Cabinet of the United Kingdom

In the Politics of the United Kingdom, the Cabinet is a formal body comprised of government officials chosen by the Prime Minister. Most members are the most senior government ministers, mainly heads of government departments with the title "Secretary of State". Formal members of the cabinet are drawn exclusively from either house of Parliament.

A 'presidential' Prime Minister?

In contemporary times, the nature of the cabinet has been criticised by some, largely because several Prime Ministers are perceived as acting in a "presidential" manner. Such an accusation has been made at Tony Blair (the current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) as he is believed to refrain from using the Cabinet as a collective decision making body. These actions have caused concern as it contravenes the convention of the PM being "first among equals". In this sense, he is acting like a US President, who (unlike the British PM) is not constitutionally bound to collectively make decisions with his cabinet. Margaret Thatcher was also noted as being "presidential", in the capacity that she "forced" her own viewpoints onto her cabinet.

Related Topics:
Tony Blair - Prime Minister of the United Kingdom - US President - Margaret Thatcher

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A solution cited to combat the emergence of presidential Prime Ministers is the use of select committees to question the PM's actions. However, in comparison to the constitutional separation of powers and checks and balances that exist in countries such as the United States, this is insignificant, and select committee is drawn from the same legislature as the executive, and has only limited scrutiny of the executive. It also should be noted that British Prime Ministers can be "presidential" since the powers, responsibilites and duties of the British Prime Minister are largely convention. They are not codified or written into one single document, as is often the case with heads of government in other countries.

Related Topics:
Select committee - Separation of powers - Checks and balances - United States - Executive - British Prime Minister - Heads of government

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