A-Level Edexcel Politics Prime Minister and Executive: Study the following passage and

Question

Study the following passage and answer the questions that follow.

The Prime Minister and Cabinet
There is no constitutional definition of the British Prime Minister’s (PM) role or any authoritative specification of the office’s functions, powers and responsibilities. They are a matter of convention and usage, not statute, and thus, to a large degree, flexible and subject to variation and change over time. Official guidance on the PM’s role is limited. The draft Cabinet Manual describes the PM as head of the government chief adviser to the Sovereign, and chair of the Cabinet. The PM is thus responsible for appointing ministers, orchestrating the Cabinet committee system, and the overall organisation of the executive and allocation of functions between ministers and departments (this latter role is also noted in the Ministerial Code). The PM also has responsibility for dismissing ministers. The Cabinet is described in the Cabinet Manual as ‘the ultimate decision-making body of the UK Executive’, while the PM is said to ‘usually take the lead on significant matters of state.’

In our view, the Prime Minister’s role and powers cannot and should not be considered as separate from the role of the Cabinet in our system of government. Effective and successful coalition government needs a strong Prime Minister (and in the coalition context a strong Deputy Prime Minister too) to set the tone and provide a sense of direction and overall strategy.

The advent of coalition government in May 2010 impacted on powers and responsibilities normally regarded as being held by the Prime Minister alone. Under the Coalition Agreement for Stability and Reform, the Prime Minister was obliged to consult and agree with the Deputy Prime Minister over appointments, reshuffling and sacking of ministers. The PM hires the ministers that are needed, and the coalition agreement notes that if there is a coalition it is supposed to have an ‘in-out’ rule on ministers; the parties in the coalition must exit together. The Prime Minister’s partnership with other governing parties is significant to political constructions, but during the 2010 coalition this was a new formal limitation.

Study the following passage and answer the questions that follow - Edexcel - A-Level Politics - Question 2 - 2016 - Paper 2

Worked Solution & Example Answer:Study the following passage and answer the questions that follow - Edexcel - A-Level Politics - Question 2 - 2016 - Paper 2

Outline the aspects of the Prime Minister's role in relation to ministers and their departments

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