Prime minister and the executive Flashcards
what is the cabinet?
the committee of the most senior ministers that is decided by the PM that help th PM in directing gov policy
what is the government department?
a sector of the gov that is specifically responsible for for a certain area of policy, e.g, education
what is a royal prerogative? in
powers that are traditionally held by the monarch but are transferred to the PM
what is secondary legislation?
used to fill in the details of primary legislation
what is individual responsibility?
the idea that ministers are responsible for upholding the standards of public office, in terms of how they conduct themselves and in terms of making sure their departments perform themselves effectively
what is collective responsibility?
ministers are expected to publicly support gov legislation and if they are unable to do so, must resign
what is a presidential government?
a style of gov dominated by the PM, where power is increasingly concentrated in the office of the PM
what is the structure/role of the PM
- head of the executive and manages its agenda
- chief policy maker
- appoints and fires cabinet ministers
what is the structure/role of the cabinet?
- composed of senior ministers
- provides support for approving policy
- helps enable conflict resolution between departments
what is the structure/role of the treasury?
- manages government finances
what is the structure/role of the gov departments?
- each department is responsible for an area of policy
- develops and implements specialised policies
what are the roles or powers of the executive?
- proposing and initiating legislation
- proposing a budget
- directing policy
- royal prerogative powers
- secondary legislative powers
example of the executive proposing and initiating legislation?
- for example, the 2020, boris johnson withdrawal bill, proposed by newly elected executive and passed through parliament
example of executive proposing a budget?
- for example, rishi sunak’s march 2021 budget, continuing support for hard hit businesses during the pandemic totalling over £400 billion of support
example of the executive directing policy?
- for example, the gov’s levelling up agenda means that every gov department’s legislation is in some ways directed towards levelling up
- for example, opening up eight new low tax areas
example of the executive using its royal prerogative powers?
- for example, in december 2020, boris johnson announced 16 new peerages, many of whom are cons donors or supporters
example of the executive using secondary legislation powers?
- for example, the rule of six legislation passed in 2020 was a statutory instrument, meaning it could be fast tracked through parliament; so the executive created this secondary legislation
what are examples of the personal failings of individual ministerial responsibility?
- for example, the Pestminister Scandal where michael fallon resigned as defense minister on november 1st 2017 due to details of previous sexual harassment being picked up in newspapers
- for example, on april 30 2019, amber rudd resigned due to the windrush scandal and she took blame for the scandal where caribbean immigrants were wrongly deported; and was also accused of lying to an enquiry about the scandal
- for example, in 2021, matt hancock resigns after kissing a colleague and breaking social distancing guidelines
what are examples of departmental failings?
- for example, in 2020, gavin williamson resigns over regrading of A- level grades during pandemic, meaning many students were unfairly denied university places
Thatcher 1979-1990 [CONS]
MAJORITIES:
- 1979 = 43
- 1983 = 144
- 1987 = 102
KEY POLICY GOALS:
- privatisation of nationalised industries
- the Housing Act 1980 allowed council tenants to purchase their council homes at a discounted price and by 1987 more than 1 million homes had been sold to their tenants under the scheme
- cutting gov debt and taxation
- reducing gov regulations
- cutting power of trade unions
LEADERSHIP STYLE:
- she had a presidential style and dominated her cabinet
- seemed to be in total control of the gov due to the lack of a codified constitution
- being a dominant leader, she received a lot of credit for her successes but also a lot of the blame when things went wrong
PARTY UNITY:
- up to 1982 to 1983, the tory party was split as the “wets” (those who opposed thatcher) favoured centrist one nation policies whereas the “dries” (those who favoured thatcher) were neo liberalists
- however, in 1982, she replaced the “wets” with her allies and became the head of a united party
EVENTS:
- unemployment had reached 2 million and was urged by her cons critics to cut her spending agenda
- in 1990, there was riots in london as people protested against the Poll Tax (this dominated the closing years of thatcher’s premiership, which most likely led to her downfall)
BLAIR 1997-2007 [LABOUR]
PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITIES:
- 1997 = 179
- 2001 = 167
- 2005 = 66
KEY POLICY GOALS:
- making the bank of england independent
- devolution to scotland and wales
