Topic 3: The PM and the executive Flashcards
Who is the Prime Minister?
The head of the executive who determines government policy and makes decisions on national issues e.g. the Iraq War Tony Blair
Who makes up the executive?
The PM, senior and junior ministers and semi-independent government agencies e.g. the DVLA (Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency)
What is the cabinet and how many members are there?
Made up of the PM and senior ministers, with the latter leading government departments and consulting the PM on policy decisions - 22 members as of 2024
Give three examples of cabinet ministers
- Lord David Cameron - Foreign Secretary (2023)
- James Cleverly - Home Secretary (replaced Suella Braverman in 2023)
- Jeremy Hunt - Chancellor of the Exchequer (2022)
What is the role of the senior ministers?
To run government departments
What is the role of junior ministers and how many are there?
Have roles within government departments and report to the senior minters who run the departments. 97 members
What are civil servants?
Permanent staff members within the government who carry out its policies e.g. Sue Gray
What are the functions of the executive?
- Propose legislation to Parliament e.g. Rwanda bill
- Propose the budget which the Chancellor announces in their Spring budget statement in March or April to Parliament e.g. 6th March 2024
- Making policy decisions which determine how the country is run
What are the Royal Prerogative Powers and three examples of them
Powers exercised by the PM on behalf of the monarch
1. Appoints cabinet
2. Can deploy the army - Theresa May deploying British military fighter jets to Syria without Parliament’s permission
3. Negotiates treaties
What are the main powers of the executive?
- Royal Prerogative Powers
- Primary and Secondary legislation - e.g. Nitrous Oxide becoming a Class C drug the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 in November 2023
3.
What is individual ministerial responsibility?
A minister must resign for personal or department misconduct
What are two recent examples of IMR?
Dominic Raab - resigning in March 2023 over allegations of bullying junior ministers and Nadhim Zahawi - fired in January 2023 over not declaring to the PM that he had been under investigation by the HMRC for tax evasion since July 2021
What re the advantages and disadvantages of IMR?
Advantage: Holds the government to account
Disadvantage: MPs don’t automatically resign or get fired, its only when there’s large media attention e.g. Nadhim Zahawi
What is collective ministerial responsibility?
Ministers have to resign or get fired if they do not publicly agree with cabinet policies.
State two examples of CMR
Robin Cook - resigning as the Leader of the HOC in 2003 over his dissent to Blair’s decision to join the Iraq War.
Boris Johnson - resigning as foreign secretary in 2018 over the government’s ‘Chequer’s Deal’ for leaving the EU.
What re the advantages of CMR?
- Allows the government to look united
- Ensures a strong government - they have an official position on policies
What are the disadvantages of CMR?
- Undemocratic - the ministers have to support policies that are forced upon them e.g. minsters were told that the UK was joining the Iraq War three days before the invasion.
Suella Braverman - stated the Rwanda bill was ‘fundamentally fatally flawed’ in January 2024 AFTER she was fired as Home Secretary
How has CMR been eroded in recent years?
Cameron - allowing MPs to campaign ‘Remain’ or ‘Leave’ the EU in January 2016 because of a divided government of Eurosceptics and Europhiles.
What are the functions of the PM?
- Head of the government - responsible for all government departments and can create, destroy or merge new ones.
- Commander-in-chief - decides whether or not to deploy the army to any foreign intervention or war e.g. Blair and Iraq
- Party Leader
What is another of the PM’s powers?
Patronage - ability to appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers.
What influences a PM’s appointments?
- Reward Loyalty and allies
- Balance political views in the govt - factions e.g. Theresa May’ s in 2017
- Diverse and representative of voters
- Keep control over rivals and stop them from rebelling from the backbenches
