executive politics

What is the PM

Head of goverment , lead executive , authroity over policy m, appointed ministers and represents UK globally

What are jr ministers

Ensure that depts function daily and manage policy work

What are gov depts

Responsible for delivering public services and implementing policy

What is the cabinet

Prime minisetr + home sec + forgein sec + chancellor of the exchequer + Dept PM

What are the PM + Executive roles

• proposing legilsation

• Proposing budget

• Making policy descitions ( secondary legislation)

• Conducting foregin policy

• Crisis management

What is the role of proposing legilsation + example

Executive controls most of parli timetable + introduces majority of bills

• labour 2025 - employment rights act bans zero contract hours + limits fire and rehire pratices

What is proposing the buget + example

Chancellor presents the budget to parliment which outlines spending + taxation + borrowing - sets out overall economic stragery of gov

• 2025 Reves budget froze income tax thresholds 2031 , not liked by public with 48% of people seeing it as unfair according to YouGov

• 2026

What is secondary policy + example

PM + Executive sets policy descitions across area like health and education —> can be proposed via education + can create policy via depts

• 2021 Johnson’s executive made rapid policy over COVID-19 response e.g introducing the furlough scheme

What is conducting foregin policy

Executive can control international agreeements , military action and relations with other states

• UK signed Windsor framework ( simplified the process of moving goods from GB to NI ) - Sunak repsahped eu relations post Brexit

• May 2025 labour gov condemned Israel’s attacks on Gaza , calling for Isreal to stop all miliatry action and allow humanitarian aid

What is crisis management + examples

Excutive must respond to unforeseen circumstances , usually in crisis power concentrates around the executive

• 2008 brows response to Finical crisis included intervening in the royal bank of scotalnad + Lloyds Public banking group brining them to public ownserhip to avoid collapse

• 2020 Covid pandemic - Johnson chaired emergency cobra meetings brining together senior ministers + officials in creating national response to health + economy

What are progatitive powers

Collective term of rights that used to belong to monarch but given to executive to be more democratic

The pm + other ministers

What are some prerogative powers

• buget control

• Military action

• Historical perogrative powers ( dissolution of parli )

• Initiation of legilsation

• Controlling Parlimentary time table

• Party managment

What are some prerogative powers

• buget control

• Military action

• Historical perogrative powers ( dissolution of parli )

• Initiation of legilsation

• Controlling Parlimentary time table

• Party managment

Military action examples

• 2025 labour recognised the state of Palestine

• 2024 Sunak authorised air strikes on Yemen without Parli approval

Historical prerogative powers example

• 2024 dissolution of parli called by Sunak + call for general election

• Johnson 2019 sept the unlawful dissolution of parliment to create a no-deal Brexit before the 31st Oct deadline

Party managment example

• 2021 Johnson promoted loyalt in his party in his cabinet reshuffle making Nadine Dorris dept of Media , Culture and sport

• 2026 Burnham cabinet reshuffle showed how he wanted experince, Healy = chancellor of the exchequer ,but also embodied his ideological shift to more left leaning from Starmer , Rayner = housing sec

What is the cabinet

Committe of senior ministers chaired by PM , is the central descition making body and collectively responsible for Gov policy

What are the roles of cabinet

• discussing goverment policy

• Collective party descition making body

• Coordinating work between diffrent GOv depts

• Provides legitimacy for executive agenda is all agree

What is the PM in relation to cabinet ?

• head of cabinet

• Appoints + dismisses cabinet members

• Sets agenda for cabinet

What are the diffrent ways that the PM can pick there cabinet

• party loyalty

• Balancing party fractions

• Ministerial experince

• Representational diversity

What is an example of loyalty to PM

2019 - Johnson promoted Priti Patel + Dominic Rabb due to loyalty during Brexit debates

2025 - Burham promoted Louise Haigh who publically supported him and helped him in the Makersfeild by-election

What is an example of balancing party fractions

• 2016 Mays cabinet balanced euroscpetics with chancellor = Hammond and Home Secretary = Rudd while also having strong remainers e.g Johnson as forgein sec

• 2024 Starmer appointed soft left members with Rayner but also a more middle ground labour member with Reeves to try and balance party fractions

What is an example Ministerial experince in cabinet

• 2024 Starmer appointed Lord Timpson as prisons minister due to his experince with him chairing the Prisons Refrom

• 2026 Burnham appointing Healy who has been an Mp since 1997 and has served as defence secretary + housing minister showing he has held ministerial roles before

• 2010 Cameron appointed Ken Clarke as Justice sec who has previously served as Chancellor under Major + Home sec

What is a big beast within cabinet

—> refers to a senior + influential cabinett member

Who is an example of a big beast within cabinet

• 2026 Ed Milliband as forgein sec , had previously ran for prime minister in 2015 showing his experince within the Labour Party

