RMO PM and Executive Flashcards
(15 cards)
Executive structure
PM
Cabinet ministers - head of large gov departments/Chief Whip
Cabinet sub-committees - appointed by the PM to consider aspects of gov business
Junior ministers - supporting role to Cabinet ministers eg Al Carns to John Healey
Government departments - control linked executive agencies that carry out gov functions eg DVLA, OFSTED - Treasury most important
Civil service - staff each government department, plan and implement policy decisions. Administrative - little PM control
Roles and powers of the executive
Roles
- propose legislation - often drawn from manifesto
- propose budget - negotiate with departments
- make policy decisions - react to events
Powers
- exercising royal prerogative eg appointing and dismissing ministers
- controlling legislative agenda - getting law through Parliament
- making secondary legislation
Prerogative powers
- powers exercised by ministers that don’t require parliamentary approval - collectively known as “royal prerogative”
- most exercised by ministers on behalf of the crown, eg: making/ratifying treaties, international diplomacy, deployment of armed forces, PM’s patronage powers, organisation of civil service
- strengths: quick - good in emergencies
- weaknesses: reduces scrutiny - gives a lot of power to very few people
Prerogative powers - examples
- Syrian Airstrikes 2018 - May ordered missile strikes in Syria without parliamentary approval due to need for swift action - contrasts Cameron not striking targets in Syria in 2013 after Parliament voted against, yet doing so in 2015 after they voted in favour
- R (Miller) vs Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union 2017 - Supreme Court ruled that the government did not have the right to trigger Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty without parliamentary approval - significant as it led May’s deal to be rejected 3 times, leading to Boris’s forcing of it - soft vs hard Brexit
Informal powers of the PM
Primus unter pares - first among equals
Authority in Cabinet system
- chair meetings, create committees, appoint senior civil servants, organise structure, determine agenda, bilateral meetings
Patronage
- appoint gov ministers, appoint life peers, question honours list
Parliamentary and party leader
- leader of largest Commons party, can’t always rely on party support due to increased risk of rebellion eg 2010 coalition
National leadership
- represents UK in international affairs, communicator-in-chief for government, rely on strong public image for popularity
Policy making
- licence to get involved in any political issue, active interest in economic/foreign policy, needs backing of senior ministers on major issues eg Lawson and Howe forced Thatcher to shift gov policy on ERM in 1989 by threatening to resign, policy failure undermines authority eg Iraq
Constraints on the PM - example: Liz Truss
Pressure of events
- mini-budget
- inflation/cost of living
- Russo-Ukrainian war
- Queen died, Truss failed to hold country together
- climate protests
Media
- MP tweets
- lettuce
- Sun/Mail/Express turned against her - previously RW
Electorate
- inflation blamed on gov
- couldn’t deliver manifesto promises, anger/betrayal
- turned on local MPs - made them angry
Parliament/party
- resignation of MPs
- opposition highlighted failures
- Charles Walker comments
- confusion over 3-line whip vote, which turned out to be a myth
Cabinet
- ministers such as Jeremy Hunt dismantled entire economic policy - humiliating
- resignation of ministers eg Suella Braverman as HS - losing control
Consider PM’s power
Cabinet
- selected by PM - shapes political direction of gov/determines success
- instrument of control for PM - allows PM to control top of party
- limited role in decision making - key policy decisions usually taken elsewhere in the executive
- PM needs Cabinet support or risks losing office
- some ministers can attend meetings without being full members - most are heads of gov departments
- functions: register decisions presented by Cabinet committees, discussion/making decisions, reporting on issues, settling disputes eg prior to a budget, they decide who acquires the money
Cabinet committees and the Cabinet office
Cabinet committees
- most decisions take place here - ministerial standing committees have autonomy of direction/detail of policy
- PM responsible for creation, membership, chairing, and terms of ref - can establish committees based on areas of personal interest
- bilateral meetings - between PM and gov minister to reach policy decisions quickly - used frequently by Blair
