Prime minister and the executive Flashcards
What are spAds?
Special advisors employed as civil servants and so are not elctd, but have the role of giving political advice to a minister in a way that the neutral civil service wont, as a result they are partisan
Are spAds positive or negative?
Positive- cummings for johnson 2019 ge
Blairs spAd
Negative- Fiona hill and nick tomothy, helped form conservative election strategy, including mannifesto pledges, forced to resign by MaY AFTER 2017 GE
What are examples of Individual ministerial responsibility not working?
Priti Patel 2020- Bullying allegations, IMR Johnson didnt call for Patels resignation despite bullying allegations of her from within the civil service, e.g. big beast
Matt Hancock- Covid affair IMR- Hancock eventually handed in his resignation after teh Sun revealed he was having an affair, Hancock resigned due ot media pressure, not as a result of Johnson asking for it
What are examples of Individual Ministerial Responsibility working?
Amber rudd over Windrush misleading the house in 2018 over windrush removal targets
IMR- ensures that minister are individually responsibility, e.g. PMQs, urgent questions and select committees
Estelle Morris- was made education secretary but failed to raise literacy rates, in 2002, she resigned after admitting she was not up to the job
What are examples of Collective Ministerial Responsibility being successful?
CMR- can be seen to be proven adaptable, as it has been suspended during the coalition government as well as teh 2016 Brexit referendum
Under CMR- ministers subject themselves to the combined restraints of secrecy and unaiminity in decision-making, holds them accountable, e.g. David Davis and Johnson over Brexit
What are examples of Collective Ministerial Responsibility not being successful?
CMR- has seen ministers disagreeing in the public, e.g Johnson and Gove
The suspensions of CMR, show its weaknesses not strength, e.g Supensions for 1975 and 2016 referendum as they were not over a typically party issue
What was the relationship between PM and the Cabinet in 1960s -2010 compared to 2010-2017?
Cabinet itself was not very powerful, PMs were seen to dominate relationship e.g. Blair “sofa politics”
2010-2017- Cabinet had a more powerful role, due to coalition governemnt, o present policy in a unified way, as well as Mays failure to dominat ethe PM, due to weak majority as well as minority after 2017
examples of Johnsons power over Cabinet
filled Cabinet with allies and strong Brexit suportes, as seen with sacking 20 ministers in cabinet as soon as he took office
Sajjid Javid, refused to accept replacements of his advisers with PM, resigned and replaced with Sunak seen as more compliant to Johnsions wishes
major reshuffle in 2021, Dominic Raab, Gavin Williamson e.g. exam fiasco
examples of Johnsons lack of power as pm
refused to fire patel after report of bullying, refused to fire hancock as health sec, reshffled Raab into dep pm after afghan issue
Sunak labbeled national insurance rise as “ The prime ministers”,
Examples of Truss being dominated by Cabinet
pressurised ino maintaining a rise in pension spending with infaltion by Mordaunt as others in cabinet
Cabinet membes and 1922 backbench committee to force Truss to accept Hunt as her chancellor after sacking Kwarteng
Examples of cabinet dominating Sunak
refused to sack Zahawi over tax inproprieties in 2023 until he was found in “serious breach of ministerial code”
seen ti be weak after inviting Braverman back into Cabinet just after she had resigned from Foreign sec
Positives of PM power in cabinet selection
Thatchers reshuffle after 1983 from “wets” ( oncs) to key economic posts being filled by “drys” ( thatcherites)
Cmerons reshuffle in July 2014 five ministers were sacked and a further three were promoted or demoted
Johnson replaced Jvid as chancellor, refused him with Rishi Sunak
negatives of Pm cabinet selection
must be conscious of party unity, means major factions in party must be represented
pms should attempt to seek descriptiv representation ensuring positive representation of women, minorities and LGBTQ communities
positives and negatives of managing their cabinet
positive- Cmr, helps find those wanting to criticise the government, 2010 coalition involved lotsof formal and informal meetings of the quad, johnson allegedly made majority of decisions about Covid with ministers such as Dominic Raab, Matt hancock, rishi sunak and michael gove
Negative- cabinet only supports popular prime ministers
cabinet resignatios particulary senoir figures can damage political support for the PM, e.g. Johnson with Sunak and Javid
Positives and negatives of leadership of the party
Positives- Blair, experienced substancial rebellion, but did not face a single defeat from 1997-200, majority of over 100
Johnson was able ot pass EU withdrawal, despite the party refuing to do so for may
Negative- Pm can be seen as a electoral liability, e.g. Johnson with pandemic and Chris Pincher
Limits of small majorities, e.g. May in 2017
