power and Cabinet Flashcards
in what ways does the PM have power over cabinet?
- collective responsibility (cabinet have to agree with the PM, and if they don’t, they are obligated to resign)
- PM has the power of patronage (the PM is the overall boss and can fire people and do as he wishes)
- in chairs cabinet meetings, the thoughts/ideas of the PM are discussed
- the royal prerogative: they can bypass the cabinet on some issues
in what ways does the cabinet have power over the PM?
- a majority can overrule the PM, this can be through a vote of no confidence, or if the majority of cabinet resigns (e.g when Boris lost his government as most MPs resigned and Boris was forced to quit)
- if a PM has a small majority, cabinet receive more power
- if the PM has a small or non existent majority in the commons, the cabinet becomes more important in implementing their agenda
how does party unity influence MP selection?
give an example
having a divided party makes it more difficult to run a party
(e.g. Boris removed all ‘soft Brexiteers’ from cabinet)
how does experience influence MP selection?
give an example
having experienced ministers is good as it provides knowledgeable advice for the PM, but it could also mean that their power could lead to a large following and them taking over
(e.g. Boris gained a larger majority than Theresa May due to more experience, and then became PM)
how does ability influence MP selection?
a PM would want talented MPs to apply their talents to their party
(e.g. Rishi Sunak performed well as chief secretary and was then made Chancellor in 2020)
how do allies and advisers influence MP selection?
having close allies can help with advice and support in cabinet meetings/decisions (e.g David Cameron appointed George Osborne)
how does diversity influence MP selection?
it is important that the nation as a whole feel represented, and it is also good to get a wide range of opinions within the party (e.g some female voters may look up to Theresa May being a female PM)
what is meant when a PM acts ‘presidential’?
when a prime minister speaks to the public independently, not through the party
how was Harold Wilson seen as presidential? (JFK)
he copied JFKs tactic of communicating directly to the public and gaining media popularity, for example, he met up with The Beatles and the cast of Coronation Street which gave him popularity as a PM
what is spacial leadership?
when a PM distances from the party and creates their own space to secure a personal impression on the public
how did Tony Blair achieve spacial leadership?
- referred to policy as if it were his own
- leading up to Iraq war in 2003, he would directly put cases on TV discussions/debates
- ‘this is the Britain I offer you’
how was David Cameron seen as a presidential PM?
gay marriage: he appealed directly to the people, ignoring the interests of the cabinet ‘personally, I will be supporting it’
EU referendum: ‘I want to speak directly to the British people’
the structure of the executive
split up into the prime minister, junior ministers and the civil service
what is the prime minister ?
appointed by the monarch and is the head of the executive. they exercise the royal prerogative
who is the cabinet ?
the senior people in the executive, made up of senior ministers who run government departments. they are also in charge of approving policy and settling disputes within government
who are junior ministers? give an example
members of the executive who assist the senior minister in the running and policy decisions of a department.
for example, the education secretary will usually have 3 junior ministers (one for primary education, one for secondary education and one for universities and higher education)
who are the civil service?
permanent officials who carry out day to day running of departments. they do not make policies themselves, but they advise and enact policy decisions made by ministers
who are civil servants? give an example of when a civil servant has had to resign
give political adivce to a minister. they are not elected or accountable. however, if they are seen to be changing official policy, their position can be questioned.
for example, Dominic Cummings was employed as chief of staff by Boris Johnson, and rather than him offering Bojo neutral advice, he appeared to be making decisions on policy, which lead to a forced resignation in late 2020
what is royal prerogative?
A set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised
by the Prime Minister or Cabinet, such as the granting of honours or of legal pardons.
what are the roles of the executive?
- proposing legislation
- proposing a budget
- making policy decisions within laws and the budget
what are the roles of the executive?
proposing legislation
the executive will develop legisaltive proposals based on policy decisions of the ministers and advice of the civil service
what is the role of the executive?
proposing a budget
the executive has to calculate how much money it will need to run the country and carry out proposed policies. each department will then be given a budget so they can carry out their work
what is the role of the executive?
making policy decisions within laws and the budget
give an example
when legislation is passed, the executive has to work out how to use these in reality, and may have to change parts of an act to make them more workable in real life, this is called secondary legislation.
in terms of budget, the executive must act on a certain issue or crisis that arises and amend funding, for example, during the covid pandemic, there was the furlough scheme.
what other important powers does the executive carry out?
- conduct foreign policy, including relations with other states and international bodies
- organise the defense for the country against external threats
- controlling and managing forces of law and order
- the PM can initiate legislation
give an example of the royal prerogative being used in practice
Boris Johnson signed the EU ‘divorce treaty’ to break ties with the EU
what is collective responsibility?
the idea that ministers must support cabinet decisions or leave the executive
list the 5 principles of the doctrine of collective ministerial responsibility
- ministers are all collectively responsible for all government policies
- all ministers must publicly support all government policies, even if they privately disagree with them
- if a minister wishes to dissent publicly from a government policy, they re expected to resign
- if a minister dissents without resigning, they can be dismissed by the prime minister
- as cabinet meetings are secret, any dissent within government is concealed
what were 2 key exceptions to collective responsibility?
- the UK coalition in 2010 (lib dem and cons) - it would’ve been hard to get two parties to agree on one issue, therefore came the coalition agreement
- during the EU referendum, many ministers disagreed, like Micheal Gove
what is individual ministerial responsibility?
the responsibility ministers have individually for matters that affect their own department
what is the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility?
- ministers are held accountable for policies/decisions made by their department through questionings in house, debates, interrogation by select committees etc
- if a minister makes a serious error, they must resign
- if a ministers department makes a huge error, they must resign, even if they weren’t involved in the decision
- if they break the ministerial code of conduct, they should leave office and must face dismissal by the PM
what is the ministerial code of conduct
rules of conduct determined by the PM, it consists of how the PM expects their government to behave. it involves collective responsibility, avoiding conflict, ethical considerations and engagement with parliament
state 2 cabinet resignations due to individual ministerial responsibility
Sajid Javid: resigned in 2020 due to his disagreement with Boris’ demands of replacing his advisers with people chosen by him and Cummings, Javid was strongly against this due to his clash with Cummings
Priti Patel: she had arranged meetings with Israeli politicians, even their PM, without authorisation from the Foreign and Commonwealth office. this was a breach of the ministerial code. after her initial apology, she stayed in post, but there was news of two similar meetings happening shortly after, so she then resigned.
state 2 resignations due to personal misconduct
Gavin Williamson: (as defence secretary) : sacked in relation to a leak to the press of a security council meeting
Priti Patel: resigned in 2020 due to claims of her bullying
why is collective responsibility important?
it is a great support to prime ministerial power
is collective responsibility a negative aspect of the UK political system?
3 arguments for
- puts too much power in the hands of the prime minister
- means that ministers cannot be honest about their views on policies
- resignations under the doctrine are dramatic events that may undermine government
is collective responsibility a negative aspect of the UK political system?
arguments against
- creates a strongly united government
- the public are presented with a clear, single version of government policy
- although they cannot publicy debate, the confidentiality of cabinet means that ministers can enage in discussions in private
