PM + Executive Flashcards

Question

Examples of Johnson’s lack of power as prime minister and cabinet dominance?

Answer 1

Who refused to fire Priti Patel after a report into her conduct and apartment accused her of bullying and lead to a senior civil servant to resign He also refused to fire, Matt Hancock, as Health Secretary, after it was revealed that he broke lockdown rules by having an affair and refused to fire, Dominic Raab after the shame and appalling response to the Afghanistan conflict, instead choosing to reshuffle him months later, and giving him title of deputy prime minister. Johnson also seem to need the support of his Cabinet throughout the party gate scandal and Hasim vulnerable on several occasions when members of the cabinet have dismissed themselves from him Rishi Sunak labelled plans to increase national insurance, ‘the Prime Minister‘s national insurance policy’ and distance himself further from the office of number 10 after the slur against Kay Starmer, about Jimmy Savile

Answer 2

Trust appeared to show some dominance and leadership by purging all Sunak‘s backers from the cabinet when she won the 2022 leadership contest She was pressurised by a cabinet into maintaining a rise in pension, spending with inflation by Mordaunt and others in the cabinet Prominent Cabinet members of the 1922, backbench committee essentially fast trust to accept hunt as her Chancellor after the mini budget disaster and she had to sack Kwasi Kwarteng they then pressurised her to resign less than a week later

Answer 3

Sunak looked. We compare to his cabinet when he refused to sack Zahawi over his tax in properties in 2023, until an investigation found serious breaches of the ministerial code, and Sunak was forced to sack him. Sunak faced allegations of Being weak, after he invited Suella Braverman back into the cabinet, just after she had resigned as a Home Secretary for breaking the ministerial code

Answer 4

The cabinet is not important: lots of policy is made without too much import from the cabinet meetings are shorter Sofa politics, excludes the cabinet CMR Find the cabinet and reduces their ability to criticise their actions. Prime minister has power of patronage, so can demote and promote MPs. The Cabinet is important: some Cabinet members, dictate policy agendas, and are very powerful big beasts for example, Brown under Blair, Sunak on the Johnson, Braverman under Sunak. cabinet dissent, can be the downfall of MPs e.g. trust, 20,22 and Theresa May has Davies and Chris Grayling left her cabinet over the Brexit deal power of patronage is not always able to be used when the PM wishes, this can give the cabinet power. For example, Theresa May’s balance between leave and remainers In emergencies, COBRA Will hold emergency sessions and decide how to respond. For example, 911 London, bombings Parliament attack 2017 and Covid 2020

Answer 5

(is the prime minister, powerful or not in comparison to his Cabinet and what factors affect this power balance) What are the main factors and does it lead to a presidential style leadership in government If they aren’t powerful, what are the main factors leading to them Being a weak leader and relying on the cabinet? A* distinguish between MPs power at the start and throughout their time in the office, e.g. they start off as powerful and by the end they are not

Answer 6

Power of patronage - the prime minister can insure appointment and promotion of loyal supporters, who shared their ideology at the same time, rivals and critics can be kept out of the cabinet. The prime minister controls the political, careers, ensuring that both ministers and the majority of backbenches who may want to become ministers one day remain loyal and supportive of the government. Thatcher consolidated her position after the 1983, general election by transforming a once dominated cabinet of wet, (one nations) to one which key economic posts were in the hand of the drys (her Thatcherites) Camerons major reshuffle in July 2014, five ministers were sacked and further three were promoted or demoted Johnson stopped Sajid Javid as chances of when he refused to get rid of his special advisors, and replaced him with Rishi Sunak. Truss purged all Sunak supporters from the cabinet Prime Minister is not powerful compared to the cabinet: Prime Minister must be conscious of party unity when filling the cabinet. This means major fractions in the party must be represented. Prime minister must try to ensure those with the most talent are in the cabinet if they want to be successful as they will be the ones who are responsible for formulating policy for the department. Prime minister should attempt to seek descriptive representation, insuring positive representation of woman, minorities and LGBT queue community. Big beast are often included inside the cabinet as it’s better to buy them by CMR. Don’t have them on the outside as backbenchers criticising the government.

