PM and Executive (3) Key Words

• Executive: the collection group of PM, cabinet and junior ministers, sometimes known as ’the gov’.
• Cabinet: the PM and senior ministers, most of whom lead a particular government department
• Minister: an MP or member of the House of Lords appointed to a position in the government, usually exercising specific responsibilities
• Gov department: a part of the executive, usually with a specific responsibility over an area such as education.
• Royal prerogative: a set of powers and privileges belonging to the monarch but normally exercised by the PM or cabinet
• Secondary legislation: powers given to the executive by parliment to make changes to the law within certain specific rules
• Collective responsibility: the principle by which ministers must support Cabinet decisions or leave the executive
• Presidential gov: an executive dominated by one individual; this may be a president but is also used to describe strong PMs
• Individual ministerial responsibility: the principle by which ministers are responsible for their personal conduct and for their departments e.g. Johnson (party) Hancock (affair)
• Parliament: the British legislature made up of the House of Commons, Lords and the monarch
• House of Commons: the primary chamber of the UK legislature, directly elected by voters
• House of Lords: the second chamber of the UK legislature, not directly elected by voters
• Confidence and supply: right to remove gov or funding but also used to describe a type of coalition agreement
• Salisbury convention: whereby the Lords cannot delay or block legislation that was in the gov’s manifesto. Can only delay other legislation for up to 1 year
• Parliamentary privilege: the right of MPs or Lords to make certain statements in parliament without being subject to outside influence
• Legislative bills: proposed law passing through parliament
• Public bill committees: responsible for looking at bills in detail
• Backbenchers: MPs or Lords who do not hold any gov office
• Select committees: responsible for scrutinising the work of gov, particularly individuals or gov departments
• Opposition: MPs and Lords who are not members of the governing party or parties
• Royal prerogative constraints: highly unlikely but monarch could take back this power
• Party constraints: party can vote to change its leader (vote of no confidence). Or there could be divisions in the party
• Parliament constraints: can have a vote if no confidence. Not all PMs have large majorities e.g. May and the David Cameron coalition
• Patronage constraints: Cabinet can turn against the PM e.g. Borris Johnson
• The people/popular mandate constraints: can lose the next election and lose their power
• elective dictatorship: a government that dominates parliament usually due to a large majority, few limits to power.
• Laissez faire leaders: delegate (not in modern politics
• executive: the collective of prime minister, cabinet and junior ministers, decision making branch
• cabinet: a group chosen by the PM to be the main decision making body, most of these ministers are heads of gov departments (senior ministers)
• minister: MPs of the elected party that are chosen to be members of cabinet and head departments
• government department: a section of the executive responsible for a certain area, for example education
• royal prerogative: privileges/powers that the monarch passes on to the prime minister to exercise, passed through the kissing of the hand
• secondary legislation: legislation that is quick as it does not need to be passed through the House of Commons, little checks
• individual ministerial responsibility ministers are responsible for their own personal conduct and their departments
• collective responsibility: principle by which ministers must support the executive or resign or expect to be dismissed from cabinet
• presidential government: an executive dominated by one individual; act a bit like a president (a strong prime minister).
• cabinet government: when cabinet plays an active role and is consulted frequently (not by-passed) by the PM, cabinet makes policy decisions (transactional).
• ministerial code: rules in a document that individual ministers should hold,
• the prime minister and downing street: policy units and senior civil servants
• cabinet committees: most detailed policy work in these committees, consisting of cabinet members and junior ministers. most are chaired by the PM