Arguments that the British Prime Minister is an elective dictator are arrant nonsense. The Prime Minister is constrained by his or her cabinet colleagues, the will of Parliament and the decisions of the judiciary. Discuss.

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Louise Stubbs: 200-043-686        

“Arguments that the British Prime Minister is an elective dictator are arrant nonsense. The Prime Minister is constrained by his or her cabinet colleagues, the will of Parliament and the decisions of the judiciary. The British Constitution rests on the separation of power and the operation of the rule of law. The Prime Minister operates firmly within the particular constitutional arrangement in place for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”

Evaluate the above statement and consider the extent to which you think it is true.

As the head of the executive branch of government and chair of the cabinet,

the Prime Minister is the most high profile politician in Britain and the questions surrounding the post’s status and power are central to an understanding of the British political system. Like other western democracies, the responsibilities and functions are in relation to a constitutional framework, which sets out certain boundaries for the executive, legislative and judicial aspects of government. However, such a framework is largely unwritten and uncodified, something that has a considerable effect on the practical realities of being Prime Minister. Additionally, the British political climate has come under recent pressure, due to the changing nature of the core executive and the impact of the mass media and influence of the European Union. This essay intends to analyse the main assumptions of the British constitution, in specific relation to what extent they have a bearing on the prime minister’s powers and limitations, where a strong focus will be on both the theoretical and practical ramifications surrounding the power of his or her position.

The relationship of the Prime Minister with his cabinet is central to the workings of the executive. In this context, central to Prime Ministerial power is the ability to hire and fire. The cabinet is the body that is ultimately appointed by the Prime Minister and assists in the running of the government. The Prime Minister appoints over a hundred ministerial posts covering cabinet, non-cabinet and junior ministers and also Parliamentary Private Secretaries. He or she has the power to

“ask ministers to resign, recommend the Sovereign to dismiss them, or with their consent, move them to other offices”1.

The powers to hire and fire were demonstrated by Margaret Thatcher, who dismissed a number of cabinet members including Ian Gilmour, Christopher Soames, Francis Pym etc2. The Prime Minister is responsible for the formation of the administration and, ultimately, Ministers hold office at the Prime Minister’s pleasure. The Prime Minister also has the power of appointing when it comes to the Chairpersons of Cabinet Committees. These committees settle as much business as possible at a lower level. “This prerogative is becoming increasingly important in the Prime Minister’s armoury of power and influence”3. The agenda of the cabinet, especially in overall direction and policy and for all committees chaired by the Prime Minister is approved by the Prime Minister in consultation with the Cabinet Secretary. The Prime Minister can therefore exploit the right to schedule items for Cabinet discussion, call speakers, take sense of the meeting, rather than counting the votes of cabinet members (votes in cabinet are rare) etc. He also controls central government and can allocate the various tasks of government to different departments, or create and abolish departments. A good example of this was Mr Blair abolishing the “Agriculture; Education and Employment; and Social security” departments in 20014.

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The doctrine of collective responsibility, whereby decisions and policies of the cabinet are binding on all members of the government who must support them in public, helps to reinforce the powers of the Prime Minister. This refers to the principle that decisions of the cabinet or Prime Minister are binding on all other members of the government, who must support them in public in order to maintain a united front or resign their government post5. Therefore, members are expected to express their views and “argue freely in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached”6. With ...

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