Prime Minister And The Executive (UK Gov 3)

Question 1

What is the executive?

Answer 1

Branch of government that deals with the formulation and implementation of policy

Question 2

Main constituents of the executive

Answer 2

-PM (head of exec)
-The cabinet (ultimate decision making body that run government departments)
-Junior ministers (specify policy portfolios (aims) within government)
-government departments (civil service and enforcement agencies)

Question 3

The core executive

Answer 3

The PM, cabinet, cabinet committees and cabinet office (supports Pm and cabinet) and senior civil services
They are responsible for most of the implementation of policy and big decisions

As of 2023 this encompassed 126 people

Question 4

Peel convention

Answer 4

Convention that all government ministers must come from either the commons or the lords to be scrutinised (hence why sunak gave Cameron a peerage in 2023 to serve as his foreign secretary and why brown gave many to his “government of all talents”)

Cameron is still controversial because he can’t be scrutinised in the commons, which could be seen as undemocratic

Question 5

What is a SpAd?

Answer 5

A special advisor, hired directly by a cabinet minister to aid them in the formation of policy

Examples:
Dominic Cummings was Johnson’s SpAd who was very controversial for having too much power ( could fire other people’s spades as he did to Sonia Khan) and breached Covid regulations by driving to Durham (breach of SpAd code of conduct)

Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy were Mays spades who wrote a lot of her 2017 manifesto, undermining the role of junior ministers

Question 6

Role of executive (3)

Answer 6

-making policy decisions
-proposing legislation
-proposing a budget (Spring 2024 budget was when Hunt announced a plan by 2025 to tax non-doms on foreign income)

Question 7

Prerogative powers

Answer 7

Powers of the monarchy exercised by the executive such as making teartise, deploying armed forces and patronage

Question 8

Examples of prerogative powers being limited

Answer 8

Since 2003 Iraq, it has now become convention for parliament to vote on deploying the army (broken in 2018 when May took military action in Syria without permission, in 2013 they voted against it strikes then for them in 2015 so its all a bit mad)

2011 fixed terms parliament act removed the power to call an early general election, however the 2022 dissolution and calling or parliament act re-established this power

Question 9

Secondary legislation

Answer 9

Legislation passed by government ministers with permission granted from a primary legislation

They are rarely scrutinied or blocked (it is convention that the lords don’t block them)

2015= lords amended 2 on tax credits, which is nothing when u think that 3500 pass annually

Question 10

What is individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 10

The convention that ministers are accountable to the government for both their own actions and the actions of their department.

It is expected that minsters resign if mistakes are made in their department, if this policy fails or for own personal misconduct

Question 11

Recent examples of IMR

Answer 11

2017= Pritti Patel resigns after holding unauthorised meetings with Israeli officials
2018= Amber Rudd resigns after misleading a select committee on government targets to remove illegal immigrants
2021= Matt Hancock being an adulterer
1982=Lord Carrington resigned after Falkland’s war misjudgment

Question 12

What is collective ministerial responsibility?

Answer 12

The convention that ministers must publicly support cabinet decisions or else resign

Ensures secrecy, confidence of the government and binding of policies and MPs

Question 13

Recent examples of CMR

Answer 13

Lee Anderson resigns after Brexit disagreement (2024)

Press leaks from 2017-19 about Brexit disagreements
Press leaks from 2020-21 about COVID policy disagreements (Sunaks letter to Johnson asking him to lift lockdown early)

Question 14

Key features of the PM:

Answer 14

-there’s no constitutional definition of one (lack of limit to power)
-most of their powers lie in the royal prerogative
-main responsibilities=chairing cabinet, managing the executive and relations with parliament and representing the UK internationally

Question 15

Main powers of the PM

Answer 15

-powers of patronage (giving peerages and cabinet positions e.g. Mays big beats in cabinet like Johnson and Davis could be seen as a tactic to prevent them opposing her)
-appointing cabinet ministers
-authority in the cabinet system
-policy making input (Sunaks recognition that Rwanda policy breaches human rights and Johnson’s signing of the EU Withdrawl agreement)

Question 16

Key prerogative powers held by the PM

Answer 16

-negotiation and signing of treatise (Lisbon treaty 2007, Brexit, Maastricht treaty 1992)
-going to war (Blair’s Iraq, Thatchers Falkland’s, Mays Syria)
-Public appointment
-conducting foreign affairs (meeting with other leaders and upholding peace between states)

Question 17

Formal roles of the PM (granted by royal prerogative)

Answer 17

-patronage
-commander-in-chief
-cabinet chair
-chief diplomat
-singing treatise
-calling a general election (as of 2022)

Question 18

Informal roles of the PM (granted by political support (public and party))

