The prime minister and cabinet government and politics notes

Who was Thatcher?

1979-90, archetypal strong PM who seemed to prove the prime ministerial government thesis, allegedly turning full cabinet into a rubber stamp.

Who was mr major?

1990 - 1997 major represented a consensual style of leadership in keeping with cabinet government.

who is Mr Cameron?

2010-2016. first term set against an unusual background of a coalition government between conservatives and libdems. constrains any Pm thius: return to cabinet government and deliberate contrasts with Blair years. this was necessary since all policies that were not in the initial coalition agreement had to be agreed in cabinet. coalitionised meetings took place as usual but they last a couple of hours e.g. comprehensive spending review was discussed 9 times in cabinet.

Who was Mr Blair?

Blair's speeches emphasised consensus like Mr Major, but his leadership style was prime ministerial like Thatcher, centralised power in no.10. 1997- 2007

Is collective responsibility always followed?

CR can be formally suspended by the PM though this is rare. e.g. david cameron suspended it in to EU referendum in 2016. 2010-2015 coalition did it so that the two parties could campaign on different sides in the referendum on AV voting system in 2011. ministers can sometimes openly breach CR and get away with it for a while. ken clarke and theresa May made contradictory statements about what UK should do about human rights act in 2010 and 2011. in 2014 michael gove and theresa may openly disagreed about how best to prevent islamic extremism in school. ministers often covertly breach CR by leaking documents to news papers. prime ministers often insist ministers present a united front while paying little attention in regard to collective decision making.

However what are the limitations on this power?

Cabinet can overrule the PM Alienated ministers can resign causing a crisis or leak in embarrassing documents or make coded speeches implying dissent. E.g. Former foreign secretary and leader of the house robin cook resigned in 2003 and got an unprecedented standing ovation in commons for his critique of the government case for war against Iraq

What are the 3 key functions of the prime minister?

Coordinates the government by the use of cabinet and its committees and informal meetings with ministers and advisors Leads his party Plays a leading role in policy formation and in the presentation of that party policy in parliament and in the media at home and abroad

What else can the pm do as well as appointing ministers

He can dismiss them or move them around, promoting or demoting them as he sees fit. Periodic changes in cabinet are known as reshuffles. They may be triggered by the death or resignation of a minister or by the need for the prime minister to bring in new blood to revitalise a tired administration e.g. Cameron moved Michael gove from education to chief whip as gove had upset many teachers and he did not want to lose votes that he needed in the general election. Theresa may replaced George Osborne with Philip Hammond as she became pm, obsborne has a close friend of Cameron.

What are the exceptions to this power?

MPs can rebel or apply pressure through the whips or backbench committees such as the 1922 and PLD e.g. Cameron had to get the approval of 1922 before finalising coalition deal either ld. the party outside Parliament can be troublesome Parties can turn on leaders and replace them. In Labour Party this is very difficult , a sitting Pm can only be removed by a two thirds vote at conference. Elections last two months and the winner has democratic authority. Longest serving Pm of twentieth century has unseated by her own party. 1990 micheal heseltine stood against thatcher following the devastating cricket bat resignation speech by sir Geoffrey Howe. With a sharp downturn in the economy, rows over Europe and poll tax, many backbencher felt they would lose their seats in the next election. Moreover the PM failed to actively solicit support assuming the maps would be loyal. In first ballot that thatcher won majority but feel short of the 15% lead needed to win outright. Ministers persuaded her not to stand in the second ballot knowing that heseltine would win. She stood down allowing Douglas Hurd and john major to stand. In 1995 john major resigned the leadership and stood for reelection to encourage his critics to put up or shut up. He won clearly but he was denied an unambiguous victory by decision of john redwood to oppose him. However since 1998 rule changes mean it is much more difficult to oppose a conservative leader.

What is the PM ability to form policy limited by?

Media, some policies are easily attacked by media e.g. Coalition policy of cutting police expenditure after 2011 riots Global economic forces and trade agreements Us president who will usually put domestic policy first Eu which has political influence and legal powers over U.K. International treaties e.g. European convention on human rights Powerful pressure groups e.g. The CBI. Devolved assemblies, parliaments, mayors who can decided matters in own countries Coalition government , policy compromises and decisions postponed

What limits this power?

