To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK

Unit 2: Governing the UKREVISION SESSIONS (June 2013)

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Date ContentMonday 15th April Constitution

Is it accurate to say that ‘The UK constitution is no longer fit for purpose’?

Monday 22nd April ParliamentHow effective is parliament in checking executive power?

Monday 29th April Prime Minister & CabinetTo what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK?

Monday 6th May **BANK HOLIDAY**Monday 13th May Judges & Civil Liberties

Is the judiciary too powerful, or is it not powerful enough?

Monday 20th May EXAM SKILLS & TECHNIQUE

REVISION SESSIONS (June 2013)


To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political

system in the UK?


PM & Cabinet - Recap• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6v7x_XeSdY


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z6v7x_XeSdY

To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political

system in the UK?

Question AnalysisWhat is the examiner asking you to do?

Judgement needed: Sliding scale – to what extent?Large extent, some extent, small extent etc.

Prime Minister: Focus on executive powerOutline powers of prime minister (arguments for = powers that are not checked effectively & arguments against = powers that are checked effectively)

Presidentialism: Scope within the question explore whether PM dominates system by acting more presidential

PM PowerHas PM become more powerful? Can refer to PM styles.

40 mark question: Remember you need an introduction, 3-4 developed points and a conclusion.Plan out your answer in bullet points before writing.

Focus: What is Prime Ministerial Dominance?

• The Prime Minister has extensive powers, and through these powers is able to exercise control and influence over the political system.

• The extent of this control can be considered in terms of prime ministerial dominance- how much power/control does the PM have? - how easily can they do as they wish?- do they truly ‘dominate’ the political system?

• Dominance can also be considered in terms of prime ministerial style, and theories of executive power.


Focus: Roles and Powers of the Prime Minister

• Providing direction for the government• Political and policy leadership• Making appointments to major public offices• Chairing the cabinet and steering its decisions• Answering Prime Minister’s Questions in the

House of Commons• Communicating the government’s message• Representing the country in international affairs

Key Roles of the Prime Minister



PatronageAuthority in the cabinet systemParty leadershipPublic standingPolicy-making roleThe Prime Ministers’ Office

Powers and Constraints of the PM


PatronagePowers of the PM• appoints ministers• allocates cabinet posts• reshuffles cabinet• dismisses ministers

Constraints• claims of senior colleagues for

inclusion and specific posts• Labour PM required to appoint

first cabinet from elected shadow cabinet

• desirability of ideological balance• unintended consequences of

botched reshuffles• possibility of sacked ministers

emerging as rivals for leadership• availability of talented

backbenchers



Authority in the cabinet systemPowers of the PM• chairs cabinet meetings• manages the cabinet agenda• steers, sums up and determines

outcome of cabinet discussions• holds bilateral and informal

meetings with key ministers• appoints chairs and members of

cabinet committees• restructure central government

Constraints• requires cabinet support on major

or controversial issues• senior ministers have authority

and may challenge the PMs preferred policy

• problems may arise if senior ministers feel they are being ignored

• not involved in detailed policy making in cabinet committees



Party LeadershipPowers of the PM• authority as the leader of a

political party• elected by MPs and party

members• enjoys a majority in the House of

Commons

Constraints• support of party is not

unconditional• possibility of backbench rebellions



Public StandingPowers of the PM• high public profile• communication-in-chief for the

government• political leaders in times of crisis• represents country in

international affairs

Constraints• unpopularity with the electorate

undermines authority• may become the focus of media

criticism



Policy Making RolePowers of the PM• directs government policy and

sets the agenda• authority to become involved in

policy areas of choosing• takes the key role in times of

crisis

Constraints• limited time and lack of detailed

knowledge• lacks the resources provided by a

government department• may be difficult to achieve policy

success



Prime Ministers’ OfficePowers of the PM• Prime Minister’s Office provides

advice and support• better enables PM to direct policy

and act as a communicator• appoints special advisers• can reorganise the structure of

the government

Constraints• Prime Ministers’ Office has limited

resources (staff, funding)• power of other departments,

especially the Treasury



• Different Prime Ministers follow different styles of leadership because the way in which a Prime Minister behaves is subject to considerable external pressure, which varies from time to time, and which affects the type of leadership that is exercised.

