In some cases, a Prime Minister can be tempted into choosing one or two ‘rebel Ministers’ for their Cabinet. These ‘rebels’ can be later made an example of by being publicly ridiculed and or sacked so the Prime Minister can show to the other backbencher rebels that he still has the power to do so if they go against him. In another case, John Major was more comfortable with right wing rebels inside his cabinet rather than outside of it.
Another factor that influences many Prime Ministers choice in choosing Cabinet Ministers is that they may feel happier and comfortable if their closest friends and allies were around them. Margaret Thatcher achieved this objective once she won her second term in office; she ditched most of the rebels in her first cabinet which were regarded as ‘wets’. Having won her second term she was able to dismiss their leading representatives and put in place her close friends and allies.
All in all, a Prime Minister is allowed to select up to 20 to 25 members of cabinet, they must be all a member of Parliament to start off with either from the House of Lords or Commons.
- How Powerful Is The PM?
This debate has been widely argued across the country and world by many politicians and political analysts. Many will argue in terms of resources that the President of America is the most powerful man in the world but in terms of constitution and Parliamentary powers many will argue that in fact the Prime Minister of Great Britain is more powerful.
The Prime Minister receives his Ministerial authority from four sources, which can be identified as the Crown, The Party, Parliament and finally The People.
In terms of the Crown, the Prime Minister is technically appointed by the monarch and so therefore carries his or her authority. After a general election, the leader of the winning party is summoned to Buckingham Palace and is asked to form a government.
‘The Party’ gives authority because of the electoral system used here in the UK, the Prime Minister is almost always likely to be the leader of the majority party in the House of Commons and so is more than likely to win any votes that pass through parliament in their favour.
Parliament giving authority realistically means the majority party in Parliament giving authority. It is expected that opposition parties will not support the government but it is irrelevant what they choose as they are the minority. If a party member were to reject its own government then it is expected he or she will not survive long in the job.
For Labour, the party leader is elected by all party members. Their choice might not have the support of Labour MP’s, who only represent one third of the votes for the labour leadership, so technically a future Labour leader could be elected by the party but rejected by Parliament.
‘The People’ otherwise known as ‘Electorate’ are now starting to vote for the party leaders rather than the party and its policies. Voters these days are now being won over by powerful speeches by charismatic leaders. To some extent, the Party leader can enjoy authority over the people and persuade them to vote for him or her; this just goes to show the range of prime ministerial power.
Prime ministerial powers can be divided into two groups, formal and informal.
Formal powers or prerogative powers relate to functions that were historically performed by the monarch. But because of Parliament and democracy, these powers are know carried out by the Prime Minister because the monarch is not elected it would be undemocratic for them to perform such actions.
To complicate matters, prerogative powers fall in to two categories, powers as Head of State and powers as Head of Government.
Powers as Head of State include being the Head of the Armed Forces and have overall control of what goes on during a war. Another power is negotiations of Foreign Treaties and signing them. Granting of Honours of Knighthoods and lesser honours are selected by the Prime Minister as to who should receive them but performed by the Monarch in a Ceremony.
The Prime Minister also appoints senior judges, archbishops or bishops of the Church of England.
The powers the Prime Minister has as Head of Government include the appointment and dismissal of ministers, otherwise known as ‘patronage’.
Another is the appointment of heads of public bodies of public co-operations such as the BBC.
It is the sole responsibility of the Prime Minister when to dissolve parliament and call for a general election.
Informal Powers which the Prime Minister holds is of his or her position as leader of the majority party. They include being the Chief Policy maker, coming up with policies and putting them into affect is decided by the PM.
The PM is also the Chief government spokesman, he or she will feel they are best suited for the job as they will know what they are talking about, and if any other person was to take on this role it would show a weakness in leadership. The position of the PM is placed under scrutiny in these situations and will either take the full praise or criticism for the speeches and debates.
The last Power the PM holds is as the Leader of the parliamentary party. The PM must lead the party’s MP’s in the House of Commons. The MP’s look to the PM for direction and unity and in turn the PM expects party loyalty. Many MP’s rely on the PM for their position as members of the governing party and those with marginal seats depend on the PM for their very own places in the Commons itself.
Over time, the power’s the Prime Minister holds is growing with every election. Prime Ministers these days are technically able to pass any laws and votes as they wish because of their position as leader of the Majority party in the Commons, if all party members vote as the PM wishes, then they will win every vote, and many MP’s do so in fear of losing their jobs.. They can implement policies without consulting parliament and go to war without seeking any votes or discussion in Parliament.
The President of the United States in the other hand has to consult and get the full backing of Congress with any decisions and policies.
