘spin doctors
- These term become increasingly common after Labours landslide 1997 election
- The job of a Spin Doctor is to sell the message of the government and controll the message being given Ministers across the Government
- They have become increasingly powerful in recent years
- Eg. Allister Campbell seen as the founder of modern day ‘Spin Doctoring’
What is a SPAD?
- A Special Advisor (SPAD) is someone who is not elected and is also not a civil servant but who is appointed by a Minister to offer special advice
- Special Advisors have two broad roles
1. To make the Government less reliant on the work of the Civil Service
2. To help the Prime Minister keep up-to-date with often far better staffed and resourced Government departments
- Special Advisors have two broad roles
What are some examples of controversies with Downing Street SPADS?
- Alistair Campbell was accused of ‘sexing up’ the ‘Dodgy Dossier’ that was used to justify military action in Iraq
- David Cameron hired former News of the World Editor, Andy Coulson, as his Director of Communication. Coulson was sentenced to 18 Months in Jail in 2014 for Phone Hacking whilst Editor of the News of the World
Dominic Cummings was aa Special Advisor to Michael Gove between 2007 and 2014 and was the mastermind of several controversial policies and had a notoriously blunt way of dealing with government ministers
- David Cameron hired former News of the World Editor, Andy Coulson, as his Director of Communication. Coulson was sentenced to 18 Months in Jail in 2014 for Phone Hacking whilst Editor of the News of the World
Why are SPADS helpful to ministers?
- It allows constant access to a source of advice from people that they know will be loyal and share their political sympathies
- Unlike Civil Servants who have been chosen by someone else, Special Advisors are there because the Minister wants them to be
- SPADs can offer political advice that Civil Servants are not allowed to do.
- Eg. when creating a policy SPADs will be able to look at the electoral impact in a way that Civil Servants cannot
- SPADs can offer a different perspective on issues to Civil Servants
- In particular, Civil Servants are often more risk adverse than SPADs and SPADs can offer more radical approaches to issues
The best SPADs can become subject experts and are retained within departments even when their Minister leaves.
What are issues with Ministers using SPADS?
- Hiring Special Advisors confers power to individuals who are not elected and are not appointed due to their experience, but due to the preferences of a particular Minister SPADs can therefore be of variable quality
- Some Special Advisors became so powerful that they can even direct Government Ministers, including those in the Cabinet
- Civil Servants are expected to uphold the Nolan Principles and the Civil Service code
- The expectations on Special Advisors are much more subjective and down to the discretion of the individual minister
Special Advisors can ‘go native’ and put the considerations of their own minister above all other considerations, at the wider detriment of the government
What factors influence the success of cabinet?
- The working habits of the Prime Minister
- The personnel chosen to be part of the Cabinet, particularly in reference to their experience
- The popularity of the governing party/parties as a whole
- The policies put forward by the Government
- The issues facing the Government (i.e. when issues of National Security emerge)
What is Individual Ministerial Responsibility?
IMR is the first of two conventions underpinning the executive. Many say the absence of a codified constitution means the UK relies on the “good chaps” theory of government (and Johnson shows what happens when you have a “bad chap”).
IMR can be split into two aspects.
a) Ministerial responsibility for POLICY failures. b) Ministerial responsibility for PERSONAL failures.
What did the 1997 Ministerial Code of Conduct codify?
IMR- (RESIGN) Previously been an unwritten convention, but there is still a lot of argument about whether minister do follow IMR and whether their behaviour is actually deteriorating.
What is Collective Cabinet responsibility?
Collective Cabinet responsibility is the second convention. It also splits into two parts.
a) Cabinet should be collectively responsible in public, keeping cabinet discussions and divisions secret and resign if they cannot support the line. b) The whole cabinet is collectively responsible to parliament if it passes a vote of no confidence (such as in 1979).
- All members of the government are expected to publicly support. If a minister cannot, then they should resign. Also shouldn't disclose contents of private ministerial discussions. If administration is defeated by a vote of no confidence, means all members of the government have to resign.
What does a minister do if a civil servant makes a mistake?
Ministers take credit and blame for Civil Servants
- If their senior CS make a mistake, Ministers take responsibility and resign
SCS are supposed to be anonymous, Ministers take the credit an the blame for their actions
Is IMR and CCR still important?