• 1997 Brown as Chancellor who has a substantial following amongst labour MP’s and had strong infelunce over economic policy

What is an example of represential diversity

• 2024 , all of the cabinet was state educated

• 2022 , Truss cabinet none of the main 4 roles ( deputy , chancellor , home secretary and forgein secretary ) was held by white men for the first time in British history

What are the types of leadership

Collective executive

First among equals

In what ways dose the PM hold power over the cabinet

• patronage power

• Managment power

• Leader of the party

• Insutitional support

What is patronage power

Appointing and firing ministers

How is patronage power positive

• PM controls the future politic carrers of other MP’s

• Keeps the support of loyal MP’s but also is able to control critiques —> Blair appointing Brown as chancellor in his goverment

How is patronage power a negative

• when appointing people need to ensure that all ideas are represented to keep rebellion at bay —> May having both leave and reamin PMs in her cabinet

• Any controversy’s of MP’s can reflect badly on PM’s judgement —> Rayner underpaying stamp duty in 2025 , Hancock breaching his own depts social distancing rules by having an affair , Mandelson Feb 2026 over his relation with Epstein

• Having a good social balance between cabinet members is good for diversity image —> 2024 starmers cabinet was an even split between men and women

What is managing cabinet ?

Managing the checdule + agenda

How is managing the cabinet a positive

• decide the number of committes and what they discuss —> 2015 creation of women and equality’s committe , 2026 Middle East response committee established by Starmer to adress responses to events in Middle East

• Write agenda for cabinet —> pm can discuss contrevisatil issue to minimise cabinet involvement , sofa goverment used by Blair seen in the 2004 bulter report which outlined the lack of formal cabinet meetings of the invasion of Iraq

How is managing the cabinet a negitive

• cabinet members disagreeing with MP publically undermines power + rep —> Johnson resigning from Mays cabinet over Brexit deal + Phillips resigning from Starmers cabinet over her feeling that they were failing to fight women and child sexual online abuse

• Some issues cant be avoided or swept under the rug —> Partygate damaging Johnsons reputation leading to a vote of no confidence as support in his party decreased

What is instructional support

The support that the pm gets from other depts and the civil service

How is institutional support a positive

• Civil service work independtly of cabinet and help advise policy and stagery —> 2026 Burham opening up No.10 North and bring descition making closer and more involved in the north of England + 2016 May opening the DEpt for exiting the EU which established negotiations in Brexit

• Use of SPAD’S ( Special advisors ) political appointments that undestand policy —> Alastair Campbell was Blairs press secretary

How is instutional support a negitive

• advisors + civil servants can become a liability —> Cummings brok Covid guidelines + McSweeny with error of judgement with Mandelson scandal

How is instutional support a negitive

• advisors + civil servants can become a liability —> Cummings brok Covid guidelines + McSweeny with error of judgement with Mandelson scandal

What is a presidential style of leadership

PM has indivual power with holding most of the responsability

Voting tends to be for PM and not for party due to PM’s charisma

Pm distances himself from party / other members drives an indivual following based on there personality

Use of spads

What are sone examples of a presidential style MP

Sofa goverment 1997 —> used by Blair style of descition making where PM relies on a small group of advisors rather than cabinet

Coalition gov 2010 → used by Cameron relied n the Quad ( 4 main members of the cabinet) made up of Torys + Lib Dem’s

Johnson 2019 —> increased use of Spads and increased many funded to political advisors by almost 20% , Cummings has exclusive powers to hire and fire advisors across gov depts

Reasons why the cabinet is still needed + examples

• can block / change policy , cabinet opposition can make PM abandon it —> Cameron 2010 dropped cutting disability benifits + 2025 Starmer modified the 2 child benifit cap

• Can force MP resignation , without cabinet it undermines Mp legitimacy —> Johnson resigned 2022 after 50 ministers quite + Truss resigning after Braverman resigned which plummeted party confidence

• Cabinet committes , can make important descitions —> Healthcare committe lead by Hancock response to lockdowns + NHS , EU exit and trade cabinet committe 2016 May negotiations of Brexit

Reasons why cabinet is not nesscary

• PM can dominate cabinet by removing opposition —> thatcher placing Gimour in her cabinet

• PM can remove cabinet from discussions Blairs sofa goverment

• Patronage power limits mp’s independence ,PM holds power to appoint and dismiss cabinet members —> Kwarteng sacked by Truss 2022 over the minibudget , Gove scaked by Johnson 2022 over Pincher scandal , Braverman sacked by Sunak 2023 over her writing an article for a newspaper which critisied Metroplitan police

• Pm controls committes , Johnson made Jenkins head of the Liason committe