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8 Cards in this Set
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What are the 4 main theories of executive power> |
cabinet government prime-ministerial government presidentialism core executive model |
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CABINET GOVERNMENT: What does this traditional view of the UK executive emphasize? |
That power is collective and not personal. It is located in the cabinet rather than the prime minister. Moreover, within the cabinet, all ministers are equal. Each of them has the capacity to influence government policy and shape the direction in which the government is going |
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What 3 central features does cabinet government have? |
1. the cabinet fuses the executive and legislative branches of government, as its members are fromhead government departments, but are also drawn from and accountable to parliament. It links government to parliament 2. The cabinet is the senior executive organ. It controls the policy-making process and makes all major government decisions 3. Within the cabinet, policy is made democratically with each members views carrying equal weight. The PM is therefore merely first among equals |
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What implications does this view of government have for the prime minister? |
the PM has no more power than any other member of the cabinet. |
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What is the theory of cabinet government underpinned by? |
The convention of collective responsibility, in which all ministers are expected to support publicly, decisions made by the cabinet, or resign from the government. |
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What does this help to ensure? |
cabinet collegiality: a sense of solidarity among cabinet members borne out of loyalty to the government and an awareness that they stand or fall together. Disagreement or dissent is only eer expressed within the secrecy of the cabinet room and never in public |
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Why is collective cabinet government in its formal sense clearly outdated? |
it goes back to a period before the development of disciplined political parties in the HOC. In such circumstances, a ministers threat of resignation could, potentially, threaten the life of the government itself. All ministers therefore had to be kept on board. But, as parties became unified this threat diminished. The primary loyalty of MP's shifted from individual cabinet members (patrons or friends) to their party. Cabinet government and collective responsibility therefore diminished in significance |
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What does the cabinet government model tell us about executive power? |
-it provides a reminder that, despite the growth in primeministerial power, no PM can survive if they lose the support of the cabinet -It is kept alive by the fact that the PM'S authority is linked to the backing he or she recieves from the 'big beasts' of the cabinet, some of whom may enjoy such widespread support within the government and party that they are effectively unsackable |
