The Prime Minister and executive

1
The Prime Minister and executive
2
What is the UK government?

• All members of the government must sit in
  Parliament, the vast majority- 90 are also
  elected MPs.
• MPs from the party which is in government are not
  members of the government and so are not bound by
  the same rules.
• PM appoints members of the government and he
  alone can dismiss them.
• All members of the government are bound by the
  doctrine of CMR. However the formation of the
  coalition has muddied the waters with the
  principle of agreement to differ e.g. AV.

3
Factors influencing ministerial selection

• Political reliability- although well known
  dissidents are appointed- Mo Mowlem, Robin Cook,
  Clare Short
• Potential- applies to appointment junior
  ministers
• Ideological similarity- however, the formation of
  the coalition has muddied the waters here
• Managerial skills- ministers will have a large
  body of civil servants, advisers and other bodies
  to manage.

4
Other forms of government

• Minority
• Coalitions in the UK. At Westminster, no
  coalition since 1945. However Scotland with
  Lab/LibDem 1998-2007, local government and
  Westminster 2010
• Majority Coalitions- 2 parties to create a
  parliamentary majority
• Grand coalitions- 2 parties to create an
  overwhelming majority
• Rainbow coalitions- a larger number- this was
  suggested as a progressive coalition 2010 to keep
  the Tories out- this would have involved the
  nationalist parties and the greens!.
• National coalitions- all parties in times of
  crisis e.g. 1931 and WW2

5
Arguments on coalitions

• For
• Coalition most common form government in EU- 20
  of the 27 member states.
• Not true lack legitimacy- pre election pacts
  Republic Ireland and in Germany- also post
  election an investiture vote whereby a coalition
  secures parliamentary approval- Scotland and
  Wales.
• Stable coalitions in Scotland 1999-2003 and
  2003-7
• Evidence from Yong and Hazel- How the Coalition
  Government Works- evidence from western Europe
  suggests that coalitions no more likely to break
  up over internal party conflict than single party
  governments. On Constitutional reform- Cons
  agree to referendum on AV- LibDems agree AV in
  place STV, LibDems agree on EU bill (referendum
  before agree to any new treaty transfer powers to
  Brussels) Cons agree to fixed term Parliaments
  and LibDems to reduction number MPs (they would
  lose out) and Cons agree drop manifesto pledge to
  scrap HRA in place of a Bill of Rights
  Commission which would look for an ECHR
  alternative not minus ECHR.
• Evidence from Yong and Hazell also suggest a high
  degree of cooperation at centre of government
  2010-2011
• Present coalition formed speedily election on 6th
  and formed on 11th- five days in May
• Long term trends such as decline in support two
  main parties, rise in 3rd party vote and decline
  in marginals suggests coalitions feature of future

• Against
• Deadlock after an election- Belgian coalition
  formed November 2011 after 18 months.
• Undermines CMR- 2010 agree to disagree on four
  substantive policy areas in the Coalition
  Agreement.
• Historic hostility to coalitions- Disraeli
  England does not love coalitions.
• Difficulty of LibDems as junior partners to
  convince public of their distinctive contribution
  to the coalition- disastrous collapse in LibDem
  support following tuition fees.

6
Impact of the coalition on the practice of
government

• Agreement to disagree on substantive policy
  areas.
• Formation of a Coalition Cttee- E.g. Wales
  2007-11 established two each chaired and co
  chaired by first and deputy first minister
  (Coalition agreement and Presentation policy and
  Budget). At Westminster- Coalition. Operations
  and Strategy Planning Group and final arbiter
  Coalition Cttee- latter chaired by PM and deputy-
  each group equal membership both parties 410.
• Use of watchdog ministers- ministerial twinning-
  junior minister from one party to department
  headed by minister from the other- LibDems
  appointed alongside Conservatives in all but five
  departments.
• A functional coalition depends on relationship PM
  and the deputy- involves joint decision making in
  terms of ministerial appointments, consultation
  on cabinet agenda, copied to all papers on
  significant policy issues- the good faith no
  surprises principle
• There has been a revival cabinet Government since
  its decline 1997-2010- in particular the revival
  of the cabinet Cttee system as a forum for
  strategic and general policy discussion- in
  contrast there was a chasm between NO10 and NO11
  under Blair and Brown ran NO10 as a bunker
  mentality.
• Formation of s substantial deputy PM office as he
  was required to have oversight over all areas
  government policy. Under the terms of the
  Coalition Agreement, Nick Clegg has the right to
  be consulted on all policy areas/decisions.
• Greater empowerment civil service- who are
  encouraged more to intervene in Whitehall policy
  debates and to give more evidence and advice, the
  Cabinet Secretariat which had been sidelined
  under previous PMs has been revived with revival
  of the Cabinet Cttee system.
• Aim was to reduce number of SPADS- two per
  Cabinet minister and none for juniors- to beef up
  resources to LibDems more were included.