• There is quite a body of literature on this subject, but one analysis which is particularly useful is that of Philip Norton.

• He divides Prime Ministers into four groups:

Focus: Prime Ministerial Leadership Style


Types of Prime Ministerial Style

InnovatorsSome Prime Ministers have an individual goal they wish to achieve, with their own party often not fully committed to supporting it. This clearly affects how they work and what type of leadership role they adopt. Examples of this type of leader include Thatcher and Edward Heath. It might be possible to put Blair in this category too.

EgoistsThose in this group are simply power-hungry and wish to remain in power at all costs, without really having a clear idea of what they wish to achieve. Harold Wilson is sometimes seen as falling into this category, as is Tony Blair by some of his critics.

ReformersSome Prime Ministers have the desire to implement the ideological agenda of their own political party. An example here would be Clement Attlee, the Labour Prime Minister in the years 1945–51.

Balancers Prime Ministers of this sort face grave difficulties in their political parties, or perhaps in the country as a whole, and their main aim is survival and the maintenance of peace. John Major can be seen as one of these, as can James Callaghan, Harold Wilson and Gordon Brown.



Theories of Executive Power• This in turn leads us to consider the different theories of

executive power – where does executive power lie?• Is the current system truly a prime ministerial government or

evidence of presidentialism where the PM dominates or is the core executive or cabinet model more appropriate because the PM does not dominate the political system?

Cabinet governmentPrime-ministerial governmentPresidentialismThe Core Executive



Cabinet government• ‘traditional’ view of UK gov – power is collective not personal & located

in cabinet rather than PM (within cabinet, all ministers are equal in terms of influence on gov policy, direction, agenda etc)

• PM first in name only – primus inter pares = first among equals (no more power than any other member of the cabinet)

• Collective responsibility, cabinet collegiality (disagreement or dissent only ever expressed in secrecy of cabinet room – NEVER in public)

• Outdated? ‘norm’ in period before disciplined political parties in HofC when threat of resignation of minister could threaten life of gov

• party discipline/unity means loyalty of MPs shifted away from individual ministers (patrons/friends) to party – cabinet gov and collective responsibility less significant

• HOWEVER – no PM can survive if lose support of cabinet as authority of PM linked to backing received from ‘big beasts’ in cabinet who due to support in govt, HofC, party are effectively ‘unsackable’



Prime-ministerial government• Growing power of PM in 20thc. Development of

political parties during 19thc meant PM could use leverage of party leadership

• no longer first among equals - focus of party loyalty on him rather than his equals

• Cabinet gov replaced by PM govt (PM not cabinet dominates both executive and parliament – because PM head of civil service and leader of largest party in HofC)

• Undoubted growth in PM power since 1945• Cabinet is no longer the key policy-making body



Presidentialism• PMs increasingly resemble presidents (Wilson, Thatcher, Blair) [overlap

with PM government – both views emphasise dominance of PM over cabinet]

• Cabinet seen as subordinate body – ‘sounding board’ and source of advice

• Process of presidentialization evident in various forms- growth of ‘spatial leadership’ (space between PM and parties/gov – personal ideolgocial stance)- tendency towards ‘populist outreach’ (reach out directly to public – ‘cult of the outsider’)- personalized election campaigns – mass media increasingly portrays elections as personal battles – leaders become ‘brand’ of their party e.g. 2010 “I agree with Nick” phenomenon- personal mandates – PM claims popular authority based on their electoral success- wider use of special advisers



The Core ExecutiveFocus: Prime Ministerial Leadership Style

• Beyond simplistic cabinet v PM debate – both PM and cabinet operate in the context of the ‘core executive’

• Neither PM or cabinet is independent of the other• Each of them exercises influence in and through a network of

relationships – range of other actors and institutions involved in governing

• Balance of power affected by resources available to various actors• Wider factors such as economic and diplomatic developments influence

workings of core executive• PM power not only constrained by cabinet collegiality but need to

cooperate with other organizations/procedures (power is never monocratic)

