Government 2: Prime Minister and Cabinet

Primus Inter Parus = the first among equals. This is used to describe the Prime Ministers and how while decision-making is made as a collective, the PM takes a leading role in this.

Cabinet Government → the entire Cabinet. This is 20-25 senior ministers who meet weekly.

There are 3 factors that can affect the powers of a PM:

1. Parliamentary arithmetic - majority, opposition numbers, strength of the opposition (e.g. Jeremy Corbyn)

2. the state of the economy - a flourishing economy can benefit the efficiency + popularity of a PM.

3. how the PM handles national crises - E.g. Boris Johnson and the COVID crisis, Starmer’s ‘iron fist’ handling of the Summer 2024 riots.

4. Coalitions and other type of government - hung parliaments

5. media portrayal - scandals.

6. War and Global Politics - e.g. Thatcher and the Falklands, Blair and Iraq,

7. Opposition within own party - Boris Johnson

Core executive collective management = when the PM runs a government with a fairly even distribution of power.

Which PMs had a core executive collective management?

1. Starmer ❓

2. Truss (❌) - desperately forced budget through - against advice

3. Sunak ✅

4. Johnson ❌

5. May ✅

   …

6. Brown ✅

7. Blair ❌- Iraq - went against advice

8. Major ✅

9. Thatcher ❌ - Poll tax

All 3 PMs without core executive collective management had very large majorities: they knew that they could pass anything they wanted.

Origins, structure, and power of the executive:

Vote of no confidence = a PM can hold a vote to find out who is on their side. These are not binding, but a PM normally resigns after losing one.

Example: In June 2022, Boris Johnson held a vote of no confidence. Despite the ongoing rebellion, he won with the support of 211 MPs. 41% of MPs voted to get rid of him.

The three things that Asquith said a PM requires: “Usage, custom, and convention”.

Good Chaps theory of government: for someone to get into a position of power, they will need good morals. If they do something out of line, a minister will step in and tell them it’s wrong.

The Ministerial Code (1992):

1. Collective Responsibility

2. Accountability

3. Accuracy & Truthfulness

4. Openness & Honesty

5. No conflict between public and private interests - should not accept gifts that would place them under improper obligation

6. Minsters keep their roles as Minister and Constituency Representative separate.

Seeking a personal mandate → Theresa May and Boris Johnson.

1. 2016 → Theresa May wins the Conservative leadership election without the support of grassroots party members because Andrea Leadsom pulls out of the race.

2. 2019 → Boris Johnson becomes the Tory leader after defeating his opponent Jeremy Hunt by a two to one margin vote. He is voted in by 138,000 Conservative members.

Because they didn’t win a general election, May and Johnson didn’t really have a personal mandate.

Prime Ministers and their times in office:

The Core Executive:

• PM

• Cabinet

• Senior Civil Servants

• Cabinet Committees

• the Cabinet Office

Key Roles:

1. Making Policy - Primarily, it is their role to set political priorities and then decide upon policy often at cabinet meetings or in cabinet committees. Second, the administrative part, the civil service as the job of implementing this policy and running the state on a day-to-day basis.

2. Passing legislation - Major acts are first discussed and approved at cabinet level and then sent to parliament for debate and then final decision. Most of the time, this is relatively straightforward: the government often has a majority. Sometimes this doesn’t work out - Brexit!

3. Financing - especially the Chancellor and the Treasury, is to make decisions on taxation and government spending. these decisions are normally announced in the annual budget. There is discussion over where and how taxpayers’ money is spent.

4. Being the national first responder - in times of national emergency like war, terrorist outrages or the coronavirus pandemic, the executive can put together and implement emergency responses to deal with the treat as best as possible. This can require inter-departmental co-operation: COVID-19 needed health, police, armed forces, education, social security, as well as the Treasury.

The main powers of the executive:

The Coronavirus Act 2020 show’s how the UK’s liberal democracy can prevent arbitrary government. PM Johnson instructed people to stay at home - with a few exceptions. For these guidelines to have any force, the Coronavirus Act 2020 had to be passed, avoiding an arbitrary dictatorship-style government.

