| What is the executive? | branch of government responsible for implementing (‘executing’) legislation. The executive includes the government and the civil service |
| What is cabinet? | a formal committee of leading government members, including heads of government departments |
| What is a kitchen cabinet? | an informal group of advisers consulted by the PM, which may include some cabinet members and individuals outside of the cabinet |
| What is the core executive? | the informal network of individuals and groups who are involved with policy-making. Who is in the core executive depends on the PM, but will usually include the PM themselves, key members of the cabinet, senior officials from government departments and possibly outside bodies such as intelligence services, key MPs such as whips, and policy advisers the PM chooses to consult with. |
| What are the requirements to be a PM? | hey need to be an MP (so at least 18 years old, and a UK or Commonwealth citizen); a party leader; and the leader of the party who has a majority in the Commons. |
| What examples do we have when we had PMs without overall majorities? | David Cameron in 2010 and Theresa May in 2017 |
| What are the roles of a prime minister? | To appoint government ministers to a cabinet. To direct and influence government policy- this includes all areas of policy but is usually focused on the main areas of economics and foreign policy. To manage the cabinet, for example deciding when and how long to meet for and setting the agenda for discussion. To organise the government, for example, government departments and how they are set up. To control Parliament (by having a majority in the Commons). To provide leadership, for example in response to major events |
| Why has the prime minister's role developed and grown over time? | as there is no codified constitution setting out the ‘official’ role and significance. |
| What does 'primus inter pares’ mean? | first among equals |
| What powers do modern PMs mirror? | modern PMs can be argued to be more significant than this, perhaps resembling US Presidents in terms of power and influence. |
| What is cabinet made up of? | The cabinet is made up of around 20 members of the government, most of whom run departments, for example, the Treasury, the Home Office, the Foreign Office and so on. |
| When does cabinet meet? | It meets every Wednesday morning, usually for less than two hours. |
| How is importance shown in cabinet? | There is a ‘hierarchy’ of importance within the cabinet, the most important posts being Chancellor, the foreign secretary, home secretary and deputy prime minister (although a deputy PM is not always appointed). |
| What is the role of cabinet? | Approving policy- even though policy is usually more meaningfully discussed elsewhere. Coordinating policy, for example making all ministers aware of policy decisions and progress in all government departments. Resolving disputes and disagreements between ministers, if necessary. Debating and discussing issues
Considering the views of the party MPs (the parliamentary party). Promoting collective responsibility |
| What does a minister do? | Ministers oversee the work of, and run, the various government departments. |
| What order of importance of ministers go in? | Secretaries of state are the most senior ministers, followed by ministers of state (who are not in the cabinet), parliamentary under-secretaries of state (often referred to as junior ministers), and finally parliamentary private secretaries (PPSs), who are not paid for this role, but work with more senior ministers. |
| What is a civil servant? | Civil servants work with ministers to implement government policy. |
| What are the three attributes of a civil servant? | They are permanent (their position does not change with governments), neutral (expected to be loyal to whatever party is in power) and anonymous (they are not known publicly, as they are not ultimately responsible for policy). |
| What concerns have there been about the civil service? | there were concerns in the past that the civil service had too much power. It was argued that ministers would only make a few policy decisions, and relied heavily on civil servants for advice and information |
| Is there a political bias of the civil service? | thought to be possibly politically biased in favour of the Conservative |
| What is a prime minister? | the head of an elected government; the principal minister of a sovereign or state. |
