PM and the executive Flashcards
theories of executive power
cabinet govt - power is collective - underpinned by ministerial responsibility
prime ministerial govt - party loyalty focused on the pM
core executive model - neither bodies dominate - influence is exercised through different relations
presidentialism - the Cabinet becomes an advising body
evidence of presidentialism
spatial leadership - PM distances himself from the party / may create their own ideologies eg Thatcherism, Blairism
populist outreach - appealing to the masses as a person of the people - ‘cult of the outsider’ - eg Boris Johnson’s hair to appear less posh eg Thatcher changed her accent
personalised election campaigns - eg TV debates like leadership debates 2022 - #PMforPM #readyforrishi
wider use of SpAds - May’s toxic clique of Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy - blames for poor elections results in 2017 and fired
special advisors
hired by ministers but officially appointed by the PM
- under BJ - appointments became more centralised - Sajid Javid resigned in Cabinet reshuffle 2020 bc he did not want to BJ’s appointed SpAds
controversial bc they appear to have a lot of influence but are not accountable to the public
- PM’s SpAds sometimes referred to as chief advisor eg Dominic Cummings
hired by the government + paid by the govt - lose their jobs when their minister leaves
compared to civil servants - they can advise on policy issues bc they are not required to be neutral
SpAds are accountable to their ministers and governed by Special advisors code of conduct
- Dominic Cummings was not asked to resign by BJ when he travelled from London to Durham during lockdown - controversial
- Allegra Stratton resigned in 2021 after a clip emerged of her joking about a no 10 christmas party
- 2022 Dan Rosenfield resigned - it was reported that he had attended at least one of the Christmas parties during lockdown
powers of the PM
hiring and firing - officially a royal prerogative
- gives a lot of power to determined the future careers of politicians
BUT limited by party unity - there must be ideological balance + keeping an eye on the ‘Big beasts’
cabinet management - how long and often they meet and the agenda
- eg ‘sofa government’ - declined role for cabinet
BUT limited by support for the PM - which is conditional
cabinet resignations also damage party image - 62 ministers resigned in July 2022 before Johnson resigned
Institutional support - increased power
- Combining no 10 and no 11 SpAds
- use of SpAds has increased - Major had 8 -> current govt has 126
BUT institutional support is still meagre compared to the US
access to the media - growth of personality politics
- PM has control of govt communications
- use of ‘spin doctors’ beginning with Alistair Campbell under Blair
Elastic band theory - the PM is only powerful while he has the support of Cabinet and his party
power of the executive
powers of royal prerogative
- power to declare war -> eroded by Blair setting precedence to ask Parliament for Iraq war
- power to dissolve parliament -> eroded by SC case 2019 declaring BJ’s prorogation unlawful
- power to appoint peers - controlled by independent commission now
control of legislative agenda
- eg 92% of bills passed in 2019-2021 were govt bills -> limited by HofL 450 defeats since 1997, backbench rebellions - common during coalitions/minority govt
power of secondary legislation
- no need to pass through Parl - over 500 were used during covid
Civil Service
administrative body
work on principles pf
- neutrality
- anonymity
- permanence
public resignations
- Clive Ponting - revealed the official sinking of ship in Falklands 1982
- Sir Philip Rutnam - resigned due to Priti Patel’s bullying behaviour 2020
Cabinet
meetings
- 2-> 1 per week
- 30 -> 60 min
business largely conducted outside of cabinet except crucial decisions (following criticisms of Blair)
Cabinet committees - where the work is done - eg Cabinet Secretariat
Cabinet is less influential than it used to be BUT the PM still relied on their support
collective ministerial responsiblity
govt is collectively responsible for Parliament
all ministers are obliged to support official govt policy or resign
eg July 2022 - total of 62 ministers resigned in lead up to Johnson’s resignation following Chris Pincher scandal - incl Rishi Sunak and Sajid David
Individual Ministerial responsibility
minsters are responsible for their own and their department’s actions
should be transparent
do not have to resign if mistakes can be traced back to a civil servant
eg 2022 Braverman resigned as Truss’s home sec after she had files on a personal device - was v critical of the govt in her resignation letter
eg 2022 Dominic Raab resigned after being found of bullying civil servants
eg 2022 Gavin Williamson resigned after being accused of bullying civil servants
eg 2021 Matt Hancock resigned over personal misconduct - cheating on his wife
