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Summary A-Level Edexcel Politics Paper 2 UK Prime Minister and Executive
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A-Level Edexcel Politics Paper 2 UK Prime Minister and Executive with examples
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Prime Minister and Executive3.1 The structure, role and powers of the Executive
Its structure, including PM, the Cabinet, junior ministers and gov departments; its main roles, including proposing
legislation, proposing a budget, and making policy decisions within laws and budget; the main powers of the
executive, including royal prerogative powers, initiation of legislation and secondary legislation
The 4 key elements of the UK executive are:
• Prime Minister
Appointed by the monarch and is head of the executive
• The Cabinet
Senior Ministers responsible for running government departments such as the Home Office and Foreign office
• Junior ministers
Assist the senior minister, Secretary of State, in the running and decision making of the government
department. Junior Ministers are also appointed by the PM but are not part of the cabinet
• Government departments (including Civil Service)
Permanent officials who carry out the running of government departments. They do not make policy decisions
and are not answerable to parliament or the people. They are expected to be neutral and cannot be involved in
any party-political activities.
By convention the Prime Minister, Cabinet and Junior Ministers are all members of Parliament and therefore
accountable to the people who elected them.
Typically, the executive is comprised of 120 MPs and peers who are obliged to support it in parliament. The
civil service is responsible for making the ideas and decisions made by the executive into a reality and should
not serve any political purpose.
Special Advisors
In recent years there has been a growth in the use of Special Advisors who are employed as civil servants but
give political advice to a minister. There are many examples in recent years of the political influence that such
SpAds have had, often controversially, e.g. Dominic Cummings
The Royal Prerogative
Many parts of the Executive in the UK are described as being under control of the monarch, e.g. Her Majesty’s
Treasury. In reality the PM and the Cabinet exercise power over these departments, not the monarch, using the
‘Royal Prerogative’.
The role of the Prime Minister and the use of the Royal Prerogative has developed by constitutional convention
and is another example of the evolutionary and flexible nature of the UK Constitution
Roles of the Executive
Proposing legislation: the executive will develop legislative proposals for a first reading in Pment, based on the
policy decisions of the ministers and the expert advice of the civil service. As much of the legislative role of
Pment is spent dealing with government-proposed legislation, this is a crucial role that sets the parliamentary
agenda.
Proposing a budget: the executive has to calculate how much money it will need to run the country and carry
out its proposed policies. As such, the executive must try to work out how much money it might be able to raise
in the next financial year, from taxation, duties, investments and loans by making an educated guess about how
the economy will perform and how prosperous the UK will be. Based on these estimates, spending amounts will
be allocated to the various government departments so that they can carry out their work. The budget must be
, approved by Pment as much if it is raised by public taxation. If the proposed budget fails to pass Pment, the
executive has no funds and must by convention, resign. This rarely happens though as the executive usually has
a clear majority in the Commons and the Lords may not reject a budget passed by the Commons. As such, the
role of the budget is more about speaking to voters and pledging money for what they want while avoiding
unpopular increases in taxation, which can be politically damaging.
Making policy decisions within laws and the Budget: an executive will need to make decisions about how to enact
and enforce legislation and make changes to government spending. When a piece of legislation is passed, it
often contains many clauses and terms; the executive must decide how to enact these in reality and how to
communicate this information or, in some cases, whether or not to use or enforce parts of the law passed.
Sometimes this is referred to a secondary legislation where parts of an Act are amended or adapted to make
them workable in the real world or delegated legislation where parliament grants the executive the power to
make decisions without getting prior approval from Parliament. Similar issues may arise in which finances
need to be amended and money moved around to respond to unforeseen crises, such as the response to the
pandemic of 2020 and furlough scheme. The executive will still have to answer to Parliament for its actions, but
these decisions are not the same as proposing primary legislation or an initial budget and they allow the
executive to respond quickly to an issue.
How has the role of Prime Minister become the most powerful office in the UK?
Traditional authority – the monarch’s political power no longer exists so the theoretical powers of the
monarch are exercised by the Prime Minister using the ‘royal prerogative’. As the PM is representing the whole
nation, they become a temporary head of State. The monarch’s formal approval, grants the PM authority.
Party -The PM is always the leader of the largest party in the House of Commons following a general election. If
a party changes leader, the new leader will automatically become PM. This occurs from time to time; 1990
2007, 2016, 2019, 2022 (x2). For as long as the PM can carry their party with them, they are chief policy-maker.
Parliament - Each parliament, including all losing parties, recognise the authority of the PM, even though there
is no formal procedure for it. It has always been done that way. Parties tend to support their PM most of the
time to ensure the survival of their government. If a PM is unable to pass legislation or finance bills through
parliament then a government will likely collapse.
Patronage - The PM enjoys the power to make appointments to hundreds of offices of state and therefore those
who aspire to those offices will tend to be loyal to a PM. This means that PM exerts considerable power over
MPs and their party.
The People - The office of PM is not elected by the people yet in an election campaign, voters are being asked to
choose between party leaders who will be the PM if their party achieves the most seats. This could be construed
as a degree of authority from the people. This also causes a problem for PMs who rise to their position without
an election taking place.
Main Roles of the PM
1. Complete power to appoint or dismiss all ministers and also has a say in the appointment of other
public appointments such as senior civil servants.
2. Negotiates foreign treaties and trade deals with other states and international organisations.
3. Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces and can commit them to action. Although in recent times there
is an expectation that any action will be sanctioned by parliament first.
4. Conducts foreign policy and determines relationships with foreign powers.
5. Heads the cabinet, chooses its members, sets its agenda and decides who can attend.
6. Sets the tone of economic policy, usually alongside the Chancellor of the Exchequer who is a very close
colleague.
FORMAL POWERS – through Royal Prerogative
Patronage – appointing ministers, appointing Rishi Sunak – appointed Jeremy Hunt as
judges and peers, granting other honours. Chancellor and Suella Braverman as Home
Secretary
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