Prime Ministerial Power Flashcards
Name 3 models of prime ministerial power?
- the core executive
- pre-dominance model
- presidentialisation
Who put forward the core executive model?
Dunleavy, Rhodes and Smith
What is the system of the Core Executive model?
that power is shared between the cabinet and the prime minister
What are the 3 aspects of the core executive model?
- structure
- agency
- context
give an example of structure?
institutions, laws and traditions
give an example of agency?
individuals and their actions
give an example of context?
the political enviroment
Who put forward prime ministerial predominance?
Heffernan
What is the premise of prime ministerial predominance?
that PM has certain institutional resources that bestow him with greater power
What are examples of these personal powers?
patronage, chairs cabinet meeting, policy leadership etc.
What other resources can contribute to prime ministerial power?
individual qualities
What are the 2 types of prime minister?
pre-dominant and pre-eminent
what is pre-dominant prime minister (and examples)
Blair, Thatcher and Cameron, it is a prime minister with more power than the norm
What is a pre-eminent prime minister and example?
Wilson and it is a prime minister with less power than usual
What does a pre-dominate prime minister require?
utilisation of both institutional and personal resources
Constraints of patronage?
aim for ideological balance, Macmillian night of the Long Knives and coalition agreement
what are the constraints of PMs authority in cabinet?
it still requires support, senior minister still have authority (Brown)
What are the constraints on PM power of agenda setting?
cabinet ministers have authority, PM has limited resources, it may be difficult to achieve policy success and the coalition agreement
Who is associated with the theory of presidentialisation?
Micheal Foley
What is the distance called between the leadership of the party and other members of government?
‘leadership stretch’
what is ‘spatial leadership’?
When the PM creates distance between their selves and their party
what does spatial leadership indicate?
decline of party government
Who proposed critiques to presidentialism?
Dowding and Heffernan
What was the critques to presidentialism?
US president operates within a different system to UK
PM is party leader therefore there is a fusion of powers
centralisation of powers makes PM less like a president
personalisation is not presidentialism
who said that UK PM is more powerful than US president?
Dowding