How significant are the prerogative powers of the executive?

1. The Executive can deploy armed forces without having to go to Parliament - they are not required to seek parliamentary approval.

2. PMs enjoy unlimited choice over who joins and leaves their government - no need for approval from Parliament. e.g. Rishi Sunak made David Cameron a Lord just to bring him back as foreign secretary.

3. In times of national crisis, the PM and executive deliver speeches to the masses - Boris Johnson’s COVID-19 broadcast was watched by 27 million people.

1. Out of convention, PMs go to Parliament before employing military action - this was true for the Gulf war and the the air strikes in Syria and Iraq.

2. PMs are constrained for their choice of government - there must be some diversity (both in background and political stance - e.g. Brexit)

3. The PM and the Executive rely on parliament to pass legislation such as anti-terror laws. The Opposition will be quick to critique the reaction of the government to emergencies.

How has the role of PM changed over recent years?

Blair’s sofa government = informal chats involving 2 or 3 ministers.

Margaret Thatcher - wets = dissenters, dries = supporters

The Quad - 2010 - 2015:

• PM David Cameron, DPM Nick Clegg, Chancellor George Osborne, and Lib Dem Chief Secretary to the Treasury Danny Alexander

Spatial Leadership = a sense of distance is created by the PM and their government/party (Blair!)

Special Advisors - SpAds - are often said to have too much power over the prime minister at the expense of fellow ministers and the civil service.

Examples of SpAds:

1. Alistair Campbell → SpAd to Tony Blair → former journalist for the Daily Mirror turned spin doctor → Director of Communications and ran the campaign for the 2005 election.

2. Dominic Cummings → Chief Advisor in 2019 after Johnson became PM. Controlling + Abrasive. Fired Sonia Khan (Sajid Javid’s SpAd) without Chancellor Javid knowing - led to Javid’s resignation.

3. Sue Gray → Former Senior Civil Servant → Became Keir Starmer’s Chief of Staff in 2023 → October 2024 → Resigned after her salary details are leaked and her staff are critical of the abrasive way she runs her staff.

As of 2023, there are 117 SpAds → with a total wage of £12.3m

Case against Presidentialism:

1. In January and March 2019, Theresa May suffered two major defeats over her proposed Brexit deal.

2. Earlier in July 2018, after her divided cabinet finally agreed to her 'Chequers Deal' over Brexit, 2 of her Cabinet ministers resigned: Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Brexit Secretary David Davis.

3. May failed to get her deal through and was effectively forced out of office, and resigned in June 2019.

Even more dictatorial leaders like Blair and Thatcher were forced out because of unpopular policies: Iraq and Poll Tax.

The role of Prime Minister has changed greatly in recent years:

1. Several PMs, like Blair and Thatcher, have been accused of running more presidential styles of leadership. They are said to have often bypassed cabinet meetings and favour small gatherings of key ministers + advisors.

2. growth in use of SpAds.

3. Development in social media and celebrity culture means people pay more attention to the personalities of Ministers. This can be seen in the general election campaigns.

4. Increased media scrutiny and opportunities have led more prime ministers to focus on the popular media and take their message directly to the people → often appearing on ‘soft formal’ TV chat shows.

1. There have been no formal changes to the role of PM

2. Predominant premierships of Thatcher and Blair should be assessed alongside John and Major and Theresa May → and David Cameron’s coalition.

3. Infleunce of SpAds is possibly exaggerated → take COVID-19 into account → most powerful advice came from Professor Chris Whitty.

4. Image-aware PMs are more likely to want to present themselves as collegiate and collaborative in their approach. Boris Johnson appeared with Sir Patrick Vallance often during Covid.

How policy is made:

1. Fulfilling a manifesto commitment:

   • In their 2017 manifesto, the Conservative Party pledged to offer parents of 3-4 year olds 30 hours a week of childcare, not just 15 hours. This was designed to get employment up → taxpayers increase.

   • 1997 - Labour’s manifesto stated that they would abolish the House of Lords. This led to its reformations, with Blair significantly reducing the number of hereditary peers.