7
Key features of Cabinet Government

• Textbook assumption for British government up
  till 1960s- that is the supreme decision making
  body in government
• Cabinet represented collective identity of the
  government.
• All important foreign and domestic decisions made
  in cabinet
• For a policy to be official required full cabinet
  approval
• Prime Minister considered primus inter pares.
  This means he had higher status but could be
  outvoted

8
Prime Ministerial dominance

• Harold Wilson was accused by Richard Crossman and
  Barbara Castle of operating a prime ministerial
  government
• He set up the Kitchen cabinet- cab sec and a few
  advisors to discuss strategy at No.10.
• He controlled agenda of meetings and did deals
  before the Cabinet met.
• The first PM to understand the power of the TV.
• By 1983 Mrs T having won the Falklands and the
  1983 election was able to pack Cabinet with
  supporters. Media focused on her.
• Ultimately, Mrs\T alienate colleagues and she was
  replaced by John Major. He promised a more
  collegial style- the Cabinet was less united than
  before, a battleground for the warring factions
  within the Conservative Party.
• Tony Blair combined Wilsons manipulation
  government machinery, Mrs\T domination media with
  controlling the flow of information his style of
  leadership described as sofa politics which in
  itself a challenge to Cabinet.
• Blair style also described as presidential-
  charismatic speaker who spoke on behalf of
  nation- Diana death Queen of heartsheavily
  involved foreign affairs- Balkans, Iraq,
  Afghanistan, committing troops to Kosovo, Sierra
  Leone and Iraq adopting role of commander in
  chief

9
Weaker PMs

• John Majors Cabinet warring factions containing
  some of his deadliest enemies- the bastards
  speech
• Gordon Brown lacked electoral mandate. He did
  exercise high level control international affairs
  and a leading statesman in world poverty Action,
  Climate Change and in response to the global
  credit crunch but events outside his control
  credit crunch 2007-8 and recession 2008-9
  undermined his authority as did the election that
  never was Bottler Brown
• David Cameron limited by fact he is in coalition.
  He also faces considerable back bench dissent-
  81 defy whips 2011 over vote on referendum on
  whether UK should remain in EU and 91 vote
  against Government proposed TT for the Lords
  reform bill just before the recess July 2012. He
  has tended to contract out reforms to strong
  ministers such as Gove and IDS. As a result key
  policies end up being associated with these men.
  A 2012 poll by YouGov shows only 17 voters
  believe he sticks to what he believes in.
• Professor King of Essex University sees power of
  the Prime Minister as overrated. Rather than
  being like the head of a corporation with a
  range of departments that report to you, it is
  more like being the Secretary General of the
  United Nations and having to get rival nations
  to agree on a particular course of action.

10
Marginalisation of the Cabinet

• Prime ministerial dominance
• Growth in complexity of government has meant a
  shift to Cabinet committees as cabinet is too
  unwieldy. These can decide on government policy.
• Meetings are shorter- rarely an hour and only
  once a week.
• Large departments are more independent.
• Rise of bilateral meetings
• Growth in Number 10 as a decision making body-
  rise in numbers of think tanks and special
  advisors working directly for Number 10 has
  marginalised cabinet.

