UK Government; The Executive - Making policy case studies Flashcards
1
Q
Factors that affect policy making
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- Manifesto pledges and promises
- Personal convictions of the prime minister / party leader (usually reflected in the manifesto)
- Outcome of referendums
- Results of deals with minority/other coalition parties
- Responses to national crises and emergency situation, including economic foreign affairs and medical
- Mounting pressure from the public and the media
- Changing social and cultural attitudes
2
Q
Types of policy
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PERSONAL POLITICAL POPULAR EXTERNAL SOCIAL
3
Q
Manifesto pledge - Extending free childcare
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Theresa May - Conservatives (2017)
- In their manifesto, the Conservatives promised to offer working parents of 3 and 4 year olds 30 hours of free childcare a week rather than 15 hours
- This was primarily designed to increase the number of parents in work (and therefore paying taxes and contribution to the nation’s economy) who might otherwise not be able to afford the cost of additional childcare
- It was also felt that some young children might benefit from the opportunities for socialisation and would be taught basic skills by nurseries or childminders
- Only those earning less than £100,000 would be eligible
- This scheme was rolled out and in operation by September 2017
Types - Personal, Popular, Social
4
Q
Personal convictions of the PM - Privatisation and sale of council houses
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1979 - Margaret Thatcher - Conservatives
- Thatcher came to power with many clear ideas and principles, often cited as the classic example of a ‘conviction politician’ (strong pre-existing ideas on many issues)
- She believed that the benefits of a property-owning democracy alongside a desire to roll back or shrink the state
- She pursued this through her policies between 1979-1990, with council house tenants were given the ‘Right to Buy’ which enabled them to buy their houses at a substantially reduced rate from local councils
- As a result, in 1981, England and Wales had 5.4 million households in social or council housing and by 1991 that figure had dropped by 900,000 to 4.5 million
- In addition, many nationalised such as British Telecom, the gas and electricity companies and the coal mines were sold off and privatised, and the public often encouraged to purchase shares at a discount
- This policy was largely continued by subsequent governments both Labour and Conservative - under Tony Blair, the air traffic control system was privatised whilst Thatcher’s successor, John Major, saw the railways and electricity generating companies sold off
Types - Personal, Popular, Social
5
Q
Outcome of a referendum - Brexit
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2015 - David Cameron (Conservative), Theresa May (Conservative), Boris Johnson (Conservative)
- In one of the manifesto pledges he came to regret - Cameron promised to hold a referendum on the UK’s continued membership of the EU and this went ahead in 2016, resulting in a Leave result
- Cameron resigned and Theresa May was left with the challenge of implementing this decision, and the very referendum result itself was very unusual as the outcome represented support for policy that was personally opposed by the PM and a large majority of MPs
- As someone who voted Remain, May nevertheless pledged to uphold the referendum result and therefore her approach was to implement a policy about which she had obvious personal qualms but was duty-bound to fulfil the wishes of the British public
- Her policy-making was the opposite of the ‘conviction’ approach and largely about democratic duty but despite her best efforts, her attempts to see Brexit through failed, and this led to her resignation in June 2019 and succession by Boris Johnson, who succeeded
Types - Popular and Political
6
Q
Deals with minority / coalition parties - The 2011 AV referendum
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2011 - Coalition government - David Cameron and Nick Clegg
- They aimed to have a common policy plan and offer political stability in the aftermath of the 2008-09 financial crisis, therefore representing a compromise between the manifesto promises of each party
- Among these terms was a promise to hold a referendum on the voting system for Westminster elections, and the LibDems supported electoral reform and a more proportional system as opposed to FPTP, which discriminates against smaller parties like themselves
- The policy adopted as part of the Coalition Agreement, was a promise to hold a national referendum on adopting the alternative vote; this was not proportional but did represent a degree of electoral reform
- Without any great enthusiasm or high levels of public engagement, the proposal was decisively defeated by a ⅔ majority in a low turnout of just 41%, in contrast to the 65% turnout for the 2010 general election
- Electoral reform was not implemented and the FPTP system was retained
Types - Political
7
Q
Responses to emergencies - Coronavirus pandemic
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2020 - Boris Johnson
- In early 2020 it became clear that the world was facing an unprecedented coronavirus pandemic
- All PMs and governments face unexpected issues requiring swift and deft responses
- In recent times the global financial meltdown of 2008-09 and the 7/7 bombings in London tested Gordon Brown’s government
- May’s government was confronted with several IS terror attacks, including the Manchester Arena suicide bombing in 2017
- Events such as these require the PM to appear calm, reassuring, and decisive