Outright sale of political honours is illegal. In 2007 Scotland Yard conducted an enquiry after numerous honours of more than 1 million to labour party were donated. All party political honours scrutiny committee. Non political honours are scrutinised by the new appointments commission

what factors affect the balance of power? 6

PM personalities blair and thatcher prime ministerial gov major cabinet blair presidential gov brown prime ministerial and cabinet gov cameron cabinet gov personalities and power bases of other ministers. able and experience ministers will be more capable of arguing their case in cabinet and keep a stronger grip on their own departments and its policies e.g. blair relatively tame department except brown. no prime ministers can run government alone, they all rely on colleagues and this is major limitation. wider political environment. luck plays an important role in the fate of a PM. thatcher benefited from weak and divided opposition, falling oil prices and rising revenues from north sea oil, won falklands war, escaped death from IRA bomb. last term faced reformed labour party under kinnock. major inherited thatcher problems, labour stronger under blair, majority was small blair inherited favourable economic climate, dull iain duncan smith lost popularity over iraq in 2005 majority went down to 66 and party got very rebellious. brown took office during recession cameron ran a coalition government for 5 years, faced worst economic crisis post-war era, rising uKIp and eurosceptic party. luckily for him, labour and leader of opposition were not effective. conservative majority after 2015 strengthened had and enabled him to introduce more radical reforms. 12 seat majority is vulnerable to backbench rebellion. 1 area of policy - PM most dominant in foreign, security and intelligence policy. prerogative powers e.g. iraq and afganistan tony blair totally eclipsed F.S jack straw. in contrast on economic matters PM has to face powerful treasury and chancellor political party - differences in power structure within parties will change PM and cabinet balance. time in office - contrast honey moon period after victory in general election to government mid term or final year. however there are advantages with having experience in office. 1997 to 2001 as blair's learning experience.

What is the power to form and present policy in any department?

PMS do not normally run a department but they can always intervene. Foreign and defence policy is a preferred area because pms view themselves as world statesmen and because no. Of summit meetings have increased. Does not stop at f and d policy, thatcher and Blair were very interventionist.

What is the power to control the party?

Pm becomes PM by bring the leader of a arty. Party leaders control MPs by using the whips and so can usually control legislation. They also largely control the party outside parliament.

What are the details of the power to appoint and dismiss Ministers?

Pm had inherited the monarch powers of the prerogative, patronage. He can appoint and dismiss cabinet ministers, junior ministers, whips and parliamentary private secretaries. In 2013 140 of these posts, most were paid they filled mainly from the commons not the lords. The pm can encourage government MPs to be loyal by offering the prospect of above jobs, known was the payroll vote. 40% of government MPs can hold such jobs

What are the resources PMS have required to help them run the government from the centre.

Policy and implementation unit of the prime ministers office. Here senior civil servants brief the pm for question time and trip abroad and keep their diary, liase with Whitehall. Under Blair new labour special advisors were brought in They: advise on policy and counterbalance civil service Undertake long term reviews of policy Monitor government departments to see that policy is being implemented and have authority over civil servants Communications strategy of the prime ministers office, in an age of 24 hours news it is vital for the prime minister to respond first. Press secretary briefs newspapers and radio and TV correspondents and presented the government case as favourably as possible. Spin. E.g. Thatcher press secretary Bernard Ingham had such a close relationship with the PM that when she resigned so did he. E.g. Blair former press secretary Alastair Campbell was v close to the PM attended cabinet and all ministerial speeches and policy statements had to be approved by him. Cabinet office - this body coordinates departments preparing and distributing agendas, informing all of cabinet decisions and composing intelligence briefings from MOD, GCHQ and embassies. Reports directly to the PM, run by cabinet secretary who is the top civil Sargent.

What is the power to control cabinet committees?

Power stems from the PM being the leader of the leading party. Cabinet committees are vital bodies, most decisions are taken there not in full cabinet. The PM decides when to set them up, who sits on them, who chairs them , PM may choose a dependable ally or chair them himself, and when decisions are referred to them, difficult decisions can be diverted to friendly committees. However ministers who departments are directly affected will need to be included. Members, remit, and chairmanship will have to be agreed in a coalition.

