PM and Cabinet Flashcards
Cabinet?
A formal committee of leading govt members, including heads of govt departments.
Kitchen cabinet?
- An informal group of advisers consulted by the PM.
- May include some members of the Cabinet, as well as outside individuals.
Core Executive?
The informal network of individuals and groups involved with policy making, decided by the PM.
Roles of the PM?
- Appoint ministers to a Cabinet.
- Direct and Influence govt policy.
- Manage the Cabinet e.g. setting of meetings and agendas for discussion.
- Organise govt departments.
- Control Parliament.
“Primus inter pares”?
First among equals.
Roles of cabinet?
- Approving policy
- Coordinating policy e.g. making all ministers aware of policy decisions.
- Debate
- Considering party views
- Promotion of collective responsibility.
What factors have the ability to affect the relationship between the PM & the Cabinet?
- The PM’s popularity among ministers: successful/ popular PMs likely to wield greater control over cabinet.
- The Media: More focus on the PM than cabinet members can increase the PMs authority and vice versa.
- The Cabinet members themselves: Strong members can be difficult for the PM to ignore.
- Use of Cabinet for key policy decisions: e.g. if the PM chooses to use Special Advisors majority of the time, Cabinet is marginalised and is likely to grow resentful.
- PMs use of their own powers.
Features of Presidential Prime-Ministerial style?
- Strong PM’s Office
- Greater media focus on the PM than other govt members.
- PM with strong personality.
- Communicator-in Chief
- Main conductor of foreign policy
Example of Presidential Prime Minister?
Tony Blair
What factors can limit the extent to which a PM can be Presidential?
- Votes of no confidence
- Being removed from their own party
- Small majority
Features of Cabinet Prime-Ministerial style?
- Primus inter Pares
- Collegial style
- Cabinet decides govt strategy including managing all parliamentary business.
Example of a Cabinet Prime Minister?
David Cameron
Individual Ministerial Responsibility?
- Holds ministers responsible for theirs and their departments’ actions/ wrongdoings.
Example of Individual Ministerial Responsibility?
2018: Amber Rudd resignation over Windrush Scandal
Individual Ministerial Responsibility effective?
- Maintains a strong standard of behavior from ministers.
- Way of holding government directly accountable for their actions.
Individual Ministerial Responsibility ineffective?
- Fails via the fact that it is only a Convention. Ministers can simply choose to not resign and instead blame others.
Collective Ministerial Responsibility?
- Where ministers that fail to publicly support cabinet policies must resign from government.
Example of Collective Ministerial Responsibility?
2018: Boris Johnson resigned as Foreign Sec over the Government’s “Chequers Deal” for leaving the EU.
Collective Ministerial Responsibility Effective?
- Ensures that the government appears united.
- Ensures strong government: clear official position on policies.
Collective Ministerial Responsibility Ineffective?
- Can mean ministers are forced to defend/ support policies which they do not agree with.
What are Prime Minister’s Questions (PMQs)?
Allocated 30 minutes each Wednesday afternoon where MPs ask the Prime Minister questions regrading important issues. The leader of the opposition gets to ask the PM 6 questions directly.
PMQs effective?
- Means of providing direct answers/ accountability from the PM.
- The PM must be well-briefed on all current issues o as to withstand the 30 minute grilling.
PMQs ineffective?
- “Punch & Judy” Theatrics: more about political point-scoring than anything. Often a shouting match between politicians in front of the media.
- Government MPs will ask planted questions designed to flatter the PM and their work - not scrutinise it.
Select Committees?
Select Committees scrutinise the work of government departments. they do this by carrying out inquiries, writing reports, carrying out interviews and by asking to see government documents.
Select Committees effective?
- Closely scrutinise the work of individual government departments.
- Publish reports on issues to which the government must respond within 60 days e.g. Government published a response to reports calling for apprenticeship reforms by business, energy, industrial strategy and education committees.
Select Committees ineffective?
- Select committee scrutiny can be ineffective in holding the government to account when ministers are unhelpful in providing evidence when questioned e.g. 2016: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson accused of “waffling” during a committee questioning.
- Select Committees cannot make people appear before them for questioning e.g. Mark Zuckerberg refused to appear for questioning in 2018.
Backbench rebellions?
Backbenchers voting against government-backed Bills as a means of controlling the Executive.
Backbench rebellions effective?
- House of Commons has blocked government legislation through successful rebellions in the past e.g. MPs voted 309-305 against the government in favour of giving Parliament a vote on the final Brexit deal.
Backbench rebellions ineffective?
- If the government has a large majority, rebellions may be easily overwhelmed.
- If a three-line-whip is in place surrounding a particular issue then incentive to rebel will be lessened.
- Threat of having the Whip removed will also affect the incentive to rebel.
Votes of no confidence?
Motions introduced in Parliament by the Opposition where MPs vote upon whether or not they have confidence in the government. By convention, if the government loses, they resign.
Votes of no confidence effective?
- Have been successful in removing governments before e.g. 1979: James Callaghan forced to resign as PM after vote of no confidence loss.
- Can be useful in restoring the authority of governments if the motion is won. e.g. John Major 1993.
Votes of no confidence ineffective?
- They are unlikely to succeed if the business has a large majority in Parliament - leads to tyranny of majority.
Factors which have caused shifts in sovereignty in the UK?
- Parliament to Executive: PM using prerogative powers to deploy the military without parliamentary consent e.g. 2018: Theresa May deployed airstrikes in Syria without Parliament’s approval.
- Parliament to Judiciary: 1998 HRA incorporated the ECHR into UK constitution, taking away legal supremacy of Parliament and placing it with the Judiciary.
- UK to Devolved Parliaments: Devolution to the Scottish Parliament, Welsh and Irish Assemblies took away powers over Education, Health and Environment away from UK Parliament.
Arguments that Parliament remains sovereign?
- Still has power over the UK’s most important powers of foreign policy, taxation and defence.
- Parliament has the authority to revoke any legislation which might place limits upon its sovereignty e.g. Brexit.
