Powers and resources of PM

Question 1

first power: PP

Answer 1

-patronage powers
-= the PM has the power to appoint and dismiss cabinet members without the approval of anyone else
-

Question 2

to what extent can the PM use their patronage powers?

Answer 2

-depends on the size of majority after an election
-PM must be careful about who they sack and how many because an ex-minister on the backbenchers can cause dissent in the party

Question 3

example of a PM using patronage powers

Answer 3

-Theresa May removed 15 people from the cabinet, including key figures such as Michael Gove

Question 4

2nd power: A

Answer 4

-authority over the cabinet
-=PM can dictate where cabinet meets, the agenda, and can enforce collective responsibility

Question 4

to what extent can the PM use their authority over the cabinet?

Answer 4

-level of authority depends on their personality
-ministers have to resign if they don’t support a cabinet decision
-angry cabinet ministers can leak what is said in a meeting to the press

Question 5

example of a PM using/not using their authority over cabinet

Answer 5

-Robin Cook resigned from Blair’s cabinet over the Iraq war

Question 5

3rd power: CC

Answer 5

-arranging and sometimes chairing Cabinet Committees
-e.g. COVId 19 strategy

Question 5

to what extent can the PM use the arranging of cabinet committees?

Answer 5

-under a coalition gov., the PM has less power over committees
-committees are widely seen as important to the smooth operation of the cabinet, as a way of delegating some of the decision making away from full cabinet meetings

Question 6

example of a PM arranging/chairing cabinet committees

Answer 6

-Boris Johnson created the Climate Change Committee
-inconsistencies with committees under May

Question 7

4th power: DPP

Answer 7

-dictating policy priorities
-PM can set priorities and decide the cabinet agenda

Question 8

to what extent can the PM use the dictation of policy priorities?

Answer 8

-PMs with strong majorities can easily extend their powers
-as Pms are often bound to their manifesto pledges, they don’t have free rein with their policies
-PMs may often determine policy priorities, but they can’t always determine the outcome

Question 9

example of the PM dictating policy priorities

Answer 9

-Thatcher pushed her policy on the poll tax
-during brexit EU member states had to agree to the PM’s desired deal

Question 10

5th power: PL

Answer 10

-party leader
-PM has a lot of resources and guarantees that their policies go through parliament

Question 11

to what extent can they use them being the party leader?

Answer 11

-leader is elected by their own MPs and party members, which asserts a strong degree of legislation
-party loyalty is conditional, not absolute

Question 12

6th power: DH

Answer 12

-dispensing honours
-PM can award life peerages to former MPs or party supporters

Question 13

to what extent can the PM use the power of dispensing honours?

Answer 13

-is often used as a means of altering the balance of the HoL for party advantage
-independent appointments commission makes reccommendations for non-party political peerages
-used unwisely, it can lead to accusations of ‘cash for honours’

Question 14

examples of a PM dispensing honours

Answer 14

-in Cameron’s honours list, many of his former aides were giving honours and many Tory donors got honours e.g. Andrew Cook who gave more than a mil got a knighthood
-Johnson gave a peerage to his own brother in 2020

Question 15

7th power: PaPP

Answer 15

-Personal and Political Powers
-very important in helping a leader to dominate their cabinet and gov.

Question 16

to what extent can a PM use their personal and political powers?

Answer 16

-political capital is strong when the PM is winning elections and is popular in the polls
-PM’s political capital is jeopardised when they fail with a policy

Question 17

example of a PM using their personal and political powers

Answer 17

-Thatcher’s decision to retake the Falkland islands resulted in victory which led to a landslide victory in the 1983 election
-Blair called early elections in 2001 and 2005 which cemented his authority within the cabinet