What is the power to direct the military?

Power to declare war or deploy military force was traditionally one of the prerogative powers of the monarch. Pm has inherited their use. Legally the PM can direct the military without the approval of parliament and will do in an emergency which includes nuclear strike.

Where do the Prime ministers powers come from?

Prerogative powers once exercised by the monarch, some stem from the leadership of the party, others come from the Nature of the modern media. But each power has its limitations In a democratic system?

What is the power to grant honours?

Technically the monarch bestows honours as one of her prerogative powers. But he does so on advice on PM, political honours are given to those who have done PM favours, friendly newspaper proprietors, editors, political advisors, loyal backbencher and generous donations to party funds e.g. Lynton Crosby electoral strategist to the Conservative party was given a knighthood in 2016.

Who is the core executive?

The PM, cabinrt, cabinet committees, cabinet office, government departments and senior civil service

Who is the PM

The most important and first of her majesty's ministers. The Monarch has always appointed the prime minister but with the limitation that whosoever is appointed must be able to command the support of a majority in the commons, which is leader of the largest party.

What are the limitations on appointing and dismissing ministers

The pm needs the following qualities and these are qualities which may conflict Competence - a minister has to perform well as an administration, as a parliamentarian, and as a to spokesman E.g David Cameron appointed ken Clarke to be justice secretary in 2010 , after 13 years of experience in labour government he was the only available conservative with extensive knowledge of being a Secretary of State Law offices have to be legally qualified and leader of commons must be a good business manager Loyalty - pm will sometimes retain ministers who are unpopular but v loyal e.g. David Blunkett and Peter Mandelson were brought back by Blair having been forced to resign earlier. If there are too many unreliable ministers especially if there are in key posts, the pm may find himself losing in cabinet. E.g. Tony hair was keen to limit power of Gordon brown who had his own loyalists in the party National balance - government needs to contain ministers from Scotland and wales as well a england Sexual balance - women should be included. In 2015 Cameron had 22 cabinet ministers, 7 were women, Theresa may has 8 but there are in more senior positions e.g. Amber Rudd home secretary. Ideological and factional balance - often better to have some awkward colleagues in cabinet than out where there are free to criticise the government, they can be given less prestigious posts e.g. Theresa may appointed boris Johnson as foreign secretary despite a reputation for insulting foreigners . Leadership contender and a popular brexiteer who had significant support of the right of the Conservative party, she also crested two other ministerial posts to limit his role. Coalition balance - 2010-15 coalition was the first since 1945 agreement to have 5 lib dem in a cabinet of 23 nominated by nick clegg, junior ministerial positions were distributed in the same proportion so that there has a LD in each department..

What is the executive office?

The pm office, cabinet office together

What Is the power to appoint other positions?

These appointments usually stem from royal prerogatives PM can appoint bishops, archbishops senior civil servants, chief of armed forces and QUANGOS. Chairmen of board of governors of BBC.

What is the power to control cabinet business

This power stems from PM being leader of eliding party. Being first gives power to : Decide when to hold meetings e.g. Once a week thatcher and Clair. Draw up agenda - list of what is to be discussed nad in what order. Ministers wishing to add something to the list must give the cabinet secretary a weeks notice. Sum up cabinet decision - votes are not taken, custom is to agree a consensus. Hence summing up is vital. Supervise writing of minutes - cabinet secretary takes minutes

Why does the PM have to be cautious about appointing and dismissing minister?

Too many sackings reflect badly on the PM e.g. Harold Macmillan sacked 7 cabinet ministers in one go, night of the long knives, and resigned afterwards. Sacked ministers criticise from the backbencher e.g. Former lord chancellor Norman Lamont bitterly attacked john major in his resignation speech in 1993. Newly appointed ministers need time to settle in, until then they are dominated by civil servants In a coalition reshuffles have to be agreed. Cameron was not able to sack or move LD ministers without clegg approval

What is this power limited by

Where military action is an option that could be considered we appear to have developed a convention that parliament should be consulted. Iraq crisis 2003 Tony blair asked for a vote in commons before British troops were sent to war. Convention was reinforced in 2013 when creamer on held a vote on intervention in Syria, 2014 held vote against ISIS in Iraq and on bombing Syria in 2016. Convention is mentioned in the cabinet manual which has codified conventions in parliament, but it is not legally binding.