Overall, the principles of IMR and CCR are important to the smooth, legitimate running of government, however Individual Ministerial Responsibility is not as respected as Collective Cabinet responsibility. This is became IMR seems to lack meaning to current governments, as Ministers increasingly are tending to wait for others to hold them accountable, like the PM or the media. This is amplified as it is written down in Blair’s 1997 Ministerial Code of Conduct, suggesting it holds little meaning as Ministers do not respect a codified convention. Whereas CCR is more respected, even though it is less codified, as secrecy of cabinet meetings is largely respected, espeically when government is united,even if there is times where it can be taken away for certain issues, it is still essential to the smooth operation of government.
What are examples of ministers following IMR for policy failure?
1982 Carrington
- Resigned as foreign secretary from Thatcher Government after Argentina invasion of the Falklands
- Because Foreign Office should have been more aware of Argentina’s intentions and should’ve been clearer what the British government response would be
Amber Rudd 2018
- Theresa May’s Home Sec resigned when she admitted to misleading the Home Affairs Select Committee and House of Commons by stating there was no Home Office targets for removing illegal immigrants
Could be argued her Civil Servants should’ve given her a better briefing
What are examples of Ministers not following IMR for policy failure?
Gavin Williamson 2020
- Resigned as education secretary
- Schools were required to provide GCSE and A Level candidates with centre assessed grades
- Led to many a level students not achieving grades they required for uni
- Williamson abandoned algorithm + pupils were given grades based on purely centre assessment
- Chief regulator at Ofqual at the time resigned due to her responsibility in policy failure, but Williamson stayed in post until 2021 when Johnson dismissed him from government
What are examples of ministers following IMR for personal failure?
Patel 2017
- Resigned as international development secretary in May’s government
- Series of unofficial meetings she had with Israeli ministers, including their PM, Benjamin Netanyahu
- Failure to report meeting
Hancock 2021
- Resigned as Health Secretary under Johnson’s government
- After the Sun leaked pictures kissing a colleague, showing disregard for social distancing regulations, despite being health sec
Tulip Saddiq (2024)
Louise Hague (2024)
What are examples of Ministers not following IMR for personal failure?
And Patel 2020
- Cabinet office report stated she poorly treated Sir Philip Rutnam (permenant secretary at home office), by treating them with lack of respect and consideration
Strong case for Patel to resign, but Johnson stated she had his full support and she didn’t resign as home sec
How does IMR depends on the PM?
Individual ministerial responsibility depends on PM being prepared to hold ministers properly accountable + not breaching the ministerial code of conduct themselves
‘Good Chaps’ theory: PM relied upon to act in appropriate fashion
What are examples of IMR being defied by the conduct of PM?
○ Boris Johnson accused of misleading parliament in 2022 over attending Downing Street parties in defiance of govt own COVID-19
○ Senior civil servant Sue Gray accused No10 if ‘failures and leadership and judgement’
○ Johnson revised the ministerial code by removing ‘integrity, objectivity, accountability’ and stated that it would be ‘disproportionate to expect that any breach, however minor, should lead automatically to resignation or dismissal’
○ June 2022- 41% called upon Johnson to step down as MP, he stayed until 62/179 ministers resigned, then he stepped down
Effective operation of individual ministerial responsibility is therefore dependant on the PMs conduct
What is an example of CCR in action?
March 1979- James Callaghan lost vote of no confidence 311 to 310, meaning whole Labour government resigned + sudden GE occurred
What are features of CCR
- Requires discussion within cabinet must be kept secret to maintain government’s integrity
- Members of government must support agreed policies, even if in private they are highly critical of them- maintains unity of the government. (politically, unity= strength-> collective ministerial responsibility is fundamental to government survival)
If ministers cannot publicly agree with government policy or the way government is run, they can only resign and return to backbenches. Can impact the authority of the PM
- Members of government must support agreed policies, even if in private they are highly critical of them- maintains unity of the government. (politically, unity= strength-> collective ministerial responsibility is fundamental to government survival)
What are examples of High profile ministerial resignations over collective responsibility?
Geoffery Howe, leader of House of Commons and deputy PM, 1990
- Pro Europe, resigned due to increasingly Eurosceptic Margret Thatcher
- Prompted leadership challenge of Michael Heseltine
- By end of November, Thatcher forced out of office
Boris Johnson, foreign secretary, 2018
- Resigned from May due to being unable to support her Chequers Agreement as a basis for an EU withdrawal agreement
- Felt he couldn’t hold collective ministerial responsibility under her, mentioning it in his resignation letter
Rishi Sunak (Chancellor of the Exchequer) and Sajid Javid (health secretary), 2022
- Chris Pincher (deputy chief whip) resigned over allegations he sexually assaulted 2 men
- When it became clear Johnson was aware of previous complaints, Sunak and Javid immediately resigned
- Sunak’s resignation letter focused on economic policy difference with the PM
- Javid focused on PMs ‘lack of integrity’ and failure to instil ‘strong values’
Johnson announced his resignation 2 days later
What are limits of CCR?
