UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE - Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches - St. George's Catholic School
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UNIT 2 REVISION GUIDE 1. Constitution 2. Parliament 3. PM & Executive 4. Relations between the branches
1.Constitution revision guide
1.1 Nature and Development of the British Constitution:
How the constitution developed:
Magna Carta 1215 Create principle of rule of law, that everyone
should be held accountable to law and order
Bill of Rights 1689 Established the sovereignty of Parliament over the
monarch
Act of Settlement 1701 Established the monarch as the monarch of the
United Kingdom
Act of Union 1707 Abolished the Scottish Parliament and created the
British Parliament
Parliament Acts 1911 and 1949 Established the supremacy of the House of
Commons meaning that the Lords could not block
finance bills and could only delay bills by one year
European Communities Act 1972 Brought the UK into the EU- EU law added to
constitution.
Notice of Withdrawal Act 2017 Will bring UK out of the EU
Sources of the British Constitution:
Statute Law Act of Parliament that is passed
Parliament Acts 1911/1949
Scotland Act 1998
Conventions Unwritten principles that are accepted as law within the political community
Salisbury convention that the HofL cannot block laws that were in winning
party’s manifesto
Convention of Collective Ministerial Responsibility
Authoritative works Works of legal authority that act as guides:
Bagehot’s English Constitution of 1867 showed how Executive and Parliament
should relate.
Gus O’Donnel in 2010 wrote the guide on Coalition forming.
Common Law Common law is legal precedence created by judges rulings as opposed to new
laws.
Many rights of citizen’s exist in this form.
Treaties Treaties signed and passed by Parliament are binding:
European Communities Act 1972
Traditions Actions that have become tradition:
Queen opening Parliament with the joint session and Queen’s speech
Nature of the British Constitution
It is uncodified: The British Constitution is not written down in one formalised document. It is instead
made up of lots of different laws, conventions etc. This means it can be changed easily.
It is un-entrenched: The Constitution cannot be entrenched as Parliament is sovereign, so always has
the power to change it by passing a law.
It is unitary: All political power resides in one place- Parliament in London. Unlike a federal constitution
like in the USA which has state laws and federal laws. Parliament is the sole maker of laws, and can
take back all devolved power if it wants.
1.2 How the Constitution has changed since 1997
New Labour reforms 1997-2010
Reform Description Successes Failures
Devolution Scottish parliament All created via It is asymmetric- Scotland
created. referendum. has most power.
Welsh and N. Irish Has allowed for laws to be The elections usually have
Assemblies created. catered to each country. a low turnout- lower than
London Has made the country general elections
Mayor/Assembly more democratic. Scottish Nationalism
created Kept peace and Union increased
together. No strong governments
Allowed for each region to Devolution in N.E England
have a different rejected in referendum
Coronavirus policy, 2004
allowing for better Difference in Coronavirus
response. policy could be seen as
chaotic
Human Made the European Finally means all citizen’s Parliament is still
Rights Act Convention of rights are written down. sovereign and can
1998 Human Rights law Seeks to entrench citizen’s overrule it.
Made the European rights
Court of Justice the
highest court in UK
Electoral Devolved systems All devolved areas are Turnouts have been low.
reform use AMS, STV and more proportional. No strong Governments in
1998 SV No wasted votes any devolved area.
ETC… ETC….
Reform of Reduced Hereditary Has made most lords Not finished
House of Peers to 92. Now it appointed- so most are Still unelected
Lords 1999 is mainly appointed. now there for being Still 92 Hereditary peers
experts. Still 25 Bishops.
Hereditary Peers now take Life Peers are too easy to
role more seriously appoint- 790ish members
Makes Parliament more means its largest body in
democratic world.
Reform of Established supreme Independence of judges Supreme Court is growing
Judiciary court reduces power of in Political power and
2005 Separated judiciary Government. could be seen as getting
from Government. JAC was set up to appoint too powerful.
Made the Judiciary judges rather than Lord Chancellor can still
independent Government. veto appointments
FOIA 2000 Meant Citizens Has led to more Information can be
could make requests transparency. withheld if the
to see information Helped lead to expenses information is deemed as
held by public scandal- showing linked to national
bodies corruption in Parliament. security This is
Used often. happening more regularly.
Sometimes used for trivial
questions- like John
Prescott’s weightHouse of Established the Backbench Committee has DSCs still have a majority
Commons Backbench Business allowed Backbenchers to for the Government.
Reform Committee be more organised in Government still don’t
Increased salaries of passing Private Bills and have to follow
Select Committees. holding Govt. to account. recommendations.
Introduced system DSCs have grown in
of electing chairs of importance and
Committees independence since
reforms
Coalition reforms 2010-2015
Reform Description Successes Failures
Fixed Term Elections happen Was supposed to 2017- Theresa may
Parliament 2011 every 5 years reduce power of Govt. circumvented law and
in calling snap elections. showed it is unlikely to
Governments have still actually stop a Govt.
been able to call both 2019- Uncertainty over
2017 and 2019 Brexit would have led to
elections. an election in normal
times, but has created
gridlock instead.
All parties in the 2019
election promised to
repeal it
Gives queen more power
in deciding who to invite
to form Govt.
Further After Referendum. Wales now has more Unenthusiastic support-
Devolution to Wales given power independent Referendum turnout was
Wales 2014 over raising new democratic power. 35%
forms of tax
English Votes for Has sought to solve Allows English MPs to Speaker alone has power
English Laws West Lothian vote on English laws- to declare it an English
2015 Question. more democratic. Law- bit unclear.
Means English MPs Used in Jan 2016 on SNP MPs worried Govt.
only can vote on Housing Bill will use to their
certain laws. advantage as Tories have
most English MPs.
Recall of MPs Gives Constituents Should give Tried to be used on
act 2015 power to recall or Constituents more suspened DUP MP Ian
vote out their MP. power. Paisley but failed to get
10% petition if MP Should make MPs more 10% (so close!)
has been focused on representing Convoluted process
suspended their constituents.
Has now been used
twice to successfully
remove MPs-
Peterborough in
2019/Breocn and
Radnorshire 2019Reforms since 2015
Reform Description Successes Failures
Further Increased powers- Satisfied many voices in 2014 SNP and Greens still
devolution to Power to set independence referendum. demand
Scotland 2016 income tax, control Again helps to further spread independence
VAT receipts and decision making power
welfare provision
Devolution to Many more areas Helped to spread decision Not very popular-
cities and now have elected making power. poor turnout in
regions mayors like Has increased the quality of elections- 29% in
Manchester. representation in areas of Manchester in 2017.
