CFE Democracy Westminster CABINET GOVERNMENT The Cabinet or

CFE Democracy Westminster

CABINET GOVERNMENT The Cabinet, or “The Executive”, is composed of the Prime Minister and approximately 20 or so individuals that help to run government departments. Convention ensures that members are drawn from the House of Commons and the House of Lords. It is the supreme decision making body in the UK. The vast majority of legislation originates from ministers within the Cabinet.

RELATIONS BETWEEN EXECUTIVE AND PARLIAMENT The Prime Minister is “first among equals”. He picks the Cabinet. He decides the agenda for meetings. He should be in control. The Cabinet should be in control of Parliament. This is normally the case in British politics. Minutes of Cabinet discussions are not revealed until 30 years after the events. That doesn’t stop ex Cabinet Ministers bringing out books though! The Third Man

BLAIR’S SOFA GOVERNMENT Tony Blair as Prime Minister had little time for Cabinet discussions. Most of the big decisions were made outside of Cabinet after discussion with his political advisers. Hence the term “sofa government”, rather than cabinet government, has been used to describe the Blair years. “We are concerned that the informality and circumscribed character of the government's procedures which we saw in the context of policy-making towards Iraq risks reducing the scope for informed collective political judgement. " Butler Report, 2004

POWERS OF THE PRIME MINISTER All PMs have certain constitutional powers. How well they use these powers depends on their personality and political style. Although, there is Cabinet government in the UK, the PM’s power is assured through ‘primus inter pares’: first among equals.

PM LEADERSHIP STYLE The Prime Minister should be in control; First Among Equals. He picks his team and can re-shuffle at will. But style matters. Tony Blair, it appears, ignored his Cabinet on the big decisions. Eventually, he had to hand over to Gordon Brown ruled by fear and dictat. But that breeds resentment. As the resignations and attempted coups showed. As PM of a Coalition Government, David Cameron has to compromise more than any other recent PM. He has two sets of rival politicians to keep on board, not just one.

BUT VINCE CABLE CAN SAY WHAT HE WANTS! Traditionally, Cabinet Ministers are bound by the protocol of ‘collective responsibility’. This means that they have to publicly support Cabinet decisions whether they personally agree or not. Or resign. But Business Secretary Vince Cable is a powerful figure. A senior Lib Dem MP and a popular politician, PM David Cameron has allowed him to make outspoken criticisms of the Government. 7 Vince Cable criticisms “I can walk out and bring the government down and they know that“ (Cable was recorded making this remark by undercover Daily Telegraph journalists)

COALITION CABINET The Coalition Cabinet is made up of sixteen Conservatives and five Liberal Democrats with eight other Conservatives and one other Liberal Democrat attending cabinet but not members. It is the first coalition government to have governed the United Kingdom since the Churchill War ministry of the Second World War. 8

COLLECTIVE RESPONSIBILITY The PM can use the doctrine of collective responsibility to muzzle his political opponents. A minister who will not publicly support the agreed Cabinet decision has to resign. Tony Blair had to keep Gordon Brown in the Cabinet, despite his reservations over him. Brown had too much political support to be left plotting and complaining “outside the tent”. Brown never resigned during the Blair years. “The relationship with Gordon was very, very difficult. . . I’m afraid I stopped taking his calls. ” Tony Blair Peter Mandelson “The Third Man”

NIGHT OF THE LONG STILETTOS A PM will promote his most trusted allies into the Cabinet Most MPs seek promotion. The PM can use this ambition to promote loyalty. In July 2014, David Cameron showed the door to five Cabinet ministers and moved around 44 ministers in total. July 2014, Foreign Sec, William Hague, gone. He promoted three women to the Cabinet; Nicky Morgan, Liz truss and Esther Mc. Vey, partly in order to make the Conservatives more appealing to female voters in the run up to the 2015 general election. Reshuffle July 2014, Minister Without Portfolio, Ken Clarke, gone.

SPECIAL ADVISERS Special advisers (“SPADs”) are defined as "temporary civil servants", who are exempt from the traditional requirement of officials that they should behave impartially and with objectivity, freeing them to brief politically for Ministers. Tony Blair famously confided in SPADs, such as Jonathan Powell, more than Cabinet colleagues. He was always at Tony Blair’s side, just below the radar. Blair made decisions outside of Cabinet in bilateral meetings with his Special Advisers. This approach was termed “sofa government”. Tony Blair and Jonathan Powell Gordon Brown with disgraced SPAD Damian Mc. Bride

DAVID CAMERON HAS HAD HIS SPAD PROBLEM TOO David Cameron appointed former NOTW editor Andy Coulson to be his Director of Communications. However, he had to resign over phone hacking allegations. This has undermined the credibility of David Cameron. The Coalition Government promised to cut down on the use of SPADs but in in December 2011 the Coalition Government employed 81, more than the last Labour government did. Coalition government seems to increase the need for SPADs. Andy Coulson resigns

