The Constitution of the United Kingdom by Peter Leyland;

Author:Peter Leyland; [Leyland;, Peter]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781509945559
Publisher: Bloomsbury
Published: 2021-09-15T00:00:00+00:00

6

Government and Executive

Prime Minister – Collective Cabinet Responsibility – Policy Formation – Government ‘Spin’ – Government Departments – Individual Ministerial Responsibility – Codes of Practice – The Scott Report – Freedom of Information – E-Government Europe

INTRODUCTION

This chapter focuses upon the conduct of central government in the UK. First we turn to the pinnacle of government in order to assess the role of the Prime Minister (PM), the Cabinet, and the government more widely. The second part of the chapter proceeds to consider the governmental mechanisms for the implementation of policy by considering the contribution of ministers, the civil service and the emergence of a contract state. In terms of the exercise of constitutional power, it is helpful to view the UK political system as hierarchical, with the PM, and the Office at 10 Downing Street, at the apex of a triangle. At the next level we find the Cabinet Office, the departments of state, and then below this junior ministers responsible for particular policy domains. In turn, the entire machinery of government relies on a permanent civil service, which is, itself, hierarchical in structure. Once again, a central objective underpinning our discussion is to gauge how effectively the constitution in its current form is able to provide accountable government. The running of the executive branch relies heavily upon imprecise conventions (collective cabinet responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility) and informal rules rather than on enforceable constitutional laws. Between 2010 and 2019 the nation elected weak governments, lacking a decisive parliamentary majority. At the same time, deep-seated political division over Europe exerted enormous pressure on the interpretation, development, and application of pivotal constitutional rules and conventions.

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