EXTRA-The Core Executive Flashcards
What is the core executive?
the core executive in Britain is the network of key institutions, people and practises at the heart of government, including the Prime Minister, the Cabinet and its committees, the PM’s Cabinet Office and the governments law officers and the security and intelligence services.
Where does the term executive derive from?
the latin ex sequi meaning ‘to follow’ or ‘carry out’
What is the role of the executive branch of government in the political system?
to make policies and administer laws
As long as there has been political systems, there have been individuals or small groups who assume the role of what?
leadership, formulating and implementing public poly
What do many writers use the phrase ‘core executive’ to refer to?
to refer to the complex network of institutions and people at the centre that between them are charged with the day to day running of governing the country
Who does the core executive comprise of?
- PrimeMinister
- Cabinet and its committees
- the offices that serve the first minister and Cabinet
- the departments headed by senior ministers
What do the groups in the core executive represent?
the pinnacle of the decision making process
Who was involved of the membership of the core during the build up to and invasion and occupation of Iraq?
members of the intelligence services and leaders among the military
In some listings who can be in the core executive (2)?
the chief whip and even those who chair back bench parliamentary committees
In the British system, in theory, what provides executive leadership and political direction?
the Cabinet
Although in theory the executive leadership and political direction is provided by the Cabinet, who in practise actually has this?
the PM
What does Moran say in 2005?
“There is no fixed agenda of business”
What does the idea of the core executive useful in helping us to understanding?
that the government is a fluid process in which many different people, offices and relationships are involved
Who does the term ‘Cabinet’ relate to?
this relates to the group of the most senior ministers who are chosen by the PM and are at the centre of the British political system
What are the Cabinet collectively empowered to do?
to make all decisions on behalf of the overnemtn
Who are most members within the Cabinet?(what do they do)
they are heads of government departments with the title of Secretary of State
Who are the Cabinet drawn from?
either chamber of parliament
In the traditional constitutional theory, who were the key formal decision making body of the Executive?
the Cabinet
In the traditional constitutional theory, what did the Cabinet do?
they directed the work of government and coordinated the activities of individual departments
What was the Cabinet described as by Walter Bagehot in the 19th century?
as the ‘efficient secret’