overall?

blair style was similar to thatcher, shared sense of conviction, but he was more Presidential. unlike her he rarely visited the commons. he only voted in 5% of divisions and cut PQT to once per week. blair liked to included people from other parties in policy formation e.g. lord jenkins for jenkins commission on electoral reform. or this may have been a clever way to disarm opponents rather than crush them.

what were the issues with gordon brown government?

brown was far to indecisive to run a prime ministerial government e.g. pulled back at last moment from an election in october 2007, when polls seemed unfavourable, dithered for months over other decisions. brown lacked diplomatic and presentation skills, humour less, uncharismatic and needlessly rude even to european leaders. the economist described him as blairism with an inhuman face. many enemies in parliament and his intelligence was not matched by emotional intelligence. brown often seemed to compromise on positions to please everyone and ended up pleasing no body e.g. went to lisbon to sign controverisal EU treaty which upset eurosceptics but then turned up late which upset europhiles.

how did he use cabinet government? 3

cabinet and cabinet committees were used more extensively, cabinet met twice a week not once. cabinet meetings involved more collective decision making, meetings last twice as long and everyone got a say. obliged PM to be more patient but also avoided ministers resigning in a huff and locked them into difficult decisions. cabinet also accepted collective responsibility for policy failures e.g. 1992 abandonment of british membership of ERM. only months later under pressure from party did PM sack normon lamont. "political" meetings were also held after cabinet meetings to discuss party matters. minsters were given more freedom within their departments. price was sometimes policy drift and poor coordination. so it appeasers that the different styles of government explain why thatcher was so dominant and major was so weak.

more generally?

cameron had al the charm and presentation of blair and detail like thatcher. usually chancellor and him were mates rather than political rivals though socially liberal his decisions were pragmatic rather than ideological and right wing of conservative party did not trust him over immigration or EU and this led him to calling eu referendum of which was his undoing.

overall?

even if he had been included to be presidential his position has too weak. never won a general election unlike thatcher major and blair. limited authority. UK in a recession, labour thrashed in local and european by-elections. other ministers declined to serve under brown or resigned e.g. james purnell. too weak to reshuffle disloyal ministers e.g. chancellor alai stair darling from 2008-2010 there were 5 unsuccessful attempt to force him out of office. failed mainly because the most likely candidates felt that they would only inherit a general election defeat and be blamed by it.

what was his style of government defined by?

key decisions were hammered out in the QUAD. a committee of cameron, clegg, obsborne, danny alexander. group gave lib dem disproportionate influence e.g. blocked tax and benefit cuts. less important decisions were agreed in trilaterals with cameron clegg and relevant minister concerned. cameron and clegg met every morning. cabinet committees had chairman and deputy chairmen from different parties and both had to sign off agreements. in early days cameron acted as chairmen leaving departmental ministers and cabinet committees to carry out policy and this led to lots of freedom about policy in departments e.g. michael gove at education. however unless pM is driving a policy than policy can drift. cameron sound learnt to keep close track of policy implementation and be more proactive e.g. 2011 riots. policy unit was strengthened to help him do this. coalition government worked well at first but after 2011 referendum failed and conservatives blocked lords reform and LD took revenge over boundary changes. as G.E got closer and both parties needed to asses identity, collective responsibility broke down.

How did she turn the full cabinet into a rubber stamp? 4

made many decisions in small groups of ministers civil servants and advisors. many preferred this method to using cabinet or even formal cabinet committee system. halved no of cabinet meetings and reduced no of cabinet committee meetings by 2/3s. extensive use of informal meetings tended to ensure that the policy making process revolved closely around the PM e.g. poll tax was pushed through a small group in 1984 and relevant cabinet committee in 1985. at no time did the full cabinet discuss intro of poll tax in england and wales. as many predicted the idea was impractical and very unpopular and a factor in thatcher downfall. worked very hard - did 20 hours of work a day,7 days a week. skim read and highlighted ministers' papers, even if they had not read them themselves. command of detail was outstanding. use experience after several years in office. PM often knew more about an issue than her ministers, civil servants or advisors. used her femininity, elderly tory ministers were reluctant to be rude to her as she was to them.

