the Prime Minister Flashcards
who was technically the first PM?
Robert Walpole (not a formal role)
how was the role of PM created?
in 1992 the Ministerial Code established the duties and expectations of the PM and gov. ministers
how is the PM chosen?
the PM is the leader of the majority party. the monarch invites that leader to form and lead the government. If there’s no party with an overall majority, the monarch must exercise some caution and abide by convention.
what are ways a PM can leave office, with examples
-defeat in a general election (Callagan)
-leave on health grounds (e.g. Wilson in 1976)
-resign mid term (e.g. Cameron)
-vote of no confidence (e.g. Theresa May)
what is the core executive made up of?
- the Prime Minister and cabinet
-senior civil servants
-cabinet committees
-the cabinet office
what are the arguments for the PM becoming more presidential/ involving the cabinet less?
-Blair + Thatcher are claimed to have bypassed full cabinet meetings
-growth in the use of SpAds at the expense of seeking advice from the civil service - has made gov. similar to the West Wing in the US
-the development of social media has led to a growing focus on the personality and style of individuals rather than the wider cabinet - allows PM to develop a level of personal support e.g. Blair used Campbell to create positive press image
-increased media scrutiny has led to more PMs focusing on the popular media to take their message directly to the people
-PMs, even though the monarch assumes this role, often act as heads of state especially during emergencies e.g. Blair drive foreign policy during Iraq war, Johnson rallied the country behind him during the pandemic
what are the arguments against the PM becoming more presidential/ involving the cabinet less?
-there haven’t been any formal changes in the power of PMs, and the role isn’t defined by constitution (as it is in US)
-not all PMs followed a presidential approach (e.g. Major, May)
-traditional sources of advice are still used (e.g. Chris Witty, a civil servant, gave the most powerful advice during COVID)
-image conscious PMs would want to present themselves as collaborative in the media (e.g. Johnson during COVID)
-PMs are still accountable to the legislature and party - they have to keep MPs on side to achieve their goals, as the rely on them to pass their legislative agenda. cabinet will remove PM if they’re not an electoral asset - e.g. Johnson - key ministers resigning forced him to resign
-circumstances can limit the PMs ability to act like a president - e.g. Cameron struggled to act presidentially as he was party of a coalition gov. - he had to involve cabinet a lot etc so he maintained support from the tories and the lib dems
