Has the Prime Minister become more powerful in recent years?

        Cabinet meetings have become less frequent now and are shorter than before; this signifys that the cabinet has lost it’s importance when it comes to collective decision making and the prime minister has become more independent. Indeed, it is now said that the prime minister has control over a large number of posts which has given him more patronage power and therfore he has the ability to give and take power away from anyone who opposes him/her. There has been a growth in policy support for the prime minister and this has led to his more or less unrivalled policy making decisions which has been shown in the media which is now controlled by the prime minister as well. Lastly, the prime minister now acts on his own wishes rather than consluting his party on a number of times which has led to a more presidential style of government rather than a party led government; if it were not for the European Union and it’s supreme sovreignty over Britain, the prime minister could become a president in one sense.

        Even after the number factors which suggest the prime minister is becoming more powerful, there are a number of things that suggest otherwise. Firstly, the two chambers of Parliament could easily thwart the prime minister if they strongly object to his/her policy ideas; similarly the prime minister’s party could try and lead a revolt against him/her if they felt the prime minister was veering out of control. The prime minister’s cabinet could also join together and oppose the prime minister and suceed if they are stong enough as it would be difficult to go against all of them. This would also lead to a number of problems if members of the cabinet were to resign; the public would become wary and would feel insecure and could try and get another party elected into power. The European Union also pose a threat to the prime minister as they can override any decisions made and if they were to do so, it would signify weakness in the prime minister and could open the door for others to try and rebel against him/her. Finally, Margaret Thatcher was deserted by her party for being to reckless and finally removed from power by her cabinet; this proves that no matter how powerful the prime minister may seem to be, he/she is governed by his/her party and most importantly, the public. If he/she were to offend either of them then his/her position would be under threat.