Prime Minister Essay Plans and Notes

How important is the Cabinet?

For	Against
Settling Disputes – a forum to resolve Government areas of conflict, budget & EU. Very significant in the coalition government where there were divided parties with divided ideologies. Likely to continue to be a significant factor as the cabinet is filled with powerful members who have conflicting beliefs.	The present cabinet rarely meets. The Prime Minister conducts work at number 10 and cabinet members work with their departments. Potentially another issue the Quad probably works through to get things done.
National Emergencies – in national emergency quick and informed decisions are required to be made which tends to occur in the cabinet. Cameron’s war cabinet during the war with Libya, continued through to Syrian war.	These tend to reflect the beliefs and wants of the Prime Minister rather than the Cabinet. Resolutions tend to be chosen by the Prime Minister.
Supreme Policy Making Body – especially in the Coalition government where the Prime Minister cannot formulate policies with the expectation of it being accepted, the Prime Minister is dependent on cabinet unity to get things passed.	The idea of collective decision making is merely a myth. In Blair’s Government they had a Sofa Cabinet with all of his best mates and in the previous coalition government there was the Quad
Containing PM’s Power – fundamental for preserving the constitution and protecting the rights of individuals. The government is under the constitutional basis of one amongst others; there is an equal share of power.	The media is a powerful tool used by the Prime Minister against this. Collective Responsibility has been used for political gain rather than containing power. Prime Ministers can also outgrow constraints and become spatial leaders.
Individuals – when the PM lacks party control, the individual beliefs and ideas of cabinet members start to come through. These members can then play a big role in shaping the profile of the party. Michael Gove who made huge education reforms, Theresa Mae, who is a key member, is retaining her position for a while now.	This depends on the department the ministers are in. Some departments do little to shape policy and are given little attention by the media.

Limitations on PM power

o   Size of parliamentary majority – coalition enjoys a comfortable lead over parties. A

o   The unity of the ruling party or coalition - Thatcher led a divided party; some supported her free market economy & reduced state intervention; however the wets/traditional conservative views opposed her. She removed the dissenting cabinet members; leading Britain into the most dynamic leadership
Major led a split Conservative Party on British relationship with Europe and the state relationship to the economy.

Divisions within the Conservative Party have severely weakened Cameron’s power. Cameron has virtually no control over Conservative MPs which has resulted in the two UKIP defectors.

o   The public & media profile of the PM (IMPORTANT) – leaders that lose the confidence of the public and media become a political liability. Thatcher when she was removed, and what weakened Blair.

The media has played a detrimental role is weakening the Prime Ministers power towards the end of the coalition government.  Having being forced propose a referendum on the EU by the media it is clear that Cameron’s power is heavily reliant on public opinion.

o   Prime minister’s survival based on the confidence of the cabinet and Parliament – policies of the PM are meaningless if there isn’t any parliamentary approval

The Prime Ministers power to persuade has been widely exercised in the coalition government. The Prime Minister has also faced the threat of backbench rebellion repeatedly which is a power held by parliament that limits the PM authority.

o   Prime ministers can be hindered by opposition from own party: parties less importance today, PM draw his authority from the governing party. 

o   Coalitions (special problems) – not totally free to appoint or having control of policies. No parliamentary majority and carries an artificial mandate.

Compromise became a key feature of the coalition government; Cameron has had to compromise over budgets, constitutional reforms and foreign affairs which previous Prime Ministers did not have to be worried about. The presidential theory can no longer stand because Cameron cannot be a spatial leader.

Strengths of the PM Power

*      Independence from cabinet. The PM has become less reliant on consensus from the cabinet and can run departments himself.

*      Face of Government. Despite electing representatives the PM remains the central focus of government.

*      Presidential style government. The PM’s power and effectiveness has increasingly resembled a presidential government.

*      Power of Patronage. Prime Minister can shape the Cabinet to a powerful but controllable cabinet that allows him/her to dominate the policy making process.

*      Critical Events. The public tend to centralise focus on a prime minister at critical events which is a time at which they can pass a series of reforms without opposition and show off their strengths.

*      Media. The media can be used as a political weapon.

Can the Prime Minister control Parliament

*      Collective responsibility. The Prime Minister can declare support for a legislation which the Cabinet have to publically accept. Provided Blair with a great deal of power (Iraq).

*      Agenda. The Prime Ministers sets the agenda for each cabinet meeting and concludes the outcome. Blair often mad the cabinet revolve around him and his policies and Cameron pushed through with controversial policies.

