The Powers of the Prime Minister - A level Politics
Summary
TLDRThis video explores the extensive powers of the Prime Minister, including patronage, authority within the cabinet system, party leadership, public standing, and policymaking. It discusses how these powers have evolved, with a focus on the PM's crucial role in appointing ministers and reshuffling the cabinet. The script also touches on the constraints faced by the Prime Minister, such as coalition agreements and the need for a working majority in Parliament to enact legislation.
Takeaways
- 👤 The Prime Minister has more powers than other cabinet ministers.
- 📉 The Prime Minister's powers are subject to constraints and vary with circumstances.
- 🔑 The main powers of the Prime Minister include patronage, authority within the cabinet system, party leadership, public standing, and a policymaking role.
- 👑 The Prime Minister has the power of patronage, including appointing government ministers, but this power has been reduced in recent years.
- 🔍 The Prime Minister's role in appointing judges and senior members of the Church of England has been curtailed.
- 🎩 The Prime Minister's role in the honours system has also been reduced.
- 🔄 The Prime Minister can reshuffle cabinet portfolios and decide the timing of reshuffles.
- 🏢 The Prime Minister has authority within the core executive, including chairing cabinet meetings and managing the agenda.
- 📈 The Prime Minister is 'first among equals' within the cabinet.
- 📊 The Prime Minister can set the agenda of cabinet meetings and steer the direction of the government.
- 🗣️ The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons and has public standing, acting as the main spokesperson for the nation.
Q & A
What are the main powers of the Prime Minister?
-The main powers of the Prime Minister include the power of patronage, authority within the cabinet system, party leadership, public standing, and a policymaking role.
What does the power of patronage entail?
-The power of patronage refers to the Prime Minister's ability to appoint individuals to important positions, most notably the power to appoint government ministers.
How have the Prime Minister's patronage powers changed over time?
-In recent years, the Prime Minister's patronage powers have been curtailed, particularly in appointing judges and senior members of the Church of England, which was reduced under Gordon Brown's government.
What is the significance of the Prime Minister's power to appoint cabinet ministers?
-The power to appoint and dismiss government ministers is the Prime Minister's most crucial advantage over his colleagues, allowing them to shape the cabinet in their own image.
How does a coalition government affect the Prime Minister's power to appoint cabinet ministers?
-In a coalition government, the Prime Minister's power to appoint cabinet ministers is limited, as they must include members from the coalition partner, as was the case with David Cameron appointing five Liberal Democrats to his cabinet.
What is the role of cabinet reshuffles in the Prime Minister's powers?
-Cabinet reshuffles allow the Prime Minister to promote successful ministers, demote underperformers, and decide the timing of the reshuffle, although mass resignations can force a reshuffle.
What authority does the Prime Minister have within the core executive?
-The Prime Minister chairs cabinet meetings, manages the agenda, directs and summarizes decisions, creates cabinet committees, appoints members, holds bilateral meetings, and appoints senior civil servants.
How is the Prime Minister described within the cabinet?
-The Prime Minister is described as 'first among equals' within the cabinet, meaning they are an equal member but hold a leading position.
What is the role of the Prime Minister in setting the agenda for cabinet meetings?
-The Prime Minister determines the agenda of cabinet meetings by controlling the information presented, deciding which issues are discussed, and setting the membership and remit of cabinet committees.
How does party leadership strengthen the authority of the Prime Minister?
-Party leadership strengthens the Prime Minister's authority as it legitimizes their position and increases the likelihood of having a working majority in parliament, which is essential for enacting legislation.
What is the significance of the Prime Minister's public standing?
-The Prime Minister serves as the main spokesperson for the nation and acts on behalf of the head of state in international meetings, with unique access to media, which can significantly influence public perception.
Outlines
🏛️ Powers of the Prime Minister
This paragraph discusses the powers of the Prime Minister, who holds more authority than other cabinet ministers. The Prime Minister's powers include patronage, authority within the cabinet system, party leadership, public standing, and a policymaking role. The Prime Minister has the power to appoint and dismiss government ministers, which is the most significant of the patronage powers. Historically, the Prime Minister also had the power to appoint judges and senior members of the Church of England, but this has been reduced. The Prime Minister also controls the timing of cabinet reshuffles and has authority within the cabinet system, including chairing meetings, managing the agenda, directing decisions, creating committees, appointing members, holding bilateral meetings, and appointing senior civil servants.
🏅 Party Leadership and Public Standing
The Prime Minister is both the leader of the largest political party and by convention, the leader of the party with a working majority in the House of Commons. This strengthens the Prime Minister's position as they are more likely to have the confidence of the Commons and enact legislation. The Prime Minister is elected by party MPs and members, which legitimizes their position. An example is Tony Blair, who had significant authority within his party and the country due to landslide election victories. The Prime Minister also has public standing as the main spokesperson for the nation and acts on behalf of the head of state in international meetings. The Prime Minister has unique access to media through their press office, which is crucial for public perception. The perception of the Prime Minister can influence elections, as a negative image may lead to a downfall in the next election.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Prime Minister
💡Cabinet
💡Patronage
💡Coalition
💡Cabinet Reshuffles
💡First Among Equals
💡Agenda Setting
💡Party Leadership
💡Public Standing
💡Honours System
💡Core Executive
Highlights
The Prime Minister has more powers than other cabinet ministers.
The Prime Minister's resources are subject to constraints and vary by circumstances.
Main powers of the Prime Minister include patronage, authority, party leadership, public standing, and policymaking.
The Prime Minister has the power to appoint government ministers.
Patronage powers have been curtailed in recent years, including judicial and ecclesiastical appointments.
The Prime Minister's role in the honours system has also been reduced.
