Prime Minister and the Executive

The Executive

The Government

Most important elements of the executive?

PM and the cabinet

What is the chief secretary of the cabinet?

Country's most senior civil servant who provides guidance to the PM

Core executive

The network of institutions at the heart of the British government, including the Cabinet, the PM and the offices.

What role does the executive have in introducing legislation? 2

-It introduces new legislation based on the manifesto promises they made.

-It can also introduce legislation based in changing circumstances.

What is secondary legislation and who can introduce it? Why is it criticised?

- It is where legislation that has already been passed is modernised by the executive.

- Some people see it as undemocratic as it bypasses parliamentary scrutiny.

Where does the power of the PM come from?

It comes from the idea that they have been asked to form a government by the queen.

How can someone become PM without being specifically elected?

The replace the leader of the largest party as with Theresa May in 2016 as leader of the conservative party.

Royal Prerogative

Discretionary powers of the Crown that are exercised in the monarch's name by government ministers.

What can the PM do as a result of Royal Prerogative?

- Chooses government members

- Makes senior appointments to the civil service

- Appoints people to the Lords

- Negotiates foreign treaties

- Directs military forces in combat

An example of how the government share in the PM's royal prerogative.

2013 Ministry of Justice requested a Royal pardon for Alan Turning.

What are cabinet ministers generally in charge of?

Departments of state

What is the civil service defined by?

Neutrality

civil service

the group of people whose job it is to carry out the work of the government

Individual Ministerial Responsibility

The constitutional convention that ministers are responsible, and will be held accountable, for their own, and their department's, conduct

Example of IMR bcz of Administrative failure, date and what happened.

1954 Sir Thomas Dugdale resigned as minister of agriculture over the Crichel down affair.

His department failed to return land to its proper owner after it had been purchased for a bombing range in the Second World War.

Example of IMR bcz of Policy failure, date and what happened.

1982 Lord Carrington resigned from Thatcher's gov as foreign secretary after the Falklands were invaded.

He should have been more aware of the issues arising.

Priti Patel personal conduct resignation.

She resigned in 2017 over a series of unofficial meetings with Israeli ministers.

Michael Fallon personal conduct resignation.

2017 resignation over his treatment of women. He did this to avoid political impact of allegations made against him.

Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions make in cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them.

why is CMR important?

Without it the government may appear weak.

Example of CMR

Geoffrey Howe 1990, resigned over the increasingly Eurosceptic and Presidential Thatcher. His speech was extremely famous 'cricket one'

Exceptions to CMR

The 2010 coalition government, coalition between Lib Dems and Conservatives.

On areas covered by the coalition agreement they would stay bound by CMR but on other areas it would not apply.

Major CMR fallout

In 2016 Cameron suspended CMR so that the Brexit referendum could take place. It didn't go the way he expected and he stepped down

What is the cabinet?

20-25 senior government ministers who meet once a week.

What happens within cabinet meetings?

There is a lot of debating and whilst there may be disagreement inside the meeting hour, CMR means that outside of the meetings they must be united.

Role of the cabinet 5

- legitimising policy so that it becomes official

- Coordinating government policy

- Providing a place for discussion

- Presenting bills

- Providing expert knowledge to PM

The reasoning behind having big personalities in cabinet e.g.

If you have big personalities in your cabinet then they become bound by CMR and so are less of a threat to leadership.

Boris Johnson in May's cabinet

How do PM's stamp authority on cabinet

They advance key allies to senior positions so that they can provide support.

Example's of filling the cabinet with supporters.

Thatcher and the wets and dries. Members of the Conservative Party in Britain who opposed some of the more hard-line policies of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher were often referred to by their opponents as "wets". In retaliation to being labelled as "wet", Thatcher's opponents within the party began referring to her supporters as the "dries". By the end of her Premiership her cabinet was filled with dries.

example of a balanced party

In Blairs cabinet he appointed John Prescott from the working class left so that that side of the party was not abandoned.

How does a a coalition restrict the right of the PM to appoint the cabinet?

As seen in the 2010-15 coalition, sometimes there are coalition agreements that have to be adhered to. Cameron for example had to appoint Nick Clegg as deputy PM in his cabinet per their agreement.

The Cabinet is still powerful 3

- The cabinet can overrule or even remove the PM as seen with Thatcher. Thatcher pushed through the Poll tax against the advice of her cabinet and as a result lost party support which finally meant she had to resign.

- The PM will consult the cabinet in times of trouble as it is filled with experts in their field. 20818 Theresa May called a cabinet meeting to discuss military response to Syrian governments presumed use of chemical weapons.

- Legitimise decisions made by the PM. If the Cabinet does not agree they can resign which makes the party look divided, e.g. Boris

The cabinet is not powerful 3

- The existence of the cabinet does not prevent the existence of smaller groups of advisors. The cabinet is therefore only important if the PM allows it to be. e.g. Wilson consulted his private advisors so much the became known as the "kitchen cabinet"

- It is easier for a PM to make decisions without the cabinet as although they must present a united front to the country, in cabinet meetings there can be a lot of disagreement. Tony Blair often used bilateral meetings with preferred advisors to resolve issues as it was quicker.

- PM has significant powers of patronage and so can push though legislation it really believes in. For example Maggie went against cabinet advice and implemented the poll tax.

Cabinet Government

A type of government where the cabinet plays a key role in the development of policy.

Prime-ministerial government

Prime minister is dominant and the cabinet is essentially a formality.