Regions now have England. Little real powers for
more control over Allows bespoke spending for regions.
business rates and certain areas.
in Manchester they Andy Burnham Machester
control their own Mayor became a popular
health budget figure in aftermath of 2017
bombings
Exiting the EU Britain will be / /
Exiting the
European Union.
But we don’t know
in what way yet
1.3 Role and powers of devolved institutions and their impacts
Key features of Devolution:
Not Federalism- Power is not permanently given to the areas. Parliamentary law is still supreme.
It’s asymmetric- Scotland has much more power than any other area.
It’s entrenched- All changes occurred via referendum. Due to this having popular support it is
sometimes called Quasi-Federalism as no Govt. will likely take it away.
Three types:
o Administrative- Power to determine how services are run (all three have this)
o Legislative- Power to make primary legislation (Just Scotland and N. Ireland have this)
o Financial- Power to levy taxes and how to spend it (Scotland have gained this in 2016)
Devolution in England
Devolution to Cities and creation of Mayors who have control over policing, transport, planning and
housing.
Sadiq Khan has significant power over policing and transport- introducing frozen fees and the bus-
hopper ticket.
Devolution in Scotland
Has led to the domination of Scottish politics by SNP. They gained an overall majority in 2011 and
kept a Minority Govt. in 2016. The Majority Govt. led to the independence referendum of 2014- which was much closer than
expected 55-45 voting no. This momentum carried SNP into 2015 general election, winning 56 of 59
seats.
This vote led to even more devolution in 2016 act.
Running out of steam after 2017 election losing many seats- going from 56 to 35.
In 2018 now has power over income tax, control over receipts of income tax (how to spend money),
controls half of revenue of VAT.
Can control much of its own administration- Education for example- free Tuition fees.
Devolution in Wales
Has grown in power with 63% backing 2011 referendum for more power.
Dominated by Labour, usually holding half of all seats
Powers over key administrative areas such as NHS, Education and Environment.
Devolution in N. Ireland
Established to help solve religious conflict of the troubles- with a power sharing agreement.
Unionists and Nationalists must both be present in the Govt.
These forced coalitions are to try and stop a return to conflict.
N.Ireland can make its own laws to cater to their situation. For example, Abortion is still illegal
there despite being legal in rest of UK.
BUT…. Big problem of power sharing in the last year- not having a functioning Govt, since between
2018 and 2020
Has Devolution been successful?
Successful Failures
UK has not broken up- no independence Scottish Nationalism certainly increased with
movement has succeeded. SNP’s dominance continuing- a second Indy Ref
Peace has held in N. Ireland with power sharing looks certain.
largely being a success. Turnouts are often low- (2016- Scot- 55%
Despite turnout, there are no serious attempts N.Ire- 55% and Wales- 45%)
to reverse the change. The introduction of PR has ensured that
Has led to countries successfully changing their besides SNP in 2011, all Governments are
own policies/laws: coalitions and therefore indecisive.
o Scotland has different alcohol laws and Countries still rely on funding from the UK
has free tuition fees. Govt. Barnett Formula, so are not self-
o N.Ireland has changed their police force supporting.
to respond to troubles. N.Ireland power sharing hasn’t worked that
o Wales has been able to better protect well! N.Ireland have been without a Govt. since
it’s agricultural industry 27th Jan 2018 (reopened in 2020)
o Coronavirus
1.4 Debates on further reform
How successful have reforms been?
Successful Failures
o 2005 Constitutional Reform Act has made an o FPTP still remains
independent judiciary that defends citizens’ o House of Lords didn’t go all the way.
rights. o House of Commons is still quite weak in
o Devolution has decentralised power and comparison to Govt.
improved local democracy o Constitution remains uncodified.o Human Rights Act has been well entrenched o Recall of MPs act 2015 is not effective in
and is largely followed increasing accountability
o Referendums have increased in popularity o Fixed Term Parliament act has failed.
o House of Lords has become more legitimate o
and more effective.
o FOI has been entrenched and is well used
Should Devolution be extended?
Extended Not Extended
o Extend democracy to local regions will ensure o Waste of money.
representation increases and brings Govt. o Would lead to voter apathy as too many
closer to communities elections- turnout in 2017 mayoral elections all
o Could ensure local problems are better delat in 20s.
with- disconnect between Westminster and o No signs of demand- 2004 referendum
North of England. defeated N.England Assembly.
o Would help to stop difference in living o Might create further disunity.
standards between London and rest of
England.
o Could improve participation.
Should the UK Constitution be codified?
Codified Uncodified
o It would clarify the powers of the executive, o It is much more flexible, in aftermath of
with many prerogative powers existing due to 9/11 and increased terror, the UK could
convention. Would increase checks and easily improve the strength of it’s anti-
balances. terror laws- UK could simply just invent
o Would help to entrench human rights, with the rules for how a Coalition was formed in
HRA being easily overridden if the Govt. want 2010, with Gus O’Donnell’s authoritative
to. work. Very flexible for Coronavirus!
o Would empower the Supreme Court and make o Allows for a powerful Government- we
sure the power of Judicial Review could stop nearly always have a majority Govt. (bar
Govt. 2010 and 2017) they can act decisively and
o Would ensure Citizens were aware of the pass laws that are needed, for example
system and how it worked, increasing political Brown was able to act quickly in 2008
education and perhaps turnout. banking crisis and save banks unlike USA.
o Would bring UK into line with all modern o Pragmatically it has served the nation well
nations. for 100s of years and has naturally evolved
o Much confusion over Speaker’s role in Brexit over the years..
drama of 2019- Precedence has been created o If it was made codified the unelected
and overruled over amendment selection and judges would become more powerful than
whether they can be another vote on the same our politicians- anger over 2017 Miller case
legislation shows how unpopular this would be.Definitions
2. Parliament Revision Guide
Definitions/Concepts
Parliamentary Government
Parliament is the highest source of Authority
All members of the Government must be from parliament.
We have a fusion of powers. With the Executive also being the Legislative.
Parliamentary Sovereignty-Parliament has ultimate power
Only Parliament can delegate power.
Parliament is not bound by any Constitutional rules, but can make them.
