Get to grips with the UK’s political system in our six minute politics series! For A Level Politics students, each of these blog posts is a six-minute summary of some of the main topics you will need for your exams. For university-level scholars or independent researchers, we’ve included clickable links to useful literature, primary sources and canonical scholarship you’ll need to know.
In this post, discover the UK’s executive branch: the Prime Minister and Cabinet!
Sir Robert Walpole, our first Prime Minister
The UK’s core executive is the part of government that implements policy: the Prime Minister, the Cabinet, the Cabinet Committees, the Cabinet Office, the government departments and the Senior Civil Service. Its roles include proposing legislation, proposing a budget, and making policy decisions.
Primus inter Pares
Unlike the US President, our Prime Minister is indirectly elected. That is, political parties elect their leader, while UK citizens vote for their constituency MPs. After the election, the monarch invites the person most able to form a government in the House of Commons, either the leader of the largest party or the leader of the majority.
The Royal Prerogative enables the Prime Minister and Ministers to deploy the armed forces, make and unmake international treaties, prorogue Parliament and the power of patronage.
The prime minister is described as ‘primus inter pares’ (first among equals), meaning that although the Prime Minister leads the discussion and often decides on the course of action without a formal vote, he or she should consult the other Cabinet members as equals. Since the war, some Prime Ministers have not behaved in this way, and it has caused problems for them. For example, Margaret Thatcher dominated the Cabinet during the Falklands war, which may have been part of her downfall.
Baroness Margaret Thatcher, our first female Prime Minister
There is a question of whether the UK has a system of cabinet government or a prime ministerial government: i.e., does the cabinet make decisions collectively or is the PM the dominant force in the Cabinet?
Increasingly Presidential?
There is also an argument that the UK Prime Minister has become increasingly presidential. Michael Foley argues that the office of PM has become more presidential. There is more media spotlight on the PM, and British election campaigns have become more focused on the party leaders, like in the US system.
In terms of constitutional issues, Richard Heffernan argues that, although Prime Ministers are prominent figures, institutional factors prevent the Prime Minister from becoming a President. Prime Ministers are indirectly elected, whereas the President is directly elected. This makes the President less dependent on his party and the legislature than the Prime Minister in terms of remailing in office. The Prime Minister can be removed by his party/vote of no confidence.
We also have integration of powers as opposed to the US’s separation of powers; we have executive dominance vs the US’s balance of powers
Whereas a president is the single head of the executive, Prime Ministers must work within Cabinet, although some Prime Ministers seem to ignore this. Tony Blair has been described as acting without the support of the Cabinet and having a “sofa government” (bypassing Cabinet meetings and meeting with just two or so Ministers himself). The Chilcot report on the UK’s involvement in Iraq examined how the Iraq conflict was conducted and criticised Blair’s approach.
During the 2010-2015 coalition, it was said that the real power in Cabinet focused on “the Quad” (four leading figures of David Cameron, Nick Clegg, George Osbourne and Danny Alexander). This kind of small group is sometimes known as inner cabinet or kitchen cabinet. However, other post war PMs, for example John Major, did recognise the importance of the Cabinet.
One of the most popular arguments regarding presidentialism is celebrity culture. Foley argued that there is more media spotlight on the Prime Minister, and British election campaigns have become more focused on the party leaders, like in the US system. Special advisors (SpAds), policy advisors appointed by Prime Ministers, are also said to have too much power. Dominic Cummings was a notorious SpAd under Boris Johnson.
Iconic Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill
Overall, remember that the Prime Minister has greater resources than the President as he is a party leader and the UK constitution allows for executive dominance, whereas in the US the separation of powers is the guiding principle. Also, because the UK does not have complete separation of powers, the executive has a lot of control over the legislature.
The Cabinet
The Cabinet is the Prime Minister and senior ministers, most of whom lead a particular government department. A Minister is an MP or member of the House of Lords appointed to a position in the government, usually exercising specific responsibilities in a department. A government department is a part of the executive, usually with specific responsibility over an area such as education, health or defence.
The Cabinet is supposed to take collective responsibility for decisions. Disagreement is encouraged during Cabinet meetings, but decisions are made collectively and supported by all ministers in public.
Having said this, the Butler Review (2004) revealed that Cabinet ministers were not consulted properly and the Cabinet Committees were not used fully by the Blair regime.
Ministers sometimes resign if they cannot publicly support the collective decision. For example, Robin Cook resigned over the Blair government’s decision to undertake military action in Iraq in 2003. Ian Duncan Smith resigned as work and pensions secretary in 2016 as he disagreed with the policy of welfare cuts.
10, Downing Street, the official residence of the Prime Minister
Some post-war Prime Ministers have allowed their Cabinets to take opposing sides of referendum campaigns. For instance, David Cameron allowed ministers to publicly disagree with the government’s Remain position during the Brexit referendum campaign. However, he stipulated that this exemption only applied to the question of whether we should remain in or leave the EU. Collective responsibility still applied to all other policies, including other government policies towards the EU.
Collective responsibility has also historically been relaxed during periods of coalition government. For instance, this was seen during the referendum on electoral reform during the 2010-15 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition.
Collective responsibility is not to be confused with individual ministerial responsibility, in which ministers are individually responsible for the work of their departments and answerable to Parliament for all their departments activities. They are expected to accept responsibility for any failure in administration.
As Health Minister Aneurin Bevan once put it, “if a hospital bedpan is dropped in a hospital corridor in Tredegar, the reverberations should echo around Whitehall.”
For example, in 2004, when a soldier died because the Ministry of Defence had supplied insufficient body armour in Iraq, Secretary of State for Defence Geoff Hoon had to explain to the House of Commons. In 2007, Chancellor of the Exchequer Alistair Darling had to explain the loss of computer disks containing the personal details of millions of people receiving Child Benefit in 2007. Amber Rudd resigned over the Windrush Scandal in 2018.
Ministers also have personal responsibility for their own actions. For example, Andrew Mitchell resigned as Chief Whip after he was rude to a policeman in ‘plebgate’. Chris Huhne resigned in 2012 as he lied to the police about who was driving when he got a speeding ticket and Matt Hancock resigned in 2021 for breaking Covid guidelines to kiss Gina Coladangelo.
In our next post, explore the UK Parliament!
For A Level Students
We offer one-on-one online A Level tuition in Politics. Your tutor has undergraduate and research degrees in Politics as well as teaching and exam-marking experience. Click the link to read testimonials from our previous students and contact us to find out more!
We also offer adult interest courses in Politics and Political Philosophy. Dr. Orton will work with you to design a course of private tutorials tailored to your needs, ability and schedule. Find out what it’s like to work with her or contact us to find out more!
Undertake Your Own Research Project in Politics
Whether you are writing a book, making a documentary, aiming for academic publication or simply pursuing a personal interest, working on your own independent research project needn’t be a lonely task. Contact us for a chat to find out how we can help with ad hoc or ongoing support.
If you’re not ready to reach out yet, follow our research methods or Politics series on this blog for more ideas!
Reach Out
Follow our Orton Academy Instagram to keep up with our latest research – we would love to connect with you!
Comments