The balance of power between prime minister and Cabinet:

Question 1

The Cabinet remains an important body:

1) Who offers legitimacy in the eyes of the public and parliament?
2) What happens if a minister can accept the agreed line?

Answer 1

1) The Cabinet approves government, and therefore offers legitimacy.
2) As in the case of Robin Cook, they must resign.

Question 2

1) Give an example of an important decision, where the Cabinet was needed for support:
2) Who is in a War Cabinet, and give an example of when it was used:

Answer 2

1) After completing the renegotiation of the UKs membership of the EU, Cameron presented the deal in a cabinet meeting.
2) The War Cabinet is smaller, and it consists of key ministers and armed service leaders. It was used during the Falklands War in 1982.

Question 3

1) Where is the programme of government business in parliament, discussed?
2) Where are disagreements between government departments, resolved?

Answer 3

1) It is discussed in the Cabinet.

2) In Cabinet

Question 4

1) How is Thatcher an example of how the UK doesn’t have a ‘presidential system’, and the Cabinet is still important?

Answer 4

1) Thatcher acted in a presidential manner, and she lost control of the Cabinet.

Question 5

The prime minister is the dominant force in government:

1) Why is it argued that Cabinet ‘rubber stamps’ decisions taken elsewhere?

Answer 5

1) This is because decisions are taken by Cabinet committees, picked by the PM, or in small groups, such as the Blair/Brown decision to hand control of interest rates to the Bank of England.

Question 6

1) Who controls the time and length of Cabinet meetings?

2) Why are ministers reluctant to challenge the PM.

Answer 6

1) The Prime Minister, under some it lasts less than an hour.
2) This is because the PM has the power to dismiss them, and most ministers are too immersed in their own departments, to give an opinion.

Question 7

1) Are disputes resolved outside the Cabinet?

2) Give an example of when Cameron intervened:

Answer 7

1) They are resolved in committees, or through the intervention of the MP.
2) He settled the 2011 clash between Energy Secretary Chris Huhne. and Business Secretary Vince Cable. It was over carbon emission targets.

Question 8

1) How does the media make PMs seem more important than Cabinet?

Answer 8

1) Throughout televised leadership debates, such as those in 2010 and 2015. They project themselves as leaders, separate from the government.