power and Cabinet

Question 1

in what ways does the PM have power over cabinet?

Answer 1

• collective responsibility (cabinet have to agree with the PM, and if they don’t, they are obligated to resign)
• PM has the power of patronage (the PM is the overall boss and can fire people and do as he wishes)
• in chairs cabinet meetings, the thoughts/ideas of the PM are discussed
• the royal prerogative: they can bypass the cabinet on some issues

Question 2

in what ways does the cabinet have power over the PM?

Answer 2

• a majority can overrule the PM, this can be through a vote of no confidence, or if the majority of cabinet resigns (e.g when Boris lost his government as most MPs resigned and Boris was forced to quit)
• if a PM has a small majority, cabinet receive more power
• if the PM has a small or non existent majority in the commons, the cabinet becomes more important in implementing their agenda

Question 3

how does party unity influence MP selection?

give an example

Answer 3

having a divided party makes it more difficult to run a party

(e.g. Boris removed all ‘soft Brexiteers’ from cabinet)

Question 4

how does experience influence MP selection?

give an example

Answer 4

having experienced ministers is good as it provides knowledgeable advice for the PM, but it could also mean that their power could lead to a large following and them taking over

(e.g. Boris gained a larger majority than Theresa May due to more experience, and then became PM)

Question 5

how does ability influence MP selection?

Answer 5

a PM would want talented MPs to apply their talents to their party

(e.g. Rishi Sunak performed well as chief secretary and was then made Chancellor in 2020)

Question 6

how do allies and advisers influence MP selection?

Answer 6

having close allies can help with advice and support in cabinet meetings/decisions (e.g David Cameron appointed George Osborne)

Question 7

how does diversity influence MP selection?

Answer 7

it is important that the nation as a whole feel represented, and it is also good to get a wide range of opinions within the party (e.g some female voters may look up to Theresa May being a female PM)

Question 8

what is meant when a PM acts ‘presidential’?

Answer 8

when a prime minister speaks to the public independently, not through the party

Question 9

how was Harold Wilson seen as presidential? (JFK)

Answer 9

he copied JFKs tactic of communicating directly to the public and gaining media popularity, for example, he met up with The Beatles and the cast of Coronation Street which gave him popularity as a PM

Question 10

what is spacial leadership?

Answer 10

when a PM distances from the party and creates their own space to secure a personal impression on the public

Question 11

how did Tony Blair achieve spacial leadership?

Answer 11

• referred to policy as if it were his own
• leading up to Iraq war in 2003, he would directly put cases on TV discussions/debates
• ‘this is the Britain I offer you’

Question 12

how was David Cameron seen as a presidential PM?

Answer 12

gay marriage: he appealed directly to the people, ignoring the interests of the cabinet ‘personally, I will be supporting it’
EU referendum: ‘I want to speak directly to the British people’

Question 13

the structure of the executive

Answer 13

split up into the prime minister, junior ministers and the civil service

Question 14

what is the prime minister ?

Answer 14

appointed by the monarch and is the head of the executive. they exercise the royal prerogative

Question 15

who is the cabinet ?

Answer 15

the senior people in the executive, made up of senior ministers who run government departments. they are also in charge of approving policy and settling disputes within government

Question 16

who are junior ministers? give an example

Answer 16

members of the executive who assist the senior minister in the running and policy decisions of a department.

for example, the education secretary will usually have 3 junior ministers (one for primary education, one for secondary education and one for universities and higher education)

Question 17

who are the civil service?

Answer 17

permanent officials who carry out day to day running of departments. they do not make policies themselves, but they advise and enact policy decisions made by ministers

Question 18

who are civil servants? give an example of when a civil servant has had to resign

Answer 18

give political adivce to a minister. they are not elected or accountable. however, if they are seen to be changing official policy, their position can be questioned.

for example, Dominic Cummings was employed as chief of staff by Boris Johnson, and rather than him offering Bojo neutral advice, he appeared to be making decisions on policy, which lead to a forced resignation in late 2020

Question 19

what is royal prerogative?

Answer 19

A set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised
by the Prime Minister or Cabinet, such as the granting of honours or of legal pardons.

