The British Prime Minister Now Has Presidential Powers

ThThe British flower see forthwith has Presidential Powers Discuss the Validity of this Statement It would be correct to presuppose that all over the years the British pristine Minister has be discern to a greater extent than(prenominal)(prenominal) of a Presidential figure in Parliament. Recent tiptop pastors that gift been referred to as prexyial include Marg aret Thatcher, Tony Blair and Harold Wilson. prepare Ministers are supposed to be First Among Equals (Primus Inter Pares), however recent flush Ministerial actions look at got people questioning whether or not the flowering Minister has more index and is becoming a Presidential figure.The idea that the prime take care is now more prexyial is drawn from the knowledge of the United States president and how the British blush Minister compares to him. Firstly, the media turns the prime(a) Minister into a political celebrity. The actions the inflorescence Minister takes inside parliament and likewise overmu ch of the PMs personal life is publicised in newspapers and television. The anthesis minister is the spokesperson for the politics. Although their access to the media flush toilet be employ for personal benefit, the media has been more critical of politicians in recent years.There is evidence of this as the BBC made allegations that the Iraq dossier was wind up up during Tony Blairs time as Prime Minister (class notes). The U. S President tends to have media coverage also. The wider use of special advisors increases how presidential the Prime Minister appears. The Spatial leadership that the Prime Minister now adopts also gives us this impression. Prime Ministers now distance themselves from parties and government and develop their avow ideologies. Examples of this include Blairism and Thatcherism (class notes).In times of distress in the country the people lots turn to the Prime Minister in search of a solution. They PM tends to reach out to the people in times of crisis, fo r example, David Cameron re sour home from his holiday early last year to address the resolution of the London Riots (class notes). The personnel of the PM has increased in recent years as the prime minister has now increased control over Cabinet Office, which has turned it into a small scale Prime Ministers department. The Prime Minister has the capability to dominate his footlocker. This makes him more like a president asCollective Responsibility is an effective way of gagging his ministers. All ministers are expected to reserve publicly all ratiocinations made in console table, or else resign. For example, in 2010 David Cameron was discussing with cabinet most building a Millennium Dome. Before a decision was made, he went outside and told the awaiting media that a dome was being built. Therefore the Prime Minister made the decision alone and cabinet couldnt disaccord (class notes). Another example of this is that Gordon Brown announced his decision to give freedom to t he Bank of England.Blair and Brown took this decision alone and Mo Mowlam, one of the well-nigh popular ministers in Blairs cabinet stated, I read about the bank of England decision in the newspapers (Politics Review). This clearly shows that the Prime Minister can dominate his cabinet and make decisions despite him being Primus Inter Pares (first among equals). As the years go on, Prime Ministers are also having shorter and less stag cabinet meetings and are reading more bilateral meetings. The amount of cabinet meetings has declined from 100 a year to approximately 40.Under Margret Thatchers parliament, her Cabinet was used less than previous Prime Ministers and annual meetings took place about 35 times. Under Blair, meetings rarely lasted an hour. This is evidence of the Prime Minister becoming more presidential and tackling decisions alone rather than with Cabinet. Thatcher and Blair also tended to have more committees and sub-committees. Blairs Sofa government, Thatchers Wis e men and Wilsons Kitchen Cabinet are all operating through bi-lateral meetings between the Prime Minister and advisors, so policy was ratified before it reached cabinet.These are all examples of Prime Ministers taking matters into their own hands and becoming more dominant and presidential. The dominance of the Prime Minister over Parliament is also shown in the ways that he/she chairs Copernican cabinet committees and sets the cabinet agenda. Setting the cabinet agenda allows the Prime Minister to leave anything that may be difficult to come to an accord on in Cabinet, to the end so that there will in the end be no time to cover it and the Prime Minister has to come to a decision on his/her own. Margaret Thatcher was said to have done this sort of frequently.This shows that the Prime Minister can therefore decide on important affairs without having to consult cabinet. Tony Blair was noted to have used cabinet Committees a lot. The Prime Minister is also considered presidentia l because of what is seen as a maturement West Wing in Downing Street. This is due to the increase in Political Advisors in the PMs office. The advisors help the Prime Minister make decisions even though they are unelected themselves. This means that they effectively mildew his decisions and help him bypass cabinet, for example Blair gave his advisors major power of Civil Servants.On the other hand, the Prime Minister can give considerable control to his cabinet members, which isnt evident in American politics. For example, during Blairs reign as PM, the aim party was said to have a Duel Monarchy due to how much power was given to Gordon Brown. Other ministers can constrain the Prime Ministers power and effect his decisions, which doesnt happen with the U. S president. The Prime Ministers personality is an issue in how much power they have over Cabinet. They have powers over office but nearly may be more unspoilt than others in the exercise of those powers.Some Prime Ministers have been good in government management and other havent. Some adopted an autorical approach and some others focus on policy reflections. The amount of authority a PM had depends on how assertive a personality he/sh has. For example, John major(ip) was often ridiculed for his inability to make decisions and was seen as a pushover (class notes). The PMs popularity with the public also dictates how much power they have. At the moment, David Cameron is limit from acting presidentially as a result of the constraints of a optical fusion government.The coalition government may weaken the powers of Cameron as many another(prenominal) compromises need to be made to keep the government stable. For example, Cameron had agreed to a referendum on the electoral system. He had agreed to introduce fixed term elections. Liberal democrats hold key cabinet positions. Unlike the president, the PM may face foe in cabinet as particular cabinet members may not go along with a particular proposal. Fo r example, Thatchers parliament illogical a bill as the majority of cabinet voted against it.The PM cannot whole ignore his cabinet. Unlike the U. S. A, the cabinet is Britain is elected. The cabinet can overthrow the Prime Minister is he is disliked. This cannot happen in U. S government. In conclusion, the Prime Minister, in many ways over the years has increased his/her power to such an extent as to appear presidential. However, there are many constraints on PM power to conflict with this view. Whether or not the Prime Minister remains in high powers depends on power, personality and circumstance.