• Shuffle
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Alphabetize
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Front First
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Both Sides
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
  • Read
    Toggle On
    Toggle Off
Reading...
Front

Card Range To Study

through

image

Play button

image

Play button

image

Progress

1/25

Click to flip

Use LEFT and RIGHT arrow keys to navigate between flashcards;

Use UP and DOWN arrow keys to flip the card;

H to show hint;

A reads text to speech;

25 Cards in this Set

  • Front
  • Back

The Narrower Definition of Government

Only the 100-plus ministers and senior party officials who are appointed by the prime minister and thus form the 'inner circle' that governs the country

The Formation of the Coalition

1. The Conservatives were the largest party in the new House of Commons but were 20 seats short of an overall majority


2. Prime Minister Gordon Brown did not resign, though Labour had come well behind the Conservatives. The Labour leadership entered into negotiations to form a coalition with the Liberal Democrats


3. Over several days, the Liberal Democrats conducted simultaneous negotiations with both the main parties with a view to forming a coalition


4. A Labour-Liberal Democrat coalition was more logical in terms of policy but the Liberal Democrat and Labour MPs together did not make up a majority. They would have to rely on a 'rainbow coalition' of 'progressive' MPs including members of the nationalist parties. Such a coalition would have enjoyed a majority of only 3 and would have been extremely fragile


5. Gordon Brown who remained prime minister while negotiations continued, bowed to the inevitable. He resigned both as prime minister and Labour leader, He then went to advise the Queen at Buckingham Palace to ask David Cameron to form a government, either as a minority or in coalition with the Liberal Democrats


6. Cameron accepted and shortly after announced that negotiations for a coalition with the Liberal Democrats had been successfully concluded

The Government: 23 Cabinet Members

These include the prime minister, the heads of large government departments, plus a small number of other senior party members. They are the ultimate source of official government policy

The Government: 15 Senior Non-Cabinet Posts

The holders of important offices, such as Attorney General, who are not quite senior enough to be in cabinet

The Government: 60 Junior Ministers not in the Cabinet

Subordinates of the cabinet ministers who run departments. Most are known as 'Ministers of state'

The Government: 17 Whips

The chief whip sits in Cabinet. All other whips do not. They have the task of ensuring party discipline among MPs and peers, running the administration of debates and votes in Parliament, and keeping MPs and peers informed

Characteristics of Government

- All members of government must sit in parliament as well as being ministers, etc. Most, but not all, are MPs in the commons


- MPs that are from the leading party are not all members of government. The ones that aren't are known as back benchers, and the ones that are front benchers


- All members of government are appointed by the prime minister. This also means that only the prime minister may dismiss a member of government


- All members of government are bound by the principle of collective responsibility. This means that they must all take public responsibility for all the policies of government even if they disagree privately or had nothing to do with the formulation of the policy. If a minister publicly disagrees with government policy they are expected to resign or face rapid dismissal


- The full government would never normally meet together in one body. The cabinet does however meet regularly

Minority Government

Unstable, unusual, and normally short lived. A situation where a party forms a government without a parliamentary majority


- Can never rely on getting its legislation and financial budgets passed and therefore must try to build a coalition of support from other parties, or sections of other parties


- cannot attempt to do anything radical but can keep government 'ticking over' until the next general election where a majority can be achieved

Coalition Government

Two conditions must be met:


1. Ministerial posts must be shared between two or more parties which can also mean shared cabinet posts


2. There needs to be agreement among all the coalition partners on which policies can be accepted


- All the parties need to be willing to give up some policies and perhaps agree to some of their rivals' proposals.




There are a number of different types of coalition


- Majority coalitions where there are normally only two parties that form a coalition just to create a parliamentary majority


- Grand coalitions between two major parties which are formed to create an overwhelming majority. these are only normally considered in times of national emergency or crisis


- Rainbow coalitions which are agreements between a large number of parties. It is normally on large party and several other smaller parties


- National coalitions where all parties or sections of parties are invited to participate in government. they occur at times of national crisis and are designed to create unity

Cabinet Government

A system of government where


- The cabinet represents the collective identity of government


- All important domestic and many foreign policy decisions are made within cabinet


- In order for a policy to be official, it needs full cabinet approval


- Any disputes within the government are resolved within the cabinet


- The prime minister is considered 'primus inter pares' (first among equals), meaning they have higher status that their colleagues, but can be outvoted within the cabinet

Cabinet Committees

A small group of around five cabinet ministers who meet regularly to discuss a specific area of government policy. Cabinet committees have increasingly taken over work of the full cabinet. Descisions are often taken in committee and, even if a recommendation is passed up from committee to full cabinet, approval tends to be automatic. This had had the effect of increasing prime ministerial control as the prime minister controls the creation of committees and has a great deal of influence over their agendas. It is much easier for the prime minister to control a small group of ministers than the whole cabinet

