Prime Minister and the Cabinet

Question 1

What is the cabinet

Answer 1

• Committee of leading members of the government
• E.g Chancellor of the Exchequer

Question 2

How has the cabinet changed in recent years?

Answer 2

• Meetings not as long
• Only used for certain issues, e.g Brexit

Question 3

6 roles of the cabinet

Answer 3

• Formal policy approval
• Policy co ordination
• Resolving disputes
• Forum debate
• Party management
• Symbol of collective government

Question 4

Collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 4

• Ministers must support government policy in public and Parliament, collectively accountable to Parliament

Question 5

Individual ministerial responsibility

Answer 5

• Ministwrs responsible for all policies and decisions made in own department

Question 6

4 types of ministers

Answer 6

• Secretaries of state
• Ministers of state
• Parliamentary under secretaries of state
• Parliamentary private secretaries

Question 7

What are the roles of the Prime Minister?

Answer 7

• Government head
• Party head
• Decision maker
• International leadership
• Parliament role
• Chief communicator

Question 8

The Prime Minister has the power of patronage what does this mean?

Answer 8

-Has the power to appoint ministers to government positions and dismiss them from their roles.
- Can be through a cabinet ‘reshuffle’

Question 9

Strengths of patronage

Answer 9

• Enables PM to appoint ministers to cabinet with similar views to them
• Gives PM some control over cabinet ministers and MPs in Parliament as the PM strongly influences their political careers

Question 10

Factors influencing appointments

Answer 10

• More likely to appoint people with similar views
• Individuals who are well supported are chosen by PM to keep them on their side
• PM appoints ministers to balance political views in the government
• May appoint to make the cabinet more diverse and representative of voters

Question 11

Other parliamentary powers

Answer 11

• Parliament control
• Heading cabinet
• Media influence
• Foreign policy power
• Power over civil service

Question 12

Limits on the Prime Minister’s power

Answer 12

• The cabinet ( its required to approve the PMs policy decisions and can overrule the PM)
• The electorate ( loss of support from voters will end the PMs time in power)
• Parliament ( voting against government policies and scrutiny)
• Political party ( PM must maintain the support of their party to stay in power)
• The media ( communicates with the public and influencing public opinion on the PM)