Answer 7

prime Minister has power over the government: prime minister, will chair Cabinet meetings and manage Parliamentary agenda PM is decide how often Cabinet meetings are called and how long they will last. They also decide on the number of Cabinet committees and ministerial groups and appoint their members. CMR find those potentially wanting to criticise the government 2010 coalition involve lots of formal and informal meetings of the quad to discuss policy that was acceptable to both parties Johnson allegedly made the majority of decisions about Covid with a quade of ministers, including deputy PM Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock, Rishi, Sunak, and Michael Gove prime minister does not have power over the government: The Cabinet will only support a popular prime minister Cabinet resignations, particularly senior figures can damage political support for the prime minister as seen with Johnson in 2022 in regards to Sajid, Javid and Sunak resigning Some issues must be discussed by the Cabinet are the prime minister. This risk embarrassing events of Cabinet ministers, breaking CMR The coalition government held cabinet meetings, much more regularly once a week for around two hours

Answer 8

Prime minister has power over the cabinet: Prime minister has considerable power as a leader of the majority party in the commons. The bigger the majority, the more powerful the prime minister is it therefor allows them to control parliament. The role of the whips are important here. Blair experienced substantial backbencher rebellion but did not experience a single defeat from 1997 to 2005 as he had a majority of over 100 Party members recognise that the fortunes of the party is closely linked to the prime minister’s personal popularity. This works to discourage party divides And Publics criticism of the PM Johnson was able to pass EU withdrawal despite many members of the same party, refusing to do so for T May. Many Conservative backbenches acknowledge Johnson‘s popularity after the 2019 election. prime Minister and the cabinet, sit as MPs, which means they will also vote in favour of the legislation in parliament and are more likely to see backbenchers from their party to encourage their support. Prime Minister is not powerful compared to cabinet: prime Minister’s who are electoral liabilities are more damaging and therefore party loyalty will fade quicker E.g. Johnson and his handling of the pandemic and eventually the Chris pincher scandal. e.g. Truss and her mini budget. Prime minister with small majority is often limited by the backbenches so must ensure party unity to get things done. E.g. May try to please both leave and remain sides of her party and failed at both Prime ministers can lose a vote of no confidence in parliament, tabled by the opposition Prime Minister especially those who lack a mandate will face more opposition to the legislation in the Lords coalition governments like the 2010 one faced heavy rebellion because it was difficult for two parties who are ideologically opposed to support the same set of policies

Answer 9

prime Minister is powerful compared to cabinet: Prime Minister office, which includes the Cabinet office has developed into the coordinating centre of the UK executive it is staffed by a mix of civil servants and special advisors, and its influence was extended under Blair Johnson and his running of the Cabinet office had recently been on the fire during the privileges hearing of where the Johnson misled Parliament about party gate The cabinet office and its resources means that the PM can work independently of the cabinet player was the prime minister to give senior special advisors, control over civil servants Cameron and Nick Clegg had over 107 special adviser supporting them in office prime minister is the important compared to cabinet: Special advisors can and have been very costly to Prime Minister’s popularity and political credibility, Alastair Campbell was a liability for Blairs government in the end he resigned over a scandal regarding search is the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq Timothy and Fiona Hill were joint chiefs of staff and they both resigned after recommending. They called snap elections which ended up with her, losing her majority in parliament in 2017. Dominic Cummings had unparallel power as Johnson’s top adviser during the Brexit campaign and when in number 10 after breaking lockdown rules and facing several calls, including from Tory MPs to resign him and Lee Cain both announced they were leaving the government eventually causing more problems by Johnson with the media and electrot than solutions