Ministers can choose to remain in government whilst making indiscreet criticisms of it
PM can acknowledge that it’s impossible to achieve collective ministerial responsibility-> convention is suspended, ministers are allowed to publicly disagree with one another
What are examples of Ministers can choose to remain in government whilst making indiscreet criticisms of it?
○ John Major: didn’t trust several Eurosceptic members of his cabinet, whom he rightly believed were briefing press against him, behind is back
○ 1974: 3 members of the Harold Wilson government: Tony Benn, Judith Hard and Joan Lestor, backed resolution made by Labour’s National Executive Council to condemn a government decision to agree to joint UK- South African naval exercises as a ‘gross error’. Wilson reminded them of CMR, but they didn’t resign.
○ 2010-2015: Vince Cable was Lib Dem business secretary in David Cameron’s coalition government. Frequent criticism of Conservative colleagues + 2014 publicly criticised George Osbourne’s cuts in public expenditure in autumn budget statement
2016-18: Boris Johnson in May’s government, criticised government’s developing EU policy.
What are examples of CCR being suspended?
○ Occurred during UK referendums on continued membership of the EEC (European Economic Committee, 1975) and EU (2016)
○ 1975: Harold Wilson (PM) allowed cabinet members to campaign in favour or against membership. 2 high profile figures said yes (Roy Jenkins) and no (Tony Benn) to membership, even debating the issue on TV
○ 2016: David Cameron made a similar concession, personally campaigning to Remain. He allowed Eurosceptic members of cabinet (ie Michael Gove + Chris Grayling, Iain Duncan Smith) to promote to leave, to avoid series of damaging resignations, even though the government policy was to remain
○ 2019: 13 ministers in Theresa May’s government abstained on vote to stop ‘no deal Brexit’, even though government was committed to keeping ‘no deal’ as an option
○ 2024: Starmer on Assisted Dying, ie Wes Streeting opposed
Lib Dem- Conservative coalition: Lib Dem ministers wanted to argue differently to Conservative ministers on some issues
What is Cabinet government?
Cabinet is more powerful than PM
- Traditional model for ‘correct’ functioning of executive
- Ensures all major decisions made by ministers are taken collectively by cabinet
Primary check on unrestrained PM power
What is PM government?
PM more powerful
What was government like before Thatcher?
- Cabinet government
- PMs were less dominant within cabinet, ie Number 10 machine not big + hard to control what cabinet ministers were doing in their departments
- PM were only ‘premus inte pares’ (first amongst equals)
What was government like after Thatcher and Blair?
- Made PMs more powerful
- Peter Hennessy- say PMs became more powerful in a British Way
○ Number 10 machine got bigger, more N10 SPADS, controlling press officers like Alistair Campbell, scarier to ministers
○ PM used media to become more of a ‘celebrity’- more PM air time, less air time for other prominent ministers
○ Blair’s ‘Sofa Government’ - Mike Foley- say PM becomes more powerful in US way ie more presidential
○ Makes N10 bigger
○ Distanced themselves from party to appear more statespersonlike (like US president)
PM uses media to become like a ‘celebrity’
- Peter Hennessy- say PMs became more powerful in a British Way
What was the Lib Dem coalition government leaders political leanings?
- Nick Clegg- right wing Lib Deb
- David Cameron- One nation Conservative
Lots of common ground
- David Cameron- One nation Conservative
How was power split in the Lib Dem-Conservative coalition?
○ compromise on both parties election manifestos
○ Accepted some policies from both
○ Lib Dem dropped some policies, Conservative dropped some policies (where they disagreed, but Lib Dem dropped more as Conservatives were politically stronger)
○ Suspended Collective Cabinet Responsibility on certain issues ie Lib Dem referendum on proportional representation
○ 4 Lib Dem cabinet ministers, 18 Conservative cabinet ministers, lots more Lib Dem junior ministers (Cameron gave Clegg power to appoint)
Nick Clegg took Deputy PM, not much tangible power
How did Cameron keep power in the coalition despite conservative divisions?
Cameron manipulated Lib Dems + their support enabled him to ignore his far right Eurosceptic faction
Cameron + George Osbourne met with Clegg and Douglas Alexander (Cameron still kept most of his power through bullying)
What was the government like after 2015 election?
