Executive Flashcards
what does the executive consist of
four groups/individuals
- PM appointed by the monarch, head of executive
- ministers appoint by the PM, have responsibilities e.g. to lead a department. split into:
1. top senior 22 (roughly) who are members of the cabinet (known as secretary of state for x)
2. junior ministers who assist cabinet ministers e.g. within the education department there is a minister for universities - civil servants
- party advisors, special party advisors (SPADs)
role of the executive
3 roles
- proposing legislation including the Budget
- carrying out government as specified by legislation
- foreign affairs/ national crises
what is the title for top civil servants
permanent secretary at department of X
characteristics of civil servants
3 characteristics
- free to give advice free of fear of being sacked
- they should be anonymous and work in the background so the ministers the credit and blame
- they should be neutral which includes not joining a political party and not doing the policitical or campaign work of the minister - should advise on policy only
roles of the prime minister
four roles
- head of the executive branch of government including cabinet. de facto head of state
- more broadly, national leader
- party leader
- leader of parliament
sources of prime ministerial power
MPPP(P)
- monarch delegated royal prerogative powers which makes PM de facto head of state. whilst the monarch can’t interfere in the PM’s selection, the fac the PM has to go to the monarch after the election is their formal approval
- party becomes PM as they are leader of the largest party that’s voted in or become leader after their party has won the election. they will have more power if their party is united
- parliament informally aprove the PM by passing the budget. also shown by them not passing a vote of confidence. in theory, if they have lots of new MPs they should be more impressionable and easier to control than experienced MPs
- people they demonstrate their approval by voting for the PMs party in the election but not them directly. normally a PM who hasn’ throught an election has les authority. in between elections, they will have more authority if their opinion polls are high as it leads MPs to believe ‘coattails effect’
- patronage: the power an individual enjoys in making appointments - aspirational MPs will be loyal to advance to the many jobs in government
Broad powers of the prime minister
CAFE
- appoint: ministers (few constraints), judges (judicial appointments commission constrains), peers (house of lords appointments commission constrains) and BBC Chair
- cabinet chair: sets agenda, chairs the meeting, ‘sum up’, write minutes, organise cabinet committees
- foreign policy: leader and commander in chief
- election caller: can call an early election (affected by the Fixed Term Parliament Act 2011-2021) and can also prorogue and recall parliament
specific formal powers of the PM (deriven from the royal prerogative)
9 powers
- complete power to appoint and dismiss government ministers
- they have a say in other public appointments, including of the most senior civil servants
- power to negotiate foreign treaties
- commander in chief of the armed forces and once troops are committed they have general control over them
- conducts foreign policy and determines relationships with other nations
- heads the cabinet system, choses its members, sets the agenda and decides what cabinet committees should exist and who should sit on them
- tends to set the general tone of economic policy
- can call an early election (with the majority of parliamentary support)
- has the power to recall parliament
specific informal powers of the PM (often deriven from other sources of their authority and tend to vary)
five powers
- control and set government policy
- control and set the legislative agenda
- economic leadership
- power over the media focus and platform
- national leadership in times of crisis
how has the prerogative power of the commander in chief changed
- until recently it was assumed that since fast action might be needed in committing troops, the PM could commit troops without prior parliament approval.
- however since it was found Blair mislead parliament over Iraqi threat PM’s have modified their stance
what is a SPAD
a special political advisor who is not a civil servant or elected MP who is appointed by minister to offer advice on specific issues
by which point had the monarch gradually handed over ‘royal prerogative powers’
by 1800
by what point was the civil service in the shape it is today
by 1900
broad role of SPADs
two roles
- to make government less reliant on the work of the civil service
- to help the PM keep up to date with often better staffed and resourced government departments
what is a spin doctor
they became popular after Labour’s 1997 landslide. unelected advisors that sell the message of the government and control the message given by ministers across government - can even overpower elected ministers
differences between SPADs and civil servants
three differences
- civil servants have to be impartial but SPADs don’t as they are tied to a particular political party
- SPADs don’t need to be anonymous like civil servants
- SPADs aren’t permanent like civil servants, if their party loses power they leave too
positive impacts of SPADs on government
four impacts
- they provide advice from a political sympathiser who is chosen by the minister so are loyal
- they can offer advice civil servants can’t such as on the electoral impact of a decision
- they offer different perspectives to civil servants e.g. they could be more radical due to the impermanence of their position, civil servants are more likely to take into account the long term affects of their decisions
- they can become subject experts and remain in the department even when the minister leaves
negative impacts of SPADs on government
four impacts
- can be of variable quality as unelected and appointed on ministes preference
- can overpower and direct government ministers
- civil servants are expected to uphold the Nolan Principles and Civil Service Code - the expectations of SPADs are more subjective and are at the discretion of the minister
- they can ‘go native’ and put the considerations of their minister above all others at the wider detriment of the government
where does a SPADs salary come from
either the government budget or the party itself
how many SPADs does each minister get
traditionally two but this has grown dramatically in recent years
what is the top civil servant and head of the cabinet office known as
the cabinet secretary
what system of government does the UK have and what does it mean
‘cabinet system’ which means all major decisions have to be raitified by government by convention
who are the most senior members of cabinet
chancellor of the exchequer, foreign secretary and home secretary
how many members of cabinet are there
PM appoints between 20 and 25
cabinet meetings
five points
- usually meet at least once a week, length varies (shorter usually means they are taken less seriously)
- designed to be a safe place to discuss openly
- thus few outsiders allowed in except there is always one civil servant: the cabinet secretary to take minutes and experts and junior ministers may be invited to make a presentation but not take part in formal summing up
- the proceedings stay secret for 30 years
- PM won’t take a vote to avoid divisions and reduce the risk of a split being leaked but ‘sums up’ to echo the consensus of the discussion
role of cabinet
6 roles
- decision making or at least decision-ratifying - ‘rubber stamp’?
