The Prime Minister and Cabinet Flashcards
how has Prime Ministerial power evolved?
evolved gradually as the result of assimilation of royal prerogative powers- as the monarch’s power has declined, the PM’s role has developed
what does royal prerogative involve?
control of armed forces, power to declare war, making treaties, awarding patronage, controlling the civil service
what are powers of the PM that have emerged through convention?
citizens, party, parliament, cabinet, and key officials coming to admit themselves to prime ministerial authority
what are PM powers based upon the role as leader of majority party in the HOC?
PM’s power and authority rests upon confidence of the Commons, which is, in turn, dependent upon the confidence and support of those sitting upon their benches
who is the Prime Minister?
the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons, who heads the government, as well as being an elected MP
who assists the Prime Minister?
their own political office, cabinet, cabinet office, private advisers, think-tanks, policy units, cabinet secretary and own staff
what is the cabinet?
the committee of 20-23 senior ministers responsible for controlling government policy e.g. Home Secretary
who assists the cabinet?
assisted by cabinet office, policy units, senior civil service and junior ministers
what are cabinet committees?
sub-committees of the cabinet which consider policy in detail and report to the full cabinet
who may be called to assist cabinet committees?
experts and external specialists, as well as external specialists and policy units
what is a minister?
an MP who heads a ministry, and makes and implements key decisions on policy
what is the cabinet office?
political advisers and civil servants divided into policy sections and various support functions. Think-tank reports may be vised in policy departments
what are senior civil servants?
senior ranks of the civil service who support ministers
what is the PM’s power of patronage?
the power to control appointments to office or the right to privileges
how is patronage limited?
to be appointed they need to be:
- in parliament (conventionally an MP)
- experienced enough to take on the role
- in the majority party
examples:
- May Cabinet had to reflect the Conservative divide on Brexit with no majority, which proved ineffective with several ministerial resignations
- Cameron limited in Lib Dem coalition, as the government had to take forward Lib Dem’s free school meals agenda
- Truss sacked Chancellor, but still removed by party a few days later q
how is patronage too powerful?
examples:
- Johnson appointed all Brexiteers to cabinet
- Johnson removed the whip pre- Dec 2019 election, so Conservatives opposing him could not run as MPs for the party
- Dodd’s March 2025 ministerial resignation not important as easily replaces by Starmer’s significant majority of Labour MPs
evaluation of patronage as limited or too powerful
despite the power to appoint ministers, PM is not too powerful, as ministerial resignations have had the power to destabilise PMs, and to cause them to leave office, showing a clear limit on PM’s power.
e.g. Johnson ultimately removes from office by own party due to being an election liability after scandals like partygate.
what are government departments
each is responsible for an area of policy e.g. transport, defence, energy. they are headed by a cabinet member and supported by junior ministers
what are executive agencies
semi-independent bodies that carry out some functions of government departments e.g. DVLA is overseen by the DfT
what are the main roles of the executive
proposing legislation, proposing the budget, making policy decisions
the executive proposing legislation
the executive proposes new laws or amendments, and a new programme, written by the government, is seen by the monarch at the start of each parliamentary session. decisions made by the executive that were not on their manifesto- doctor’s mandate- are used when the executive needs to implement new legislation to deal with emergencies/ unforeseen circumstances. before introducing legislation, ministers often consult pressure groups and professional bodies that the legislation would affect
the executive proposing the budget
the budget is created by the Chancellor of Exchequer and PM, as an annual statement of the government’s plans for tax changes and public spending. if a new government comes to power, it will present its own new budget
the executive making policy decisions
the executive needs to decide how to make its future aims effective for the country e.g. 2010-2015 coalition introduced Universal Credit
what are the comparative roles of the executive and parliament
executive- proposes legislation, proposes the budget, makes policy decisions
parliament- passes legislation, raises and spends public money, scrutinises government, represents the people
what is the executive power of secondary legislation
delegated/ secondary legislation is a law made without passing an Act of Parliament. powers are granted within the texts of pervious Acts
e.g. The Customs Regulations 2022 allowed the sanctions on Russia and Belarus to be changed through secondary legislation
changing use of secondary legislation since New Labour
use of secondary legislation has increased since New Labour (1997) and Brexit. the most common form is ‘statutory instrument’ (small adjustments to the law), allowing the government to adapt or update details of the law without passing new Acts.
criticism of secondary legislation
they can escape parliamentary scrutiny, as they can act withing what has been set out in the Act
who is involved in policy-making
PM- enter Downing Street with a clear policy in mind e.g. Johnson to pass Brexit.