Conservative Majority
- Should’ve seen a return to PM govt
- Large Eurosceptic wing + EU referendum, which he suspended CCR for (gave power to minister voices, not to PM)- lack of PM government
What was government like after 2016 election?
May PM of divided party (Brexit)
- Lost small overall majority in 2017 becoming a minority government
- Used support of DUP
- Weak MP (Cabinet Government return)
- Leaks- forced to take mob phones away from ministers at an awayday at Chequers - Resignations designed to wound/damage (Johnson CCR resignation as Foreign sec 2018)
What was government like after 2019 election?
Johnson premiership
Increased majority in 2019 election
PM govt back?
- Dominic Cummings made N10 more powerful
- Johnson purged Tories who didn’t agree with him from cabinet
BUT Johnson was a shopping trolley in cummings words, Cummings got himself fired
- N10 was too chaotic
- Carrie Johnson + Cummings had beef- caused tension in N10, caused it to not run smoothly
Partygate made Johnson’s opinion polls drop so low that cabinet realised they would be better off without him
What was government like under Truss?
Truss: shows Cabinet Government power
- Told her to go after the MINI BUDGET failure
What was government like under Sunak?
- Maybe played more safe, by the rules (ie Code of Conduct)
- Said he would do lots of things ie bring inflation down, Rwanda bill-> but lacked actually doing anything
Suella Braverman (Home Sec) : took ages for Sunak to sack her, even if he wanted to (too weak), didn’t do much to implement recommendations of the grooming gang reports. Wanted to increase police powers to stop protests. Accused police of being softer on pro Palestinian protesters (‘2 tier policing’)
- Said he would do lots of things ie bring inflation down, Rwanda bill-> but lacked actually doing anything
How did New Labour change Cabinet government?
Power exercised without traditional decision making constraints on UK PMs + downplaying cabinet role to ‘sofa government’
Intense media + public attention to 1 person
Increasing use of SPADS over ministers and civil servants, more personal leadership, pronounced during election campaigns
Could be described as preference to personal decision making, typified by informal 1-1 discussions rather than properly structured and recorded meetings
How did government look in 2010-12 with the Lib Dem-Conservative Coalition?
David Cameron 2010-16
- Coalition Lib Dem Conservative
Nick clegg + 4 Lib Dem ministers
Challenge to keep cabinet together during austerity
- Meeting were longer, more deliberative, critical decisions from cabinet engagement
The Quad
- Inner cabinet of Cameron, George Osbourne (cons chancellor), Nick clegg and Danny Alexander
- All major decisions pass through sub committee before cabinet
Coalition limited Cameron’s power first term
But it worked to his advantage
- Cameron lost 6 votes in commons over 5 years, strength of coalition government
How did government look after Tory election win in 2015?
No coalition, tory infighting and defection son Brexit referendum, weakening power
How did government look under May (2016-19)?
Slim majority
- Weakened her
- Accused of running presidential style campaign
Lost 33 votes in parliament from 2017-19
Couldn’t command support of backbenchers, particularly Brexiteers MPs
- Attempted to have more Brexiteers in Cabinet like Johnson to control them under CCR
Appointed civil servant to lead Brexit negotiations (Olly Robbins)
- Left official Brexit Secretary David Davis out
- His resignation after seeing final draft of her withdrawal agreement showed her weakenss (especially aftere Khonsons resignation
Confidence vote December 2018
- 200 to 117 (survived)
- lOst support of most of her backbenchers
- Months later announced resignation
How did government look under Johnson (19-22)
Called snap election after inheriting minority government in December 2019
- Won 80 seat majority
Get Brexit Done election campaign led to winning ‘red wall’ working class northern voters, felt Labour party no longer spoke for the working class northern voters
Large Majority, unites party , positive media image, established power increases
Dominic Cummings
- Expanded N10 operations, centralising government, mandating SPADS to report directly to him
- Powers grew over COVID, amassed unprecedented powers
Early 2020, Chancellor Sajid Javid refused to sack his advisers to be replaced with Cummings’ team, Javid resigned in protest
- Many Senior civil servants replaced with political appointees, undermining impartiality
- COMPARED to white house, with more personal control over government agenda
How did partygate affect Johnson?
Partygate
- Media revelations exposed partying in N10 with SPADS and civil servants during COVID lockdowns
- Police investigation led by Civil servant Sue Gray, contributing to erosion of Johnson’s ability to exercise his power
Lost 41% in confidence vote, lost trust of parliamentary party + backbenchers