- coordianting departments - ensuring they work effectively together and give out same public message, also resolve disputes between them
- forwards planning, an arena for discussing the direction of government
- manage parliamentary timetable and parliament more generally
- crisis management e.g. during covid
- support PM or remove them
what is a political cabinet
term for an extra meeting sometimes added at the end of the regular meeting without the Cabinet Secretary where ministers discuss party specific matters
where decisions are made: the PM and the Downing Street Machine
three points
- tends to make as many decisions as possible
- consists of the PM, advisers, policy units, closer ministerial allies and senior civil servants who will make proposals
- it’s extremely rare for cabinet to oppose a prime ministerial initiative, tend to resign if they do
where decisions are made: cabinet committees
four points
- set up by PM and consists of cabinet members and junior ministers
- most chaired by PM or a senior cabinet member
- created detailed policy proposals, those working on it can be experts in cabinet discussion
- usually accepted but may be referred back for ammendments and improvements
chancellor of the exchequor
3 points
- almost always supported by the PM
- present economic and financial policy to the cabinet
- annual autumn statement and budget only presented to cabinet on the eve of its presentation, must be passed by parliament as a formal aproval
where decisions are made: individual ministers
two points
- department specific policies are presented by the minister
- dissent likely but if the minister has the support of the PM it is less likely
where decisions are made: groups of ministers
3 points
- policies developed by various professional advisers, policy units and think tanks may be adopted by various ministers with a shared interest e.g. hard Brexiteers
- they bring these proposals to cabinet, usually with the approval of the PM or chancellor
- problems with the proposal are usually voiced in advance
PM’s power of policy making and legislative proposals
two powers
- they see all policies in advance and can block them
- as controller of the cabinet agenda, could just avoid discussion of ideas they don’t like and only promote ones they do
powers of the cabinet (few as PM has rival ones)
four powers
- legitimise government policy: can vote against PM’s policy (although PM is unlikely to hold a vote if they suspect his would happen)
- set the legislative agenda: PM has influence over this but it is their specific power
- support the PM: cann effecctively drive out a PM by refusing to support them. can encourage a leadership contest or public scrutiny to remove them
- deciding on government policy: can overule a PM if they can summon enough political will and an alternative policy - normally need a large number of ministers to do so
considerations when chosing cabinet members
eight considerations
- close allies who are guaranteed a post
- an individual who can represent an important section of their party
- individuals with potential and the ability to run a department
- close personal friends
- popular figures with the public media
- those good at manging a department
- political experience
- could also have a diverse cabinet that represents the UK demographic
on average, how often do cabinet reshuffles take place
every two years - potentially not long enough to build expertise
reasons for cabinet reshuffles
6 reasons
- may be instigated by a vacancy
- an attempt to change the direction of government policy
- to ensure the PM has best team in place
- to promote allies and ensure big characters have a role
- chance to remove underperforming ministers
- to promote ministers or bring in new ones
examples of cabinet committees
four examples
- permanent ones: defence, economy
- temporary: 2012 Olympics
- Boris Johnson had a national security council, climate action implementation and economic operations committee
- also common to have a ‘war cabinet’ in war time
key roles of the cabinet office
3 roles
- to support the PM as leader of government
- to support the implementation of policy
- to coordinate intelligence of security matters
the cabinet secretary
- as most senior civil servant, they are head of the civil service and run the cabinet office
- takes the minutes in cabinet meetings
- an impartial arbitrator in disputes
what is the ‘inner cabinet’
an informal meeting between senior cabinet members e.g. the PM, chancellor and foreign secretary
(PM keeps powerful figures under close watch)
what is the ‘kitchen cabinet’
informal decision making that occurs with some cabinet members but also SPADs. PM can tightly control membership
(non elected advisers can become power and even dominate)
what are bilateral meetings
meetings between the PM and individual secretaries of state
what is a ‘sofa government’
populised by Blair. when most decisions are made away from cabinet with advisers and mainly unelected, unaccountable figures
how has cabinet government been marginalised
4 ways
- PM’s personal authority and power has grown more than cabinet’s in recent years
- meetings are more ‘ceremonial’ as real work occurs elsewhere
- policy making functions have shiften to Downing Street and the PM themselves
- bilateral agreements occur more frequently before its presented to cabinet
changes to cabinet over years
- Atlee in 1945 held two meetings a week
- from 1969, there was only one meeting a week
- in the 1970’s, there was only around 60 meetings a year
- Blair averaged 40 meetings a year. many were less than an hour and the shortest was half an hour in 1997
collective cabinet responsibility
principle that decisions should be taken collectively by cabinet and has two elements:
- ministers should keep secret what happens in cabinet and publicly back the decision reached, if they can’t they should resign and if not sacked
- if there is a parliamentary vote of no confidence in the government than the entire cabinet should resign.
how does CCR benefit the prime ministe and government
it helps the PM present a united front which may increase suppor from voters
individual ministerial responsibility
- minister is responsible to parliament, must go to questions and select committees when requested
- responsible for department and take responsibility for any and all wrongdoing
- must obery ministerial code of conduct
which act codified the ministerial conduct which had previously been just a convention
the 1997 ministerial code of conduct
