PM and Executive

• Individual ministerial responsibility means that ministers are accountable to Parliament for the actions of their department.
• IMR also means that a minister should take personal responsibility for serious administrative or policy mistakes that occur within their department and of which they should have been aware.
• Ministers are expected to not act in any way that would discredit the government of which they are a member.
• The Ministerial Code of Conduct establishes the general principles that ministers should obey:

  • maintain high standards of behaviour
  • harassing, bullying etc is not tolerated
  • be held to account for the decisions and actions of their departments
  • give accurate information to Parliament, and offer a resignation if one knowingly misleads Parliament
  • only remain in office for as long as the PM wants them to
• Ministers should justify the actions of their department during parliamentary debate, in written responses and by appearing before select committees.
• The Ministerial Code of Conduct is a parliamentary convention.
• Only members of the governing party are cabinet members. The only exception is with coalition governments.
• The cabinet normally meets once a week. However, emergency meetings may be called.
• The cabinet does not usually vote on issues. The PM always seeks a general consensus - any member who wishes to disagree publicly will usually be expected to resign.
• Cabinet members receive an enhanced salary.
• Cabinet members are bound by the convention of joint responsibility.
• Collective ministerial responsibility means that all ministers must defend and support all official policy. Each cabinet member is therefore responsible for the actions of one another.
• Why is CMR important?

  • sense of a unified and strong government
  • helps PM maintain dominant position
  • helps ministers express their doubts privately
  • protects individual ministers from pressure
• The power of the PM is dependent on their support and personal popularity.
• The Prime Minister exercises the royal prerogative. These executive powers derive rom the monarchy but are exercised on the monarch’s behalf by the PM.
• As a result of the royal prerogative, the PM:

  • determines the membership of the government
  • makes senior appointments to the civil service and judiciary
  • recommends most appointments of life peers to the HOL
  • negotiates foreign treaties
  • directs military forces in combat
  • decides whether to activate the UK’s Trident nuclear deterrent
• A PM might appoint a rebellious backbencher to their cabinet as they cannot speak out against the government to due the convention of CMR.
• A significant power of the PM is the power of patronage. This can be used to persuade MPs to do as he/she wishes.
• The PM has the power to call a general election since Johnson repealed the Fixed Terms Parliament Act 2011.
• The PM can introduce secondary or delegated legislation. This is where the government can modify legislation without going through the full legislative process.
• Secondary legislation has been criticised for being undemocratic as it is a method of bypassing full parliamentary scrutiny. This happened during COVID-19, where restrictions on public activity and personal freedoms were introduced through statutory instruments.
• The PM will usually try to place potential rivals in his/her cabinet as they would be bound by collective ministerial responsibility. Additionally, it may cultivate loyalty.
• The PM will also try to ensure that his/her cabinet has diversity, both with the ministers' political ideologies, but also their social characteristics.
• The PM lacks a personal mandate as he was elected by members of his party to be the party leader, rather than the people.
• The PM regularly meets with his cabinet, of which he/she chairs meetings.
• Who is the Head of State in the UK?

  Monarch
• The PM's power of patronage is important but sometimes limited. His/her appointments must come from Parliament, and appointments to the Lords are reviewed by the Lords Committee. He/she must also take into account rivals, and including an element of diversity, and popular figures.
• It can be difficult for the PM to appeal to their party due to their 'big tent' nature. Their powers are also threatened by backbench rebellions and votes of no confidence.
• The PM also relies on institutional support. This refers to the civil service, which is incredibly small in comparison to the President's 'west wing'.
• A PM can be seen as 'presidential' when they have a spacial leadership. This means that they distance themselves from their party and secure a personal mandate, in the same way as a president.
• The media's appetite for celebrity news and their enthusiastic coverage of personal interventions in global crises have further increased the constant spotlight on the PM rather than on the government, giving them a presidential image.