No Parliament can be bound by any previous Parliament, or bind any future Parliament.
How has Sovereignty been eroded:
o Government has the real sovereignty being elected to lead and it always has a majority in
Parliament.
o Referendums are now always held before big changes, so people have the sovereignty not
Parliament.
o Human Rights Act and actions of Supreme Court are now seen to overrule Parliament.
o Devolution has given power to Scotland, N Ireland, Wales and London.
Structures/Powers
House of Commons Structure
650 MPs- all selected by local parties and elected in general/by-elections
Frontbench MPs are Government Ministers/Junior Ministers and then Shadow Ministers/Junior
Ministers.
Backbench MPs- those who aren’t front benchers.
Select Committees- Permanent Committees made up of Backbenchers.
Legislative Committees- temporary committees made to scrutinise legislation.
Party whips- Senior MPs who try and force MPs to follow Party line.
Speaker- elected by MPs, decides agenda and keeps order in the house- John Bercow.
House of Lords Structure
792 Peers- None are elected.
Small number of Committees, but unimportant.
Three types of Peers:
o Hereditary- Inherit title from family, 92 of them.
o Life- Appointed for life by Party leaders and Appointments Committee. Selected due to
expertise or experience
o Bishops- 26 senior members of the CofE
Not all Peers have party allegiances- Crossbenchers are neutral and act independently
Functions of House of Commons
Legitmation- Formally makes the actions of passing laws and making decisions legitimate as the MPs
act on behalf of the public who have elected them. Representative Democracy…
Accountability- Hold the Government to account, criticising and scrutinising decisions. Forcing
Ministers to explain decisions, Committees, PMQs and dismissing a Government through a vote of no
confidence. Scrutiny- Scrutinise laws and make amendments to improve them before passing or rejecting them.
Legislative committees.
Constituency work- MPs work in their constituencies listening to their Constituents (in Surgeries) and
protect their interests.
Representation of interests- Beyond their constituent’s MPs are expected to represent pressure groups
and other groups. MPs form cross party groups to help do this- Group against expansion of Heathrow.
National Debate- Some issues need to be debated in the Commons and have issues properly discussed-
2017 debate to trigger Article 50, Debates over Withdrawal Agreement and indicative votes 2019.
Functions of House of Lords
Revising- Lords scrutinise legislation from the Commons and add amendments- many experts make this
an important function
Delaying- Lords cannot veto any legislation but can delay and force the Government to reconsider it
the next year, and add amendments.
Secondary legislation- Minor regulation within major laws which needs to be improved and Commons
don’t have time.
National debate- Like the Commons, they have large debates on big issues- had a 20-hour debate on
the European withdrawal Bill in 2018
Powers of Commons
Powers of Lords
Limitations on Lords:
Parliament Acts of 1911 and 1949- Limited power of Lords to delay legislation for only 2 years and then
1 year. Also means they have no power over financial bills.
Salisbury Convention- Lords will not block legislation that was in Government’s manifesto if they won a
clear majority
Limited Amendments- Amendments must be approved by Commons
Abolition threat- Lords can be abolished if they do not respect will of Commons.
Comparison of Commons and Lords
Powers of Commons only Powers of Both Powers of Lords only
Scrutinise and pass financial bills Debate legislation and vote on Examine secondary legislation
approvals
Complete veto of legislation Proposal of amendments Delaying primary legislation for
one year
Can dismiss Government with Calling Govt. to account and
vote of no confidence ministers
Select Committees examine Debating key issues
GovernmentFinal approval of amendments Private members can introduce
bills
The Legislative Process
First Reading MPs are informed about bill, but no debates take place
Second Reading Main debate of bill. If passed it moves on
Committee Stage Committee consider bill line by line and propose
amendments
Report Stage Bill is debated again but with amendments
Third Reading Final debate and opportunity to black legislation
Passage to other Bill passes to Lords/Commons
House
Same procedures Other house examine it in same way, but Lords has no
Committee
Ping Pong Bounce amendments to one another- until agreement is
made
Royal assent Queen signs bill into law
Types of legislation:
Public bills- Presented by Government and usually pass
Private members bills- Proposed by backbench MPs and rarely pass. Decided by Ballot who can
propose.
Private bills- Bills proposed by organisations/individuals outside Parliament and usually allow them
permission for issues such as building/land use. Usually pass.
Are Parliament effective at legislating?
Effective Not Effective
o Lots of opportunity for scrutiny and debate- o Whipping means MPs are likely to just
three readings and committee stage, over follow party and not be independent
5,000 amendments in each house each year. Every single voted for Boris Brexit Deal
o House of Lords can use expertise to amend 2020.
bills- made 4,500 between 2017-2019, 97% o Process can sometimes be sped up,
accepted. Made 374 amendments to Health meaning there is not enough scrutiny:
and Social Care Bill in 2012 o The Benn Act (Delayign Brexit, by
o House of Lords can be more independent and extending Article 50) passes in 6
amend legislation/reject it. Lords defeated days.
Govt. 62 times between 2017 and 2019. o Terrorist Offenders (restriction of
o Legislation committees ensure scrutiny, early release) bill, stopping Parole
allowing evidence, NFU for Agriculture bill for for terrorists passed in 8 sitting
examples days.
o MPs sometimes ignore Whips when issues are o Outside pressure can lead to bad laws being
great- Theresay May’s Brexit Deal was mainly passed- 1991 Dangerous Dogs Act, 2020
defeated due to Tory Rebels Coronavirus legislation
o Free votes allow independent scrutiny (Gay o Fusion of Powers means laws proposed by the
Marriage/Fox Hunting) Government will basically always pass. BoJo
passed his Brexit Deal easily. T Blair only ever
lost 4 times.Backbench Members Roles/Examples:
Take part in debates and vote and make amendments.
Scrutinise bills
Become a member of a select committee
Join a campaign committee (committee focused on one issue)
Take part in fact finding missions
Take part in policy committees for their parties
Lobby on behalf of an outside cause or interest
Be active in their constituency
Karen Buck- Labour MP for Westminster North- Successfully passed her private members bill in 2018-
Homes (Fitness for Human Habitation) Bill 2019 to empower tenants
Mhari Black- SNP MP for Paisley and Renfrewshire South- Member of Work and Pensions select
Committee. Popular for her speeches
Oliver Letwin- ex-Tory MP for West Dorset- Leading many amendments to give power to Commons to
decide Brexit policy- passed his amendment on 25th March 2019
How Effective are Backbenchers:
Criticisms Defence
MPs are just lobby fodder and always follow what Many MPs are every independent- this has been
the Whips say- Government rarely loses a vote especially they’re when looking at Brexit bills.