11
Factors influencing appointment Cabinet-
constitutionally limited to around 22

• Single Party government
• Promises to political allies- Cameron and
  Osborne, Brown and Straw
• Those who represent key groups- Alan Johnson the
  unions, Theresa May the right
• To silence a potential rebel
• Identify men of talent
• Old personal friends- brown and Balls, Cameron
  and Denham
• Popular figures with media/public- Vince Cable
• Ideological coherence- IDS represent social
  conservatism which concerned with social
  deprivation
• Ability- Ken Clarke as justice secretary

• Coalition
• Consult with coalition partner about which
  members of his party to be included
• Balance of membership reflects balance of the two
  parties in Commons
• Coalition partner requires a prominent role- Nick
  Clegg appointed as deputy PM

12
Remaining functions of the Cabinet

• Settling ministerial disputes a key role in the
  Coalition
• Making decisions that cannot be made elsewhere-
  GB decision to replace Trident, Major on
  replacement poll tax with community charge.
• Dealing with domestic emergencies
• Determining presentation of policy- the united
  front for the media
• Legitimising decisions made elsewhere

13
Collective Ministerial Responsibility

• All ministers of the government are collectively
  responsible for government policy.
• Ministers who cannot defend it in public must
  resign- 2003 Robin Cook over Iraq and later
  Clare Short following handling post war
  situation.
• Limits to CMR- reported disputes in media,
  publication of memoirs such as Alastair Darling
  and David Blunkett, also the coalition agreement
  to differ- renewal Trident, development new
  nuclear plants and AV where the parties supported
  the different stances on AV.

14
Individual Ministerial Responsibility

• Ministers are individually responsible to
  Parliament for their actions and for policies
  directly associated with them.
• Ministers resign if serious errors or in breach
  of parliamentary rules- expenses Scandal 2009 and
  2010 David Laws over expenses claims and Liam
  Fox over access of a personal friend to foreign
  officials and governments whilst on overseas
  official visits with the minister

15
Functions of the Prime Minister

• Chief Policy maker- accept personal
  responsibility for policy John Major and the Get
  Back to Basics, David Cameron and the Big
  Society.
• Head of Government- can create new posts and
  abolish them- post of Deputy PM a floating
  appointment with differing powers, heads the
  civil service, chairs cabinet and decides on
  agenda, controls cabinet committees, decides on
  appointments.
• Chief government spokesman- Blair accepting
  responsibility for failure government to listen
  to concerns over Iraq following 2005 election.
  Cameron and the 2011 riots, Big Society
• Commander in chief- ultimate say in whether to
  commit troops. GB the first PM since Churchill
  to visit troops in ongoing warzone (Iraq). First
  act inside No10 is to issue instructions to
  commanders of nuclear fleet
• Controls national security.
• Chief foreign policy maker- signs treaties and
  acts as head of state abroad as the roving
  ambassador- Blair chaired G8 and UK presidency
  EU. Cameron is using the Olympics 2012 as
  opportunity to chair a host of international
  conferences with visiting heads of state
• Parliamentary leader, especially significant if
  he has an electoral mandate

16
Sources of Prime Ministerial authority

• The ruling party- the leader of the largest
  parliamentary majority
• The royal prerogative
• Popular mandate- electoral mandate Blair 1997
  and 2001 especially, reduced 2005 and Brown never
  had this nor has Cameron
• Parliament- the leader of the largest party, TB
  especially 1997-2001