Example of how the PM properly consults cabinet, IMF

1976, Labour was in turmoil over whether to accept the IMF loan. Callaghan wanted to show there was a united government and so allowed the cabinet to fully debate the loan.

Example of how the PM did not allow the government to properly debate issues, Westland

During Thatcher's Premiership there was a big debate over whether the Helicopter company Westland Helicopters should be taken over by a European or American bid. The dispute went to cabinet but Heseltine complained that Thatcher was so biased to the American bid that it undermined any cabinet discussion.

How does the fusion of the Legislative and the Executive powers give the PM significant power?

Because the government votes on legislature in the house of commons and due to CMR they are unlikely to vote against it. This gives the PM a massive advantage and effectively creates an elected dictatorship.

How does CMR prevent an elected dictator?

A massive majority does not happen all the time and so usually if your party faced a backbench rebellion the PM would have to let some stuff go.

Example of MP's defeating the PM?

March 2016 27 Conservatives defeated the plan to extend Sunday trading hours

How do individual meetings show PM's to be presidential?

The PM meeting with a small group of advisors is seen as presidential as usually those people will be picked bcz they agree with the PM and so they face little opposition.

Example of PM using small scale meetings to get things through

Tony Blair often met with one or two ministers before a cabinet meeting to discuss issues. If he didn't want to hear dissenting views then he would just ignore them. For example, in discussions about the Iraq War, he excluded his International Development Secretary, Clare Short, despite her department having a clear interest in the decisions taken

Examples of how there has been a return to cabinet policy in the past few years

Under Theresa May there was a small majority and so she had to pay more attention to the cabinet and ministers as a rebellion could have, and did, end her.

How can the PM reshape the party agenda to suit their own vision?

Again, if you have enough of a majority you can get anything through which can become dangerous. The leader can change the direction the party heads in.

Example of how the PM can change the party to suit their vision

Cameron in 2013 gave vocal support to the same sex couples act. He got it through even though 136 Tory MP's went against it. This shows how a PM has so much power that they can change the morals of the whole party.

How can MP's still influence agenda?

IN 2016 Cameron told his party to stop going on about Europe but later on after considerable campaigning by party members he had to suspend CMR so that his party could campaign for leave.

How does the power of patronage give the PM Presidential power?

The PM has power to remove people that they don't agree with them, similarly they can pack the cabinet with people who they know will agree with them. 2012 Justine Greene was removed after it came out that she didn't agree with a third runway at Heathrow. Thatcher packed her cabinet with dries so that she never had to explain herself.

What political limits are there to patronage?

There are situations beyond the control of the PM which means they cant simply pick anyone to go in their cabinet. This happened with May after the leave referendum where she had to make sure that the cabinet was filled with people who supported leave even though she wanted to stay.

How does the media make the PM role more Presidential?

In the 2019 referendum, before the campaigning started, May had good approval ratings and was set to win with a good majority. During the campaign she was criticised for not being a good debater and even sent stand ins on occasion. After this her approval ratings dropped showing how the character is very important. Blair did well bcz he was good with the public, Diana speech.

Times when the character forced the PM to resign

Cameron had to resign as he felt that his support for the remain campaign meant that he was not the right person to lead the country through the change.

Thatcher general

1979-1990

Margaret Thatcher was a member of the Conservative party where in the beginning she was popular however after introducing unpopular policies she lost the support of her party.

She won a large parliamentary majority in 1983 and 1987 enjoying a positive stint in the media during this period.

Her positive portrayal was due to her success in the military campaign in the Falklands in 1982. She was seen as a strong leader and someone who would protect Britain and all its affiliates.

The people who believed in this ideology became known as "dries" because they believed in the free market and privatisation. The opposition were known as "wets" because they were weak at dealing with political issues

Thatcher key policies

She wanted to privatise former nationalised businesses taking tighter control of the government finances.

She also placed a big emphasis on national defence

There was a point in her power where he wanted to reduce personal tax however issues on taxation would prove to be the reason for her loss of power.

Thatcher's biggest success'

The biggest success of Thatcher's was defiantly the strength she showed in the Falklands campaign.

She also defeated the coal miners strikes after years of unrest.

Thatcher circumstances of loss of power

In 1988 Thatcher and her advisors came up with the idea of poll tax. The idea was extremely unpopular and despite opposition from within the party Thatcher went on with it. Her allies were lost and so was power. She had become too Presidential.

Tony Blair General

1997 - 2007

Tony Blair was a member of the Labour party. He was mot well known for his charismatic nature and what happened with the Iraq war.

He won a large majority in 1997, 2001 and 2005. He maintained a very positive public issue up till 2003

From 1998-2000 he led successful military campaigns to liberate Kosovo and Sierra Leone which fed into his positive image.

During his term In office the economy improved and so did public services. He faced weak opposition from a divided Conservative party.

Blair sent troops into Iraq to support USA forces and although the war went well, the aftermath was a disaster. This was because the claims that Saddam Husain had weapons of mass destruction was false. This contributed to the loss of party support.

Blair Key policies

Under Blair there was an extensive programme of constitutional reform including devolution and the Human Rights Act.

There was also a sharp sustained increase in expenditure on health and education as well as increased welfare benefits and a new minimum wage.

Circumstances for loss of power

There was massive controversy over the legality of the Iraq war. Blair failed to consult the cabinet about it and many members of the Government were annoyed about this. He became very presidential and preferred bi-lateral meetings as a pose to full cabinet meetings. Blair realised that his party had turned to support Gordon Brown and resigned.