• Power within executive is about relationships – not just command and control


The conventional view of prime ministerial power includes the following issues :• They enjoy multiple sources of authority, including their party,

the electorate, prerogative powers and parliament.• They dominate the political agenda of the government.• They dominate cabinet government.• They are able to take advantage of extensive prerogative

powers, notably in foreign policy terms.• They have extensive patronage.• They are treated as spokespeople for government by the

media.• They often have developed a presidential ‘style’.• The experience of prime ministers is likely to include

illustrations from the premierships of Thatcher, Major, Blair, Brown and Cameron.

Focus: How powerful is the Prime Minister? Are his powers sufficient to dominate the UK political

system?


The evidence from past premierships that the prime minister may not be as a powerful as is commonly believed, may include the following :• Power may depend on the size and security of their

parliamentary majority (Major, Cameron).• Events are a key element in prime ministerial authority, and

therefore power (Blair and Iraq, Brown and the financial crisis).• The prime minister may not enjoy a dominant personality

and/or may lose the confidence of the media and the electorate (Brown, Major).

• Coalition means the prime minister must share some power with the coalition partner (Cameron).

• All prime ministers may be removed from office by their party or by parliament (Thatcher, Blair).

• Prime ministers must carry cabinet with them and may not be able to do so (Thatcher – poll tax - Major).

Focus: How powerful is the Prime Minister? Are his powers sufficient to dominate the UK political

system?


The arguments to suggest he is a president include• the increasing use of prerogative powers especially in the field

of foreign affairs and war• the growth of the Downing Street machine• the use of the media• concentration of the media on the prime minister as a separate

leader• growth of spatial leadership • The presidential style of the prime minister. • Much evidence is available from several recent prime

ministers.

Focus: Can the Prime Minister be considered a president, and therefore dominates the UK political system?


Countervailing evidence includes• the prime minister is not head of state and, strictly, has no

separate popular mandate as a president does.• However, the prime minister does appear to act as

representative of the nation at times (e.g. over security, national crises etc.) rather than as narrow partisan leader.

• Note the limitations which presidents do not have – the cabinet as a collective body and parliament in particular.

• Understanding that prime ministers may adopt a presidential style while there is relatively little substance.

• Use of examples of such limitations and style issues in relation to Thatcher, Major, Blair and Brown.

Focus: Can the Prime Minister be considered a president, and therefore dominates the UK political system?

Evidence that the prime minister does dominate the system can include : • The argument that, as cabinet has declined, so has the power of the

P.M. increased. Note less cabinet meetings and shorter duration. • Evidence of recent dominant prime ministers – Thatcher, Blair (Brown

not at first, but then took over single handed management of the financial and economic crisis after 2007).

• Growth of the Number 10 ‘machine’. • Tendency of media to see the P.M. as spokesperson for the whole

government. • Weakness of parliament and ability of P.M. to force through his

legislation • Dominance of the P.M. in increasingly important international affairs –

note attendance at many world meetings etc. and importance of foreign policy since the 1980s. This enhances the P.M’s authority.

Focus: To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK?


Counter arguments to this analysis might include : • Prime Ministers are only as powerful as circumstances allow them to

be – note Major and the early Brown or late Blair. Size of parliamentary majority, economic and political context, media attitudes, strength of Opposition.

• Dominance may also depend on the personality of the P.M. (Major). • Parliament has become increasingly active – note its obstruction of

terrorist suspect detention without trial, super-casinos etc. • Note the argument that this is about ‘style’ and not substance. • P.M. can still be overruled by Cabinet and cannot force policies

through powerful, reluctant colleagues.

Focus: To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK?


To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK?

ConclusionThe prime minister dominates the political system in the UK…

CompletelyTo a large extentTo some extent

To a small extentTo no extent at all

because...REMEMBER TO JUSTIFY YOUR ARGUMENT

REMEMBERWeight of argumentsNot number

of arguments


To what extent does the prime minister dominate the political system in the UK

Education

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