UK Executive Flashcards
What is the cabinet?
Group of 20-25 senior ministers and chaired by PM
Key decision-making body in the UK government
Primus inter pares
Latin term, meaning ‘first amongst equals’
What departments make up the executive?
- PM
- Cabinet
- Civil service
- Cabinet Office
What are cabinet committees?
Specialist subdivisions of the cabinet which have fewer members and who focus on specific policy areas
4 key roles of the core executive
- Making policy
- Passing legislation
- Financing
- National first responder
What is the executive’s role in passing legislation?
- All acts are discussed and approved at the cabinet level before going to Parliament
- Appoint government whips
What are patronage powers?
Ability of the PM to appoint individuals to key offices
Where do most executive powers derive from?
The royal prerogative
Main powers of the executive
- Patronage powers
- Deployment of UK armed forces
- International relations
- Making/ratifying treaties
- Organisation of civil service
- Direction during national emergencies
Example of a PM forming policy without it passing through Parliament
In 2020, Boris Johnson instructed people to “stay at home” and released COVID guidelines, however, the Coronavirus Act had not passed through Parliament so there was no legal backing for these rules for a few weeks
Are the prerogative powers significant? - YES
- Deployment of armed forces is a very important power
- PMs have few restrictions over who they want in cabinet (unlike US)
- Play a key role in treaty negotiation and international relations with little parliamentary approval
Are the prerogative powers significant? - NO
- Convention requires the PM to ask parliament to approve military action
- PMs are limited to choosing MPs to be ministers (unlike US)
- Require parliament to pass laws (no executive orders)
What is “sofa government”?
Coined during Blair years; preferring to have smaller, informal meetings with a few ministers over big cabinet discussions
What were the “wets” and “dries” in Thatcher’s cabinet?
Dissenters = “wets”
Supporters = “dries”
Thatcher was known for keeping her dissenters out of influential positions
What is the inner cabinet?
A small core of cabinet minsters that the PM particularly relies on for regular advice or support
What is “spatial leadership”?
When there is a sense of distance between the PM and the rest of their cabinet, as they stick to close advisors instead
Example of an inner cabinet?
“The Quad” during the Lib-Con coalition, with Cameron, Clegg, Osborne and Danny Alexander (Lib Dem treasury guy)
What are SpAds?
Special advisors to ministers. Have considerable influence given they are unelected
Examples of famous SpAds?
- Alistair Campbell for Blair
- Dominic Cummings for Johnson
How many SpAds did Boris Johnson appoint?
108
Example of a weak PM due to a lack of cabinet support
Theresa May could not pass her Chequers deal due to a deeply divided cabinet. 2 ministers then resigned (David Davis and Bojo)
“The PM’s role has increased recently” - YES
- Bypass cabinet meetings in favour of bilateral ones
- Increased use of SpAds
- Growth of “celebrity culture”, with Insta pages and TV debates
“The PM’s role has increased recently” - NO
- No formal changes to powers
- Some weak PMs (May, Cameron)
- Influence of SpAds exaggerated
What are some sources of policies?
- Manifesto promises
- Personal convictions of the PM
- Outcome of referendum
- Deal with coalition party
- Response to national crisis
- Mounting political pressure
- Changing social attitudes
Example of a policy which stemmed from a manifesto promise
Free childcare extended from 15 to 30 hours a week, from 2017 Conservative manifesto
Example of a policy which stemmed from a PM’s personal convictions
Thatcher’s economic policies, e.g. Right to Buy and privitisation
Example of a policy which stemmed from a referendum outcome
Brexit!
(The referendum was promised to end Tory party squabbling)
Example of a policy which stemmed from a coalition deal
AV referendum
What did the Coronavirus Act 2020 actually put into law?
Restrictions and fines for those breaching lockdown rules
Until the act actually passed, people just followed Johnson’s advice
Example of a policy which stemmed from growing public pressure
In 2019, the government promised to cut carbon emissions to around 0 by 2050
What was the poll-tax?
Plan to change some council taxes to a flat rate
How did people resist the poll tax?
- Refusal to pay
- Major riots in London (100 injuries)
What caused Thatcher’s resignation?
- Poll tax was a policy failure, with widespread refusal from the public to pay
- Michael Hesiltine triggered a leadership contest and Thatcher did not receive enough party support to win the first ballot
Which cabinet ministers resigned following the decision to invade Iraq?
Robin Cooke
Clare Short
Why did May call an early election in 2017?
