The Prime Minister And The Cabinet: The Relationship Between Prime Minister And Cabinet

Question 1

What are the institutional powers available to all occupants of No. 10?

Answer 1

Appointing and dismissing ministers and undertaking cabinet reshuffles
Chairing weekly meeting of the cabinet and setting the agenda
Arranging and sometimes chairing cabinet committees
Dictating policy priorities
The Cabinet Office
As party leader, usually being able to command a Commons majority to get legislation through
Issuing honours such as life peerages

Question 2

What are the personal and political powers of the prime minister?

Answer 2

The momentum and political capital that comes from leading their party to victory in the pervious election, enable them to persuade and lead more effectively
Effective management of colleagues
Personal qualities as an effective communicator and national leader
The ability to unite and rally their own party
Skill in managing the economy and handling unexpected challenges faced in office

Question 3

What are the set of powers held by the prime minister dependent on?

Answer 3

Opinion poll ratings
Personalities in their cabinet and party at the time
Potential leadership challenges
The strength and threat posed by the main opposition party

Question 4

After taking over from Cameron, how many ministers did May remove?

Answer 4

15 ministers

Question 5

Though patronage powers are a powerful and largely uncheck power what are some important limitations?

Answer 5

The prime minster needs to be careful to maintain balance within the cabinet, with diversity and policy position, as May found out with having remains and leavers in the cabinet and who and how they sack members from the cabinet as Thatcher found out with Howe’s damaging resignation speech and coalition agreements bring its own constraints on appointments

Question 6

Who dictates when and where the cabinet meets and the agenda and formally chair proceedings?

Answer 6

The prime minister

Question 7

What does the Cabinet Manuel term the cabinet?

Answer 7

‘The ultimate arbiter of all government policy’

Question 8

What os collective reasonability?

Answer 8

The concept that all members of the cabinet and indeed all ministers are required to support cabinet decisions

Question 9

What is an example of a prime minister not being able to persuade a cabinet member?

Answer 9

Tony Blair was never able to persuade his chancellor, Gordon Brown, to support the UK adopting the euro currency

Question 10

By early 2021, what are the 11 main cabinet committees?

Answer 10

EU Exit Strategy
EU Exit Operations
Economic Operations Committee
Parliamentary Business And Legislation
National Security Council
Climate Change
Covid-19 Strategy
Domestic and Economic Strategy
Crime and Justice Task Force
Union Policy Implementation
National Space Council

Question 11

What is the point of cabinet committees?

Answer 11

To reduce the burden on the full cabinet by allowing specific groups of ministers to take decisions on septic policy areas

Question 12

How can prime ministers use cabinets to exert shier influence and political principle?

Answer 12

With the ability to set priorities and the agenda in the cabinet

Question 13

What is the Cabinet Office?

Answer 13

Created in 1916 to provide support fro the cabinet system, currently 2,050 civil servants work in the department, and helped to support the prime minster and the effective running of the government

Question 14

What was the Cabinet office tweaked to do by Johnson during the coronavirus pandemic?

Answer 14

Set up the Rapid Repose Unit to deal with misinformation about the virus

Question 15

What can prime ministers award to former MPs or party supporters?

Answer 15

Life peerages

Question 16

Who makes recommendations for non-party political peerages and vets ask party nominations in what is termed ‘property’?

Answer 16

An independent Appointments commissions

Question 17

Under Blair and Brown how many Labour and Conservative life peerages were awarded?

Answer 17

173 Labour peers and 66 Conservative peers

Question 18

Under Cameron and May how many Labour and Conservative life peerages were awarded?

Answer 18

136 Conservative peers and 59 Labour peers

Question 19

What is criticised about life peerages?

Answer 19

Often good friends of the prime minster or party donors are awarded peerages with little to no actual effort for this award

Question 20

What are some examples of a prime minster gambling on a policy and it going in their favour?

Answer 20

The Falklands War with Thatcher and Scottish Independence with Cameron that slowed the push for independence, though only temporally and Blair calling early election in 2001 and 2005 and winning, these all enhancing political capital

Question 21

How do minister have a fair degree of autonomy over policy details?

Answer 21

Because they run their own departments, while adhering to commonly agreed policies

Question 22

How can minister uses their political capital abasing the prime minster?

Answer 22

By leaking information to the media or pressure groups, for example in 2019 Gavin Williamson was sacked for allegedly leaking to the press, details from a National Security Council over the threat Huawei pose to constructing Britain’s 5G network

Question 23

How can cabinet members stay in their cabinet roles even when they have poor relations with the prime minister?

Answer 23

They can refuse like with Jeremy Hunt in January 2018 who refused to be moved from health secretary, and after hours of talks with May ended up being given an enhanced role and adding social care to his policy portfolio

Question 24

What can be seen as the biggest weapon a cabinet member has?

Answer 24

Resignation of their own accord, like with Howe or members of the May government