Summary
Summary PM and the Executive Recap including Contemporary Examples
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Recap of PM and the executive topic, covering key terms and concepts helping you get a better understanding of the unit!
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OVERVIEW REVISION SHEETFACTORS GOVERNING THE PM’S SELECTION OF MINISTER
Individual Competence and experience
- Running a large and complex government is difficult so delegrade roles to experienced
ministers
- Jeremy Hunt being brought as Chancellor by both Truss and Sunak having served for 9
years since 2010
- Ben Wallance has been secretary of state of defence under Johnson, Sunak and Tuss due
to experience as a soldier
Establishing authority
- Seek to stamp their authority over their party by removing certain cabinet ministers and
replacing them with their own allies
- Truss removed Patel, Dorries and Raab who were all important members of Johnson’s
cabinet
Loyalty and political reliability
- Seek to reward loyalty of allies and know collective responsibility will be accepted
- Confident that ministers won’t destabilise government
- Johnson sacked NI secretary Julian Smith as Smith has spoken out against a no deal
Brexit despite he was a very liked and effective
Ideological balance
- Select ideological balanced cabinet which represents different factions in the party
- May appointed a number of Brexiteers such as Johnson and David Davis and remainers
such as Jeremy Hunt
- May also offer their failed opponents cabinet positions = Johnson gave roles to Hancock
and Michael Gove
Direct representation and diversity
- Important to ensure descriptive representation
- Blair appointed Margaret Becket as Britain’s first female Foreign Secretary
- Overall, white males still dominant cabinet
- Coalition criticised for only 4 women in its first cabinet
- Sajid Javid was the sole ethnic minority member of May’s first cabinet
FACTORS THAT AFFECT THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PM AND CABINET
Management skills of PM
- Effective PM can use power to shape top team by removing poor performers and bringing
in fresh talent and promoting ideological allies
- Allows PM to maintain authority and marginalise the power of factions which want to
destabilise the government or eventually gain power
- If PM becomes too dominant and does;t give ministers some control, results in them being
removed from cabinet = elastic band model evident with Thatcher
- May failed to effectively manage her cabinet and was constantly undermined by leaking and
briefing against the government
PM’S ability to set the agenda
- PM chairs all cabinet meetings giving them scope to lead people toward their desired
positions on a particular issue
- Can also keep things off the agenda meetings = May prevented a vote within cabinet on
whether a no deal brexit should be an option
, IMPORTANCE OF CABINET IN DECISION MAKING
Committees and informal groups
- PM has more control in small forums and it is easier to reach a compromise with one or key
key minister rather than a whole cabinet
- Often use small cabinet committees such as the COVID strategy committee to make
decisions, shunning the cabinet
- Under Blair he and Brown negotiated with each other to determine economic policy having
informal meetings with important ministers to determine policy = sofa government
- Quad was used under coalition were key decisions were made by Cameron, Osbourne,
Clegg and Alander
Use of special advisors
- Special advisors have occupied an important role in downing street and in decision making
- Unelected and are hired directly by the PM
- By 2005 Tony Blair had 30 special advisors
- Dominic Cummings had a very significant amount of power in Johnson’s government as a
special advisor
Growth of downing street
- Well supported by the PM’s office and the cabinet office
- Enable the PM to have an overview of policy and drive delivery and strategy
- Under Blair, downing street also tried to exercise considerable control over the govt
messaging in the media using the Communications and Strategy directorate
- Under Johnson during COVID, daily televised press briefing were used to control govt
messaging in relation to the PM
POLITICAL AND PARTY CONTEXT
Size of a government’s majority
- Large majority means more power and control over party and cabinet as more risks can be
taken in terms of legislation
- Blair’s majorities meant he could endure several rebellions from Labour left without serious
defeats
- May had less control over her cabinet after losing her majority in the 2017 GE, Johnson
consistently briefing against the government and sometimes even speaking against the
government
Popularity of PM
- Important factor in influencing whether they are able to exercise control over cabinet
- Popular PM will be supported by cabinet and party
- Unpopular PM will be seen as an electoral liability and their party may seek to remove them
- Thatcher was popular thus exercises significant power on cabinet but turned unpopular due
to reasons such as poll tax led to cabinet resigning
- Johnson was popular had control which faded after party gate and resigned
- Truss was forced out due to her failed economic reform just after 54 days
Unified party
- Easier to manage unified party = May struggled to keep support of party that was divided
under Brexit
Wider political and economic situation
- Crises can define a PM’s premiership and harm popularity
- Blair’s response to Diana’s death boosted his standing as new PM whilst Cameron was
praised for his response to the 2011 riots
- Johnson was damaged by partygate under Covid and May was brexit
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