The Executive power and cabinet decline/revival

Explain the idea that of Presidential PMs

The idea that PMs are becoming more Presidential arose during Blair’s era since he became a significant political force in his own right and drove the direction of his govt; Boris Johnson was known to be presidential allegedly due to his concentration of power and his inability to sideline both Parliament and cabinet - despite this PM is not presidential as they ca be brought down by events or their cabinet

What are the substantial powers of the PM?

• FPTP usually means that there is a single party majority meaning the PM can control his party and parliament

• Having hereditary rather than an elected head of state concentrated power on the PM

• The uncodified constitution allows PM’s to have flexibility over legslation

• The unitary state also concentrates power onto the PM

Since Blair how have PMs acted?

No PM since Blair has been presidential as Gordon Brown and Cameron had to rely on their cabinets to govern effectively

What is the theory of cabinet decline?

A central theory about the executive is that the Prime Minister’s office has recently has been able to take over key decisions which the cabinet usually makes - Tony Blair’s sofa government (bilateral) is an example of the shifts of power from the cabinet and departments of state to the close advisors of the PM

What is the theory of cabinet revival?

However, after unpopular decisions such as the Iraq War, the cabinet decisions became more common. David Cameron had to consult with his cabinet regularly while in coalition with the Lib Dems; Theresa May initially tried to ignore her cabinet but after her result in the 2017 election

What did the Commission for Smart Government’s report in July 2021?

They suggested that there should be a PM‘s department which could increase their power as the cabinet is 10x bigger than in the 1960s; The PM is only minister in cabinet who doesn’t have a full department to support them and therefore they are unable to oversee the whole govt

What is the argument that Parliament isn’t important?

A secure majority and tight whipping system mean that the PM can ignore both houses of Parliament - e.g. Thatcher

What is the evidence that Parliament is still significant?

• PMQs are a major scrutinising function of Parliament and PMs have to prepare thoroughly for them. The credibility and authority of a PM is impacted by PMQs then more so due to the fact that the media draws attention to the PM

• If a PM fails to impress during PMQs then they may have loose support on their side and the opposition’s confidence may grow

• The House of Lords can become an irritation to the PM. The Lords can block legislation or provide deep expertise and knowledge. Defeats in the Lords have exceeded defeats in the Commons - In 2019-21, there were 114

• Parliament’s MPs can rewind the PM of national issues accros the UK, not just London and the south-east