- Emergency legislation often needs to be passed
PMs must be seen to react and respond
- They often make up policy as they go along
- No postwar PM has had to face an event as complex as the COVID-19 pandemic
- Johnson’s reaction had to be measured, clear and immediate
- It was initially unclear how deadly the virus would be
- The early stages of the government’s response were somewhat limited as it advised against overseal travel
- Schools, shops, leisure and hospitality facilities remained open
- Government policy became far more extensive and draconian in an effort to protect the economy, support those in financial need, and undertake a huige mobilisation of health resources
Types - External, Social, Political, Popular
8
Q
Pressure from public and media - Climate Change
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2008 - current, 2008 - Brown, 2019 - Johnson/May
- One of the most significant popular movements in recent times has been the campaign for drastic action to deal with climate change and carbon emissions
- Pressure groups (eg. Extinction Rebellion) often use direct action to draw attention to the issue
- High-profile individuals such as Greta Thuneburg attract large followings
- Thunberg’s strategy of global climate strikes by school children was embraced in the UK often with support from parents and teachers
- Highlighting of ecological issues has affected recent government policy and added a greater sense of urgency to plans to reduce carbon emissions
- In 2019 the UK government pledged to cut greenhouse gas emissions to almost 0 by 2050
- Theresa May said there was a “moral duty to leave this world in a better condition that what we inherited”
- Previously the government had pledges an 80% reduction under the Climate Change Act 2008
- This further change of policy would suggest public opinion had an influence
- The policy shift was also partly the result of the government’s own independent advisor on climate change, the Committee on Climate Change (CCC)
Type - Political, Social, Popular
9
Q
Changing cultural and social attitudes - Liberalisation of public attitudes in the 1960s
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1964 - 1970 - Harold Wilson - Labour
- Rapid social change largely unprompted by the governments of the day
- Liberalisation of attitudes towards sex, marriage, and women’s rights
- Governments can ignore, delay or embrane new trends
- Most governments, being pragmatic, tend towards the the latter approach
- They are usually somewhat cautious and anxious to lose votes amongst traditionally minded voters
- They may also be concerned about dividing their own parties over such matters
- Under Harold Wilson, changed in social outlook were reflected in legal changes
- Legalised abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy
- Ending the death penalty
- Decriminilising male homosexuality (for various reasons it was never illegal for women)
- Made divorce easier with the Divorce Reform Act 1969
- Many of these measures were enacted by PMBs but with government support
- Policy-making can often reflect, reactively rather than proactively, wider changed in social and cultural attitudes
Type - Social
10
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Thatcher and the Poll Tax 1990
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- Domestic rates was a property-based tax that helped fund local councils. Not payable by renters or lodgers, but the homeowners or landlords. The amount paid did not necessarily reflect someones’ ability to pay or income as it was a tax on property.
- As it was a tax not paid by many residents, they had few problems voting for councils (often Labour run) that promised high levels of spending as they would not be affected personally by any increase in the rates.
- There was a strong desire to spread the burden of payment for local services such as schools and refuse collection.
- Tories long wished to reform domestic rates (included in 1987 manifesto) to replace them with a flat-rate tax payable by nearly all adults (formally the community charge) known as the poll tax.
- Following Thatcher’s third successive election victory in 1987, a bill was easily passed to implement the community charge- first in Scotland for 1989 and then to be rolled out the rest of Great Britain the following year.
11
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Thatcher and the Poll Tax 1990 - Evaluations
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- Widely regarded as Thatcher’s biggest political misjudgement and it hastened the end of her time as PM:
- The new tax had proved very unpopular in Scotland when it was introduced there, yet this did not appear to deflect the ‘Iron Lady’ .
- Major poll tax riots broke out in London and elsewhere in March 1990, often ending in violence. There were 100 injuries and 400 arrests following the anti-poll tax rally in central London.
- Major civil disobedience of non-payment.
- The poll tax proved difficult to collect (people can more easily move or disappear) high rates of evasion and it proved costly to administer.
- The new tax was easily parodied in parts of the media, where its opponents seized on the ‘duke and dustman’ analogy, namely that the duke in his mansion would pay the same as the man who emptied the duke’s bins.
Internal opposition within Thatcher’s own party sparked a leadership challenge against her by former cabinet minister Michael Heseltine. Thatcher failed to win sufficient votes in the first ballot to be assured of final victory and was, somewhat reluctantly, persuaded to step down rather than face the possible ignominy of defeat in the second ballot. - There was evidence that the economy was weakening, and Tory opinion poll numbers were slipping.