what is the convention of collective ministerial responsibility?

ministers all agree on policy and defend that policy in public thereafter. if a minister dissents openly that he must resign or will be sacked. e.g. in 2010 2 libdem junior ministers resigned rather than support the government policy of increasing university tuition fees. 5 lib rem ministers supported it and kept their jobs. whole government is accountable for its actions and will resign if defeated in two successive votes of confidence in H OF C, this usually means a general election will happen. happened in 1979 to james callaghan's labour government

what is interesting about this?

ministers are reluctant to resign even when they have themselves blundered. they usually resign only if the PM, ministerial colleagues or party backbencher's demand it or the media.

what was the downsides about blair's government? 3

never managed to control gordon brown, his longtime rival. dual monarchy. brown dominated economic policy and blair foreign policy and where the two clashes there were arguments. brown was the most powerful chancellor ever. his comprehensive spending view set priorities 3 years ahead and he intervened directly in spending decisions, even by passing the secretary of state in 2007 by negotiating directly with defence chiefs over defence cuts. he even denied blair details of the budget. in 2006 blair was careful to consult brown, his likely successor over legislative proposals. mr blair relied heavily on John prosecute to win over back benchers blair made more use of cabinet after 2003 invasion of iraq. perhaps this reflected this weakened credibility smaller majority and fracturing inner circle of advisors perhaps the controversial nature of his policies on schools, nhs, anti terrorism legislation

What are cabinet committees?

not to be confused with parliamentary committees. these are subcommittees of cabinet, composed of ministers, or civil servants or both. outside advisors may be added. some are semi-permanent or some are for one-off problems or some are for issues that remerge periodically. e.g. national security council chaired by PM includes representatives from defence foreign office and intelligence services. in 2011 over libyan crisis it became a war cabinet PM appoints chairmen of cabinet committees, charity most important themselves. chairman sums up agreed policy as in full cabinet

why do ministers resign? 4

on principle in accordance with CR e.g. Iain Duncan Smith in 2016, resigned over Osborne's budget cuts to disability benefits and tax cuts for wealthy when hey have made a political blunder e.g. charles clarke resigned as HS in 2006. foreigners convicted of criminal sentences should have be considered for deportation once they had served their sentences but they were not and some committed more crimes. due to a personal scandal - 2011 liam fox resigned as defence secretary because a friend Adam Werrity was using his relationship to push private arms contracts and this was a breach of ministerial code. if they are not up to the job or worn down by it e.g. ruth kelly transport secretary had four young children and tried to work normal office hours.

what is the definition of cabinet government?

policy is decided collectively. cabinet decides policy not PM

What are the different views about this situation?

proponents of prime ministerial government thesis so it as backing for the view that PM can use cabinet committees to dominate cabinet government theorists see use of committees as an efficient way or taking or preparing for policy decisions. cabinet itself it so large and meets too infrequently to do everything.

Is CR a desirable convention?

provides a vital break on power of an autocratic PM. discipline is vital in our adversarial system where a divided cabinet will lose respect of backbenchers who look to the government for firm leadership and where opposition is always ready to exploit the disunity. e.g. 1989 public split between thatcher and nigel lawson over ERM greatly damaged the government

definition of presidential government?

similar to prime ministerial government except that the PM also adopts some features of executive presidencies e.g. USA. includes large personal staff or office, keeping distance from legislative .

what is the significance of cabinet committees?

since war, workload on government is increased. cabinet committees are places where decisions are taken and are the engine room of the government. decisions reached here have the same status as those taken in full cabinet. only most important are referred back to the cabinet for confirmation. unlikely decision will be overturned given that key ministers concerned are likely to be have been on original committee anyway. under wilson rule, a member of a committee who is unhappy about a decision cannot take it to full cabinet without support of the committee chairman.

what several ideas does cabinet government cover?

