“UK government is dominated by the Prime Minister” - Discuss

The role of the PM The role of the PM is down to the personality of the person in the job – we do not have a written constitution, there is very little a PM has to do, though plenty they can do. Much of the powers of the role come through “Royal Prerogative” these are powers which are historically carried out on behalf of the monarch.

Creeping Presidentialism Historically we have had “cabinet government” in the UK. The Prime Minister was seen as “primus inter pares” which means “first among equals”, he or she was first and foremost a minister in the government, the same as the other cabinet ministers – this was underlined by the fact that we do not elect the PM separately – he or she is an MP, elected by their constituency – same as all the other MPs. They have been chosen to be the leader of their party, but not technically elected Prime Minister. This is how it has been historically anyway. In recent years though, there has been a change in UK politics. In elections we have seen that there is a growing tendency to consider the leadership of the party – and hence who will be PM – to be an essential factor in voting behaviour. So the PM can claim legitimacy as having been chosen by the country. This gives them more significant power to dominate their cabinet and has led to the accusation of “creeping presidentialism”

Essay questions So in this essay we will be considering the extent to which the PM dominates cabinet, or whether cabinet can still have power over the PM You should try to think of as many ways as possible that the SQA could write an essay question about this topic

Powers of the PM Essentially we are doing an essay on the powers that the PM has, and how the cabinet can limit these powers. You could cover these four main powers Hiring and Firing Chair of Cabinet Policy Making Image of Government However, how these powers are used is completely dependent on the personality of the person in the job.

Patronage This means the ability to hire and fire Government salaries Promotion – can reward the loyal Seating in cabinet meetings – status Collective responsibility – friends close and enemies closer House of Lords Poisoned chalices – Health Secretary, Home Secretary

Limits to patronage Some too powerful to leave out, and may have their pick of jobs. Not many options per job. 100 ministers, 350 MPs to fill- so 1 in 3.5 to choose between. Some not capable, some not willing, not much fresh talent. Very limiting. Coalition government between 2010 and 2015, severely limited Cameron

Chair of Cabinet Sets the agenda - Blair Sets number of meetings and length – Blair “Take the feel of the meeting” Collective responsibility

Limits on chair of cabinet More scrutiny since Blair Cameron holds more meetings – and longer meetings – figures Ministers can get round collective responsibility with briefings or by resigning. Coalition – meant that policies had to be “coalitionised” before cabinet, removing some of the PMs power to push stuff through.

Cabinet Committees Because cabinet meetings are too short and infrequent to actually discuss all of the policies of government – today the PM sets up small cabinet committees of ministers who go off and discuss and write policies, which they then present to the cabinet, and the become government policies. This gives the PM significant power as they have ultimate control over who goes on the committees, and so this allows them to shape the policies to a significant extent. At any one time there will be 50 of these committees running. The more that is kept out of full cabinet, the more power the PM has to dominate, as they are limiting the knowledge the rest of cabinet has over what is going on. Gives the opportunity to divide and conquer.

Limits on Cabinet Committees There are some ministers too powerful to be left out. Because there are so many committees, it can be difficult for even the PM to keep track of what they are all doing. During coalition, the Lib Dems got on a number of committees – and they were chosen by Nick Clegg. Clegg got to chair COBRA which is one of the most significant cabinet committees.

Image of Government Because of the mass media, the PM has come to be seen as the face of government. This means that they have significant media power, as they are the person who is most likely to be mentioned on the news. Many people have difficulty naming cabinet ministers, but most people can name the PM. Theresa May is the most popular member of the government, this gives her power in cabinet

International Representation Although the PM signs treaties on our behalf, these have to be ratified (agreed) in Parliament these days (this is a recent change, the PM used to be able to make the decision to sign independently). The fact that this has changed is a sign of a limit on PM power.

Limits on Image of government While the PM will get the credit if things are going well, they will also be seen to get the blame when things are not going well.

Nuclear Option At the end of all things – the PM’s last wishes on the use of nuclear force will be adhered to.

Limit on nuclear option We will all be dead so who cares?