PM and Cabinet Flashcards
What Must a Prime Minister Command to pass Legislation
A Majority in Parlaiment
Can PM put Politices into Action?
Give an Example of a Manifesto Promise
2017 Conservatives promise working parents of 3 and 4 year olds 30hours free child care a week intead of 15
- Only those earning less than 100k would be eligible
- Scheme in Operation by September 2017
Can PM put policies into Action?
Outcome of Referendums
Brexit: 2016 election - leave wins 52% - 48%
- Cameron Resigns - May takes over
- May believes it is her democratic duty but hard to implement policy she herself doesn’t agree with
Can PM put policies into Action?
Personal Convictions of PM:
Margaret Thatcher had strong pre-existing ideas
-Property-owning Democracy
- Council house tenants given ‘Right to Buy’ (Housing Act 1980) which allowed them to buy houses at a lower rate from councils
- 1981 - England and Wales had 5.4m households in social housing - by 1991, only 4.5m
Can PM put policies into Action?
Results of Deals with other Parties
Coaltion (2010) produces hung parliament leads to comprimise between manifestos
- Lib Dems want referendum on voting systems - Propsed FPTP - AV
- Comms don’t want this (AV benfits larger parties) so don’t publicise
- Turnout of 41% = 67.9% Against - 32.1% For
Can the PM put policies into Action
Response to Emergencies:
Coronovirus means Govt had to act clearly and swiftly
- Temp set up of field hospitals ‘Nightingale Hospital’
- Coronovirus Act (2020) passed issuing penalties to those who broke restricitons
Can the PM put policies into Action?
Mounting Pressure from public/Media
Campaign for Climate Change
- Extinction Rebellion use Direct Action
- Greta calls on climate strikes
Effect on Govt - 2019 pledge to cut greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050
Can the PM put policies into action?
Changing Social/Cultural Attitudes
Change policies to seem more ‘in touch’
- ‘Swinging Sixties’ perfect example of rapid social change
- Harold Wilson’s Labour Govt made laws reflecting this
- ‘Divorce Reform Act’ (1969)
- Decriminalises Male Homsexuality
Give four uses of the Executive Branch of Government
1) To Make Policy Decisions
2) To Pass Legislation
3) To Control the Countries’ Financing
4) To be the First Responder in a crisis
Factors that Increase the PM’s Power
- Developed Stronger International Role - PM now represents Britian at G7 and EU meetings
- Increase in Spads loyal to PM who exert authortiy over departments
- PMs from Wilson Onward have gradually increased role of PM’s office and by 2000, staff exceeded 200
- Prerogative Power to Dismiss and Move ministers (Cabinet Reshuffles
Factors that decrease the PM’s Power
- vote of no confidence
- Devolution -Key areas of policy such as health and education are now devolved to the Scottish and Welsh parliaments - UK prime minister has no power to intervene in these areas
- No Majoirty/ Coaliton - May loses seats after snap election
- Ministers resigning
Poll Tax 1990
- What Happened?
- Role of PM
- Consequences
-Very Unpopular - Riots led to 100 injuries + 400 arrests
- “Thatcher’s biggest political misjudgement”
- Hard to collect as people could eaily move and costed a lot to administed
- Economy was weakining under Poll Tax
- Sparked a leadership challenge against her by former cabinet minister Michael Heseltine
- Persuaded to step down instead of losing again in second Ballot
- John Major replaced it with Council Tax
The Decision to Invade Iraq (2003) - 9/11 context
- What Happened
- Role of PM
- Consequences
- Blair said they had to removed WMDs in Iraq
- Military victory was striaghtforward but no creation of stable state - Bloody civil war and future IS.
- Blair wanted to strengthen rleaitonship with Bush
- No pressure in Cabinet - very solo decision
- Blair was left without much, or any, political or diplomatic cover, especially when the non-existence of WMDs emerged
- Highly Critical of ‘Sofa Govt’
- Influential for resignaiton in 2007
Decision to Call an Early Election (2017)
- What Happened
- Role of PM
- Consequences
- May calls for Snap Election
- The motives behind this are best understood as a mixture of capitalising on perceived political advantage and enabling her Brexit strategy to be successfully implemented.
- May wanted her own mandate to get Britain out of the EU
- The conservatives lost seats rather than gaining them, forfeiting their overall majority in parliament.
- Creating a very weak government
What must you be to become a Cabinet Minister
A Member of Parliament
How Many extra Cabinet Ministers did David Cameron Have?
10 in 2012
-May had 5 extra in 2017
How Many Women Cabinet Ministers did Theresa May have?
8 - equalling the record set by Tony Blain in 2006
What was very important in the Con-Lib coalition and why?
Cabinet Committees as they helped to present an united front
Give 3 Informal Powers of the Prime Minister
Personal and Political Power:
- Momentumn that comes from leading their party to power in an election
- Effective mangement of ministers and backbenchers
- Personal qualities like charm and charisma
Give 3 formal powers of the Prime Minister
- Appointing and dismmissing ministers (cabinet reshuffles) -Johnson in 2019 removes 11 ministers and a further 6 refuse to serve
- Changing weekly meetings of the Cabinet and setting the agenda
- Issuing honours such as life peerages
Give 3 Cabinet Committees
- National Space Council
- Covid-19 Strategy
- EU Exit Strategy
Give 3 ways in Which Cabinet Ministers an be seen to have more power than the PM
- They have large degree of control over their own departments - Pretti Patel overseeing immigration policy
- They have their own links to press and can ‘leak’ info - Gavin Williamson sacked for leaking information from a National Security meeting
- If they are powerful enough, they can refuse to move positions in a Cabinet Reshuffle
Give three conventions of Collective Ministerial Responsibility
Discussions in government should be kept secret
Decisions made in government are binding on all ministers
PM Authority - Blair selecting 8 women on cab
Give three strains on Collective Ministerial Responsibility
Leaks - unhappy ministers sometimes leak information or write about them in their memoirs - Gav Williamson leaking and getting fired
Dissent - Some ministers have openly opposed government policy and survived without resigning/being dismissed
PM Dominance - Cabinet ministers under Thatcher and Blair complained that CMR was undermined due to them ignoring the Cabinet.