the relationship between the prime minister and cabinet

Question 1

up to the 1960s

Answer 1

the prime minister was seen as ‘first among equals’, they were the dominant member of the cabinet

Question 2

what kind of role did Harold Wilson’s cabinet play?

1964-70 and 1974-76

Answer 2

he allowed cabinet ministers to play a prominent public role and develop their own policies, but when it came to government policy, he manipulated cabinet by controlling the agenda

Question 3

what kind of a role did Margaret Thatchers cabinet play?

1979-90

Answer 3

she dominated cabinet and ruthelessly removed her opponents

Question 4

what kind of a role did Blair’s cabinet play?

1997-2007

Answer 4

he marginalised cabinet, he adopted sofa politics

Question 5

what is sofa politics?

Answer 5

a governing style where the PM conducts informal meetings with the collegues outside cabinet in order to control policy making

Question 6

the cabinet during weakened single party rule 2010-19

how did the 2010 coalition benefit cabinet?

Answer 6

• disputes within the coalition were inevtiable, meaning the cabinet was the one place things could get resolved
• presentation of policy was difficult, so cabinet had to develop ways in which agreements could be made
• cabinet would have to clarify issues with agreement

Question 7

Factors affecting the balance of power between the PM and cabinet

having a large majority in the house of commons

give an example of a powerful PM and a weak one

Answer 7

a PM with a large majority can afford to dismiss rebels/lose MPs and still win.

Tony Blair only suffered 4 defeats in the 10/11 years in power- majority

Theresa May suffered 33 defeats in her 3 years- minority

Question 8

Factors affecting the balance of power between the PM and cabinet

unity of their party

give an example of a unified and divided party

Answer 8

• a unified party makes it easier for the PM to pass legislation and will give the PM more power, whereas a divided party would weaken the PMs power, leading to an ineffective government

Margaret Thatcher had a unified party, which gave her greater authority

whereas Theresa Mays party in 2017 were largely divided over Brexit

Question 9

Factors affecting the balance of power between the PM and cabinet

securing an electoral mandate for manifesto commitments

give an example of when a PM had failed to secure a mandate

Answer 9

• MPs in the commons are less likely to rebel if there is a clear mandate

despite David Camerons clear majority, he lacked a clear mandate, leading to him facing problems with the Lords

Question 10

Factors affecting the balance of power between the PM and cabinet

having lots of new MPs

Answer 10

• having new MPs means they become dependent on support and guidance from whips, meaning they are more likely to be compliant, like Tony Blairs gov
• as MPs become more experienced, they become more independent and are less compliant

Question 11

Factors affecting the balance of power between the PM and cabinet

external factors

Answer 11

devolution: erodes the power of the PM and government as they lose control of devolved regions

EU: the departure of the EU led to the PM and cabinets powers being boosted

NATO: limits the UKs foreign policy options

Question 12

Tony Blair: state of the party

Answer 12

from the early 1990s onwards, labour adopted ‘new labour’ or ‘third way’, it was initially led by John Smith, but when he died, Blair took over, and led a strongly united government

Question 13

Tony Blair: key policies

Answer 13

• constitutional reform
• national minimum wage introduced
• increased welfare benefits
• investments in health and education

Question 14

Tony Blair: style of leadership

Answer 14

he was charasmatic, but after 6/7 years, his leadership became more singluar and his popularity decreased

Question 15

Tony Blair: prominent events

Answer 15

• up to 2003, there was a sustained period of economic growth
• health and education sectors were improving
• Blair joined the US with the war in Iraq, and after time, this gave Blair a negative image

Question 16

3 examples of Blair being in control

Answer 16

• Blair’s ‘sofa cabinet’ where he was able to impose his policy on the cabinet
• during military interventions, he proved he was in control of foreign policy
• he was able to keep his party unified in the first 2 terms, and was able to impose his agenda on the party

Question 17

2 examples of Blair’s lack of control

Answer 17

• in his first 8 years as PM, he suffered 353 defeats in the lords
• public opinion and the media turned against him for the invasion of Iraq, which weakened his power and ruined his reputation

Question 18

David Cameron: state of the party

Answer 18

• the party when he became PM was divided
• however, the party did unite over the idea of spending cuts after the 2008 financial crisis
• but the UKs relationship with the EU made it hard for him to govern

Question 19

David Cameron: key policy goals

Answer 19

• higher taxes and reduced public spending to reduce the governments deficit
• introduction of same sex marriage
• more devolution, mainly to Scotland
• reducing direct taxes
• reduction in welfare benefits to encourage more people to work
• sharp increases in university tuition fees

Question 20

David Cameron: style of leadership

Answer 20

he faced problems with exerting the personal power he would have liked to secure, to combat this, he formed a strong bond with his chancellor, George Osborne

Question 21

David Cameron: prominent events

Answer 21

• his success in bringing the UK out of its recession
• his success in keeping a coalition going strong for 5 years
• foreign policy set him back, as Parliament restricted his freedom to intervene in the Syrian civil war
• the referendum on the membership of the EU, but he lost it

Question 22

why did David Cameron resign?

Answer 22

due to his defeat in the EU referendum, he had to resign as he was a strong suporter of remaining in the EU

Question 23

3 examples of David Cameron having full control

Answer 23

• despite being in a coalition, he was largely able to dominate cabinet and follow his own agenda
• he was able to hold the brexit referendum
• he pushed through same sex marriage in parliament, despite opposition within his party

Question 24

3 examples of David Cameron having a lack of control

Answer 24

• he failed to get parliamentary support for his planned intervention in Syria
• he opposed the scottish independence referendum, but political pressure forced him to grant it
• he was unable to remove lib dem cabinet ministers that criticised him, like Vince Cable