Ministerial Responsibility + parliamentary scrutiny Flashcards
why is collective ministerial responsibility under strain
ministers disagreeing with government policy but not resigning
what does collective ministerial responsibility do
-ensure ministers present a united front
-discussions in the cabinet remain private
-binds the gov together
-enhances PM power by silencing critics within the gov
what is individual ministerial responsibility (legal)
-ministers are responsible for what goes on within their department
-they must give accurate info to parliament
-the PM decides how long a minister remains in office
what is individual ministerial responsibility (political)
-a minister with bad personal conduct fate depends on: how serious an issue is perceived, how critical parliament is about the matter, media response, how the PM responds
IMR + CMR under the coalition
-Vince cable was stripped of all responsibilities that were related to the incident
-the coalition parties disagreed on the AV referendum, nuclear power stations, tax allowances for married couples, tuition fees, renewal of trident
how is questioning good for parliamentary scrutiny
ministers have to answer questions from backbenchers, PMQs forces the PM to be well informed about policy, chance for the commons to challenge the PM, the speaker can raise urgent questions
how is questioning bad for parliamentary scrutiny
PMQs is a political theatre, too many questions are from friendly gov backbenchers, PMQs has become an exercise in point scoring
how are select committees good for parliamentary scrutiny
interrogative style of questioning, committee members are independently minded, attracts career + independently minded politicians, their reports receive a lot of publicity
how are select committees bad for parliamentary scrutiny
often review problems after they have occurred, gov isn’t obliged to act on their recommendations
how are legislative committees good for parliamentary scrutiny
public bill committees strengthened in 2007
how are legislative committees bad for parliamentary scrutiny
less independent than select committees, amendments that are contrary to a majority govs wishes are rarely accepted
what are some other forms of scrutiny
a vote of no confidence, debating, MPs draw attention to constituents grievances
CMR under Blair
-a split between Blair and Brown, their arguments were often very public but there was never any suggestions of resignations or sacking
-this reinforced the need for CMR
-there was also a split between euro-sceptics and euro-enthusiasts which was well publicised but no one resigned
CMR under May
-disagreements over Brexit
-Hammond and Davis suggested different timetables over how long a transition phase should last (4 years/2 years)
-disagreements over the issue of free movement of people after Brexit, Hammond said there was broad acceptance in the cabinet that this would end 3 years after Brexit, Fox said no consensus had been reached
-May’s failure to retain a parliamentary majority diminished her authority, allowing moderates like Hammond to push for a soft Brexit, derailing a harder Brexit pushed for by Johnson, Fox and Davis
-by June 2018 Davis and Jonson had resigned
