Prime Minister and Cabinet

• In the UK, the executive sits within the legislature and is responsible for the government of a country
• the most important elements of government (cabinet, civil servants, key political advisors) based in the prime ministers office are the core executive
• secondary legislation- AKA delegated legislation- is the process by which primary legislation can be amended by government departments without requiring another act of parliament
• the royal prerogative is the executive power of the monarchy, such as the command of armed forces, patronage and the conduct of foreign policy.
• as the UK is a constitutional monarchy, royal prerogative powers have been passed onto the PM, who wields them on behalf of the monarch without needing legislative consent.
• a cabinet minister is a senior member of government. most cabinet members are heads of a department of state and so have major administrative and policy-making functions. they attend cabinet meetings and are bound by the principle of collective responsibility
• a government department is an executive branch of government. Its role is to implement government policy and administer its areas of interest and control.
• individual ministerial responsibility is the principle that members of cabinet take ultimate responsibility for what occurs within their department. this includes both administrative and policy failures. they are also responsible for the PM for personal conduct.
• collective ministerial responsibility, all members of the government are expected to publicly support it. if a minster can't do this they should resign. they should also not disclose the contents of private ministerial discusions. if the administration is defeated on a vote of no confidence, the convention also states that all members must resign.
• cabinet government: a type of government in which the cabinet plays the key role in policy development. provides a direct contrast to the prime-ministerial model of government
• prime ministerial government: a model of government in which the PM is dominant and the cabinet is regulated to a subordinate decision-making role.
• presidential government. the presidentialism of UK politics suggets there is now a greater focus on the PM being a representative of the nation. implying a close personal relationship between the leader and the public.
• structure of the executive:

  • the prime minister
  • secretary of state
  • minister of state
  • parliamentary (under) secretary
  • parliamentary private secretaries
• Prime Minister: primus inter pares and responsible for everything
• secretary of state: attends Cabinet, usually responsible for a government department
• minister of state: does not generally attend Cabinet, usually responsible for part of a governmentdepartment
• parliamentary (under) secretary: junior minister, usually responsible for an area within a government department
• parliamentary private secretary: unpaid, with no specific responsibilities, but nonetheless part of the ‘payroll vote’
• functions of the executive:

  • implementing policy,(including secondary legislation)
  • royal prerogative, (the executive allocates the budget to government departments and presents it to the House of Commons for approval)
  • budgeting
  • initiation of legislation
• the executive (through the Leader of the House) controls most

  parliamentary time
• Legislation will only pass if it has the support of the executive
• The executive has significant power over ‘secondary legislation,’ where Parliament grants the executive the authority to amend the law

  (sometimes without Parliamentary oversight: these are called

  ‘Henry VIII’ powers)
• royal prerogatives:

  • command of armed forces
  • Appointing, dismissing, and ‘reshuffling’ ministers
  • Nominating Peers of the Realm
  • Conducting foreign policy
  • Dissolving Parliament
• the UK has a cabinet government which means:

  • government is by a cabinet
  • the Prime Minister is primus inter pares
  • decision-making is collective
  • ministers are bound by collective responsibility
• what does the PM do in Cabinet:

  • appoints ministers to cabinet
  • chairs cabinet
  • sets the cabinet agenda
  • decides the nature of cabinet
  • appoints cabinet committees
• In theory, the PM chooses Cabinet, & can choose a balanced Cabinet or a united Cabinet. but there are various restrictions, eg: are 'big beasts' to be included? is a balanced cabinet needed politically/demographically?

• reasons for appointing ministers:

  talent, rewarding loyalty, preventing opposition, to give an impossible job
• The reallocation of ministerial portfolios appointments & promotions demotions & dismissals is a reshuffle
• PMS might reshuffle to:?

  • To reward talent, performance & loyalty
  • To punish underperformance & disloyalty
  • To adjust Cabinet’s political balance
  • And, in general, to maintain Prime Ministerial authority?
• Some Prime Ministers use Cabinet for policy formulation

  eg: James Callaghan once held a three-day Cabinet meeting.
• some Prime Ministers use Cabinet to ‘legitimise’ decisions

  eg: Tony Blair’s Cabinet meetings often took less than

  an hour
• what goes on in cabinet depends on the Prime Minister, because the PM has the power to chair, to set the agenda, and to circumvent Cabinet meetings
• Prime Ministers who prefer to keep a tighter control on decision-making have various ways to circumvent Cabinet meetings:

  • through Cabinet committees;
  • through bilateral meetings with ministers
  • through ‘sofa government’ with a few trusted advisers
• A Cabinet committee meets to discuss issues in more depth than would be possible in a full Cabinet meeting, eg:

  • The National Security Council is chaired by the PM and has 10 other permanent members and 4 sub-committees
  • The Domestic and Economic Affairs committee has 5 permanent members & 2 sub-committees
  • The Home Affairs committee, chaired by the Chancellor of the Exchequer, has 23 permanent members
• a bilateral meeting is a one-to-one meeting between PM & a minister.
• bilateral meetings:

  • Enable in-depth discussion of issues
  • Give ministers the opportunity to convince PM
  • Also give PM the opportunity to convince ministers
  • Cabinet can be presented with a fait accompli (Stamp of seal)
• sofa government is when PMs make decisions with trusted lieutenants, in particular unelected Special Advisers, or SPADs. (So called under Tony Blair because he liked to hold these meetings on the sofa in Ten Downing Street)
• factors affecting prime ministerial power:

  A strong mandate

  Personal popularity

  Congenial circumstances

  Length of time in office
• prime ministers vs. presidents:

  • Presidents have a personal mandate, whereas Prime Ministers don’t
  • Presidents are accountable to the people, whereas Prime Ministers are accountable to Parliament
  • Presidents constitute a ‘singular executive,’ whereas Prime Ministers are primus inter pares
  • Presidents make political appointments to official positions, whereas Prime Ministers inherit a permanent impartial civil service
• another reason (aside from collective responsibility) why ministers must resign is because of scandals or alleged scandals.