17
Limits to Prime Ministers power

• The size of the parliamentary majority. This is
  especially a problem given the increased tendency
  of backbenchers to defy the whip- note Cameron's
  clashes with backbenchers- the Parliaments
  elected 2005 and 2010 the most rebellious ever.
• Unity of the ruling party- 1992-7 John Majors
  party split over Europe and the economy. Also
  sizeable rebellions against Cameron 2011 (EU) and
  2012 (Lords reform).
• Media image- when TB announced 2003 he would not
  seek a fourth term his authority ebbed away. GB
  a poor media relationship- bottler Brown and from
  Joseph Stalin to Mr Bean.
• Cabinet support- MrsT lost backing of her
  colleagues 1990 and forced to resign, John Major
  and the bastards, John Redwood resignation to
  stand against him, splits and resignations in the
  Brown cabinet. The coalition is naturally
  divided.
• Events Dear boy events- premierships can get high
  jacked- Coalition announcement that the
  financial crisis was worse than thought, impact
  of the EUROZONE crisis on UK economy, GB
  premiership highjacked by the credit crunch and
  the recession which followed GB is example of a
  PM whose power was destroyed by world events.
  The formal charging of Andy Coulson former PM
  director of Communications and Rebekah Brooks
  (both former editors NOW) and latter a personal
  friend of the PM has raised questions over his
  judgement for appointing Coulson in the first
  place and controversial issue of how much
  influence Rupert Murdoch exerts over government-
  the saga will not die down and has been subject
  to public hearings of the Media, Culture and
  Broadcasting Select Cttee, Leveson inquiry and
  the announcement of the formal phone hacking
  charges of 600 including Milly Dowler and John
  Tulloch (7/7) survivor coincided with Jubilee
  lunch hosted at No 10 attended by Queen and four
  of the surviving Prime ministers.
• Also consider the economy- July 2012 government
  under intense pressure from business, the City
  and opposition to reconsider austerity programme
  following evidence of deepening double dip
  recession in UK economy, even calls for
  replacement of George Osborne with Vince Cable.
  This follows on from U turns over tax increases
  in the budget e.g. the so called pasty tax
• Unforeseen ministerial slip ups- forced
  resignations David Laws and Liam Fox forced a
  mini reshuffle- that of Laws was embarrassing as
  it was so early on in the new government and Liam
  Fox a potential right wing rebel who could no
  longer be silenced by ministerial office.
• The party- forced marriage with LibDems has
  created problems with hardliners in his own party
  who dominate the executive of the 1922 Cttee.
  Being in coalition means a huge drain on PMs
  chances of pleasing his party. To keep party on
  board, Cameron always meets groups of
  backbenchers in Commons after PMQs, regular
  drinks receptions No.10, invites to Chequers.
• Appearance of a weak/vacillating government- the
  budget U-turns 2012- Limit on tax relief
  charitable donations, VAT on pasty sales (pasty
  tax), tax on stationery caravans, tax on CofE
  restoration costs.
• Cameron won the vote on allowing ministers full
  voting rights on 1922 Cttee but was defeated in
  his choice for chair- wanted Richard Ottaway
  instead a known opponent Graham Brady

18
The case that the Prime Minister is presidential

• The effective head of state the roving
  ambassador, chair of G8, international
  conferences, emergencies such as war, terrorist
  threats etc
• Extensive network personal advisors, think tanks
  and working groups serve him alone like a US
  President. Growth of an unofficial Prime
  Ministers department at Number 10- the Court of
  King Tony. Downing Street machine has shifted
  from serving government as a whole to serve
  mainly Prime minister, becoming ever more
  concerned with policy devlopment.
• Growing importance of the media helps to focus
  attention on the Prime Minister and his immediate
  family, especially true of Blair but wives of
  Prime ministers known as first lady- Cherie was
  leading public figure and SamCam.
• Growth of importance foreign and military
  affairs- Thatcher, major and Blair have all stood
  shoulder to shoulder with US President on White
  House lawn and all have led their nations into
  major foreign conflicts.
• Spatial leadership (Michael Foley in the Rise of
  the British Presidency)- Presidents are separate
  because elected separately, therefore a different
  source of authority. PM as role more dominant
  and appeals directly over government to the
  people- Blair post election 2005

19
Case against presidential thesis

• Peter Hennessy- the office of the Prime Minister
  is flexible depending on the style of the
  premier- Heath, Major, Callaghan.
• PMs seem more presidential due to media attention
  on them, but subject to same constraints- Mrs T
  lost Cabinet support over poll tax.
• Elastic band theory of Professor Jones- as PM
  tries to stretch powers further longer they are
  in office the greater become forces of
  constraint- Mrs T and perhaps Blair. Also GB
  hardly fits the presidential mould

20
Ministers and civil servants

• Ministers
• Appointed by the PM
• Top minister has title Secretary of State
• Minister of State
• Parliamentary Under Secretary of State
• Special advisers- political advice, conduct
  research, help ministers in relations with
  parliament, public and media- appointed by
  ministers

• Civil Servants
• PM appoints from short list provided by Senior
  Appointments Selection Committee- generally civil
  servants chosen by this but can choose outsiders.
• Top civil servant is the permanent secretary.
• Distinction between civil servants and ministers
  blurred by appointment special advisers. There
  is a high turnover in senior posts. According to
  Professor King (Essex University) once an
  incoming minister would be briefed by civil
  servants who had been in the ministry for years,
  now they are both likely to be new to the job
  In the view of Professor King this is because the
  city and the law are more attractive professions
  for high flyers who previously contemplated a
  life in public service.

