The Presidency of United States Over the years of American history, the presidency of United States has went through some major changes. In the twentieth century, a strong and institutionalized executive branch developed in American politics. As the powers of the president expanded, the office of the presidency and the executive office also expanded, and the people’s expectations for strong presidential leadership all over the country increased. The Article II of constitution states that "executive power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America. "(Greenberg) Article II vested the executive power in an independent, unitary president of the United States but it was unclear as to what exactly what those powers were.
In the US the executive branch is associated with the President, the Vice President, Executive Departments, and Agencies. In both the UK and the US the executive is by far the most popular branch of the government, being constantly in the media’s spotlight. However it seems to be an overstatement to suggest that in the UK the executive dominates everything, it could be argued that it dominates most political areas and that it has sufficiently more power than the US executive. There are multiple reasons for why this is the case. The constitutional status of the executives is a crucial factor.
Has the Prime Minister become more powerful in recent years? (40) The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the head of government and so exercises many of the executive functions nominally vested in the Sovereign, who is head of state. According to custom, the Prime Minister and the Cabinet, which he or she heads, are accountable for their actions to Parliament, of which they are members by modern convention. The current Prime Minister is David Cameron (of the Conservative Party), who has been in office since 2010, and the Deputy Prime Minister – Nick Clegg, due to the Coalition. During Mr. Cameron’s period in office and also, many Prime Ministers before him like Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, there’s been wide spread debate about whether the power of the prime minister has increased.
In that regard, Major adopted a more collegiate style in his cabinet, making sure that all ministers had a contribution in the discussions at hand. In illustration of this, Major used cabinet meetings to merge factions in his party that were divided on certain issues. Major ultimately led a party that was divided in cabinet; forming factions of pro-Europeans and Eurosceptic ministers when discussing policy on Europe. A significant consequence of this more collective approach to his cabinet is that it was key to Major’s insurance in office; or what kept him in the role as PM for 6 years. In addition to his more collegiate style in office, Major did also share close ties with particular senior ministers during his term.
Due to the distinct social values and beliefs represented by each party, the working class population primarily would vote for the Labour party and the middle class would vote for the Conservative party. This was strengthened by the fact that people want to belong to a group which has power and influence, similarly as what they would have when supporting their local football team. PJ Pulzer a political scientist stated in 1967 that; 'class is the basis of British party politics;all else is embellishment and detail' ,PJ Pulzer, in his statement, made it clear that social class was well above the media in terms of influencing the public until the early 80s. Has this power slipped or does class still remain strong. Nowadays, the media has an overall influence in who people vote for.
This formalised style meant that Nick Clegg and the other Lib Dem MPs could have a say in the policy that is implemented. This meant a working coalition was dependant on the working of the Cabinet. Therefore this saw the average meeting times go up and Conservative radicals held to account and held in constraint. With the introduction of the Quad this was also evident as it meant there were a lot more close encounters between the leaders of the opposite parties as well as the Chancellor and Deputy Chancellor. There is evidently presence of a cabinet.
An essential model of the executive that has been in operation for many of our previous governments is Cabinet government, which could be said to sprout from the idea that the prime minister was originally ‘primus inter pares’, according to Walter Bagehot – or ‘first among equals’. This form of leadership is usually approached with prime ministers using cabinet frequently to seek advice and counsel on issues and even proposed legislation. As the chair of cabinet and head of government, the prime minister has power over the length and frequency of the meetings, and as part of Cabinet government, this is usually exercised in a manner such that the Prime minister does not have any significant power over the rest of cabinet, and therefore decisions should be made collectively as possible, and consensus should be achieved. The issue of collective responsibility must also be mentioned; this is an important aspect of UK government and maintains strength in the executive. This type of government was operating in full flow under the leadership of James Callaghan in 1976, where he allowed his cabinet to freely debate whether or not the UK should accept the loan from the IMF.
With reference to the source, and your own knowledge, explain the prime minister’s prerogative powers. (10 marks) The prime minister has formal powers, which have derived from the Royal Prerogative. These powers are also exercised by other ministers. The prime minister is able to appoint ministers and other senior figures. The key power he has is patronage, which enables the prime minister to appoint politicians who share his views, helping him in his position effectively.
It is often argued that the UK legislature is dominated by the executive. In this essay I will explain the arguments both for and against this view. The parliament has the 3 following roles, representation, legislation and scrutiny. These roles give the parliament sufficient power and influence on the way the UK is run. The role, representation gives MP’s the right to freely represent their constituency interest.
Discuss the sources of prime ministerial power and explain in what ways it can be limited (25 marks) The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is customarily the leader of the party with a majority in the House of Commons or, as is currently the case, the leader of the largest party in a coalition and therefore is the leader of Her Majesty's Government. The sources of prime ministerial power are Royal Prerogative, the individual abilities, qualities and circumstances of, or pertaining to, the Prime Minister, and that of the office of Prime Minister. Royal Prerogative is a series of powers and responsibilities which initially (and legally still) belonged to the Monarch but after the Glorious Revolution of 1688, placing the powers to declare war, form treaties and bestow patronage, such as appointing Peers to the House of Lords and promoting and demoting Civil Servants. Each Prime Minister wields a set of powers unique to themselves, based upon their charisma, personality, intelligence and popular mandate or lack thereof. Tony Blair was a charismatic man, a clever ‘spin doctor’ and after each election he also possessed a large mandate which allowed him to dominate his cabinet for some time.