Amendments for Brexit have been very
Independent! 30 Tories voted for Letwin
Amendment, T May lost 33 votes!
MPs cannot influence frontbench MPs and cannot Growing power of Committees run by
influence legislation- Government majority Backbenchers- Recommendations offer become
dominates laws
Debates are often not well attended MPs work in committees and in constituencies
instead
MPs can be seen as corrupt and self serving- New systems of controlling it and MPs are removed
expenses scandal of 2009-2010- Pestminster 2017 who broke rules.
Peers Roles/Examples:
Non-Working Peers- granted the honour of being a Lord, but rarely attending and rarely vote.
Part Time Politicians- Not attached to a party, attend debates that interest them and they irregularly
vote (usually hereditary).
Working Peers- Act as though they are professional politicians. Often members of a party- can be
members of the front bench. Regularly attend and vote.
Lord Adonis (former Labour)- Former academic and minister in the New Labour Government. Takes his
job very seriously, was part of a Government transport body. Regularly gets involved in national
debates. Very anti-Brexit.
Lord Dannatt (Crossbencher) Former chief of staff of Army, so get involved in military debates-
recommended that UK use troops to fight ISIS.
Key roles:
o Debate and vote on bills
o Scrutinise Govt. (more important since 2010)
o Scrutinise bills using expertise
o Govt. departments have representatives in the Lords who can be held to account.
o Also can be members of committees.
Effective Not Effective Many working Peers are as hardworking as Many Peers are non-working and do not add to
MPs and perform all their roles seriously- Lord our democracy.
Adonis for example. Attendance to debates is low.
Many Peers have the expertise to properly Peers cannot actually defy the Government
scrutinise bills- 4,500 amendments last year due to Parliament acts and Salisbury
and 97% are accepted conventions.
Crossbench MPs ensure that bills can be Crossbench MPs only focus on particular issues.
scrutinised and debated without the pressure
of party politics.
Are more able to defeat the Government- as
the Government does not have a majority.
Committees
Select Committees
Made up of around 10-15 backbenchers.
Chairs are always elected and earn a higher salary.
Investigate issues and produce reports/recommendations for the Government, which they have to
respond to, but don’t have to follow.
Public Accounts Committee
Oldest and one of most important committees.
Always led by an opposition member
Seen as an independent body beyond Parties.
High media profile- So can publicly hold Government to account.
Key investigations are in your textbooks.
New example- Enquiry into cuts to Courts in 2019, and into costs of consultancy firms being hired to
help in Brexit.
Departmental Select Committees
Existed since 1979- made stronger by New Labour with salary increase and having chairs elected.
Look at the work of different departments and holds them to account, writing reports and making
recommendations.
Importantly have the power to call all and any witnesses- Rupert Murdoch for phone hacking- Me for
education maybe!
Recent examples- 2016 BHS scandal- investigated and told Government how to deal with it. 2016
report has now led to banning of microbeads.
The International Development Committee Currently investigating the links between Government and
Oxfam Scandals.
European Scrutiny Committee 2019 investigated the way the EU withdrawal bill had been negotiated
and publicized the problems.
Home Office Committee published their report on Immigration Detention Centres in March 19
Backbench Committee
Set up in 2010 to decide the agenda for Parliament at backbench days.
Allows backbenchers to influence and force the Government to debate or accept changes.
Main example: The publication of all secret forms on Hillsborough in 2011 came this way- leading to an
inquest.Liaison Committee
A committee of all the chairs of all Select Committees- created in 2002
PM must appear three times a year, and is questioned in committee form.
Like a very intense version of PMQs
BoJo met first Liaison Committee during lockdown- Roasted over Cummings issue.
How successful are committees?
Successful Not successful
Recommendations/Reports/Investigations are Government always have a majority in
well publicised by the Media, so publically hold Departmental Select Committees- so may not
the Government to account. David Davis had to be held to account properly.
admit he hadn’t finished Brexit reports in Committees have no power to make
Committee. 2020 used to investigate impact of Governments follow recommendations- only
Coronavirus expecting a reply after 2 months.
Committees are very independent and are able Committees cannot have an input in a bill
to act above party politics- Chairs are elected before it is introduced in the chamber.
and Head of PAC is always from the opposition Ministers are always well prepared before
Liaison Committee is a more serious and formal making statements to committees.
way to hold PM to account compared to PMQs. Only 40% of recommendations accepted
Committees now have a deterrent effect, by according to UCL Constitution group
stopping Government from cutting corners in BoJo has yet to attend a Liaison Committee
fear of being held to account. meeting (March 2020- only attended one in
Committees reports are well researched and May 2020)
can lead to good laws being passed-
Microbeads were banned in Jan 2018 due to
the
Holding Government to account
The Opposition
Difference between ‘opposition’ which are all MPs not in the Governing party and the ‘Official
Oppositon’ which are the second largest party in Parliament. Labour and Jeremy Corbyn are the official
opposition today.
Official Opposition is a constitutional role:
o Leader receives the equivalent of a minster’s salary
o Leader takes part in all ceremonies
o Leader has most questions at PMQs
o Opposition have control over Parliament agenda for 20 days- known as Opposition days.
Functions of Opposition:
o To act as ‘Government in Waiting’. Must be ready to fight next election and take over if the
Government falls- Shadow Cabinet would take over Government roles.
o Call Government to account and ask questions of Ministers.
o Defend interests of sections of society ignored by Government. Labour represent workers and
Green represent environmental issues and National parties (SNP, PC, DUP) represent their
national interests.
o Ceremonial functions- attends parades etc.
o Opposition help to organise Parliament’s agenda- around 20 opposition days a year.Select Committees have now taken over from the opposition as the main way in which Govt. is called to
account’ How far do you agree?
