PM and Cabinet

Question 1

Structure of the executive?

Answer 1

PM → Cabinet (secretaries of state) → Government ministers → civil servants.

Question 2

What is the role of the Prime Minister’s Office?

Answer 2

• The PMs Office is made up of:
  1. The private office - administrative support.
  2. Policy unit - advice on policy.
  3. Press office - handles the media
  4. Political office - manages MPs in the party.

Question 3

What is the Cabinet?

Answer 3

• The cabinet is the main collective decision making government of the government which usually meets once a week.
• Most cabinet members have to be elected MPs.
• The cabinet includes members such as the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Home Secretary and the Attorney General.

Question 4

What are Cabinet Committees, sub-committees?

Answer 4

Cabinet Committees and sub committees are where relevant ministers work together in smaller groups on specific policy areas - disputes can be resolved in the main cabinet if needed.

Question 5

What is the role of the Cabinet Office?

Answer 5

• The Cabinet Office supports the work of both the cabinet office and the PM.

Question 6

What is the ministerial hierarchy within each ministerial department?

Answer 6

Secretaries of State → Ministers of State → Parliamentary Under-Secretaries of State.

Question 7

What is the role of the Civil Service?

Answer 7

• They work in the various government departments, agencies and non-departmental public bodies.

Question 8

What are special advisors? (How are they different to civil servants?)

Answer 8

• Unlike permanent, impartial civil servants special advisors are temporary and partisan - loyal to the part in government. They are free to give political advice and influence political matters that it would be inappropriate for civil servants to get involved with.

Question 9

What are the main functions and powers of the executive branch?

Answer 9

• Making policy
• Implementing policy
• Power

Question 10

What do the policy making roles of the executive include?

Answer 10

• Proposing legislation
• Proposing budgets

Question 11

What do the policy implementing roles of the executive include?

Answer 11

• Executing laws
• Day-to-day administration

Question 12

What do the powers of the executive include?

Answer 12

• Control over the legislative agenda
• Secondary legislation
• Prerogative powers

Question 13

What is the cabinet government theory?

Answer 13

It’s the traditional view of the UK executive is that power is collective and located primarily within the Cabinet.

Question 14

What is the Prime Ministerial theory?

Answer 14

• There is a belief that the Cabinet government has been replaced by the Prime Ministerial government.
• The key feature of this view is that the PM and not Cabinet who dominates both the executive and Parliament.

Question 15

What is the Presidentialism theory?

Answer 15

• This theory suggests that UK PMs increasingly resemble president.

Question 16

What are the 6 arguments to suggest there is growing “Presidentialism”?

Answer 16

• Growth of spatial leadership.
• Tendency towards populist outreach.
• Personalised election campaigns.
• Personal mandates.
• Wider use of special advisors.
• Strengthened Cabinet Office.

Question 17

What are the 3 structural arguments against “Presidentialism”?

Answer 17

• The UK does not have a constitutional separation of powers.
• US presidents do not share executive power with their cabinets.
• Similarly, despite the growth of personalised election campaigning in the UK, PMs continue to be appointed as a result of Parliamentary election, not by a separate electorate process, as occurs under the US system.