Question 20

what are the roles of the executive?

Answer 20

• proposing legislation
• proposing a budget
• making policy decisions within laws and the budget

Question 21

what are the roles of the executive?

proposing legislation

Answer 21

the executive will develop legisaltive proposals based on policy decisions of the ministers and advice of the civil service

Question 22

what is the role of the executive?

proposing a budget

Answer 22

the executive has to calculate how much money it will need to run the country and carry out proposed policies. each department will then be given a budget so they can carry out their work

Question 23

what is the role of the executive?

making policy decisions within laws and the budget

give an example

Answer 23

when legislation is passed, the executive has to work out how to use these in reality, and may have to change parts of an act to make them more workable in real life, this is called secondary legislation.

in terms of budget, the executive must act on a certain issue or crisis that arises and amend funding, for example, during the covid pandemic, there was the furlough scheme.

Question 24

what other important powers does the executive carry out?

Answer 24

• conduct foreign policy, including relations with other states and international bodies
• organise the defense for the country against external threats
• controlling and managing forces of law and order
• the PM can initiate legislation

Question 25

give an example of the royal prerogative being used in practice

Answer 25

Boris Johnson signed the EU ‘divorce treaty’ to break ties with the EU

Question 26

what is collective responsibility?

Answer 26

the idea that ministers must support cabinet decisions or leave the executive

Question 27

list the 5 principles of the doctrine of collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 27

1. ministers are all collectively responsible for all government policies
2. all ministers must publicly support all government policies, even if they privately disagree with them
3. if a minister wishes to dissent publicly from a government policy, they re expected to resign
4. if a minister dissents without resigning, they can be dismissed by the prime minister
5. as cabinet meetings are secret, any dissent within government is concealed

Question 28

what were 2 key exceptions to collective responsibility?

Answer 28

• the UK coalition in 2010 (lib dem and cons) - it would’ve been hard to get two parties to agree on one issue, therefore came the coalition agreement
• during the EU referendum, many ministers disagreed, like Micheal Gove

Question 29

what is individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 29

the responsibility ministers have individually for matters that affect their own department

Question 30

what is the doctrine of individual ministerial responsibility?

Answer 30

1. ministers are held accountable for policies/decisions made by their department through questionings in house, debates, interrogation by select committees etc
2. if a minister makes a serious error, they must resign
3. if a ministers department makes a huge error, they must resign, even if they weren’t involved in the decision
4. if they break the ministerial code of conduct, they should leave office and must face dismissal by the PM

Question 31

what is the ministerial code of conduct

Answer 31

rules of conduct determined by the PM, it consists of how the PM expects their government to behave. it involves collective responsibility, avoiding conflict, ethical considerations and engagement with parliament

Question 32

state 2 cabinet resignations due to individual ministerial responsibility

Answer 32

Sajid Javid: resigned in 2020 due to his disagreement with Boris’ demands of replacing his advisers with people chosen by him and Cummings, Javid was strongly against this due to his clash with Cummings

Priti Patel: she had arranged meetings with Israeli politicians, even their PM, without authorisation from the Foreign and Commonwealth office. this was a breach of the ministerial code. after her initial apology, she stayed in post, but there was news of two similar meetings happening shortly after, so she then resigned.

Question 33

state 2 resignations due to personal misconduct

Answer 33

Gavin Williamson: (as defence secretary) : sacked in relation to a leak to the press of a security council meeting

Priti Patel: resigned in 2020 due to claims of her bullying

Question 34

why is collective responsibility important?

Answer 34

it is a great support to prime ministerial power

Question 35

is collective responsibility a negative aspect of the UK political system?

3 arguments for

Answer 35

• puts too much power in the hands of the prime minister
• means that ministers cannot be honest about their views on policies
• resignations under the doctrine are dramatic events that may undermine government

Question 36

is collective responsibility a negative aspect of the UK political system?

arguments against

Answer 36

• creates a strongly united government
• the public are presented with a clear, single version of government policy
• although they cannot publicy debate, the confidentiality of cabinet means that ministers can enage in discussions in private