GP4B GOVERNING MODERN WALES – THE CORE EXECUTIVE MINISTERS AND MANDARINS Government and Politics As

IN THIS SESSION You will: Gain an understanding of the nature and role of government ministers. Develop an insight into what factors are taken into account when ministers are selected. Appreciate what factors a prime minister might take into account when selecting the cabinet as a team. understand the nature and role of civil servants. create an understanding of the principles governing the work and status of civil servants, and to reinforce an understanding of the distinction between ministers and civil servants. understand the distinctions between ministers and civil servants, they should develop an understanding of the normal relationship between the two. explore the nature of the distinctions and relationships between private advisers, think-tanks and civil servants.

EXERCISE 1 EXTRACT THE FALSE INFORMATION The key facts concerning the nature of ministers are as follows: Ministers must be either MPs or members of the House of Lords. It is constitutionally possible to appoint a minister who does not sit in Parliament, but this is never done, by convention. Ministers are all leading members of the governing party. In a coalition they are leading members of parties involved in the coalition. All ministers are appointed by the prime minister. He or she can also dismiss them or move them from one role to another (i.e. shuffle them).

EXERCISE 1 EXTRACT THE FALSE INFORMATION Most, but not all ministers, manage a department of government. A few may not have a management role, but play some other role in government. Ministers make key decisions for their department. A few critical decisions require prime ministerial or cabinet approval, but ministers also have some independence. Their departmental policies and decisions must conform to official overall government policy. The most senior 20–25 ministers are cabinet ministers, part of the central core of the government.

EXERCISE 1 EXTRACT THE FALSE INFORMATION Ministers have different roles and rankings. Senior ministers are known as ‘secretaries of state’. Junior ministers are known either as ‘ministers of state’ or ‘under-secretaries of state’.

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS The decision to appoint ministers is solely in the hands of the prime minister, So the factors are ones they will consider rather than factors which might appeal to MPs or the electorate. Remember that this role is also duplicated for the deputy prime minister Exercise 2 – Name four general qualities that you think a minister should have?

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS They must be leading members of the governing party (or parties if there is a coalition). They may have good experience of ministerial office useful to a new government (especially when a governing party has been out of power for many years, as was the case in 1997 and 2010). They need experience of operating in Parliament.

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS They should have management skills. They should have good presentational skills. They should have a high degree of party loyalty, with limited or non recent party rebellion. They should be media (TV) friendly

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS Exercise 3 What Specific characteristics may possibly be required by a particular prime minister in choosing a minister For example they may be a close ally and political associate of the prime minister. Their appointment may be a reward for past loyalty. Sometimes dissidents are appointed, in order to ‘gag’ them by making them subject to collective responsibility. They may represent an influential wing of the governing party or parties which needs to be represented at the highest level of government.

THE SELECTION OF MINISTERS The prime minister must also consider the cabinet as a team, So this may affect their appointments (a good analogy is a sports team, which should not simply be the best players, but needs to be a good blend)

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET The prime minister must also consider the cabinet as a team, So this may affect their appointments (a good analogy is a sports team, which should not simply be the best players, but needs to be a good blend)

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET Exercise 4 – Look at the Cabinet and see if you can draw out four facts from what you see?

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET The Prime Minister selections the Cabinet: In a coalition, the prime minister must balance the cabinet between the partners. This would normally be in the same proportion as the representation of the parties in the House of Commons. In 2010 Cameron’s 23-minister cabinet contained 5 Liberal Democrats and 18 Conservatives. The prime minister may prefer a cabinet containing an ideologically tight-knit group. This would be in a situation where the governing party is driven by a distinctive political philosophy. This was very much the case with Tony Blair’s first cabinet in It was united around the so-called ‘New Labour project’. Margaret Thatcher’s cabinet after 1983 was largely committed to her neo-liberal political agenda.

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET The Prime Minister selections the Cabinet: The prime minister may choose to pack the cabinet with close political allies in order to shore up his or her own position. Gordon Brown attempted to do this from 2007, when he hoped to purge the senior levels of the government of supporters of his great rival, Tony Blair. He only partially succeeded. The prime minister, to some extent, takes into account the social balance of the cabinet. For example, Tony Blair appointed a large number of women to cabinet and the first openly gay minister. He also appointed the first black cabinet minister, Paul Boateng, as an inspiration for creating an inclusive, multicultural society.