Agree Disagree
The opposition may use opportunities to hold Government always have a majority in
the Government to account as media events. Departmental Select Committees- so may not
Jeremy Corbyn for example used the PMQs be held to account properly.
before the 2018 local elections to promote his The opposition do well to hold the Government
own platform to power publicly- news programmers etc. will
Select Committees have grown in invite a Labour MP to discuss a Tory failure.
independence and importance through The Opposition have huge resources to hold
elections of chairs and increased salary. the Government to account- using short
The Govt. must respond to SC reports- banning money.
microbeads in 2018 for example. Through elections and by-elections the
Select Committees focus on one department, Opposition can hold the Government to
so can be more forensic in their criticism. account by beating them.
Jeremy Hunt chair of the Health Committee is Starmer has reinvigorated opposition with
the ex-Health Secretary and can scrutinize PMQs and big public stances- Schools
more clearly. reopening, track and trace etc.
Select Committees aren’t trying to get elected-
focus on holding to account instead.
Ways to hold Ministers to account
Question to Ministers days- Ministers have to take the floor and respond to written questions by the
Commons, with particular pressure from the opposite Shadow member.
Select Committees- Ministers can be questioned in Select Committees with sometimes hostile and very
public results. Usually very formal and therefore effective.
PMQs- Once a week when parliament is sitting on Wednesdays at 12:30 Prime Minister is questioned.
But has become a highly sensationalised event, with MPs going for soundbites not holding Government
to account properly
Potential reforms
House of Lords
All-Appointed All-Elected Part-Elected and Part
Appointed
People with special experience/ More democratic. Could enjoy both
expertise could be recruited. If elected by PR would stop benefits
Can ensure that it is not exactly the Government having too much Would increase
same as commons, allowing for power. legitimacy but keep
better checks on the Governments Makes chamber more expertise
control accountable. Would be most
No need for re-election/selection Would allow chamber to be acceptable to peers
means members will be more powerful. and MPs
independent.
House of Commons
Reduce size to 600 to make Constituencies more balanced in size
Give DSCs power to look at legislation before it is debated in the chamber and use expertise.
More opportunity to debate secondary legislation like Lords.
Change electoral system to PR.ow successful is Parliament at fulfilling its roles?
Role Positives Negatives
Holding Select Committees have grown in MPs lack expertise to properly investigate
Government power and independence. Publically and hold Government to account.
to account holding Govt. to account. PMQs is largely a media event without
Ministers still must face questions in proper scrutiny.
both houses. Departmental Select Committees have a
PMQs occurs every week- supported Government majority.
by Liaison Committees- March 2020 Govt. often well prepared for events
JC focused on Patel bullying claims.
Provide MPs are all elected by popular House of Lords is not elected.
Legitimacy consent. Parliament elections are not proportional.
Recent election turnout of 67%
shows how legitimate decisions are.
Scrutinise House of Lords has experts who can Commons is whipped meaning MPs and
Legislation scrutinize bills and offer expert Committees are likely to follow Party and
amendments- 4,500 last year not analyse independently (BoJo has only
Legislation committees forensically lost one vote in 2020)
analyse bills and offer amendments. Not given much time to scrutinise and
debate.
Nodding through legislation does happen.
Control With a minority Government this Power of Whips is still strong, so rebellions
Government ability is much increased. against the Government are unlikely- Blair
power Committees/Questions/Debates lost 4, Brown 3, BoJo 1 so far!
allow for this. When Opposition is divided this is very
Opposition are now more united in difficult.
opposing Government. Fusion of powers means Govt. should
No Government majority in the always have a clear majority
Lords Crisis of Coronavirus led to near zero
Brexit has decreased Whip power, accountability.
with some Ministers abstaining
rather than following whips T May
faced largest ever defeat in 2019
Represent MPs dedicate days to their House of Lords do not have constituents.
Constituents constituencies, running surgeries to Varies MP to MP (many MPs are not local
listen to complains and represent to their area)
those views In Parliament. Recall of MPs Act is not strong enough- so
Respond to emails/letters/social no system to remove MP
media. Whips can influence them more.
Representing MPs represent constituencies from Elections are not proportional so
nation as a all over the UK of roughly the same Commons does not represent actual
whole size. support (Lib Dems for example)
2019 Parliament is most 29% of MPs are Privately educated, but
representative of the country- with only 7% are in UK. Still not 50% of women.
record numbers of Women, LGBTQ, Too few (5%) from manual occupations.
Ethnic minorities and State educated House of Lords less representative, 26%
members. women and only 6% Ethnic, also average
Lords seek to represent those age is 69.
minority voices in our country3.The Prime Minister and Executive
3.1 The Structure, role and powers of the Executive
Structure
Functions of Government
PM- Powers and Roles
Prime Minister is the leader of the Government and as the Government acts on behalf of Queen. The
PM has royal prerogative powers- Appointing Government, Foreign Policy, Commander in Chief and
negotiating treaties.
o Complete power of patronage- so can appoint/dismiss all ministers and who is in the cabinet.
Has a say in senior Civil Servants as well. Reshuffle- when PM changes who is in roles.
o Negotiates treaties (but needs approval of Pmt)
o Commander in chief of armed forces
o Heads and chairs cabinet deciding agendas and focus
o Sets the general tone and aims of an executive.
o Leader of their party and can claim popular authority
Cabinet- Powers and Roles
Cabinet is made up of roughly 20-25 of the most important Government ministers.
They all meet in cabinet meetings and decide Government policy ‘collectively’. Usually meet once a
week. All members must be an MP or Peer.
Power and importance depended on the PM- Thatcher dominated, Major didn’t.
o In emergency situations, PM may turn to cabinet to make decisions and inform them of actions-
Blair in 2003 before Iraq, Thatcher before Falklands 1982- COBRA
o Discuss policy before it is presented to ensure they present a united front and support each
other- Long meetings over Brexit in 2019, over CoronaVirus 2020o To settle disputes between Government departments- usually to do with budgets. Currently,
massive discussions over Brexit and what they will pursue.
o Decide the legislative agenda and how they will ensure it’s passage through parliament
o Much work is done in Cabinet Committees- A subcommittee of a small group of ministers to
discuss details policies and then present to Cabinet.
Role and type of Ministers
Secretary of State- Senior minister who runs entire department and is usually a member of Cabinet-
Damian Hinds Secretary of State for Education
Minister of State- More junior minister who will run a sub section of a department- for example- Nick
Gibb is Minister for Schools within the Department of Education.
Parliamentary under-secretary of state- A very junior minister who runs a specialised section of the
department- Lord Agnew is under-secretary of state for School System.
