The Prime Minister and executive.

Question 1

What is the structure of the executive?

Answer 1

• The Prime Minister and her or his close advisors.
• The cabinet.
• Various bodies that feed information and advice onto the cabinet.
• Government departments.
• The senior civil servants who serve governments.
• Various advisers and policy-developing bodies that serve government departments.
• There may also be a few very senior officials of the governing party who hold no official post but who are intimately involved in party development.

Question 2

What are the features of the PM?

Answer 2

• The official title of the PM is First Lord of the Treasury. It does inducate that the PM has ultimate control over economic policy.
• Leadeer of the governing party.
• Enjoys prerogrative powers.
• Party leader in H of C.

Question 3

Who is the PM supported by?

Answer 3

• Cabinet secretary.

- Staffed by senior civil servants.

Question 4

What are the features of the UK cabinet?

Answer 4

• All meetings are appointed by the PM.
• Normally numbers 20-25 members.
• The members are senior government ministers.
• Normally meets once a week.
• Its proceedings are secret.

Question 5

What are the rankings of ministers?

Answer 5

Secretary of state: a senior minister who runs a large department.

Minister of state: he or she will run a subdivision of the department.

Question 6

What are the roles of ministers and their departments?

Answer 6

• Develop policies in the area of responsibility.
• Prepare the case for the implementation of policy to the cabinet as a whole.
• Organise the passage of legislation through Parliament.

Question 7

What are the roles of the executive?

Answer 7

• The development of government policy.
• Conducting foreign policy.
• Organising the country’s defence against external and internal threats.
• Managing the state’s finances.
• Responding to major problems or crises.
• Controlling and managing the forces of law and order.

Question 8

What is individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 8

IMR is a constitutional convention. It has four main elements:
1} Ministers muat be prepared to be accountable to Parliament.
2} If a minister makes a serious error of judgement, he or she should be required to resign.
3} If a minister’s department makes a serious error, he or she is honoured to resign.
4} If a minister’s conduct falls below the standards, he or she should leave office.

Question 9

What developments have undermined this?

Answer 9

• Ministers are no longer prepared to accept responsibility.
• This means that ministers are prepared to lay the blame on lower-ranking officials and civil servants.
• It is now up to the PM to debate whether a minister should be removed from office under the doctrine.

Question 10

What is collective ministerial responsibility?

Answer 10

Collective ministerial responsibility is an unwritten convention of the constitution.

Question 11

Why is it important?

Answer 11

• It gives the government a strong sense of unity.
• It can help the PM maintain his or her own dominance.
• It stifles dissendence within the government.
• It helps ministers explain their reservations privately.
• It can protect individual ministers from pressure.

Question 12

What are the powers of the PM?

Answer 12

• Patronage.
• Negotiate foreign treaties.
• Commander-in-chief.
• Conducts foreign policy and determines relationships with foreign powers.
• Heads the cabinet system.

Question 13

What are the powers of the Cabinet?

Answer 13

• They determine government policy.
• They establish the presentation of that policy.
• They control Parliament’s agenda.
• They determine government priorities, establishing a programme of action.

Question 14

What are the limitations of the PM?

Answer 14

• May be overruled.
• May not be able to command Parliament.
• May lose the confidence of her own party.

Question 15

Is the Prime Minister effectively a president?

Answer 15

Yes:

• Takes on many roles as head of state.
• Election of governing party owes much to the PM’s leadership.
• Chief foreign policy maker.
• Makes strategic military decisions.
• Controls the intelligence services at home and abroad.
• Negotiates and agrees foreign treaties.

No:

• He or she is not head of state.
• Not directly elected.
• Increasingly subject to Parliamentary approval.
• Can no longer command armed forces to action.
• Can be removed from office by Parliament or by their own party.
• Powers of the PM are not codified in a constitution.
• Cannot promote patrioric support for the state.