There are important constraints on Prime Ministerial power. Perhaps the most significant is the influence of the Cabinet. The Prime Minister will feel important constraints when appointing, dismissing or running the cabinet. The Prime Minister’s powers of appointment are limited by the need to provide a balance of party views which was Major’s problem when he was forced to include people who did not necessarily agree with his policies such as Portillo and Lilley. More presently, Tony Blair’s Cabinet has included ministers who do not agree with the ‘new’ Labour views and policies and whose ‘old’ Labour views are well attested, such as Prescott and Beckett. Martin Burch stated in 1990 that the Prime Minister has to make ministerial appointments with some recognition of the need for political balance and administrative competence. ‘The Prime Minister may be under pressure from colleagues or the media to appoint certain people to the cabinet. All Prime Ministers at least listen to advice from senior colleagues before making appointments. An important reason for this is for the Prime Minister to retain the support of the backbenchers in the party. This is very important as Margaret Thatcher realised in 1990 when she was forced to concede to the Cabinet on the decision to join the ERM after forming a rift with prominent misters such as Howe and Lawson and to their advice, she stood down from leadership contests in the same year. Another reason why the Prime Minister cannot do as he pleases with the Cabinet is because of the fear of being accused of being a dictator, the need to show he cares about the country in order to win elections and because press interest is extremely high and with the press hunting for a scandal, the Prime Minster’s actions with and within the Cabinet are closely monitored. With the powers of the Prime Minister coming from the party, the people, prerogative and Parliament, much of this power stems from the support of the party. And the ability to ensure support for Government in Parliament is crucial to the position and power of the Prime Minister. Modern Prime Ministers especially, must retain the confidence of the public, the electorate and to do this, must retain the confidence of the press as the media has a huge limitation on the powers of the Prime Minister. For instance, even if the Prime Minister personally becomes unpopular such as Thatcher was, never achieving popularity ratings above 50% the long-term support from the press is vital and proved crucial in maintaining Thatcher’s position. Major never had the support of the press who ridiculed him throughout his time as Prime Minister and could therefore never gain the confidence of the people. Blair is now beginning to lose support of the people and the press after the recent war in Iraq which was deeply opposed by the electorate and the press.
An incident like the War in Iraq which the Nation is against or a war which goes wrong or other international pressures such as a slump in the stock market are also constraints on the Power of the Prime Minister. ‘Black Wednesday’ where the value of the pound dropped rapidly was not actually Major’s fault as the joining of the ERM happened in Thatcher’s time and although against the wishes of Thatcher, with Thatcher’s Government. John Major was very unlucky and since that day, nobody has trusted Conservative Government with finances.
This shows other limitations on the Power of The Prime Minister such as personality, age, size of majority and as many Prime Ministers find out, luck. This is where it could be said that Prime Ministers are becoming too presidential and are being described as the cult of the outsider. A Prime Minister now needs to be charismatic like Thatcher and Blair. Size of Majority is also very important as Major discovered when there was a party split over issues such as Europe. Fortunately for Tony Blair, he currently has a huge majority in Parliament which does somewhat increase his power.
However, the Prime Minister; primus inter pares, will always be the first among equals and as Burch said in 1990: ‘it is simply beyond the ability of a single person, no matter how self-assured or single-minded, to be everywhere and know everything.’
