Evaluate The View That The Power Of The Prime Minister Has Decreased Since 2010.

Question 1

P1: Agree Cannot Control Their Cabinet

Answer 1

1. Loss of control over cabinets, with frequent leaks, resignations, and breakdowns in collective ministerial responsibility—especially when PMs become unpopular.
2. Theresa May couldn’t control her cabinet; Boris Johnson leaked and criticised her openly but she couldn’t sack him due to his popularity. Ministers regularly voted against May’s Brexit policy.
   3.Boris Johnson and Liz Truss were both forced to resign after key cabinet resignations and collapsing support.
3. Truss tried to act decisively like Blair had, but lacked the popularity or authority to do so and was removed after just 54 days

Question 2

P1: Disagree More Control over Cabinet

Answer 2

1. Prime Ministerial power has not decreased since 2010, as both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer have shown strong control over their cabinets.
2. Sunak faced little internal challenge after sacking Suella Braverman in 2023, as there were no major faction leaders (“big beasts”) left in his cabinet.
3. Starmer, despite being very unpopular (−40% favourability in Feb 2025), has faced limited leaking and no real challenge to his authority. A large 174-seat majority giving him legislative strength;
4. pre-2010 Prime Ministers also lacked full control: Thatcher was removed by her cabinet, and John Major struggled with cabinet divisions over Europe.

Question 3

P2: Agree Prerogative Power

Answer 3

1. Erosion of traditional prerogative powers, which once belonged to the monarch but are now exercised by the PM.
2. Since 2010, it’s become convention for the House of Commons to approve major military interventions. In 2013, David Cameron lost a vote on airstrikes in Syria and was forced to back down.
3. The 2011 Fixed-Term Parliaments Act removed the PM’s power to call snap elections at will, requiring a vote of no confidence or two-thirds of MPs to approve an early election.
4. Power to enforce CMR has eroded. Lib Dem ministers were exempt from collective responsibility on four key issues (e.g. nuclear power, Trident). This convention was also suspended during the EU referendum, with ministers like Michael Gove openly opposing government policy.

Question 4

P2: Disagree Can Still Use Prerogative Power

Answer 4

1. 2023, Rishi Sunak appointed David Cameron as Foreign Secretary by making him a peer, demonstrating the PM’s ability to override convention and use patronage freely.
2. January 2024, Sunak’s government carried out airstrikes in Yemen without parliamentary approval, breaking the convention of seeking consent before major military action.
3. Fixed-Term Parliaments Act: Early elections were still held in 2017 and 2019—and it was repealed in 2022, restoring the PM’s power to call snap elections.
4. CMR generally enforced. Sunak demonstrated this by sacking Suella Braverman in 2023 for breaching the ministerial code. Under Starmer, the convention has also been upheld with minimal leaking.

Question 5

P3: Agree PM Has Less Power Over Parliament

Answer 5

1. The Wright Reforms (2010): Select Committee chairs are now elected by MPs, making them more independent from the executive.
2. Emily Thornberry, a Labour backbencher, used her role as Foreign Affairs Committee Chair to criticise government policy on China and Russia.
3. Backbench Business Committee (BBBC) now controls 35 days per session, letting backbenchers set the agenda (e.g., a 2023 debate on NHS funding).
4. PMs like Cameron, May, and Johnson faced repeated Commons defeats:
   Cameron: 10 defeats total (7 in coalition, 3 with majority). May: 33 defeats, including a historic loss on her Brexit deal (432–202). Johnson: 12 defeats in 6 months with no majority, 4 more even with one.

Question 6

P3: Disagree PM’s Power Over Parliament Has Not Decreased

Answer 6

1. Despite low popularity, Sunak passed most legislation easily due to the 2019 Conservative majority. He suffered only one defeat and passed 76% of proposed bills in 2022/23, including the Illegal Migration Act and Online Safety Act.
2. Starmer, with a 174-seat majority (2024), has faced no issues passing laws so far. FPTP system and executive dominance mean even unpopular PMs can dominate Parliament.
3. In July 2024, Labour used a statutory instrument to change prisoner release rules (from 50% to 40% of sentence) — no full vote required.
4. In Feb 2025, the government reduced the foreign aid budget and reallocated funds to defence without new legislation — done via executive control of the spending review. (plus whips).