PM: The powers of the Prime Minster and the Cabinet to dictate events and determine policy. Flashcards
the cabinet during the coalition 2010-15
2010 no majority party (hung parliament) so the conservative’s choice was to work with another party to form a majority or work as a minority gov
a coalition between the lib dems and cons was agreed
and they had to arrange the coalition agreement
coalition agreement
-David cameron was PM and Nick Clegg was deputy PM
cabinet places were apportioned to the ratio of 22:5, so lib dems were given 5 specific ministerial posts
- each leader would control appointment and dismissals of their own ministers
- collective responsibility was applied to all policies
what impact did the coalition have on the cabinet
after years of being overlooked by PMS the cabinet became important again - known as the ‘golden age’
why?? - disputes were inevitable and they were resolved in cabinet and cameron worked with an ‘inner cabinet’ known was ‘the quad’ 2 lib dem, 2 tory
inner groups are common in cabinets because they are often too large
did the coaltition strengthen david cameron as a pm ? yes
yes - david cameron only won 306 seats in the 2010 GE and needed 326 to form a majority, the support of the 57 lib dems provided him with the parl votes needed to form a stable gov
- the coalition agreement enabled cameron to fulfil most of his manifesto commitments especially austerity proposals to reduce spending
did the coaltition strengthen david cameron as a pm? NO
- cameron had to agree on the additional vote referendum as part of the coalition agreement
- as no partys won the GE, the house of lords suspended the sailsbury convention so that it could oppose measures in the governing parties manifestos
how does the pm select the cabinets
1 - they could include loads of their allies: ensures unity and increases the PM power but may lack scrutiny which could improve decisions EG THATCHER AND BLAIR
2 - pick a balance that reflects the different policy tendencies EG MAY PUTTING BOJO IN - and members who were both for and against brexit
3 - pick a cabinet of the best people possible: not been seen since the 70s EG CALLAGHAN assebbled a group ‘of all the talents’
what power does a pm have that makes them very powerful
complete patronage powers - they can reshuffle their cabinet when they want
it can be used to assert authority and or ensuring the quality of the cabinet
the relationship between cabinet and pm up to the 60s
the pm was seen as ‘first among equals’ which means the dominant member of the cabinet but not able to command the gov completely. known as a cabinet government
the relationship between cabinet and pm between the 60s and 2010
described as ‘primisisterial government’ - pm expected to dominate the gov completely
cabinet were needed to legitimise decisions but were not as powerful as a group
pms would find a way to side line the cabinet so that it was relatively insignificant
pm styles
Harold wilson - manipulated cabinet by controlling the agenda and discussions and reached agreements with ministers outside the meetings
Thatcher - dominated the cabinet through the force of her will and by ruthlessley removing her opponents
Blair - marginalised the cabinet, ‘sofa politics’ where he would develop ideas with a few advisers and senior ministers outside the cabinet in informal discussopns and present the cabinet with a ‘fait accompli’
what is a fait accompli
a thing that has already happened or been decided before those affected hear about it, leaving them with no option but to accept it.
2010 - present cabinet and pm
the coaliton restored much of the importance of cabinet because they lacked a decisive majority so they had to seek consensus with cabinet
Theresa may attempted to dominate the gov despite her small majority by after the 2017 election, it was clear she needed to govern with the support of her cabinet
methods used by pms to control cabinet
- patronage: promote supporters and remove opponents
- controlling cabinet agenda