Parliamentary Private Secretary- Lowest possible level, an unpaid position acting as a link between
ministers
Roles:
o Develop policies in their area of responsibility- Michael Gove is pushing for a ban on plastic cups
as Environment minister.
o Develop a budget and how money will be spent within department
o Draft legislation.
o Organise the passage of legislation (talk to whips/backbenchers)
o Appear regularly in parliament for Minister’s questions and present to select committees.
o Make key decisions for Department
o Appear in media to defend Govt. or Dept.
Treasury and the Budget
Treasury has most important role in Govt. as it has to propose the annual budget:
o Treasury prepares the budget by negotiating with ministers and deciding how much each Dept.
will get.
o Treasury needs to make sure the allocated funds can all be raised and if so what taxes will be
introduced/reduced and what borrowing the Govt. needs to do and if cuts need to be made.
o The budget then needs to be approved in Cabinet.
o The budget will then be presented to the Commons.
3.2 The concept of ministerial responsibility
Individual Ministerial Responsibility
It is a convention that Ministers follow a certain number of rules, these have been codified since 1992,
with most recent in 2016. If they break them, they are expected to resign:
o If the policies and decisions of their departments, are deemed unsatisfactory.
o If ministers makes a serious error of judgement.
o If a minister’s department makes an error, even if the minister is not involved.
o If their personal conduct falls below expected standard.
BUT… Limitations on how far it is followed:
o It is up to Prime Minister to make them resign.. No formal process for Parliament/Public to
cause it.
o Ministers are more likely to try and weather the storm, and can blame lower members instead.
Examples of resignations:
Michael Fallon resigned as Defence Minister on Nov. 1st 2017. This was due to details of previous
sexual harassment/misconduct being picked up in the newspapers. Pestminster Scandal!
Priti Patel resigned as International Development Minister on Nov 8th 2017. This was due to having
secret meetings with the Israeli Government while on ‘holiday’, she even discussed using her aid
budget to support Israeli military- PM did not know! This was more of a push. Damian Green resigned as First Secretary of State on Dec. 20th 2017. This was after revelations that
a 2008 Investigation found Porn on his work computer, and complaints of sexual harassment. He
was a big ally to May, but had to go after pressure mounted.
Amber Rudd- Resigned as Home Secretary in April 30th for misleading Parliament over the
Windrush Scandal (but already back in by Nov as Work and Pensions Secretary)
Gavin Williamson forced to resign May 1st 2019 after leaking the decision to allow Huawei to run
our 5G- broke code of not leaking official decisions.
Examples of staying despite problems:
Boris Johnson, who as Foreign Secretary in Nov 2017 mishandled the Zagari-Ratcliffe case. Meaning
she may be in Iranian prison for longer. However, despite pressure, no resignation.
Chris Grayling, who as Transport Secretary gave a £14 million pound contract to a firm to provide
ferry services in case of a No-Deal Brexit…. They had never run a ferry service before. Uk
Government was sued by Eurostar due to contracts and won! Winning £33 Million.. Grayling did not
resign
Priti Patel, who as Home Secretary in Feb/Mar 2020 was accused of bullying and had several staff
members resign. Was backed by BoJo and did not have to resign.
Robert Jentrick, who as Housing Secretary has been seen to give special services to millionaire
Richard Desmond, approving his housing project and accepting large donation! May-June 2020.
BoJo has backed him
Collective Ministerial Responsibility
An unwritten convention that means ministers are all collectively responsible for Government
policies, so have to publicly support and not leak any Government policies. Due to the nature of
Cabinet, any disagreements should be sorted out before policies are made.
They may resign/be fired:
If they disagree with Governmental policy, so cannot publicly support it (Iraq War in 2003 for
example)
If they disagree with the PM they will resign (Geoffrey Howe’s resignation in 1990- basically caused
Thatcher to resign)
If they publically criticise the Government or independently discuss how they want policy to differ.
Leak Government details.
Brexit makes this much harder as many ministers have different opinions-. Again, this is only
convention- depending on how powerful PM is to enforce it.
Looks to be easier under unified Leave Cabinet of BoJo
Examples of resignations:
David Davis and Boris Johnson- Both resigned in protest of the proposed Chequers deal to leave
the EU in June 2018
Dominic Raab and Esther Mcvey- Resigned as Brexit Secretary and WP Secretary due to disagreeing
with the withdrawal agreement in Nov 2018
Tracey Couch- Resigned as Sports Minister in protest at delay to limiting Fixed Odd Betting
Machines in Nov 2018
Amber Rudd- Resigned as Work and Pensions Minister in September 2019 due to disagreeing with
decision to Prorogue Parliament
Jo Johnson- Resigned as Universities minister in November 2019, disagreeing with Boris Johnson’s
Brexit deal.
Examples of staying
In 2017-2018, Boris Johnson has written several articles for the telegraph where he disagrees with
Government policy and suggests a different way of doing Brexit. Yet…. He was not called on to
resign
Remainer Ministers Amber Rudd and David Gauke abstained on a whipped motion on not ruling out
a No-Deal Brexit. They did not resign and were not firedImportance:
Maintains image of a united Government
Allows PM to have control over ministers
Stops Ministers from being disruptive/negative
Guarantees a number of votes for Govt. Legislation, known as the ‘payroll vote’, as they are on the
Govt. Payroll.
BUTTT… Brexit has broken the system with masses of resignation and ministers being willing to leave to
follow conscious or support constituents. BUTTT.. Now fixed under unified Leave BoJo leadership?
Positives Negatives
• Creates a strong United Government that can • Too much power in the hands of PM? Can decide
pass laws and make foreign agreements. who needs to resign.
• Means there is clear Government policy for the • Ministers cannot be honest in public about policy-
public Parliament and Media to understand. disingenuous and may stop debate.
• Means all disagreements are in private, so • Resignations can cause Governments to fall-
ministers can have full robust debates, Geoffrey Howe in 1990 and Thatcher. May was
pushed out in 2019 by threat of mass resignation
3.3 The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
Source of PM’s authority
Traditional- PM has all of the prerogative authority of the Queen who delegates it to them.
Party- PM is usually the leader of the largest Party in Parliament- when a party leader is replaced they
naturally become the next PM. Theresa May replaced David Cameron as party leader and therefore
became PM.
Parliament- They have the power to dismiss the Govt. and therefore the PM. This means they have the
support and authority of the body.
