Prime Minister and the Executive

Example of a strong PM dominating Cabinet and Party and control the political agenda

• thatcher purged her Cabinet of the ‘wets’, downgraded them to a rubber stamp

• Blair able to implement ‘Third Way’ and free market economics against protest of Old Labour MPS like Jeremy Corbyn due to his strong position

Strong members of Cabinet can weaken PM’s control of agenda

• Labour split into Blairite and Brownite factions

• Cameron forced to suspect CMR on EU, fearing resignations from key members like Michael gove

• Theresa May had to listen to cabinet - Jeremy Hunt refused to move from his position as Health Secretary and won, media labelling reshuffle as ‘embarrassing’ for PM

PMs with strong personality

• thatcher - wave of patriotism following falklands war and became more popular

• Blair focused on media image, win support of Sun, media savvy election campaigns, forefront of gov with Northern Ireland devolution + Good friday peace agreement

• Cameron detoxified the Conservative brand to compassionate conservatism

Unpopular policies harming PM power

• thatcher and poll tax

• blair and iraq war

• thersa may and 2017 manifesto - getting rid of free school lunches for breakfasts

• liz truss and ‘Trussonomics’

charismatic PMs take credit of achievements and shift blame of unpopular policies

• cameron take credit for lib dem policies such as increasing income tax allowance

• blamed lib dems for increasing student tuition fees

• lib dems lost 48 seats 2015

events outside PM power effect on control

• Brown and financial crisis 2007, took blame for recession

• John Major and Black Wednesday - economic crisis

examples of PM summoning cabinet for key decisions

• john major for Black Wednesday crisis

• Cameron presented renegotiation of UK’s membership of EU in 2016 to cabinet

• Theresa May called whole cabinet to Chequers to gain collective consent for deal she wished to negotiate with European union

Example of a chief of staff being more important to Johnson than his own cabinet

Dominic Cummings

Theresa May depending on Joint chief of staffs

Fiona Hill and Nick Timothy played a key role in the drawing up of the 2017 Conservative manifesto, while the decision to call a snap election in 2017 was not discussed in cabinet

Proof PM relies on support of Commons: how many times was May’s minority gov defeated vs Blair

May defeated 33 times, compared to Blair who was only defeated 4 times in 10 years

Cameron losing a vote in the commons forcing him to change policy

2013, lost vote on military intervention in Syria

examples of PMs acting without parliament consultation

• thatcher and Falkland’s war

• May and military action in Syria 2018

Example of PM losing votes in house of Lords

May’s ‘brexit bill’ faced 15 defeats in Lords

Examples of PMs promoting allies to cabinet

• Thatcher relied on Norman Tebbit

• Cameron appointed main ally, George Osborne, as chancellor of the exchequer

Examples of PMs balancing competing factions

Thatcher included pro-European one-nations like Kenneth Clarke

Theresa May had leave (Johnson) and Remain (Hammond)

PM promoting potential rivals to keep loyal, bound by CMR and remain allies of PM

Blair included Brown as he was so powerful within party he couldn’t be excluded

Ability to promote allies reduced in coalition govs, example

Cameron allowed Nick Clegg choose 5 Lib Dem MPs to cabinet

PM appoint allies to cement authority and formulate policy

Gordon Brown had peter mandelson made a peer so he could become a member of his cabinet to offer advice and assistance

johnson got rid of those ‘soft’ on Brexit and filled his cabinet with Brexiteer allies, such as Michael Gove

PM may need to consider making cabinets more reflecting of the contemporary UK

• May dismissed Osborne since he was too associated with elitist nature of Camerons gov

• May advanced more women and ethnic minorities to gov, such as Amber Rudd and Sajid Javid

• Truss appointed most diverse cabinet in history in Sepember 2022, including Kwarteng and Braverman

Example of Minister resigning for personal conduct

Hancock

Example of MP resigning over deparmental failure

Estelle Morris

Example of MP resigning over breach of ministerial code

Suella Braverman

Examples of ministers not resigning over departmental failure

Chris grayling and Gavin Williamson

Times CMR suspended

free voted on legalisation of same-sex marriage (Cameron)

whether sanctions on Johnson if found to have lied to Par over Partygate (Sunak)

Suspended over EU (cameron)

Suspended for coalition

Example of minister avoiding CMR

Johnson openly criticising May over Brexit

examples of CMR working

Lord Wolfson over Partygate

robin Cook over Iraq

Anneliese Dodds over govs proposed cuts to international aid budget