Political Circumstances And Their Impact On US President And UK Prime Minister

Question 1

What are political circumstances?

Answer 1

-broader conditions where gov operates
-affects policies they support, ability to govern + their interactions

Question 2

What are examples of political circumstances?

Answer 2

-party leadership
-parl majority + confidence
-public opinion + popularity
-econ performance
-national crises + scandal

Question 3

What is the impact of the political circumstance of public opinion in the UK? - 1

Answer 3

-heavily influences PM legitimacy
-affect PM ability pass legislation, manage party + secure electoral votes

Question 4

What is an instance of public opinion?

Answer 4

-approval ratings + public support
-PM with high ratings has political capital so easier kiss through controversial policies or handle crises better but low ratings diminish effectiveness + capacity to lead

Question 5

What is an example of this?

Answer 5

-Blair high ratings easily after handling GFA 1998 + early stages Iraq war
-but as war increasingly unpopular + after Hutton Inquiry into Dr Kelly death 2003 with questions on gov intelligence on weapons mass destruction approval ratings falling

Question 6

What is evidence of Blair low approval ratings?

Answer 6

-2006 as low as 40% + 2007 below 30%
-whereas 1997 60-70% with landslide victory of 419 seats

Question 7

What is the political circumstance of national crises + scandal in the UK?

Answer 7

-could be financial crises, health crises, security threat etc. which requires PM navigate difficult decisions + manage country’s response

Question 8

What can this crises show?

Answer 8

-dealing with crises shows enhance in political legitimacy + authority if seen as taking decisive actions in time of need

Question 9

What is an example of this?

Answer 9

-COVID 19 Johnson implemented nautical lockdown March 2020 + vaccine rollout
-clear communication with chief medical officer Whitty + televised briefings to inform public + create relief

Question 10

How did this become a national crises?

Answer 10

-partygate surfaced 2021-22 creating sharp decline in public trust + political legitimacy with major political damage
-deep betrayal as flouted rules + Johnson difficult to defend his position

Question 11

What is the impact of the political circumstance of public opinion in the US?

Answer 11

-shapes political power + effectiveness of pres
-directly influences pres ability govern, make policy decisions + maintain political legitimacy

Question 12

What does public opinion influence in the executive?

Answer 12

-congressional relations
-pres with high approval ratings makes members congress more likely support polities +as they align with public sentiment
-but if unpopular congress likely distance from ores to avoid being seen as part of unpopular admin leading to gridlock

Question 13

What is an example of this?

Answer 13

-Obama ratings dropped 2nd term leading to increased polarisation in Congress + gridlock on key issues such as immigration

Question 14

What is the impact of the political circumstance of economic performance on the US president?

Answer 14

-directly influences public perception, approval ratings + pres ability govern effectively
-econ growth, unemployment, inflation etc.

Question 15

What is one impact of economic performance?

Answer 15

-legislative success + econ policy
-econ performance impact ability pass legislation .

Question 16

How can it impact this?

Answer 16

-if econ well pres has more political capital pursue ambitious domestic agendas like tax cuts
-if econ struggling passing laws difficult due to diminished public support

Question 17

What is an example of this?

Answer 17

-2001 despite dot-com bubble bursting + recession
-W.Bush still able pass major tax cut plan - tax relief would stimulate econ growth as approval ratings by end 2001 still high at 80-90%

Question 18

What are the political circumstances that impact the UK PM formal powers?

Answer 18

-prerogative powers of patronage, deploy armed forces + issue statements during national emergencies influenced by circumstances of party loyalty + internal party divisions

Question 19

What is an example of this?

Answer 19

-May formal patronage power to reshuffle her cab + appoint new members impacted by strong opposition to her Brexit strategy from cons MPs like Johnson as foreign sec
-made it difficult to make decisions freest without backlash

Question 20

How is this seen in the US?

Answer 20

-formal power of executive powers like pres being chief executive of controlling federal bureaucracy + it’s 15 departments or preparing annual federal budget with OMB

Question 21

What re the political circumstances surrounding the pres formal powers?

Answer 21

-partisan polarisation that exacerbates political dynamics of pres use of exec powers
-creates deep divisions between political parties + pres finds formal powers contrasted by ideological opposition

Question 22

What does this lead to?

Answer 22

-in tense scrutiny of executive actions by opposition party or block pres initiatives

Question 23

What is an example of this?

Answer 23

-2017 Trump used exec powers to terminate DACA programme with exec powers
-but lawsuits from states + opposite party argued Trump decisions was arbitrary under APA - SC backed this 2020 constraining his exec powers