The Cabinet Today

1. On occasions where matters cannot be resolved elsewhere, by the prime minister, the cabinet, or other advisers, the matter may be brought to the full cabinet. In these cases ministers who are in conflict are forced to accept the decisions under the doctrine of collective responsibility


2. There are circumstances where the prime minister may decide that an issue should be resolved by the full cabinet because they either have no personal interest, or would prefer not to commit themselves to a decision that may later cause embarrassment


- The commitment to build the notorious Millennium Dome in Greenwich 1997 was such a decision


3. In times of national emergency it is seen as desirable that the whole cabinet should back government policies


- following 9/11, and the terrorist atrocities in London July 2005


4. Cabinet has the task about making a decision on the presentation of policy


5. The cabinet must legitimise policy proposals and key decisions. Policies need the cabinet stamp of approval to be seen as legitimate to the political community

Collective Responsibility

In the UK all cabinet decisions must be collectively supported by all members of the government, at least in public. It also implies that the whole government, at least in public. It also implies that the whole government stands or falls, as one, on the decision made by cabinet

Individual Ministerial Responsibility

The convention that a minister should resign if their department makes a serious political or personal error. In practice, this usually means that a minister is responsible to parliament and must face questioning and criticism


- 2010 David Laws resigned over alleged irregularities in his claiming of parliamentary expenses


- 2011 Liam Fox resigned after he was accused of using a private adviser in his work as Defence Secretary when the adviser had not been properly authorised to advise him


- 2012 Chris Huhne resigned as Environment Secretary when he was charged with a crime relating to misleading the police over driving offence

The Functions of the Prime Minister

1. Chief policy maker


2. Head of government


3. Chief government spokesperson


4. Commander in chief of the armed forces


5. Chief foreign policy maker


6. Parliamentary leader

Sources of Prime Ministerial Power and Authority

1. The ruling party


- Support of party both in parliament, and in the country in the form of members


2. The royal prerogative


- Traditional powers of the monarch delegated down to the prime minister


3. Parliament


- Leader of parliament

Powers Enjoyed by All Prime Ministers

Appointment and dismissal of ministers;


Granting peerages and other honours;


Head of the civil service;


Appointing senior judges and senior bishops;


Commanding the armed forces;


Conducting foreign relations;


Maintaining national security;


Chairing cabinet meetings

Limitations on Prime Ministerial Power

1. The size of the parliamentary majority is critical


2. The unity or otherwise of the ruling or coalition is also critical


3. The public and media profile of the prime minister


4. Prime ministers can survive only if they enjoy the confidence of the cabinet and parliament


5. Prime ministers may be hindered by opposition from their own party


6. Coalitions bring their own special problems

Arguments for the Prime Minister Effectively being a President

Prime ministers perform most of the functions of the head of state


Prime ministers have extensive sources of advice of their own, 10 Downing Street increasingly resembles the inner circle in the presidential White House;


- The policy unit


- Prime minister's private office


- The director of political strategy


- Political strategy unit


Th media tend to concentrate on the prime minister as personal spokesman for the government;


Foreign and military affairs have become more important. The prime minister dominates these;


The importance of spatial leadership in the UK increasingly looks like a president's style of leadership

Arguments against the Prime Minister Effectively being a President

There has been no permanent change. The dominant role of the prime minister constantly ebbs and flows;


- Professor Peter Hennessy


There has been a change to a more presidential style but in substance the role of the prime minister has not changed;


There are important forced that will rein in prime ministerial power. Most of these forces are absent for a true president;


- Margaret Thatcher ultimately reined in by her own party leadership when she attempted to implement a policy


The prime minister is not actually the head of state

Tasks of Ministers

Set the political agenda;


Determine priorities for action;


Decide between political alternatives;


Obtain cabinet and prime ministerial approval for policies;


Steer proposals through parliament;


Be accountable to parliament for policies and their implementation;


Account to parliament for the general performance of their department

Tasks of Civil Servants

Gather information for policy making;


Provide alternative courses of action;


Advice on consequences of decisions;


Draft legislation;


Provide briefings for other ministers;


Advise on implementation methods;


Organise implementation of policy;


Draft answers to parliamentary questions

Ministers

Are politically committed to one party;


Are temporary, they only hold office as long as the prime minister wishes them to;


Are expected to make political decisions;


Have to use judgements about the outcomes of decisions;


Have a high public profile;


Are publicly accountable for the performance of their department;


Will lose office if their party loses power

Civil Servants

Must display no political allegiance;


Are permanent, or at least will spend a long time in the civil service;


May only suggest alternatives in a neutral way;


Identify possible outcomes in a neutral way;


Are expected to be largely anonymous;


Cannot be held publicly accountable for what they do;


Will remain in position even if there is a change of government

Open Government

A principle and an aspiration that the processes of government should be made as open to the public and parliamentary scrutiny as is possible and reasonable