executive key examples Flashcards
what happened in 1982 which was an example of the use of prerogative powers?
Thatcher sent a task force to ‘liberate’ the Falklands Islands in the South Atlantic from Argentine occupation
what happened in 2003 which was an example of the use of prerogative powers?
Blair committed troops to assist the USA in the invasion and deposition of dictator Saddam Hussein
what happened in 2017 which was an example of the use of prerogative powers?
May called an early election and successfully secured the decision with the 2/3 majority in Parliament which is needed
two examples of when the PM took charge in emergency situations:
- Tony Blair returning to London following the 2005 bombing in order to chair the COBRA Meeting
- Theresa May chaired COBRA Meetings in 2017 after terrorist attacks in the UK
an example of when the PM ordered military action:
- Theresa May ordered UK air forced to bomb Syria in 2018 after chemical attack on civilians
- Tony Blair committing British forces to Kosovo in 1988 in order to protect the Muslim population
statistics on PM being chief legislator
Between the 2019 GE and 2021 prorogation of Parliament there were 59 bills that received royal assent. 50 of them were Government Bills (85%)
give an example of PMs appointing potential rivals to the cabinet
Heseltine appointed for deputy PM
how many votes was Theresa May’s first Brexit deal defeated by?
230
what was the voting on the use of military force in Syria in 2013
voted 286-272 against
motions of no confidence- Theresa May
survived by 325 to 206
motions of no confidence- John Major
survived 339-229
motions of no confidence- James Callaghan
lost 311-310
how many Conservative MPs voted against her first Brexit deal
118
what event encapsulates Macmillan’s fear events
Johnson was at the height of his power and popularity until Covid-19 stuck
why was Michael Gove removed as Education Secretary in 2014?
he continually upset teaching unions
why was Michael Gove brought back into the Cabinet?
he was brought back into the Cabinet as the Environment Secretary because he was an outspoken Brexiteer and a dangerous character to have outside of the Cabinet
an example of a minister being promoted in the Cabinet reshuffle
In 2019 Rory Stewart was appointed to the Cabinet. Before he had been an Environment Minister and Prisons Minister and was seen to have done both successfully. This small reshuffle saw his talents rewarded
why did Carrington resign in 1982?
resigned as foreign secretary from Margaret Thatcher’s government in the immediate aftermath of Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands. The reason for his resignation was that the Foreign Office should have been more aware of Argentina’s intentions and should have made clearer what the response to the British government would be to any military intervention.
why did Patel resign in 2017?
Resigned from Theresa May’s government over a series of unofficial private meetings she’d had with the Israeli ministers including PM Netenyahu. She failed to report these meeting which put her directly in contravention of the code’s requirement.
why did Hancock resign in 2021?
In 2021 the sun published photographs of the secretary of state for health, Matt Hancock, surreptitiously kissing a colleague, Gina Coladangelo. Hancock’s disregard for Covid distancing regulation, despite being health secretary caused an outcry and he was forced to quickly resign.
Gavin Williamson being fired in 2020
Gavin Williamson 2020
Due to the pandemic in 2020 schools were required to provide A-level and GCSE candidates with centre-assessed grades, which then would be moderated by means of an algorithm. This lead to many A-Level pupils not achieving the grades they required for university and Williamson abandoned the algorithm. Williamson remained in his post as education secretary until 2021 when Johnson dismissed him from government.
why did Patel resign in 2020
Her treatment of Sir Philip Rutman (civil service) had ‘not consistently met the high standards required by the Ministerial Code of treating her civil servants with consideration and respect’. There was a feeling that she should have resigned for breaking ministerial code. However, Boris Johnson at the peak of his power stated that she still had his ‘full support’ and she did not resign.
when did the ‘good chaps’ theory come to breaking point?
Johnson was accused on misleading Parliament over whether he attended Downing Street parties in defiance of the government’s own Covid-19 lockdown restrictions
what % of Conservative MPs called on Johnson to step down as PM?
41%
Geoffrey Howe
The pro-European Geoffrey Howe resigned from the Thatcher government on 1st November 1990, just two days after Thatcher had delivered her famous assault on European federalism. In his resignation speech he explained that he could no longer serve under an increasingly Eurosceptic PM. Howe’s resignation prompted the leadership challenge of Michael Heseltine and by the end of November, Thatcher had been forced from office.
Boris Johnson-foreign secretary 2018
After being an unenthusiastic supporter of Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations, Boris Johnson resigned when he decided he could not publicly support her Chequers Agreement as the basis for an EU withdrawal agreement. His ministerial letter of resignation provides a classic statement of the meaning of collective responsibility.
Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Sajid Javid, health secretary-2022
Criticisms of Boris Johnson’s style of leadership came to a head when his deputy chief whip, Chris Pincher, resigned over allegations that he had sexually assaulted two men. When it became clear that Johnson had been aware of previous complains made against Pincher, Sunak and Javid resigned within minutes of eachother. Sunak’s resignation letter focused on economic policy differences with the PM: ‘IN preparation for our proposed joint speech on the economy new week, it has become clear to me that our approaches are fundamentally too different’. In contrast, Javid focused on what he called the PM lack of ‘integrity’ and failure to instil ‘strong values’. This fatally damaged Johnson and he announced his resignation 2 days later.
ministers breaking CMR and not resigning under Wilson’s government:
Tony Benn, Judith Hart and Joan Lestor backed a resolution by Labour’s National Executive Council condemning the government’s decision to agree to joint UK/South African naval exercises as a ‘gross error’
minister breaking CMR and not resigning- Vince Cable
The Lib Dem business secretary in Cameron’s coalition government publicly criticized George Osborne’s cut in public expenditure in 2014
why two high figures in Wilson’s government debated the issue of membership of the EEC during a special edition on Panorama?
Roy Jenkins and Tony Benn
In March 2019 how many ministers abstained on a vote to stop a ‘no deal Brexit’ even though the government was committed to keeping ‘no deal’ as an option
13
who did Liz Truss remove from cabinet which Sunak brought back?
Dominic Raab
why did Sunak sack Suella Braverman?
For saying that the police were ‘playing favourites’ and pro-palestinian protesters were ‘hate marchers’
how was Blair’s power undermined by Brown?
Brown denied Blair’s wish to join the Euro by saying that the UK had to complete 5 economic tests which would be decided by the treasury
how many SPADs did Major have?
8
how many SPADs did Blair have in 2005?
30
how many SPADs did Sunak have in 2023 working for No10?
43
how many SPADs did Sunak have working for government in 2023?
117
what did Cameron lead in 2023?
Peace negotiations on the Israel-Palestine conflict and coordinated the US-UK response to Houthi’s attack in Yemen
what did Michael Foley suggest?
‘Spatial Leadership’ suggests that UK’s PM is becoming more presidential as they are distancing themsleves from the government and creating their own public penalty.
who did Blair successfully win support from?
right-wing press institutions
Estelle Morris (2002)
Estelle Morris resigned as Secretary of State for Education Skills after her department had not met the literacy and numeracy targets they set
Amber Rudd (2018)
In April 2018 Rudd resigned as home secretary after she inadvertently misleading the Home Affairs Committee. She said to the committee that she was unaware of any deportation removal targets within the department, despite the evidence showing she had documents saying exactly that