- the Good Friday Agreement was reached, beginning a peace process in northern ireland (and securing devolution to northern ireland)
- introduced the national minimum wage
- lords reform by removing most of the hereditary peers from the chamber
- introducing tuition fees
LEADERSHIP STYLE:
- charismatic
- presidential approach to cabinet
PARTY UNITY:
- his final period in office saw a rash of defeats
- the backbenchers had a taste of rebellion over issues such as iraq, tuition fees and foundation hospitals
EVENTS:
- britain was involved in a number of war and conflicts in this period including a bombing campaign against iraq in 1998
- the “cash for honours” crisis where it was alleged that blair would hand out peerages who made large donations to the labour party
- labour loses 319 councillors in the 2006 local elections
- 2006 “cash for honours” scandal where 12 labour nominated peers found to have given over £13 million to the party; although charges were dropped, some argue that it hastened his resignation as PM
JOHNSON 2019- 2022 [CONS]
PARLIAMENTARY MAJORITIES:
- 2019, wins landslide GE over corbyn (80 seat majority)
KEY POLICY GOALS:
- brexit
- “levelling up”
- covid response
- war in ukraine
LEADERSHIP STYLE:
- in 2019, was elected with a mandate of “get brexit done”
- was able to break the red wall and gain voters from traditionally labour areas
PARTY UNITY:
- removes the whip from 21 MP’s in 2019 for voting against his no brexit deal
- 2019 GE election victory sees many new “red wall” MP’s elected, who are more socially cons and have hardline views on brexit
EVENTS:
- december 2019 he wins massive election victory on slogan “get brexit done”
- 2020, he passes the EU withdrawal bill, ensuring that britain formally leaves the EU on the 31st of January
what is the structure of the executive?
the executive consists of:
1. the PM
2. the PM’s cabinet
3. The treasury
4. the gov departments
5. the civil service
what are the sources of the PM’s power?
the sources of the PM’s powers are:
1. traditional authority - authority, and their position, is deeply rooted in long standing customs, practices and historical precedents
- party - provides majority support in parliament, helping pass laws and policies
- parliament - provides the PM with the necessary backing to govern effectively
- patronage - helps the Pm build a loyal team, giving them more influence and power to govern effectively
- the people - they empower the PM through elections and public support, giving them authority to lead and govern
what are powers of the PM?
- PATRONAGE AND CABINET SYSTEM - patronage helps the PM gives important jobs to loyal party members important jobs and the cabinet system lets the PM lead the gov and shape policies
For example, when boris johnson became PM in 2019, he appointed prominent brexiteers like Dominic Raab (as foreign secretary) and Priti Patel (as home secretary, which helped consolidate support for those that were hard brexiteers
POLICY MAKING - the PM is the leader of the gov and have the authority to make decisions on how the country should be run; influencing the direction of gov actions and shaping policy on issues
For example, Theresa May’s decision to push forward with brexit. After becoming PM in 2016, May took charge of the gov policy to carry out the UK’s exit from the EU following the 2016 EU referendum and set the direction for how the Uk would negotiate with the EU and what the country’s relationship with the EU would look like after leaving
FOREIGN POLICY - the PM decides how the country will interact with other nations and are key in deciding the country’s actions abroad
For example, when David Cameron decided to support military intervention in libya in 2011. As PM, cameron played a key role in leading the uk’s involvement in NATO’s mission to protect civilians during the civil war in Libya
what are some examples of collective ministerial responsibility?
- Robin Cook resigned as foreign secretary in 2003 as he disagreed with the Iraq war and couldn’t support it
- Boris Johnson (foreign secretary) resigned in July 2018 due to the disagreements over the PM’s negotiations for brexit
- two Lib Dem junior ministers resigned in 2010 rather than support the gov policy increasing tuition fees but the 5 cabinet ministers and kept their offices
what are examples of the erosion of collective and individual ministerial responsibility?
INDIVIDUAL MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
- Boris Johnson (as foreign secretary in november 2017) , mishandled the zagari - ratcliffe case, which meant that she was an iranian prisoner for longer than she would have been. However, despite pressure, no resignation
- 2021 partygate scandal: Johnson and sunak both refused to resign despite being issued with fines for their roles in the downing street parties
COLLECTIVE MINISTERIAL RESPONSIBILITY:
- cameron had to explicitly suspend collective ministerial responsibility during the referendum to allow ministers to campaign with their consciences; Gove and Johnson campaigned for leave, May and cameron campaigned for remain
