The PM And The Executive- Is The PM Effectively A President ? Flashcards
Parliamentary government
The executive is formed from the legislature, which means that members of the House of Commons and House of Lords make up the government. This arrangement is called the fusion of powers.
The government cannot take action without the approval of Parliament. It is constrained by parliamentary sovereignty.
Scrutiny of the executive takes place inside Parliament, through parliamentary questions on the floor of the two chambers or in the various committees.
A prime minister is reliant on their parliamentary majority and their cabinet for their position and support.
There is no direct election for prime minister. They are elected as an MP like every other member of the House of Commons.
Presidential government
There is a strict separation of personnel (separation of powers).
Members of the legislature cannot also be members of the executive.
A president executes the law and is not constrained by the sovereignty of the legislature.
The president cannot be summoned by the legislature. Scrutiny takes place as much outside the legislature through the media as it does inside of it.
A president relies on the advice of their advisors but can choose to largely ignore their cabinet.
The president is directly elected and enjoys a separate mandate from those elected to the legislature.
Which system of government is in operation in the UK ?
there is undoubtedly a parliamentary system of govemment in operation in the UK.
This prevents prime ministers from being true presidents. Yet some prime ministers have adopted different aspects of a presidential government or presidential style.
How prime ministers have sought to act as presidents?
Election campaigns have become personalised, with prime ministers the focal point. Theresa May made the 2017 general election about her Strong and stable leadership’.
Prime ministers increasingly create strategic space between themselves and other institutions, including the cabinet, Parliament and their own party. This style is often referred to as spatial leadership. Cameron painted himself as a moderniser’, out to reform his stuffy party by advocating policies such as legalising gay marriage.
Prime ministers are increasingly reliant upon their advisors, similar to a US president. In his first year as prime minister, Boris Johnson allowed senior advisor Dominic Cummings huge influence over the machinery of government.
Prime ministers seek to act independently of Parliament in foreign affairs, similarly to how a US president takes action without the US Congress. Theresa May’s use of the royal prerogative in the 2018 Syria bombings highlighted her preference to act separately from Parliament.
Limits to prime ministers’ ability to act as presidents
Personalised election campaigns damage the credibility of leaders if they lack campaigning skills and popular support. Public faith in Theresa May’s claim to be ‘strong and stable’ was weakened after the U-turn on the party’s policy on health and social care (dubbed the ‘dementia tax’).
Spatial leadership is not possible due to the fusion of powers; prime ministers are’reined in’ by the forces of constraint. Theresa May lost control of the payroll vote, accepting in March 2019 that junior ministers could vote with their consciences on the indicative vote process over Brexit.
Over-reliance on advisors can damage the credibility of prime ministers. After the poorly received manifesto and the loss of majority after the 2017 general election, Theresa May was forced to sack senior advisors Nick Timothy and Fiona Hill.
Since the Iraq War, Parliament has become far more assertive. In 2013 David Cameron failed to persuade Parliament to vote in favour of military action against the Assad regime in Syria.