Answer 10

Personal style of leadership - transactional means trying to balance party fractions against one another e.g. John Major and Theresa May Transformational means those driven by ideology can try to inspire e.g. Thatcher, Blair, and Truss who attempted but failed. MPs who have big personalities and can speak. Publicly with ease often do better and have more power. E.g. Blair and Cameron were effective public speakers because audience attention trust on the other hand was awkward and was unable to deal with the media that made it easy to criticise it. The cabinet - Thatcher and the wets, who were not initially united and able to challenge her blair faced little cabinet opposition until Iraq 2003 Mays lack of control of her divided cabinet after the snap, 2017 election reduced her power, Johnson’s large majority in 2019 Allowed him to command more deference from his Cabinet. The party and fractions - Thatcher lost party support over Europe and her controversial poll-tax Blair initial popularity, decrease massively after 2003, and he left office lacking significant power *May I spent 2017 to 2019, trying to appeal to the various party fractions and she was an unsuccessful Prime Minister Johnson, after Covid faced several rebellions after the party became dissatisfied with his handling of Covid and several scandals Partygate and Pincher Truss never had a United party behind her, and when her budget crashed the economy in 2022, they became even more vocally critical of her Sinai seen having to balance the wishes of the ERG by keeping Suella Braverman with his agenda, and has faced several rebellion since taking office Size of majority (P1 link mandate) - Thatcher and Blair both had significant majority that made them difficult to beat through rebellion. Blair did not experience defeat until 2005 in the commons Cameron during the coalition had no majority, so was weakened by having to rely on support of his party, plus another party. May experience frequent defeat in the comments and holds the record. For the worst overhead EU withdrawal agreement, 432- 202. Johnsons 80 seat majority allowed him to face of several rebellions and gain a majority of support for his EU withdrawal agreement, 358-234 however, he face more frequent and damaging rebellions after his Covid handling. Truss faced almost constant fears of rebellion as she what is it presided over a deeply divided party. prime Minister, popularity (P1 link to opinion polls) - Thatchers unpopular policies made her unpopular leader, for example, poll-tax Johnson’s popularity, especially with working-class voters, afforded him trust from his party to lead until Covid trusses handling of the mini budget decrease to popularity and her inability to see the negative impact of the chaos caused by is problematic for too many in her party to continue to support even in a resignation speech was claim to still support. the idea is that the country was it ready for her ideological goals Sunak‘s popularity has remained negative. Its lowest point at the start of 2023 was -29% with 3/5 having an unpopular opinion of him. Sunak‘s ability to sort the cost of living crisis may have a positive impact on his opinion poll ratings Media (P1, link to media) - media focuses heavily on leaders and effective media performers can use this to their advantage. Prime minister is now seek to manage their media. Aperients more less special advisors are often. Also Spin Doctors Prime Minister who don’t handle their media presence well then struggle at the next election. E.g. brown famously labelled, a voter in Rochdale, a bigoted woman those who have more awkward personalities often made fun off by the media and as seen as not Prime Minister material and I called weak or an embarrassment e.g. May danced awkwardly with children on a state visit and on stage at the Tory party conference. In addition, trusses, awkward personality, Sean, 3 pm cues and in a press conference after she sacked Kwasi Kwarteng as chancellor, where she refused to answer questions. Sunak famously started talking to a homeless person in a shelter about finance and a future job, seemingly not reading the room about the man situation when he also posted a video without wearing a seatbelt and received FPN Events - Thatcher Falklands was a positive event which increased popularity. However, the poll tax massively damaged her popularity and led to the downfall. Blair invasion of Iraq, made him unpopular Cameron’s decision to hold the EU referendum. This was due to party divisions and UKIP being a threat. Mays Inability to get anything past, on Brexit Johnson and the party gate scandal Truss and her mini budget Sunak and the cost of living

Answer 11

She was a strong, authoritative leader. She cultivated a pristine image, highlighting labours failures. She had a voice coach, making her voice deeper. The Guardian wrote an article called the Margaret Thatcher look. Falkland war, when Margaret Thatcher agreed to send military to Falkland, it resulted in British victory, making her look more credible and trustworthy to leader. she also use the media to take pictures in factories to appeal to C2 voters, leading to C2 voters voting, 41% for both conservative and labour. she had a significant majority in the House of Commons, making it difficult to defeat legislation through rebellion in 1983, super move the wet switch with the one nations and put drys which were her natural rights The poll tax was a tax on each person in a household, which was not a positive policy for many lower classes. This matter unpopular leader, and therefore she lost party support over Europe and the poll tax.