Cabinet Office
- acts as a facilitator in case of disputes
- Blair gave Cabinet office a leading role in policy delivery and public service reform
Considerations around Cabinet appointments
Promotion for younger, junior ministers
- could allow PM to influence thinking/behaviour more
- sets Cabinet up well for future
- ensures future support/loyalty
- eg Kemi under Boris, Laura Trott under Sunak
Ideological allies/friends
- aligned so will support PM - common vision
- eg Blair and Brown, Starmer and Reeves
Big Beasts
- forced loyalty - can’t take power due to collective responsibility
- eg Starmer and Rayner, May and Boris (backfired)
Party unity
- survives press scrutiny
- enables policies to pass quicker - more efficient
- eg May balanced between Brexiteers and Remainers
Respected/expertise
- makes better decisions
- popular/successful
- eg Ben Wallace Defence Secretary 2019-2023
Consider strengths and weaknesses
Individual responsibility
Principle that ministers are responsible to Parliament for their personal conduct and that of their department
- administrative failure/professional misconduct eg Gavin Williamson 2019 leaked confidential Cabinet discussions
- policy failure and professional dispute eg 1982 Lord Carrington FS under Thatcher, invasion of Falklands
- personal misconduct eg 2022 Dominic Raab bullying allegations
Strengths: increased public trust in politicians, holds them to account
Weaknesses: gov appoints morally dubious politicians in the first place, potentially sacked for something that doesn’t affect ability to do job
Collective ministerial responsibility
Ministers must publicly support gov policy, and should they feel they can’t, they are expected to resign
- eg Robin Cook 2003, resigned from post as Leader of Commons under Blair as he disagreed with Iraq war
- eg Boris 2018, resigned from post as FS under May as he disliked her Brexit deal - “too soft”, ended May’s hope of getting her deal through, supporting his own claim for PM
- eg Sunak, Javid (around 60 MPs) 2022, resigned under Boris as he claimed he was unaware of sexual assault allegations against Pincher before admitting he did - ultimately led to Boris’s resignation
Theories of executive power
Prime-ministerial gov - where PM is dominant force, centre of decision-making process
Contrasts with Cabinet gov, where Cabinet is centre of decision making process
All PMs pre-eminent at head of gov, some predominant eg Thatcher, Blair, Churchill as they utilise personal power such as charisma and direction
PM presidential?
Personalised leadership - dominant political personality who imposes a personal vision, and is directly associated with major policy initiatives eg 2010 leaders debates reinforced focus
Public outreach - media spotlight on PM more than any other minister - expected to connect with popular mood and communicate directly with public eg Johnson’s televised COVID updates
Spatial leadership - distance between PM and party - relies more on inner circle of advisors than on Cabinet eg coalition “Quad” = Cameron, Clegg, Osbourne, and Alexander
Blair
Leadership
- charismatic yet part of a collective leadership
Political context
- New Labour - third way
- majorities - 179, 167, 66
- united until divisive events in 03/04
Power over Cabinet?
- control over foreign policy = Iraq
- bilateral meetings preferred
- Blair and Brown took Bank of England independence decision, not Cabinet
- HOWEVER rebellions by MPs over Iraq, Blair fell out with Brown, Brown had huge influence over welfare/social policy therefore Blair needed him
Reason for leaving office
- popularity decreased after Iraq, as Middle East violence and inequality in Britain increased
Thatcher
Leadership
- dominant - no compromise
- made less use of Cabinet
- elastic theory - stretched power so far it eventually snapped
Political context
- wets eg One Nation (weak handling of economy) vs dries eg Neo-Liberals (Thatcher - free markets, low taxation) - Thatcher purged party leadership of wets to form united party
- majorities: 43, 144, 102
Key events
- refused in recession to tone down monetarist budget of 1981 - allowed construction of ideologically united gov
- unpopular - Falklands swing public opinion in favour
- given credit for defeating communism
- 1988, wanted to introduce poll tax to replace local property taxes - didn’t take into account income therefore unpopular
Reason for leaving office
- Chancellor Major persuaded her to agree to entry into ERM - unpopular, resigned due to lack of support