- Gain some legitimacy as she was an unelected leader
- Needed a mandate and larger majority for her Brexit deal
- Polling looked optimistic for the Conservatives
Result of 2017 election for Conservatives
Net loss of 13 seats, not giving them a majority
Institutional powers of No 10
- Appointing and dismissing ministers
- Chairing cabinet meetings
- Dictating policy priorities
- Issuing honours such as life peerages
How many cabinet ministers did Johnson remove when he became PM?
11
What must Prime Ministers consider when picking their cabinet?
- Diversity
- Managing different political factions
How many ministerial positions did Cameron give to the Lib Dems in their coalition deal?
5
What is collective responsibility?
Requirement that all members of the cabinet and government must support the PM and government policy in public
Example of Blair and Brown disagreeing
Blair could never persuade Brown to adopt the Euro
Example of a cabinet committee
Covid-19 strategy
What are cabinet committees?
Smaller groups of ministers who take on specific policy areas
What is the Cabinet Office?
Part of the civil service which supports the PM
How many civil servants work for the PM?
Around 2,000
Result of 2022 no-confidence motion for Boris Johnson
211 supported PM
148 against PM
What caused Boris Johnson to resign?
The resignation of key ministers such as Sunak and Javid following Partygate and Pincher scandal
How many HoL peerages did Cameron and May give out?
- 136 Conservative
- 59 Labour
Who did Johnson appoint to the HoL which caused nepotism allegations?
Jo Johnson (his brother)
Why do secretaries of state have little independence?
They are hired and sacked by the PM so must fundamentally follow their wishes
Why was Gavin Williamson sacked as defence secretary in 2019?
Allegedly leaking to the press details from a National Security Council meeting about potential threats of letting Chinese companies build our 5G network
Does cabinet government still exist? - YES
- Meet regularly with PM to discuss and critique policy
- Senior cabinet members can be impossible to sack, e.g. Gordon Brown or Boris Johnson
- A large number of cabinet resignations indicates a PM is weak
Does cabinet government still exist? - NO
- Many decisions made by cabinet committees or in bilateral meetings
- Cabinet ministers are appointed by PM and therefore feel required to follow their lead
What is individual ministerial responsibility?
The requirement that all ministers are responsible for their own actions while in public office
What is ministerial accountability?
The convention that ministers must explain and justify their actions and decisions before parliament/committees
Why is collective ministerial responsibility important?
Without it, governments would be seen as chaotic and divided
Examples of collective ministerial responsibility being suspended
- 2016 Brexit referendum
- 2011 AV referendum
- 2013 vote on gay marriage
Why do PMs choose to suspend collective ministerial responsibility?
Some issues can be very divisive and personal for ministers, allowing them to vote freely without them losing their job prevents mass resignations
Main reasons for ministerial resignations
- Accepting responsibility for their department’s failure
- Unwillingness to accept collective responsibility
- Personal misconduct
- Inability to deliver a policy promise
Example of a minister resigning due to department failure
Claire Perry resigned as railways minister in 2016 as her department could not deal with reliability and overcrowding issues
Which two Labour frontbenchers resigned over the Iraq War?
Robin Cook and Clare Short
Why did Iain Duncan Smith resign from Cameron’s government in 2016?
He said the £4bn cuts to disability benefits were “indefensable”
Example of a minister resigning due to failure to deliver a policy promise
In 2018 sports minister Tracey Crouch resigned over delays to crackdown on fixed-odd betting machines which was a Conservative manifesto promise
Why did Sajid Javid resign in Feb 2020 as chancellor?
Johnson had requested him to fire his team of aides, which he refused to do
What constitutional work sets out the way ministers should behave?
The Ministerial Code
Example of a minister resigning due to personal misconduct
Matt Hancock had to resign after it was discovered he had broken his own lockdown rules by having an affair with a colleague. This breaches the honesty principle of the ministerial code.
Why was Dominic Raab forced to resign in 2023?
He was found to breach the integrity principle of the ministerial code by bullying staff
Example of an MP who did NOT resign after breaching the ministerial code
Priti Patel was found guilty of bullying and swearing at civil servants, yet maintained her position as Home Secretary
Why was Priti Patel forced to step down as international development secretary in 2017?
She had taken 14 unofficial meetings with Israeli officials as well as
Is the executive accountable to Parliament? - YES
- Subject to regular questioning at PMQs
- Expected to follow standards set out in Ministerial Code
- Ministers appear before select committees
- Weak PMs can be defeated by Parliament
Is the ministerial code codified?
No
Is the executive accountable to Parliament? - NO
- PMQs is largely ineffective at actual scrutiny and is more about getting media coverage
- Ministerial code is not codified and does not need to be followed
- Select committees cannot force someone to attend
- Good party discipline means the executive rarely faces parliamentary defeats