12
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Thatcher and the Poll Tax 1990 - Long-term impact
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Long-term impacts:
- Ended up being swiftly replaced by John Major with the council tax, acting as a property-based tax - it proved how important the popularity of the Prime Minister was to the longevity of partially unpopular policy
- Highlighted growing concerns within her own party of her inability or unwillingness to listen to others, shown by the disloyalty of a supportive backbencher, Ralph Howell, sought to raise the issue with the PM on behalf of his constituents - this in turn resulted in her ignoring the request for a meeting, and therefore impacting her standing to both the general public and to other close politicians
- Powerful Prime Ministers are able to push through policy, but it highlights the dangers that can result from rejecting the advice of political allies and natural supporters
- For some of the Conservative Party, the policy represented ‘a final straw’ of her leadership, coming to an nd amid growing fears that the whole party would be in danger at the 1992 election
- Impacted the standing of the Conservative Party and how they worked in consensus with the public - popularity is the major limitation on Executive power, as despite being able to legislatively have power, without popularity their influence is reduced and rebellion grows, and so policy has more power over the PM
13
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Blair and Iraq War 2003
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- Committing the armed forces to combat ones is always a risky move for prime ministers. When it goes well, and casualties are low and it is both militarily and strategically successful, it can offer a major political boost.
- This was the case, for example, with Thatcher and the Falklands War. When it goes badly, not only is the prime minister made to look weak and to possess poor judgement, but there is also the moral dimension of lives lost for no positive purpose.
- For Blair, the Iraq War significantly coloured his legacy. When approached by US president George W. Bush to commit troops to a US-led invasion of Iraq. Blair obliged. He justified UK involvement on the moral grounds of the removal of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) and discredited intelligence reports that these could be launched within 45 minutes.
- The UK was almost alone among EU and NATO states in joining the USA in the war. It would have been relatively easy for the UK to follow the example of France and Germany and stay on the sidelines.
- As it happened, formal military victory was largely straightforward, and Iraq’s dictator Saddam Hussein was soon removed. Far less easy, however, was the creation of a peaceful and stable successor state.
- Iraq descended into bloody civil war, the entire region was destabilised and fertile seeds were sown for the later rise of fundamentalist militant groups such as IS.
- In addition, over 180 British lives were lost - alongside, lest we forget, thousands of Iraqis - and no WMDs were found. There were also allegations of human rights abuses committed by British soldiers on Iraqi civilians and prisoners.
- Large scale anti war protests took place across the UK, and opinion polls showed a sharp slump in public trust of Blair. His standing in the Labour Party was badly damaged
14
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Blair and Iraq War 2003, Evaluations
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- There was no pressure within the cabinet or the wider party, or indeed the public, for UK troops to be mobilised. There was no sense that national security was imminently threatened by Iraq.
- The decision was largely the result of Blair wanting to cement his strong personal relationship with Bush, and to deepen the ’coalition of the willing’.
- A series of official reports after the war, such as the 2004 report by Lord Butler and the 2016 Chilcot Report, were highly critical of government actions, especially those taken by Blair personally. It transpired that although the cabinet was briefed many times on the situation in Iraq beforehand, ministers were denied access to key papers.
- Blair’s preference for informal collective discussion and decision making. Blair also disregarded security warnings, and criticism that the legal basis for going to war had not been fully evaluated. There was also apparently scant discussion of other policy options, such as working more in tandem with European neighbours or through the UN. Blair was left without much, if any, political or diplomatic cover, especially when the non-existence of WMDs emerged.
15
Q
The power of the PM and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy making - Blair and Iraq War 2003, Long-term Impact
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- This led to a new convention within British politics to seek parliamentary approval for military action, and the lack of success with this military decision has caused a reluctance of current governments to deploy ground forces in the same area of the world, and was seen in the Syrian Airstrikes decision by Cameron in 2013
- Military action became a source of major public scrutiny following this, and larger determinant in the popularity of the PM - wartime and emergency decisions are controlled by the Executive, but it is again an issue of popularity; failure to be successful in an emergency can impact power
- Future war policy is dictated based on what happened in this instance, and so it had a long term impact on emergency policy making and also the decisions surrounding war and also has impacted international relations
- Scrutiny of wartime decisions increased due to the misinformation about the justification for the war
- When Prime Ministers seek to dictate events and determine policy-making, they need to be extremely careful and have an effective political ‘antennae’ and manage risks carefully, whether socially, politically or economically
- Tony Blair’s popularity decreased exponentially following the events of this policy, and resulted in his resignation - popular opinion was shown to be determinant in the impact of unpopular policy by removing those who instilled it, and electing those who remove it