that members of the cabinet are drawn from and are accountable to parliament that government policy is decided collectively. the cabinet not the PM decides policy, the PM is only the first among equals. that the work of the government departments is coordinated by meetings of cabinet members, coordination is vital if ministers are to avoid undermining each other's efforts and this is particularly important where spending is concerned. coordination is also vital because so many decisions are taken in cabinet committees, which only relevant ministers attend. much of the cabinet meeting will be taken up by reports from these committees. that cabinet will manage parliamentary business. the cabinet will consider bills coming up that week and how much opposition is expected. chief whop will advise on this point, in emergencies smaller war cabinets are usually formed of key ministers.

why is it a mistake to make it too simplistic?

thatcher did not always get her way in cabinet. she was often defeated in the early tears 1979-83 when she was relatively inexperienced. even in 1989 MT lost argument on ERM major did amazingly to last seven years in office given that his commons majority disappeared, he faced stronger opposition and his own party was deeply split. his more consensual style kept a deeply divided cabinet together and him in power. thus when john redwood challenged him for leadership in 1995 nobody else in the cabinet supported the former welsh secretary

what do we need to note?

thatcher did pay a high price for her dominant style of conviction politics. policies were pushed through which turned out to be very damaging to own government e.g. poll tax and her insensitivity created many enemies who turned on her later e.g. heseltine.

what are the case studies we are doing?

thatcher, major, blair, brown, and cameron

what happened during the iraq crisis?

the 2004 butler report on intelligence info used to justify the war in iraq was very critical of blair's reliance on advisors and sidelining of cabinet. although iraq was discussed 24 times, the excellent briefings documents prepared by senior civil servants was not circulated by the whole cabinet and as is usual ministers did not ask for them. instead the PM, FS and DS gave oral briefings. this meant that the policy was not discussed as throughly as was necessary and 2010 chilcot enquiry showed the defence secretary, geoff soon had felt sidelined and had letters from blair to president bush that had been kept from cabinet

What is the cabinet?

the top committee of the british government. by law it has a maximum of 22 paid members and the time minister. actual number depends on the prime minister but it will certainly include the ministers who head government departments who are called secretaries of state. chief whip usually attends

what are the roles and responsibilities of ministers? 4

they make policy within their departments and this will be within the general outlines of the policy decided in cabinet. a lot of policy is carried out by means of Statutory instruments , 3,000 of more a year formulated by civil servants. interventionists PMs may intervene. manage their department and answer to parliament for it QT and DSCs. represent their department in cabinet if they are cabinet ministers. under doctrine of ministerial responsibility, ministers are supposed to be responsible for not only their own actions but also for those of their department. ministerial responsibility si part of the wider concept of responsible government. at the very least a minister will have to answer questions in parliament about what has happened in his department. e.g. 2016 home secretary theresa may had to explain how the police had allowed a suspected terrorist on bail to leave the UK, go to syria and join IS. ultimately ministers might even have to resign

how did he do this?

use of advisors, whereas major had 8 personal advisors, blair had 24. they worked as temporary civil servants which means that are paid for out of public funds but are paid more and had none of the neutrality of ordinary civil servants. mr blair had created a PM department, white house staff. the aim was to make sure that departments worked for PM rather than responsible minister. many political advisors were also added to government department stop balance the advice of civil servants use of communications and strategy section mps were directed by pager to ensure that they were on message and ministers had to clear all statements with No.10. Blair was a control freak and prominent role of Campbell suggested that the dominant question in policy formation was not is this sound policy but how will this policy sound. development of PM press conferences was also decidedly presidential. the government also has a tendency to make policy statements to the media rather than in the house.

how did he do this?

use of cabinet. cabinet meetings became briefings for purposes of coordination rather than discussions of policy. meetings were as short as 20 minutes and blair did not always attend. decisions were taken in cabinet committees or in small groups between PM and responsible minster = sofa government. or in meetings with a small circle of advisors, no minutes were kept. e.g. 2001 Blair announced a major increase in spending for the NHS, frost programme, chancellor was not even consulted much to his fury.

who was Mr Brown.

when at the treasury, brown style was hard working control freak. he has been described as "stalinist". treated other ministers with contempt and kept decision making process in the hands of himself and other advisors. most people expected him to be a dominant PM. also tended to make decisions with a small group of trusted allies e.g. ed miliband rather than in cabinet

definition of prime ministerial government?

where government policy is decided by PM with or without advisors or a few colleagues