The Powers of the Prime Minister - A level Politics

Summary

This 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

00:00

🏛️ 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.

05:00

🏅 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.

Keywords

💡Prime Minister

The Prime Minister is the head of government in a parliamentary system, such as in the United Kingdom. They have more powers than other cabinet ministers, including the power to appoint government ministers, chair cabinet meetings, and set the agenda for the government. In the script, the Prime Minister's powers are discussed in detail, highlighting their significant role in shaping the government and policy direction.

💡Cabinet

The Cabinet is a group of senior government ministers, typically chosen by the Prime Minister, who are responsible for important areas of policy and decision-making. The Prime Minister's power over the Cabinet is emphasized in the script, including their ability to appoint and dismiss ministers and to reshuffle portfolios.

💡Patronage

Patronage refers to the power to appoint individuals to important positions, such as government ministers, judges, or senior members of the Church of England. The script discusses how the Prime Minister's patronage powers have been curtailed in recent years, particularly under Gordon Brown's government, which reduced the Prime Minister's role in appointing judges and Church officials.

💡Coalition

A coalition is a partnership between two or more political parties to form a government, typically when no single party has a majority. The script mentions the 2010 coalition agreement in the UK, which required the Prime Minister to appoint members from the Liberal Democrats party, including the Deputy Prime Minister, thus limiting the Prime Minister's patronage powers.

💡Cabinet Reshuffles

Cabinet reshuffles are changes made by the Prime Minister to the composition of the Cabinet, which can involve moving ministers to different positions or dismissing them. The script explains that reshuffles allow the Prime Minister to promote successful ministers and demote underperformers, but also notes that the timing of reshuffles can be limited by circumstances such as mass resignations.

💡First Among Equals

The term 'first among equals' describes the Prime Minister's position within the Cabinet. While all Cabinet members are considered equal, the Prime Minister leads and chairs the meetings, making decisions and directing the agenda. The script uses this term to illustrate the balance of power within the executive branch.

💡Agenda Setting

Agenda setting refers to the process by which the Prime Minister controls the topics and issues that are discussed in Cabinet meetings. The script explains that the Prime Minister can steer the direction of the government by deciding which issues are brought before the Cabinet and which are not, as well as determining the composition and focus of Cabinet committees.

💡Party Leadership

Party leadership involves leading the largest political party in the House of Commons, which is typically the party of the Prime Minister. The script notes that the Prime Minister's leadership of their party strengthens their authority, as they are more likely to enact legislation with the support of a majority in Parliament. Examples from the script include Tony Blair's leadership of the Labour Party after winning two landslide elections.

💡Public Standing

Public standing refers to the Prime Minister's role as the main spokesperson for the nation and their unique access to media. The script discusses how the Prime Minister acts on behalf of the head of state in international meetings and how their public image can influence their political success, with the potential for a negative public perception to lead to electoral defeat.

💡Honours System

The honours system is a method of recognizing contributions to public life by appointing individuals to positions of honor, such as knighthoods or other titles. The script mentions that the Prime Minister's role in the honours system has been reduced, indicating a shift in the distribution of these honors away from direct political control.

💡Core Executive

The core executive refers to the central group of individuals and institutions that make up the executive branch of government, including the Prime Minister, Cabinet, and senior civil servants. The script describes the Prime Minister's numerous roles within the core executive, emphasizing their significant influence over the structure and direction of government.

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