Answer 12

credible Prime Minister John Major as his party was divided he was also seen as charismatic leader ‘I lead my party he follows his’ The son wrote an article called give change a chance, boosting labour support, Conservative party was divided over pro-Europe, Eurosceptics making John Major seem on trustworthy as he couldn’t handle his own party. Where is Tony Blair was seen as young charismatic, fresh party, leader reform, traditional labour into new labour with less socialist values. Blair had significant majority in the House of Commons, giving him a mandate and great legitimacy meaning less threat of rebellion blair faced little cabinet opposition except in 2003 over Iraq war. He had no defeat from 19 90, 72,005, as he had a majority of 100 players invasion of Iraq meant his popularity decreased, and therefore he left office due to facing a lot of backbench rebellion

Answer 13

he was young and charismatic and focused on new updated policies. Gordon Brown failed attempt at leadership scandal called Miss Duffy, a bigoted woman. He bailed out the banks which made the public not trust Him as a potential leader, David Cameron was a centrist Conservative allowing him to put forward manifesto that had some socialist news, increasing working class support these policies, including climate change, gay marriage being illegal Him as a potential leader, David Cameron was a centrist Conservative allowing him to put forward manifesto that had some socialist news, increasing working class support these policies, including climate change, gay marriage being legal Cameron’s Nick Clark, had 107 spads in the office, helping them. Cameron’s policy of gay marriage been legal and climate change where is success as they were some of the public Publix, concerns. Cameron holding the EU referendum because of party divisions. Cameron durin coalition had no majority, so had to rely on his and another party making him weak. 2010 coalition faced heavy rebellion because both parties had conflicting ideologies and policies.

Answer 14

she was awkward, not good public speaker lacked effective leadership and was not able to control her deeply divided party. Mays premiership was dominated by Brexit and terrorist attacks on West Minister Vote of no confidence triggered, no policies past for Brexit, May was awkward dancing, May experience many defeats in the House of Commons and has the worst record for EU withdrawal agreement 432/202 MaysLack of control over party after 2017, snap election.

Answer 15

Boris Johnson Basinas, trustworthy as he was able to negotiate Brexit deal and get it through the second reading in a divided government showing Leave voters. He was a reliable Conservative leader Brexit dominated the general election. It was the primal factor of the outcome, and dominated the polling station remainers where labour, SNP and liberal democrats leavers were mostly Conservatives Conservatives won a 67% turnout and 80 seat majority Johnson popular with working-class voters allowed him to lead until Covid. The 80 seat majority allow him to defeat rebellion over the EU withdrawal agreement 358-234 Johnson and party gate scandal in lockdown Frequent damaging rebellion after Covid party was satisfied. Boris Johnson and his Cabinet were under pressure during privileges committee hearing of where the Boris Johnson misled Parliament about party gate. Sajid Javid left Boris Johnson’s cabinet in 2022, and Sunak resigned, making him look weak.

Answer 16

Showed poor leadership Uturned you tend many policies. She was not elected by the public, but by party leadership, she resigned later on. cost of living crisis trusses 45p Top rate tax was u turned trusses mini budget had a United party as she kicked out Sunak supporters from her cabinet. However, after the budget crash, the economy in 2020 to the party was more critical of her Truss was awkward at PM Qs and a conference after she sacked Kwasi Kwarteng didn’t see the chaos she caused with the mini budget. Even after resignation, she backed the policies and blamed the country‘s economic state. Truss had a deeply divided Conservative government.

Answer 17

Started talking to a homeless guy about finance and job showing he’s out of touch with the public situation. He was also fine for not wearing a seatbelt Sunak and the increasing effect of the cost of living crisis on the public and Rebellion from unions e.g. nurses ambulance teachers 2019 exchequer for Boris Johnson’s cabinet became popular and respected due to successful economic policies like furlough scheme, and eat out to help out scheme Windsor framework deal and the Northern Ireland protocol was not able to come up with a negotiation with the nurses on pay. Sunak had to balance the wishes of the ERG with his agenda and has faced rebellion. Since in office. He took Suella Braverman back in office to please to ERG as she’s a big beast, even though she broke ministerial code of conduct he was forced to sack Nadhim Zahawi over his tax in properties in 2023.