Answer 18

-controlling government policy
-setting and carrying out the legislative agenda
-economic leadership (Blair gave to fully to Brown)
-media focus
-leader in a crisis

Question 19

Cabinet government

Answer 19

-A government in which the PM is “primus-inter-pares” (first amongst equals)
-Used for much of the 20th century and described by Bagehot in “The English constitution”
-PM cannot act unilaterally and big decisions are made by the cabinet as a collective

Question 20

Prime ministerial government

Answer 20

-A government in which the PM may make a lot of decisions in small groups (“kitchen cabinets” or “sofa governmen”) instead of using the whole cabinet
-used in the latter half of the 20th century (Blair and thatcher)

Question 21

Circumstances in which the Pm can be seen as dominant

Answer 21

-good leadership and reputation
-association with political success
-electoral popularity
-high standing in party

Question 22

Circumstances in which the PM can be seen as eminent (respected but not dominant)

Answer 22

-legally the head of government
-leadership of the government via agenda
-not particularly eccentric or notable

Think Brown and major

Question 23

Presidentialisation

Answer 23

The idea that UK PMs have been acting more like US presidents

Characterised by spatial leadership (distancing themselves from the party), personalised leadership and public outreach

Question 24

Thatcher as PM (notable things)

Answer 24

-known as the “Iron lady”
-strong ideological and economic beliefs (neoliberal and even known as Thatcherism)
-Foots unpopularity boosted her image in 1983
-Privatisation and reduction of TU powers
-188 seat majority in 1983
-poll tax and miner strikes

Very presidential

Question 25

Blair as PM (notable things)

Answer 25

-253 seat majority in 1997
-face of “new labour” shows spatial leadership
-frequent use of sofa governments
-devolution and constitutional reforms
-Iraq in 2003
-economy left totally to Brown (patronage)

Very presidential

Question 26

Cameron as PM (notable things)

Answer 26

-use of the Quad for a lot of decisions (Cameron, Osborne, Clegg and Alexander)
-Coaltion (weak mandate)
-2011 policy and implementation unit allowed for more spads
-big society scrapped in 2013 (unpopular due to his weak mandate)

Not very presidential

Question 27

May as PM (notable things)

Answer 27

-distinctive style
-2017 “strong and stable”
-forced to have big beats for Brexit due t being pro remain and faced many resignations because of this
-uncharismatic and socially unaware

Not presidential

Question 28

Johnson as PM (notable things)

Answer 28

-“get Brexit done”
-2019=80 seat majority
-Cummings
-prorogation in 2019
-populism

Quite presidential

Question 29

What is the judiciary?

Answer 29

Branch of government that delivers justice by ensuring the constitution is upheld and peoples rights are protected

Question 30

UK orders of court (least to most)

Answer 30

Crown, high, court of appeal, supreme court

Question 31

When and why was the Supreme Court made?

Answer 31

-established under 2005 constitutional reform act
-opened 2009
-replaced the law lords as the highest order of UK court to provide a separation of powers (Lord chancellor, who was in all 3 branches, was replaced by Lord Chief justice)

Question 32

Judicial appointment commission

Answer 32

Established under 2005 CRA
Is independant, removing government bias in the courts for independence

Question 33

How many justices are in the SC and how do you qualify?

Answer 33

-12
-must have been a member of the senior judiciary for 2 years and a legal qualified practitioner for 15 years

Question 34

SC makeup as of 2023

Answer 34

-12 judges
-4 not oxbridge educated
-2 females
-all white and over 60

Question 35

Arguments that the SC ought to be more descriptively representative

Answer 35

-better diversity= better legitimacy
-more diversity= more perspectives to consider so better decision making
-better access to justice for those who struggle to obtain it as they can be empathised with

Question 36

Arguments that SC representation doesn’t matter

Answer 36

-judges should be chosen solely on qualification
-decisions may not remain impartial
-equality of opportunity for capable judges should be the biggest thing considered, not their physical attributes

Question 37

Relationship between judiciary and legislative

Answer 37

-PS means all court rulings are only advisory
-parliament can just legislate against them (2010 Terorist Asset freezing act)

Question 38

Relationship between judiciary and executive

Answer 38

-judicial reviews allow courts to review government action that they believe to be “Ultra vires” (Miller 1 and 2)
-2022 Judicial review and courts act=some human rights and immigration issues are immune from judicial review and instead the court can set a time limit for amendments to be made
-declarations on incompatibility with HRA can be issued (2023 Rwanda)

Question 39

Evan’s v attorney general (2015)

Answer 39

SC ruled that under 2000 freedom of information act, ;enters written by Charles 3 to government ministers should be released to ensure he is politically neutral