UK- PM + cabinet Flashcards
Main Functions of the Executive
3
- Propose legislation: most legislation that is put to Parliament comes from the government through the cabinet, often based on manifesto promises.
- Propose a budget: this is done by the Chancellor, following negotiations with other departments and in cabinet.
- Make policy decisions: the cabinet sets the legislative and policy direction of government. Ministers will base decisions on this, and will publically support government policy.
Informal powers of the PM
5
Patronage: the ability to hire-and-fire government ministers (and make other appointments)
Control over the cabinet: the PM decides when and how long the cabinet meets for, the agenda for discussion, and who sits on cabinet committees
Party leadership: the PM leads their party and so has authority over it
Prime Minister’s and Cabinet Office: these provide institutional support to the PM, including ‘spads’ (special advisers)
Media access: as head of government, the PM gets considerable media exposure. The media treat the PM as the ‘face of government’ and focus on them
Executive
Explain and analyse three prerogative powers of the prime minister
Intro: perogative powers-powers that once belonged to the monarch and now preside with the PM (primus inter pares)
1-Patronage. ability to appoint key officials . different pm choose to have different styles. Johnson’s yes men or may who had to include btoh leavers and remainers in her cabinet
2-Shaping policy. emergancy laws passed in 2020 coronavirus act. had significantly less debating time and less scrutinisation due to bojo using his perogative powers to shorten the time deicated to the bill in order to pass it quickly.
3-Deployment of armed forces. 2003 iraq war under blair , however was put to a vote in the commons before deploying troops but the pm does not neccessarily have to put to a vote
parliment
Explain and analyse three constraints on the power of prime ministers
Intro: the pm has perogative powers , powers that once belonged to the monarch which now reside with the pm eg declare war ,ratify treaties
1-Cabinet restraints. Can’t make legislation without support. ‘Big Beasts’ such as Hunt under rhishi , must make concessions with the chancellor as he controls the funding for policies
2-House of lords. can delay bills for up to 2 years in whichtime it can be riddled with ammendments. The Internal Market Bill 2020 where the government suffered a heavy loss in the lords
3-Backbench rebellions. with rebellions the pm no longer has a full majority so is harder to force through legislation .Brexit. bojos 21 who he expelled from the party after they rebelled .
Explain and analyse three roles of the prime minster
1: setting legislative agenda. Thatcher played an active role in many policy fields - 1982 Falklands War or poll tax , Blair was involved in beginning the Iraq war , Cameron Libya 2011- Represent the UK in international affair
2: being the national first responder. Handling of the COVID 19 crisis required the input from departments overseeing health, the police and armed forces, education as well as the Treasury. PM can often also rely on the support of the Commons. After the 2005 terrorist attacks, the Labour government proposed the detention of terrorists but this was rejected by the Commons
3: Power over cabinet. Blair- New Labour politicians dominated his cabinet, Theresa May- many remainers but also Boris, Davis and Fox given positions to deal with Brexit, May got rid of Gove and Osborne - authority in Cabinet, Agenda setting - May established a New Economy and Industrial Strategy Scheme.
Explain and analyse three roles of the cabinet
1: Formal policy approval. policy must be approved by the cabinet in order to become official govt. policy (however major policy decisions can be made w/out consulting cabinet - Blair May 1997 Bank of England in setting interest rates only consulted Gordon B )
2: Policy co-ordination. the cabinet serves to ensure ministers know what is going on in other dept.’s - help join up govt. at senior level eg the chancellor will often discuss with any department in need of funding
3: Symbol of collective government. all decisions help maintain the collective ‘face of UK government’ - collective ministerial responsibility, robin cook
What is a Cabinet Government
Government is dominated by Cabinet, and the PM is accountable to them
Collective Responsibility
Cabinet cannot publicly disagree with the decisions they make
Individual Ministerial
Responsibility
Holds ministers responsible for their own conduct and the conduct of their department- e.g.
Lord Carrington’s resignation in light of the Argentinian invasion of the Falklands
Explain and analyse three key aspects of cabinet committees
1: Decision making on big issues of the day, committee for economy
2: Create strategy, Olympic games
2011/2012 committee on creating strategy for the set up of the games
3: Reducing the burden of cabinet as a whole, National security council
Explain and Analyse three reasons why a cabinet ministers might be forced to resign’ (9 marks)
1: Blame for an error in their department. Thomas Dougdale-issues with land purchases during the war, he took responsibility despite the civil servants being at fault
2: Unwillingness to accept collective ministerial responsibility. Robin Cook and Clare Short resigned over the Iraq war/ Johnson resigned after Mays Brexit agreement
3: Personal misconduct. Owen Patterson resigned after accepting triple his pay from lobbyists
‘Explain and Analyse three arguments in support of the view that the cabinet remains an effective decision-making body’
1: Registering and ratifying decisions taken elsewhere in the cabinet system, cabinet committees
2: Discussing or making decisions on major issues, the cabinet remains the ultimate decision-making body in the government, its role is more significant when: issues are especially important or sensitive, major or unexpected developments require a rapid decision, government departments and ministerial committees have been unable to reach agreement e.g. 2016 - 2020 Brexit.
3: If PMs lose cabinet support it will likely lead to their downfall, if a whole cabinet is in agreement they can force PM to resign e.g. 1990 Margaret Thatcher and Geoffrey Howe (resignation was in 1989), Theresa May 2019 over Brexit.
Explain and analyse three functions of cabinet
1: Report on current issues. 1992:
Morning after ‘Black Wednesday’ when Major met with his Cabinet over the EEM - initially supported re-joining it as it had brought low inflation rates. The Cabinet met in various forms 3 times in one week in response to the violence in Libya 2010.
2: Settling disputes. cabinet should be a place where each department can resolve any discrepancies e.g. Westland helicopter affair Defence Secretary Michael Heseltine resigns his Cabinet job after a row with Prime Minister Margaret thatcher
3: Making decisions. cabinet is a place where policy can be discussed and strategies can be made e.g. When in
2011 there was a debate between Liam Fox and David Cameron over Defence Spending, the issue was thrashed out in Cabinet meetings.
Explain and analyse three styles of PM
leadership
1: Presidential. Quad under the coalition of 2015, Johnson, removing Sajid Javid’s advisor to centralise advisors around Dominic Cummings, introducing a less experienced politician (Sunak) to make the Treasury more easily dominated. Growing focus of the media on the personality of the PM - TV Leadership debates, role of the PM in elections etc, Johnson’s appointment of a media chief of staff & No. 11 Media room to brief journalists
2: Cabinet government. popular with weak parties, Harold Wilson and john major- due to divisions in his party
3: Prime ministerial. focus on the PM as party leady and loyalty to the party rather than his equals- Brown and may before referendum
Explain and analyse three features of cabinet government
1: Cabinet minsters. heads of each government department E.g. senior ministers of the government, max is 22 ministers, e.g. the treasury: Rachel Reeves. David Lammy - Foreign secretary. Yvette Cooper - Home Secretary. they must be MP’s, some can come from House of Lords e.g. Lord Cameron under rishi sunak .
2: Cabinet committees. most decisions are made in cabinet committees including: ministerial standing committees (have considerable autonomy), ministerial sub committees, ad hoc committees, implementation task forces e.g. those used by Cameron and May to track progress on policies that cross departmental boundaries. Blair and May prioritised committees.
3: Cabinet office. created in 1916, supports the cabinet system/prime minister and managing the civil servants, cabinet secretariat regulates and coordinates cabinet business/organises agenda e.g. The head of the civil service Simon Case attends cabinet meetings as their secretary.
