Prime Minister and the Cabinet

1
Prime Minister and the Cabinet

• Read and précis chapter 8 of The Essentials of
  UK Politics by Andrew Heywood.

2
Ground Rules

• Raise your hand before you speak
• No food/drink
• Turn off mobiles

3
The role of the Prime Minister

• What is the role of the Prime Minister? What
  functions do they have to, or have the right to
  perform?
• In pairs, think of as many powers of the Prime
  Minister, both official and unofficial, and
  we will go through them together

Question What does Primus inter pares mean? How
does it relate to the Prime Minister?
4
The role of the Prime Minister

• The Prime Minister is certainly powerful but what
  factors outside their control constrain the PM?
• In pairs, think of as many examples as you can of
  what can constrain the PMs power. Also think
  about an example of when this happened, eg media
  support Major didnt have this when the Sun
  opted to back Blair in the 97 election

5
The Prime Ministers Office

• The PM does not have his own department, but he
  has an office with sections dealing with
  policy, communications and strategy
• The PMs Office has grown in the last 20 years.
  Why do you think that is? What does it tell us?

6
PM Leadership Style

• PMs all have different leadership styles, as they
  are all different people living in different
  times.
• In pairs, prepare bullet point presentations on
  the styles of Thatcher, Major, Blair or Brown.
• What was more important to their leadership
  style, their personality or the circumstances
  surrounding their premiership?

7
PM Leadership style

• Compare the leadership styles of Gordon Brown and
  David Camerons.
• What factors shape a PMs leadership style?

8
The Cabinet

• What is the cabinet?
• Who are important figures in the cabinet?
• There are regular cabinet meetings. These are
  very busy people! Are all major policies decided
  in cabinet. Why should they meet so often?

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10
Presentations

• In pairs, prepare detailed presentations on
  either
• The Cabinet Office and Cabinet Committees, how
  they work and what they do, OR
• Different styles of Cabinet Government, using
  terms such as collective responsibility, core
  executive, kitchen cabinet
• Produce as either PowerPoint or handouts so the
  rest of the class has a record of your
  presentation

11
Roleplay

• See exercise for details