21
Tasks

• Minister
• Set the political agenda
• Determine priorities
• Decide between alternatives
• Obtain Cabinet and PM approval for policies.
• Steer proposals through Parliament
• Accountable to Parliament for policies
• Accountable to parliament for departments

• Civil Servant
• Gather information for policy making
• Provide alternatives
• Advise on consequences
• Draft legislation
• Provide briefings for ministers
• Advise on implementation
• Organise implementation policy
• Draft answers to parliamentary questions

22
Status

• Ministers
• Political
• Expected to make political decisions
• Temporary
• High public profile
• Publicly accountable

• Civil Servants
• No political allegiance to be displayed
• Expected to be anonymous and neutral in advice
  given
• Permanent
• Cabinet Office Minister Sir Francis Maude wants
  ministers given a formal input into annual
  appraisal of civil servants affecting their
  grades and bonuses and to be able to have a say
  in short listing of candidates for the position
  of permanent secretary.

23
Decline of the civil service

• Sonia Purnell- The Sunday Times 26/08/12 Danger
  Kids are in the counting house- reference to the
  Treasury- what was once Whitehalls praetorian
  guard is beginning to look more like a school
  cadet force. Figures obtained from the Freedom
  of Information Act show that the number of
  Treasury senior civil servants over the age of 50
  has fallen by about half in just five years to
  fewer than five at the very top level. The
  process began when Gordon Brown was chancellor
  because some mandarins felt excluded others
  found working with him and his temper
  intolerable. The steam of departures has
  continued, encouraged by redundancy terms that
  persuaded some of the best economic brains to
  pursue careers elsewhere.
• Others departed because of what is described as
  hamster-wheeling panic decisions taken without
  consulting senior officials, often followed by
  even panickier reversals as we saw after the
  budget (U turns pasty/granny/stationery home
  taxes) and an overall lack of a sense of
  direction- staff turnover is 28 a year-
  reportedly higher than among the burger flippers
  at McDonalds.

24
More on special advisors (SPADS)

• In the past a career in public or private sector
  seen as essential apprenticeship prior to a
  parliamentary career- however rise of SPADS who
  as young graduates enter politics via this route
  before taking up a political career- Ed Miliband,
  David Cameron, Nick Clegg, George Osborne etc-
  spadocracy. The ease with which some then
  progress into Parliament and Cabinet has created
  a narrow and youthful British political class.
• Cameron as part of the coalition agreement
  promised to limit their number which had grown
  under Labour. 2009 there were 74 and now 79.
  Most cabinet ministers a couple but best paid are
  in Downing Street- Andrew Cooper head of strategy
  and Craig Oliver director of communications.
  Nick Clegg has ten more than he did 2010.
• Ultimately ministers are responsible for their
  special advisors behaviour- but failure Jeremy
  Hunt as culture secretary to resign over
  behaviour of his adviser during News Corporation
  bid for BSKYB muddied the waters. Cost of the
  advisors risen 2010-2012 from 4.5M to 6.2M
• Why special advisors- spads help a government
  implement democratic mandate over Whitehall
  resistance. This is, of course, problematic with
  a coalition which lacks such democratic
  legitimacy but Michael Gove who as education
  secretary struggled to manage a department
  staffed by people hired by Ed Balls was given
  wider discretion by No 10 to hire his own staff
  and the education department is one of the most
  radically reforming of the departments in the
  present government.
• Depriving a cabinet minister of loyal
  ideologically committed aides has been likened to
  forbidding a corporate executive to hire his own
  staff