Evaluate The View That Prime Ministers Are Able To Dominate The Cabinet.

Question 1

P1: Agree Patronage

Answer 1

1. An effective Prime Minister uses their patronage powers to shape the cabinet This strengthens their authority and helps marginalize potential rivals or factions that might destabilize their leadership.
2. Liz Truss became PM, she removed key Johnson allies like Priti Patel, Nadine Dorries, and Dominic Raab.
3. Starmer’s cabinet mainly consists of loyal allies with few “big beasts,” allowing him to dominate the cabinet and limit leaks or leadership challenges, despite low personal popularity.
4. PMs also maintain control by threatening or executing sackings for ministers who undermine CMR, such as Sunak sacking Suella Braverman in November 2023 after she published an article criticizing the police’s handling of protests—seen as a direct challenge to his authority.

Question 2

P1: Disagree Big Beasts

Answer 2

1. Theresa May’s cabinet included both Brexiteers like Boris Johnson and Remainers like Jeremy Hunt to maintain party unity.
2. Strong PMs like Tony Blair had to share power with influential figures like Chancellor Gordon Brown, who restricted Blair’s plans on the European Single Currency, 5 economic tests would have to be passed and treasury determine when they had been met.
3. Boris Johnson leaked against Theresa May’s government but was not sacked due to his popularity and her weakness, showing she couldn’t fully dominate the cabinet.

Question 3

P2: Agree PM Dominate Cabinet Blair and Starmer

Answer 3

1. TB and GB negotiated with each other to determine economic policy, whilst Blair often used bi-lateral meetings with important ministers to determine policy on a particular area, as he felt he could use them to talk ministers around
   to his view.
2. Increased use of Special Advisers (SPADs), allowing them to set policy in advance and simply announce it in cabinet meetings.
3. John Major had just 8 special advisors, but by 2005 Tony Blair had thirty.
4. By the end of the summer of 2024, Starmer had already appointed over 20 special advisers working for number 10 and over 80 working across government. Chief of Staff McSweeney reportedly has a lot of power.
5. Blair used the Strategy Unit and using the Delivery Unit to monitor the delivery of policy across government, especially Health and Education.

Question 4

P2: Bypass cabinet May and Boris

Answer 4

1. Theresa May used the Brexit Committee to make key decisions on the UK’s exit from the EU, while Boris Johnson relied on the COVID-19 Strategy Committee to handle pandemic restrictions, giving significant influence to Matt Hancock and Michael Gove.
2. Special advisor Dominic Cummings held a very significant amount
   of power in BJ government, arguably far more than any cabinet minister or
   other member of government.
   BJ even took a significant hit to his governmentʼs popularity to defend
   Cummings after he broke COVID rules by driving from London to Barnard Castle.

Question 5

P2: Cannot bypass cabinet

Answer 5

1. PMs can bypass cabinet to an extent, their ability to dominate policy is limited, core executive model.
2. TM depended on hardline Brexiteers like BJ and the DUP, which pushed her towards a harder Brexit due to their influence.
3. RS gave significant autonomy to Jeremy Hunt (who announced major policies like the 2023 NI tax cut) and David Cameron, who led UK efforts on international crises (led the UK in peace negotiations on Israel-Palestine and UK-US response to Houthi attacks in Yemen).
4. DC, during the coalition years, had to consult Nick Clegg to ensure cross-party cabinet support.
5. COVID-19, BJ relied heavily on ministers like Matt Hancock and aimed to project unity through joint cabinet action.

Question 6

P3: PM Develop Personal Popularity Agree

Answer 6

1. Michael Foley’s concept of ‘Spatial Leadership’, where PMs act more like presidents distancing themselves from their party/government and using media to build a direct relationship with voters.
2. BJ in 2019 distanced himself from the Cs’ 9-year record and rebranded himself as a change candidate, helping win over former L voters in the Red Wall.
3. TB mastered media relations, gained strong public support, and used that popularity to centralise control—especially in health and education policy—early in his premiership.

Question 7

P3: Despite Personal Popularity Still Need Support

Answer 7

1. Despite PM ability to dominate, their power is limited by their reliance on the party and cabinet to deliver policy and pass legislation.
2. May, Johnson, and Truss were all forced out by their cabinets and party after becoming unpopular with the public.
3. Margaret Thatcher, despite having a large majority, was removed after pushing the Poll Tax without cabinet support or proper consultation. Her conviction politics and sidelining of others led to her downfall.