The Conservative Party gives its leader a free hand in appointing cabinet ministers.
The 2010 coalition agreement limited the Prime Minister's power to appoint cabinet ministers.
Cabinet reshuffles are important for the Prime Minister's power.
The Prime Minister can promote or demote ministers through reshuffles.
The Prime Minister decides the timing of cabinet reshuffles.
The Prime Minister has authority within the core executive, including chairing cabinet meetings.
The Prime Minister is effectively 'first among equals' within the cabinet.
The Prime Minister can set the agenda of cabinet meetings.
The Prime Minister is the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons.
Party leadership strengthens the authority of the Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister has public standing and acts as the main spokesperson for the nation.
The Prime Minister has unique access to media through the Prime Minister's press office.
The Prime Minister is not the head of state but acts on behalf of the head of state.
The Prime Minister's public standing can influence their success in the next election.
Transcripts
so now we've looked at the introduction
to the executive what I'll do in this
video is go in and have a look at the
powers of the Prime Minister
specifically okay so the Prime Minister
has more powers than other cabinet
ministers
okay the resources available to the
Prime Minister are subject to important
constraints and also vary according to
different circumstances but with that
being said the main powers are the Prime
Minister are the power of patronage
authority within the cabinet system
party leadership public standing and
policymaking role okay
there's also got power over the Prime
Minister's office we're going to look at
each of these individually and we're
gonna start with patronage so the Prime
Minister has important powers of
patronage okay
the power of an individual to point
someone to an important position okay so
the most significant power is the power
to appoint government ministers
although patronage powers have curtailed
in recent years so originally there were
the Prime Minister had the patronage
power of appointing judicial and
ecclesiastical appointments so the Prime
Minister's role in appointing judges and
senior members of the Church of England
was reduced by the government under
Gordon Brown okay and there's also the
honours system and the Prime Minister's
role in the honor system has also been
reduced as well when it comes to
appointed cabinet ministers the Prime
Minister's power to appoint and dismiss
government ministers is the most crucial
advantage over his colleagues so the
Conservative Party gives its leader a
free hand in a pointing cabinet
ministers which means in theory the
Prime Minister can create a cabinet in
their own Airy image rewarding
supporters and penalizing disloyal MPs
the 2010 coalition agreement though
required David Cameron to appoint five
Liberal Democrats to his cabinet
this included the leader of the liberal
Kratts in the Deputy Prime Minister Nick
Clegg so when there's a coalition there
is a sort of limit to the powers of
pointing cabinet ministers and really
there's a limit to the Prime Minister's
powers in general okay
cabinet reshuffles are really important
as well for the power of the Prime
Minister the Prime Minister can also
reshuffle portfolios okay so some
ministers might have been moved to other
posts or just dismissed entirely this
allows the Prime Minister to promote
successful ministers and also demote
those who have underachieved in the
department that they are running and the
Prime Minister decides the timing of the
reshuffle or and this is another
limitation of the promises power so
generally they are in control of where a
reshuffle happens however a mass
resignation of a cabinet could cause a
huge reshuffle to have to take place or
even a sudden resignation of a single
cabinet minister okay apart from being
in charge of appointing and reshuffling
the cabinet he's also got authority in
the cabinet system okay so with the post
the Prime Minister comes the specific
authority within the core executive so
the Prime Minister chairs cabinet
meetings manages the agenda of cabinet
meetings directs and sums up cabinet
decisions creates cabinet committees and
appoint their members hold bilateral
meetings appoints senior civil servants
organising the structure of government
so overall we see a large number of
roles within the core executive the
Prime Minister is effectively what's
known as first among equals okay so they
see so within the cabinet he is an equal
member but he is first among equals so
he's still in charge of everything
within the core executive number 5
agenda setting so the Prime Minister can
determine the agenda of cabinet meetings
by controlling the information presented
ministers by determining which issues
and papers should be bought before the
cabinet and keeping potentially
difficult issues off the cabinet agenda
and then finally deciding the chair
membership and remit of cabinet
committees where such detailed policy
work occurs ok so he can a set the
agenda of cabinet meetings and really
just sort of steer the direction of the
government he's also by convention and
by law the leader of a political party
he's by law leader of a political party
and by convention leader of the largest
political party so the Prime Minister is
the leader of the largest party in the
House of Commons a working majority in
parliament strengthens the position of
the prime minister as it means that he
or she is more likely to enjoy the
confidence of the Commons and be able to
enact the legislation ok so party
leadership strengthens the authority of
the prime minister laborer conservative
leaders are elected by their MPs and
party members so it legitimizes their
position the biggest majority that we've
seen in a long time is that of Tony
Blair who enjoyed authority within his
party in the in his first years in
office because of two landslide election
victories he reformed Labour's
organisation he and enhanced his
position as a leader and also reformed
the country effectively the Prime
Minister also has public standing so
he's the main spokesperson for the
nation and in many contexts such as
international meetings he acts on behalf
as the head of state okay so so as such
he has unique access to media so the
Prime Minister's press office holds a
key position within the executive
there's a danger that in terms of public
perception of the Prime Minister is
perceived as a head of state thereby a
lips
the monarchy so he only acts as a on
behalf of the head of state he is not
the head of states of the United Kingdom
okay so overall we've looked at the the
official part of the Prime Minister all
the way down to the powers of public
standing and the powers of public
standing are also very important for
that they they show the myth the Prime
Minister in a good light or a bad light
and if they show in a bad light than an
election at the next election you might
see a downfall of that particular leader
so in the next video we're gonna have a
look at theories of executive power
which is a very interesting and
important way of understanding how
recent Prime Minister's have run their
governments
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