MURDOCH’S MEN ON THE INSIDE The Leveson Inquiry revealed the close relationship between Rupert Murdoch’s News Corporation and every UK Government since Margaret Thatcher. At Leveson all PMs denied trading policy for Murdoch support. But all wanted Murdoch support. Close Ties with Murdoch 13

A STABLE COALITION? The Conservatives had been out of power for 13 years. They are desperate for the Coalition to work. Likewise with the Lib Dems. These are the first Liberal politicians in living memory to serve as Ministers. Big players such as Nick Clegg and Vince Cable have invested too much political capital in the Coalition to bring it down. Reducing the deficit has been the priority and the cuts made by Chancellor George Osborne have affected the popularity of both parties. Both parties have every incentive to publicly appear united, hoping the economy recovers in time for the next General Election in 2015.

PARLIAMENTARY INQUIRIES Parliament can scrutinise the actions of the Executive through Inquiries. Giving evidence before the Chilcot Committee into the war, former Cabinet Minister Clare Short repeatedly accused Tony Blair of personally “misleading” and “conning” her, and of being “deceitful” with Cabinet, Parliament, and the public. Clare Short claimed that Mr Blair broke the ministerial code by misleading Parliament, and accused Lord Goldsmith, the former attorney general who gave the “green light” to war, of failing to tell the Cabinet the truth of his reservations about the legality of an invasion. Clare Short criticisms

PARTY WHIPS Gov Chief Whip Michael Gove MP Shadow Chief Whip Rosie Winterton MP The parties all adopt a whip system for making sure MPs support party policy. MPs who rebel against the whip’s advice are unlikely to be promoted. Whips will try and persuade back benchers to support the Government. Rebellion against a 3 -line whip is normally unforgiveable! Commons rebellions make the news because they are so rare. MPs who defy the whips to rebel are putting their careers on the line.

ARE MPS ‘LOBBY FODDER’? Commons Syria Rebellion The current parliament has been the most rebellious since 1945. A total of 201 Coalition MPs have now voted against their whip thus far during the Parliament. Most (159) of these are Conservatives. It is not surprising that rebellions are more common with a Coalition government than with a single party majority one. The Coalition government has made many decisions which may not please either Conservative or Liberal Democrat voters. MPs from marginal constituencies may well feel the need to make a statement to their constituents that, personally, have taken a stand against the Government in order to be re-elected.

PMQS Prime Minister’s Questions is essentially theatrical. It doesn’t change policy, but it can improve or damage party morale. A PM or Opposition leader who is in command at PMQT can raise the spirits of MPs and party supporters, motivating them to campaign better in the country at large. “It’s not like we’re brothers…. ”

COMMONS COMMITTEES Like the chamber of the Scottish Parliament, the House of Commons is often a slanging match for public consumption. More constructive debate and opposition normally takes place in the various parliamentary committees, whose role is to scrutinise government departments and conduct inquiries.

THE HOUSE OF LORDS Parliament is a bicameral legislature consisting of the House of Commons and the House of Lords, which has the power to delay and possible block Government legislation. Yet, it is completely unelected. There around 760 members of the House of Lords. The main route in is by appointment. New life peers are appointed by the monarch on the advice of the prime minister. Sir Alan Sugar was made a peer by Gordon Brown.

PURPOSE OF THE LORDS The House of Lords is completely unelected. It’s supporters however, claim that it …. • Acts as a check on the power of the Executive • Acts as a check on an imperfect voting system • That the Lords is less partisan and tribal than the Commons. It has time to scrutinise legislation, in a way the Commons does not. • The Lords have more expertise compared to their counterparts in the Commons

CRITICS Others argue that the hereditary principle is undemocratic. The system of appointees leads to “cronyism” and “jobs for the boys” The current Lords is an antiquated and unrepresentative chamber synonymous with privilege. There now actually more unelected members of Parliament than elected. Lord Hanningfield scandal Lord Mc. Connell of Glenscorrodale In August 2013 former Tory leader Annabel Goldie, Glasgow businessman Sir William Haughey and former Liberal Democrat MSP Jeremy Purvis joined the Lords.

REFORMS OF THE LORDS KICKED INTO THE LONG GRASS AGAIN Reform of the Lords was supposed to be part of the Coalition agreement. But, backbench Conservatives wouldn’t support it and in July 2012 PM David Cameron announced that Nick Clegg’s plans were dead. Nick Clegg’s Plan • • • "In a modern democracy it is important that those who make the laws of the land should be elected by those to whom those laws apply. The House of Lords performs its work well but lacks sufficient democratic authority. " Nick Clegg “An Affront to Democracy” All hereditary peers removed 4/5 elected 1/5 appointed The number of peers to be almost halved, from 826 to 450. Single 15 -year terms for senators Elected via party lists Critics claimed that Senators would claim a superior democratic mandate to MPs, rivalling the Commons, rather than fulfilling its current role of amending and improving legislation.