Cabinet- members have ideas about policy, and can sort out disagreements at regular cabinet meetings
Civil Servants- offer advice to PM and Cabinet, and can help with implementation through unbiased work
Special Advisers- figures picked by PM to help with policy implementation e.g. Dominic Cummings
manifestos in policy-making
- manifesto pledges easiest to implement
- mandate by the people, and PM and Cabinet are united
- difficult with coalition e.g. Lib Dems wanted to hold a vote to change voting system from FPTP to STV. as a compromise, Conservatives changed it to AV
- policy not in the manifesto may be controversial, leading to difficult cabinet discussions e.g. 2021 increases to national insurance, despite 2019 conservative manifesto promising not to raise taxes
collaboration in policy-making
- many decisions require conventions across departments and senior figures
- Brexit saw discussions across all areas of government
- PM has final say on policy, but in practice won’t look to bring one to parliament with limited support from Cabinet and backbenchers
- in times of emergency, may be a requirement for collaborative approach e.g. Dunblane shooting in 1996 cabinet worked quickly to introduce new gun restrictions
what is individual ministerial responsibility
the principle that ministers are responsible for themselves and their department, including: private/ personal conduct, general conduct of the department they are responsible for, acts done/ not done by officials, and policy
what is the ministerial code
the rules of ministers, issues by the PM at the start of a new government.
individual ministerial responsibility in practice
ministers are responsible to parliament for the actions of their own departments, and can be held accountable for their department’s actions through Question Time or select committee scrutiny. civil servants in a particular department should be loyal to their minister and support their actions
reasons why a minister may resign through individual responsibility
- personal misjudgements and mistakes
- policy differences
- political misjudgements and mistakes
- points of principle
why might a minister resign through personal misjudgements and mistakes
is a minister makes a personal mistake in their own character, they are expected to resign, because the highest standards of behaviour are expected by ministers who run government departments
examples of ministers resigning due to personal misjudgements and mistakes
- Cecil Parkinson: party chairman destined for Foreign Secretary after 1983 election. just before the election, he broke to Thatcher that he had been having an affair with her secretary, who had become pregnant
- Ron Davies: caught on Clapham Common ‘looking for company’. Welsh secretary in the Blair government
- Michael Fallon: a lunch encounter around 15 years before, he went to lunch with a female journalist, and tried to kiss her while re-entering the Palace of Westminster
why might a minister resign due to policy differences
ministers should agree on the direction of party and of the government if it is pursuing policy they cannot agree with
examples of ministers resigning due to policy differences
- Robin Cook: Foreign Secretary resigned over Iraq
- David Davis: Brexit Secretary disagreed with PM’s stance on the issue
- Dominic Raab: Brexit Secretary disagreed with PM’s stance on the issue
why might a minister resign over political misjudgements and mistakes
a minister may do something that is not deemed to be in the best interest of their department or the government as a whole
examples of ministers resigning due to political misjudgements and mistakes
- Peter Mandelson: failed to declare a loan he had taken from a fellow Labour MP, as a result he resigned in 1998
- David Blunkett: Education Secretary was promoted to Home Secretary in 2001, but resigned due to having an affair
- Priti Patel: made a number of trips to Israel, having meetings with government officials and did not declare them to Downing Street
why would ministers resign due to points of principle
if a minister cannot agree with something out of a point of principle, they are expected to resign
examples of ministers resigning due to points of principle
- Lord Carrington: Foreign Secretary said that he should’ve seen the Falklands War was going to happen, and he didn’t
- Lord Whitelaw: Home Secretary and deputy PM. Michael Fagan broke into the Queen’s bedroom which was a breach of security
- 2022 government crisis: range of scandals overshadowed work of Johnson’s government e.g. partygate. after he lied to ministers and allowed them to go on morning TV repeating those lies, over 60 ministers resigned from the government, including Chancellor and Health Secretary, leading to his ultimate resignition