The People- Although not directly elected, all voters are aware of who will become PM if the party they
vote for wins. Most of the campaigning is done by the Party leader.
Source’ of PM’s Power
Prerogative Powers- The PM has all of the former monarch’s powers to represent the nation.
Party- By being leader of Party they have power to direct their policies and direction.
Patronage- The leader is in control of who becomes part of the Government, and as such they can also
control who is fired. This gives them great power over their party and the Government.
Parliament- The PM relies on the support of their majority in the House and they ensure that PM’s can
pass their legislation and retain confidence of House.
Collective Cabinet Responsibility- Ensure the Cabinet all support the Government, or have to resign
Powers of the PM
Formal Informal
Patronage Controlling Govt. Policy
Chair Cabinet meetings Controlling legislative agenda
Foreign policy leader Economic leadership
Commander in chief* Speak on behalf of crisis during leadership
Can call elections (no longer due to 2011 fixed
term, but they still can with agreement) Depends on power/majorityCommander in Chief*- Since 2003 invasion of Iraq, there has been a convention of voting on use of armed
forces in Parliament. This was seen in 2013 where David Cameron lost vote on bombing Syria. This was the
first ever foreign policy vote lost by a PM. He also won a vote to bomb ISIS in 2015.
Powers of Cabinet
Debate and have final say on Govt. Policy and legislative agenda.
Cannot officially remove PM, but can force them out through public criticism (’07 Blair) or forcing a
leadership contest (’90 Thatcher)
Can overrule a PM- May had to ditch much of her 2017 manifesto to appease her cabinet.
Criteria for selecting Cabinet
Needs allies- Thatcher filled her Cabinet of Dries in 1982, Blair made sure to have his followers
dominate in 1997.
Needs to make sure it is balanced between factions- May has to make sure that Remainers and
Brexiteers are equal
Needs best people for job-Up and coming MPs will be selected if they impress as junior ministers- Matt
Hancock was promoted in 2018 to Cabinet having impressed as a Minister
Needs to be socially representative-Blair famously tried to fill his Cabinet with women- Blair Babes.
Had only been 10 Female Cabinet members until 1997!
Needs to neutralise opposition- As LBJ said you want them in the tent pissing out, not out the tent
pissing in. This can be seen with May ensuring Boris Johnson is Foreign Secretary.
Famous reshuffles
Harold Macmillan in 1962 removed a 1/3rd of his cabinet, wanting to make it younger and help the
Tories in the polls. The ruthlessness led to it being called the ‘night of the long knives’ and he lost
support.
Tony Blair in 2006, prompted by poor local election results, had a massive reshuffle.
Theresa May in 2016 after becoming leader made wholesale changes to make sure her Govt. was
different to David Cameron’s. She fired/reshuffled many key Cameroonians- George Osborne sacked as
Chancellor and made sure there was a equal split of Brexiteers and Remainers.
Theresa May in 2018, believing she had regained her strength after the disastrous 2017.. But…
misannounced and many ministers simply refused to be moved- Justine Greening resigned and Jeremy
Hunt got promoted! Showed her weakness.
Boris Johnson in 2019 after large win in Tory Leadership Contest of July 2019, brought in many Leavers
and allies (Sajid Javid and Priti Patel). Lots of Remainer MPs resigned before he had a chance to fire
them (Phillip Hammond)
Boris Johnson in 2020 after a huge win in GE 2019, had authority to reshuffle, removing ministers who
may have opposed a no deal in December 2020 as well as settling old scores (removing Andrea
Leadsom). However, Chancellor Javid resigned rather than letting BoJo fire his staff. Replaced with ally
Rishi Sunak who agreed to share staff with PM, allowing PM more power over financial policy.
Historical trends in Cabinet-PM relationships
Up to the 1960s, PM was seen as first among equals with most decisions being made collectively, not
dictated by PM.
1960s to 2010s seen as era of Prime Ministerial Govt.:
o Harold Wilson (PM 1964-70 and 74-76) first began to manipulate meetings by agreeinf policies
beforehand in bilateral meetings.
o Margaret Thatcher (PM 1979-1990) dominated cabinet through personality and bullying style.
Would also remove any opposition ruthlessly.
o Tony Blair (PM 1997-2007) rather circumvented Cabinet by making decisions via his informal
Sofa Politics instead.
Coalition Govt. of 2010-2015 was supposed to bring Cabinet Govt. back:o David Cameron had to rely on Nick Clegg and 5 other Lib Dem Cabinet members.
o This reduced his power of Patronage.
o Cabinet was forum for Coalition partners to iron out disputes
o BUT.. Cameron created the ‘Quad’ made up of himself, Chancellor George Osborne, Deputy PM
Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. The top two of the Lib Dems and Tory, in order to make
decisions before meetings.
Governing with small or no majorities- 2015-2019 May and Cameron had to give over more power to
their cabinet, as they relied much more on them. This can especially be seen with May who had a
disastrous reshuffle in 2018.
Boris Johnson 2020- BoJo has had huge control over Cabinet as seen in Reshuffles, but also able to
increase power through use of personal staff- Dominic Cummings is his SPAD. Also controls staff of
other Cabinet members reducing independence. Cummings not being fired after breaking lockdown,
shows his power. BoJo also seeks to change Civil Service and make them less neutral and more Brexity.
Can the PM dominate Cabinet?
Agree Disagree
PM has power of Patronage and can hire/fire to Cabinet can ultimately remove the PM- with Blair
ensure they can dominate. May in 2016 removed being removed in 2007 due to public criticism and
all key Cameron allies. Thatcher in the 1980s would Thatcher being removed in 1990 due to losing
remove all Wets. Johnson in 2020 solidified control confidence of them and being forced into
over staff and Brexit leadership contest. May being removed in 2019.
The PM has grown a huge personal staff in recent Cabinet may contain powerful ministers who can
years. With the creation of the Policy Unit in 1974 overrule PM. This can be seen with the power of
and Tony Blair establishing the PM’s strategy unit Chancellor Gordon Brown 1997-2007 to make
in 2002 and delivery unit in 2001. These bodies economic policy and dictate policy via spending.
allowed PM to control Govt. policy, with staff Removal of Javid in 2020 was to avoid this.
answering to them.
The PM can use collective security to stop If the Party is divided the Cabinet becomes much
criticism, with May successfully neutralising Boris harder to control with Theresa May needing to
Johnson in 2017. balance between Brexiteers and Remainers. Her
Brexit policy has been difficult due to this.