*      Inner Cabinets. The image of a cabinet collectively making decisions is a myth; the PM often forms inner cabinet where most policy discussion is formed. (Quad and Sofa Government)

*      Patronage. The Prime Minister can appoint ministers who he wishes to control or remove ones that are considered a liability.

Is the Prime Minister effectively a President?

PM IS A PRESIDENT	THE PM IS NOT A PRESIDENT
Head of State + Leader of the nation. In times of difficulty, the country unites behind the Head of Govt.	Peter Hennessy: PM is a flexible post – what the holder makes of it, THATCHER & BLAIR = PRESIDENTIAL, MAJOR + CALLAGHAN = NOT presidential
Extensive network of personal advisers, think tanks, policy units, working groups. Own govt. department – 10 Downing Street, resembling the White House. Few civil servants	Style rather than substance. PM seem more presidential; media attention & importance of foreign policy. Thatcher: poll tax against her party’s wishes
Importance of media in politics: sole media advisers on enhancing the PM image & controlling information coming from 10 Downing Street. General public see the PM as a motif/icon for the entire government. This is a double edged sword – successes of the government, failures of the government	Elastic theory = PM can stretch the powers of office further, and the forces of constraint become very strong. Thatcher, above
Growth of importance of foreign & military affairs contributed to the ‘presidential feel’. Thatcher & Reagan, Clinton and Bush all appeared PRESIDENTIAL.	Gordon Brown, no presidential status – didn’t face an electorate. PM whose power was destroyed by the world events (financial crisis)
Spatial leadership – new theory, Michael Foley : leaders are SPEERATE from the rest of the government because they are elected separately from the rest of government – different source of authority & directly accountable to the people. Not present with the British PM – more effective if the PM could claim his mandate from the people and not from his party. Thatcher promised a roll back the frontiers of the state criticising the civil service for their wastefulness and not open to opposing own ministers. She used her own advisers on economic policy to bypass her own Chancellor – Lawson = start to her demise Blair chose to adopt certain foreign policy – NI, education and health. Attempted to dominate politics. Areas he wasn’t interested in, he became an outsider	Cameron cannot be a spatial leader. When there is no government or parliamentary unity the Prime minister is heavily reliant on compromising to get things down.The Prime Ministers authority also lies within the party. It has become increasingly apparent that Prime Ministers who try to create a presidential government through claiming their own authority has become less significant. A party can cause both the success and failure of a Prime Minister.
Blair’s status on the world stage supported this belief; he looked like a staged one. Took leading interest in international affairs; world poverty, reform of the EU, political structure. NI – final decisions. Iraq war – counterproductive, because of the weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Respect abroad countered by a lack of tryst at home	Government was weak – dominated the through the failings of others.Not focussed on domestic policy.
Cameron faces a minority in parliament, a divided cabinet and an artificial mandate but still manages to dominate parliament and the legislative body. Government has reflected right wing ideologies even after having a coalition	Not presidential on the world stage: 2011 Libya – won him support holding up a great defence of surrendering British sovereignty in the moves towards greater EU. Not focussed on domestic policy

To what extent has the coalition government reformed the relationship between parliament and government?

Agree	Evaluation
Legislative process – the prime minister can no longer dominate the legislative process. Cameron was dependent on his power to persuade members of both parties and had to compromise on a great deal of policies. (Snoopers charter was dropped, welfare reforms were limited etc.)	Like we saw with previous governments, much legislation was produced in the prime ministers inner cabinet, the quad. Much of this legislation was also passed by parliament, Cameron controlled parliament more than anticipated.
Collective responsibility – weaker towards the end of the government. Liberal democrats became a strong opposition in the government. The Prime Minister could no longer create a strong government than could control parliament.	Conservative domination remains, controversial polices still did pass through a cabinet divided by parties and then through parliament.
Whips & Party Discipline – a collation means different party MPs can vote as they wish. A Conservative whip may have not been as effective at controlling a Liberal Democrat backbench MP.	The coalition government had no major defeats despite the controversy of cuts made and remained a dominating body.
House of Lords – the power of the Lords significantly increased in the new government. The coalition government suffered 103 defeats by the Lords as the Salisbury Convention did not stand and the Lords wanted to act as “an effective opposition”.	The constitution will always limit their scope allowing for a powerful Government. Whatever power the Lords enjoyed is likely to be weakened in the new government.