Powers of the PM Flashcards
Positives of PM patronage and prerogative powers
the PM can appoint a loyal cabinet and keep out critics, they can also maintain loyalty through promotions and demotions
limits of PM patronage and prerogative powers
- there are certain issues the PM must take into account when choosing ministers
- party unity requires ideological and political balance in the cabinet, PM needs to ensure major wings are represented
- PM needs to appoint the top talent in their party to be successful
- PMs need to seek social balance with number of Women, BAME and LGBTQ
- Big beasts may be less dangerous inside government than outside
How the PM has cabinet management
- Chairs meetings, sets agendas and sums up decisions
- Convene cabinet meetings and decide frequency
- decide the number and nature of cabinet committees, sub-committees and ministerial groups
- collective responsibility forces coherence within the party and allows the PM to lead a united government
What are the limits on the PMs ability to control cabinet
- Cabinets support for the PM relies on his popularity and success
- cabinet resignations, especially with senior figures, greatly damages PM reputation
- certain issues demand inclusion on the cabinet agenda, and strong disagreements can lead to embarrassing cabinet resignations
PMs power over party leadership
- when commanding the majority in the commons it can allow for the easy passage of new legislation
- MPs recognise the party’s success closely links to support for PM and this discourages splits and public criticism of the PM
- the PM and government ministers can vote on legislation in the Commons which gives it a head start as it is likely all ministers will vote in favour of the legislation
limits of PM power over party leadership
- often forced to accept responsibility for any failings of their government and if unpopular their party loyalty can fade
- PMs with small majorities can be limited because backbench rebellions can destabilise their positions
what is the institutional support of the PM
- PMs have two bodies that serve them
- the power of the PMs office was expanded by Blair
- the PM has people who work independently of the cabinet
arguments for the PM has limited institutional support
- certainly limited compared to other world leaders
- many of the PMs top advisors have weakened the PMs political capital
Examples of strong patronage from PM
- The biggest story of Johnson’s February 2020 reshuffle was Chancellor Sajid Javid who refused to get rid of his special advisers. He was replaced by Rishi Sunak
- Cameron’s major reshuffle came in July 2014, when five Cabinet ministers were sacked and a further three times were wither promoted or demoted
examples of the PM having power over cabinet meetings
- During the Coalition, 2010-2015 there were formal and informal meetings of the ‘Quad’, consisting of Prime Minister David Cameron, Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne, Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg and Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander. As key leaders of both the Conservative and Liberal Democrats, they met to discuss and agree policy that was acceptable to both parties. This informal style of Cabinet management was nevertheless swiftly abandoned when May became Prime Minister in 2016.
- During the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020, it was alleged that Johnson made most decisions with his ‘quad’ of ministers: Dominic Raab, Matt Hancock, Rishi Sunak and Michael Gove.
example of PMs lack of control over cabinet
- The Coalition Cabinet held meetings much more regularly than under previous governments, with meetings taking place every Tuesday for up to 2 hours
example of strong party leadership
- after 2019 election with an 80 seat majority Johnsons party supported the EU withdrawal act , despite refusing May 3 times
example of low popularity leading to downfall of PM
despite seeming invincible in January 2020, poor handling of covid-19 led to Johnson’s popularity plummeting and the majority seeming much more fragile
example of low majority weakening PM
Cameron’s tiny majority in 2015 meant that he had to make concessions to please both wings of his party
example of PMs having special advisors
- According to the institute of Government, Major had 8 advisors whereas Blair had like 50
- May had special advisors such as David Cummings
Example of top advisors weakening PM
Alistair Campbell became a liability for the Blair government, resigned after the death of Dr David Kelly who was caught up in the search for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq
Andy Coulson was Cameron’s communications director during the phone hacking scandal. He resigned as pressure was mounting and in 2014 he was found guilty of phone hacking
What style of PM involves being reluctant to interfere with matters outside their responsibility
Laissez-Faire leaders, Cameron and Douglas Home
What is a transactional leader
try to uphold collective governance, balancing rival individuals (Edward Heath, John Major)
example of Cabinet controlling PM
Gordon Brown, despite his desire to dominate, was constrained by his Cabinet. Towards the end of his time in office he was unable to freely choose who was in his Cabinet. For example, he was unable to replace Alistair Darling with Ed Balls as his Chancellor because Darling refused to resign and Brown (knowing he did not have enough support on the back benches) felt unable to force him to, despite technically having the power to do so.
Example of PM controlling cabinet
Johnson inherited a deeply rebellious Cabinet from May, but after the unexpected size of his win in December 2019, his Cabinet were very supportive and he was able to remove critical ministers like Julian Smith and Geoffrey Cox.
example of Party having control over PM
The most dramatic example of this was the fall of Thatcher. She fell because she was unable to win sufficient support from MPs in the leadership election. Support for Thatcher had been reduced by divisions over Europe and by the unpopularity of the Poll Tax (a flat-rate local government tax on individuals which replaced the rates). Thatcher came to be viewed as an electoral liability by fellow MP’s.
Example of a PM having control over a party
For Johnson, he gained the support of his Party because he read the mood of the country well and won so convincingly in 2019. However, his bad handling of the Covid-19 pandemic and constant U-turns and poor communications resulted in them losing faith. Throughout 2020 he was forced into U-turns by his Parliamentary party as they lost faith with his ability to lead
examples of changing majorities affecting PMs security
- When the Thatcher had majorities of over 100, her position was secure because it would take more than 50 backbenchers to be prepared to vote against the government. However, John Major’s majority was only even 21 at its height and this caused him issues throughout his premiership
example of low popularity effecting a PM
Thatcher’s vulnerability on the late 1980s coincided with declining poll rates and early signs of improved support for the Labour Party
