Josey Bellamy
Mr Palmer
Politics Essay
DO WE HAVE CABINET GOVERNMENT OR PRIME MINISTERIAL GOVERNMENT?
In society today people think that the most powerful person in the British government system is the Prime Minister, Tony Blair. However, to what extent does he have power and authority? The Prime Minister doesn’t govern the country alone; the Cabinet as a whole discuss most matters. You could then say that we have Cabinet government- they do supposedly collectively make decisions on matters! The position however of power in one government may differ from that of another, Margaret Thatcher for example rarely used Cabinet at all, John Major on the other hand used it regularly and considered there opinions vital in the decision making process. But what type of government do we have at present and why?
Cabinet government can operate in a number of ways, depending on the approach of the particular Prime Minister, the complexion of government, the nature of the policy issues under consideration and the prevailing political circumstances. The traditional view is that the Cabinet is the seat of power in terms of policy initiation and decision-making. Cabinet doesn’t just decide all-important issues; it also controls government policy as a whole. Walter Bagehot regarded the Cabinet “as the crucial institution of government” describing it as the “efficient secret”. The assumption behind the traditional view is that Cabinet ministers meet together to thrash out all major issues of policy before coming to a collective decision, which then binds all members of government. Some critics have argued that Cabinet committees enhance the power of the Prime Minister; to Harold Wilson this was a simplistic view. Cabinet committees make government more effective and prevent the Cabinet being bogged down in detail. Wilson said that it did not increase prime ministerial power since it would be difficult to ignore a decision made by a committee of Cabinet colleagues.
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Teacher Reviews
Here's what a teacher thought of this essay
3 Stars - This essay is clearly written, and for the most part well structured - the introduction is strong, and the line of argument is largely thorough and logical. There is evidence of strong subject knowledge and understanding, and of wider reading. Where the essay could be improved is that the argument is not sustained towards a strong, analytical conclusion that directly answers the question. The overall focus of the answer was quite narrow, in that it concentrated on Blair - the argument as a whole would have been stronger if Blair had been compared more with other prime ministers and that there was a greater sense about the development of cabinet government. From an essay technique perspective there were a number of occasions where vague generalisations were made when specific examples would have been more appropriate.