   • 2020 - Boris Johnson uses his Get Brexit Done slogan to win the general elections

2. Personal Convictions of the Prime Minister

   • 1979 - Margaret Thatcher wanted to roll back the use of the state + she believed in the property-owning democracy. She introduced the ‘Right to Buy’ scheme → allowed people to buy their council homes at a reduced rate.

   • By 1981, had 5.4 million council houses. It dropped to 4.5 million.

   • She also wanted to sell off industries like British Telecom.

3. The outcome of a referendum

   • 2015 - David Cameron promises a referendum on whether the UK should leave the EU.

   • 2016 - he loses → 52% vote to leave and 48% to stay.

   • Cameron resigns → Theresa May is forced to make policy as a result of a referendum.

4. Policy is made because of a compromise → coalition or other kind

   • 2010 - a hung parliament is produced. The Lib Dems wanted a new voting system → the Tories agree to hold a referendum with the potential outcome of swapping to alternative vote. This is unsuccessful.

5. Policy is made because of national crisis

   • 2020 Coronavirus Act

     • Johnson was forced to construct the Nightingale Hospital → in the ExCel Conference Centre in London → shutting down pubs, gyms, restaurants, etc.

   • 2008-2008 Global Financial Meltdown + 7/7 bombings in London → Gordon Brown

   • 2017 Manchester Arena Bombings → Theresa May

   • 2022 - Ukrainian War → providing humanitarian and economic aid to Ukraine → sanctioning Belarus and Russia.

     • Provided £9.3 billion total relief.

6. Policy is made because of pressure from the public and the media

   • Extinction Rebellion → draw attention to Climate Change → Greta Thunberg

   • 2019 - Theresa May pledges to cut greenhouse gases to almost zero by 2050. May says that it is a “moral duty to leave this world in a better condition than what we inherited” → also a product of the Committee on Climate Change.

   • 2022 → Rishi Sunak change this policy to focus more on energy security rather than net-zero.

7. Policy is made because of social and cultural changes

   • 1963 - 1970 → Harold Wilson’s Government → time of social reform:

     • legalised abortion up to 24 weeks of pregnancy

     • ending death penalty

     • decriminalising male homosexuality

     • making divorce easier with the Divorce Reform Act of 1969.

   • 2005 - Blair’s Civil Partnership Act → allows same-sex civil partnerships, same-sex adoptions, and trans people the right to transition.

   • 2013 - David Cameron legalises same-sex marriage.

The power of the prime minister and cabinet to dictate events and determine policy change:

1. The introduction of the Poll Tax → 1990

Poll Tax → aimed to fix the Domestic Rates system. Domestic rates → a property-based tax that helped fund local councils. It was paid by homeowner or landlord

The tax was based on property → the amount did not necessarily reflect someone’s income of ability to pay.

The Tory party had wanted to reform the Domestic rates for a long time → included it in the 1987 manifesto → Thatcher was personally linked to the tax (her own annotations were on the original policy documents). Following the 1987 election, a bill was easily passed to implement the community charge.

• The Poll Tax was very unpopular in Scotland → this didn’t stop Thatcher.

• Major Poll Tax riots broke out in London and elsewhere in March 1990 → often ended in violence

  • 100 injuries

  • 400 arrests

• poll tax was difficult to collect

• new tax was easily mocked by the media ‘duke and dustman’ analogy → the duke and the dustman collecting his bins all pay the same amount of tax.

• Thatcher received internal opposition to this tax → Michael Heseltine.

  • Thatcher didn’t win enough votes in the second ballot and was forced to back out rather than lose drastically.

• As soon as John Major replaced Thatcher, he removed the Poll Tax → replaced it with something property-based.

2. The decision to invade Iraq in 2003

Conflict = risky for a PM → it can either go very well or very badly.

Iraq descended into civil war → the entire region was disestablished and fertile seeds were sown for the later rise of militant groups.

• there were no weapons of mass destruction found

• allegations of human rights abuses committed by British soldiers on Iraqi civilians

3. Decision to call an early election by Theresa May