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET The Prime Minister selections the Cabinet: Either through choice or necessity, the prime minister might construct a ‘balanced’ cabinet containing members representing different sections of the party or parties. John Major was forced to do this after 1992, because the party was deeply divided over Europe and he had to appease both sections of the party. The 2010 coalition cabinet was politically balanced from within both ruling parties in the interest of the so-called ‘new politics’ — an attempt to introduce consensus politics and reduce conflict in political circles.

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET Exercise 5 – What kind of cabinet is the current cabinet, and why?

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET Exercise 6 – Exam practice What factors does a prime minister take into account when appointing cabinet ministers? (25 marks, about 500 words) Think of three main factors?

THE SELECTION OF THE CABINET Exercise 6 – Exam practice Individual factors. Team factors. Coalitions. Conclusion. It would be useful to assess which of the above are key factors. Part of the conclusion may relate to the current cabinet at the time of undertaking this assignment.

MINISTERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS Remember that ministers make political decisions, Whereas civil servants are expected to provide options and suggest consequences on a neutral basis. Exercise 7 – Read the extract below then from the episode of the TV series Yes Minister determine the relationship between the Minister James Hacker and the civil servant Sir Humphrey Appleby and see which model of government may be applicable

WHAT CIVIL SERVANTS MAY DO Civil servants provide options; ministers decide between those options. For example, a minister considering where to site new nuclear power plants may be provided with a list of possible locations. Civil servants explain the pros and cons of various options. In the example shown above, for example, civil servants provide the minister with the arguments concerning each possible site. In this way the minister can make an informed choice.

WHAT CIVIL SERVANTS MAY DO Civil servants organise research to act as the background to policy making. For example, the officials advising the chancellor of the exchequer could provide information on how much revenue a new tax might raise for government use. Civil servants are expected to warn ministers about the likely consequences of policies and decisions. For example, if a minister is considering ordering the construction of a new motorway, civil servants must advise on such issues as environmental damage or the effects on local communities.

WHAT CIVIL SERVANTS SHOULD NOT DO Advise ministers on the possible effects of a decision on public opinion. Advise ministers on whether a decision will be popular or unpopular within the governing party. Advise ministers on which decisions and policies will be most beneficial to the government and the governing party. Give ministers advice on political issues.

EXERCISE 8 – MANDARINS BLOCKING MINISTERS Questions What have civil servants been accused of by the minister? Is there any evidence of this? What might be a possible solution?

EXERCISE 9 EXAM PRACTICE Exercise 9 Exam practice (a) Explain the difference between a minister and a civil servant. (5 marks,100 words) (b) What are the main principles upon which the civil service operates, and why are these principles important? (25 marks, 500 words)

SPECIAL ADVISERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS civil servants are politically neutral, but this means ministers may feel they are denied political advice. This is where private advisers and think-tanks can fill the gap. There has been a constant growth of private or special advisers in British politics as ministers seek to get alternative advice to their civil servants They provide specifically political advice to ministers. Alistair Campbell, Tony Blair’s close adviser, was the best- known of these from recent times. Ed Balls, a leading member of the Labour leadership, became prominent as Gordon Brown’s political adviser. David Cameron also worked as a political adviser in the Treasury. Civil servants give neutral advice, but there may be some tensions between the neutral advice of civil servants and the political advice of personal advisers.

SPECIAL ADVISERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS Political advisers are now able to use the services of civil servants, but not vice versa. Political advisers are concerned with the political fortunes of the government, its ministers and the governing party. They may, in some cases, have political motivations of their own. Political – special advisors have also caused controversy from time to time by advising one minister against the policies pursued by another. In the 1980s this lead to a famous series of political resignations when Sir Alan Walters advised Margaret Thatcher to pursue a different set of policies to that proposed by her then chancellor Nigel Lawson Exercise 10 Special advisors

SPECIAL ADVISERS AND CIVIL SERVANTS Political advisers are a relatively modern phenomenon and that their growth has been a key development in the operation of government. They are often referred to as ‘spin doctors’ because they may be involved in presenting policies in a favourable light (otherwise known as a favourable ‘spin’). Exercise 11 Special advisors

EXERCISE 11 SPECIAL ADVISOR B S C P Y E W O + R + R E L D + A + + N N I + E + R A D T + + O + O R A + + I F + P D B C C + M I Y O + E S + Z + N R N + T + + D + I G U + + D A + N H B + U + + P + G A + C + S R O T C O D N I P S + M T

THINK TANKS What are the roles of think tanks in government? Conducting background research to policies. Providing policy advice to ministers. Promoting a particular political ideology or cluster of related ideas. Placing particular policy ideas onto the political agenda. Acting as an alternative ‘independent’ determinator of policy Exercise 12, plot where the think tanks are located on the political spectrum