The PM can bypass Cabinet by making decisions Cabinet members can disagree with aims of PM-
separately/before. Blair used ‘Sofa Politics. The Bastards overruled John Major on several
Cameron had the ‘Quad’ and May used her Special occasions. Theresa May had difficulty getting
Advisors of Fiona May and Nick Timothy. Johnson Cabinet agreement over Brexit- Remain vs Leave
uses Dominic Cummings.
The PM has great personal power and legitimacy The PM cannot always use the power of patronage
so can force through decisions in meetings. Blair properly due to weakness. Theresa May’s failed
had a majority of 179 in 1997, so had personal reshuffle in 2018, led to Justine Greening resigning
authority to dominate Cabinet/ rather than being moved, and Jeremy Hunt being
promoted rather than moved. 2020, Javid resigning
instead of changing Staff,
3.4 Case Studies
Margaret Thatcher – 1979-1990
Conditions and Events
Elected after Winter of Discontent with majority of 43 in 1979
Was very unpopular, but gained massively from the victory in 1982 Falklands War Iron Lady! Had a majority of 144 in 1983
Kept a majority of 102 in 1987.
Always had a good majority- so had to focus on controlling party, in order to keep power.
Ultimately lost power due to unpopularity of Poll Tax and loss of Cabinet support.
Relationship with Cabinet
Between 1979 and 1982, as Thatcher was new and not as powerful she was more collective.
After the Falklands, Thatcher commands Cabinet and fills it with ‘dries’.
Famously bullied her cabinet members to agree. As seen in these two Spitting Image clips
BUT… ultimately it is Cabinet, led by Geoffrey Howe who move against her after unpopularity of
Poll Tax and her bullying style
Knowing she lost support... She resigns.
Ability to control policy
Thatcher had her own ideology named after her- Thatcherism.
Her Right Wing ideals defeated the ‘Dries’ and after 1982 she achieved lots of what she wanted:
o Trade Union laws
o Privatisation
o Cutting taxes
But ultimately, her want of the Poll Tax pushed her cabinet and party too far. And rather than stop
the policy, she pressed on, causing downfall.
Tony Blair- 1997-2007
Conditions and Events
He won the largest landslide in recent history in 1997- 179 seat majority.
Maintained this in 2001- 167 seats
Even after Iraq War- 66 seat majority in 2005.
Lost popularity in aftermath of Iraq War as it was clear it was failing, and began to be attacked by
Brownites.
Resigns in 2007 for Gordon Brown to take over, after public criticism and fall in polls.
Relationship with Cabinet
Blair had huge personal power due to election.
He radically changed the Downing Street set up:
Created the PM Delivery Unit in 2001- giving him more control of Dept. Policy.
Had a powerful press secretary Alastair Campbell who would control flow of information.
Used ‘Sofa Politics’ to decide policy before Cabinet meetings, meaning little actual discussion was
done
Jack Straw said meetings were about how to present policies, not to decide them.
Ability to control policy
Blair and his New Labour ideas dominated it’s time in Govt:
o Maintaining low taxes
o Minimum wage
o Constitutional reform
o Active Foreign Policy.
But Gordon Brown was the most powerful Chancellor we have ever seen, and by controlling money
was able to frustrate Blair and control policy by cutting/spending.
He wouldn't’t even tell Blair the budget before he announced it! Usually only 24 hours before.
David Cameron 2010-2016
Conditions and Events
Cameron becomes the largest party in the 2010 election, but did not win a majority, so joined a
Coalition with Lib Dems. Giving him a majority of 38.
Coalition meant Cameron had to listen to Deputy PM Nick Clegg and couldn’t act independently. Wins 2015 election with a majority of 4 seats (12 seats working majority)- can act more
independently, but needs support of whole party
However, slowly loses power due to splits over Europe, and ultimately resigns after losing the Brexit
referendum.
Relationship with Cabinet
Cameron lost his power of full patronage, it was agreed that certain positions had to be held by Lib
Dems (5 positions).
Cameron was not able to reshuffle without asking Clegg.
BUT…Cameron had a very close relationship with chancellor George Osborne, so had good support.
Cameron was also able to avoid cabinet by making decisions in the ‘Quad’ made up of him, George
Osborne, Nick Clegg and Danny Alexander. Easy to make decisions there, as long as he got Lib Dems
on board.
Ability to control policy
TFor 5 years, Cameron was stuck in his Coalition meaning his policies and ideas needed approval
from Lib Dems. Despite this he was still able to:
o Have policies of Austerity- Student Fees!
o Pass gay marriage
o Cut taxes
o Could still control Foreign Policy- EU Veto
Although he had to accept Lib Dem ideas:
o Increasing tax allowance for low paid
o AV referendum.
Small majority also meant lost votes- Syria 2013
Also due to coalition, Cameron allowed Ministers to run their depts. Very independently- Michael
Gove achieved much in Education without Cameron’s overview.
Theresa May 2016-2019
Conditions and Events
May takes over Tory Leadership and therefore Premiership without a vote…. All her rivals back out
due to blunders.
She has supreme power at this point in party despite small majority.
BUT…. Massive loss of power after the 2017 election. Calls for her to resign, as her majority was
reduced to zero.
Brexit is also a nightmare- so reduced power to do other things.
Things have gotten much worse in 2018 over Brexit, mass resignations over the Chequers deal in
July, mass resignations in November over the withdrawal agreement.
December 12th the 48 letters were received, leading to a vote of confidence. She won the cote 200-
117.
Has already lost 22 votes since the 2017 election- more than one a month!
Biggest loss ever! 230 votes in Jan 2019 over withdrawal deal.
Promised to stand down after continued criticism of her Brexit deal and unpopularity in comparison
to Brexit Party
Relationship with Cabinet
Pre-Election-
Very much so, has a huge reshuffle in 2016- removes key Cameron allies like George Osborne and
Nicky Morgan. Fills with allies and makes a clear balance of Brexit/Remain.
Neutralises threat of Boris Johnson by putting him in Foreign Office.
Clear allies of Damian Green and Gavin Williamson.
Post-Election-
Not at all… she planned a post election reshuffle that she needed to cancel- Rumours that Phillip
Hammond and David Davis would have lost job. She keeps everyone…You can also read
