Executive III - unit 2

Question 1

Knowledge check - What is a Cabinet gov, and main alternative models

Answer 1

20 or so senior ministers in gov who are chosen by PM to lead on specific policy areas on day to day management

Shadow Cabinet - frontbench MPs from the opposition party - ensure there is no direct competition as they can also approve it

Question 2

Up to 1960s

Answer 2

Primus inter pares - first amongst equals, dom figure in gov, not in complete control of Cabinet

• PM keenly aware of the need to maintain cab support for their agenda, encouraged genuine input and debate amongst ministers - a cab gov

Question 3

1960s-2010

Answer 3

• Prime ministerial gov
• Complete dom of gov by PM
• Cabinet rubber stamp when legitimising decisions, not genuine forum for debate

Question 4

2010

Answer 4

• Hung parl
• Decades of increasingly powerful PM over
• Cam had to use Cab to hold coalition gov together
• ‘Golden age’ of cab gov - having been ‘dead as a dodo’ under New Lab (Ken Clarke) - Cab had new roles it hadn’t had before since ww2

Question 5

Cabinet new roles in coalition gov - Resolving disputes internally

Answer 5

• Higher no. of disputes inevitable - Cab had to resolve these quickly and quietly

Question 6

Cabinet new roles in coalition gov - Joint policy presentation

Answer 6

Policy presentation more difficult as all new policy had to be explained to all members of Cabinet

Question 7

Cabinet new roles in coalition gov - Determining parameters of Coalition agreement

Answer 7

If dispute on whether or not a policy had or hadn’t been agreed on by coalition partners, cabinet was called to iron out dispute

Question 8

Cam ‘inner Cabinet’ aka the ‘Quad’

Answer 8

A core group of 4 senior cabinet ministers, himself, Osborne, Clegg and Danny Alexander - chief sec to the treasury

Question 9

May with Cabinet - 2017-19

Answer 9

• There was the q whether she was gonna continue cab gov or not
• 2017 election damaged power and authority - her presidential style during leadership election led to a lack lustre campaign - hung parl
• Widely recognisd as a weak pm with position threat with popular figures like boris

Question 10

Boris with Cabinet 2019-2022

Answer 10

• 80 seat maj
• Ministers complaining Cab has become performative affair
  -Key decisions made in advance and rubber stamped
• Buckland fired 2021 reshuffle
• COVID - listening mode, encouraging ministers to speak
• Partygate scandal - 1st PM to be sanctioned for breaking the law while in office after being fixed a penality notice in April 2022 for breaking Covid 19 regulations - Sue Gray report in May 2022 and a widespread sense of dissatisfaction in June 2022 - led to a VONC - he won
• July 2022, revelations over his appointment of Pincher as Deputy Chief whip - mass resignations over 50 ministers and he announced his resignation 6th Sep

Question 11

Truss with Cabinet 6 Sep 2022 - 25 Oct 2022

Answer 11

• Rewarded those who supported her campaign and close allies with the top cab positions - only supported loyalists and right wing brexiteers - no dissenting voices - disastrous mini budgets which she worked on exclusivley Kwasi Kwarteng - for the for the first time, there no white men in any of the four most senior positions

Became inevitable that she had to leave office after Kwasi due to failure of mini budget/neo-liberal lurch to the right - caused markets to crash

Question 12

Sunak first year as PM

Answer 12

• Priority was to establish trust and stability in gov
• Set up independent investrigations into ministers with poor behaviour (Zahawi and Williamson) unlike Johnson
• Unlike Truss, set up independent advisor on ministerial interests
• Weak mandate as PM - kept 8 ministers from Truss
• Factions frustrated with policies such as HS2 cancellation election defeats, tac cuts and culture issues