The Power Of The Prime Minister

598 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: Prime minister's powers and limitations

The Power Of The Prime Minister The role of a Prime Minister has existed since the 1700's, however most historians find it hard to pin point or name the first ever Prime Minister. Sir Robert Walpole, while universally recognized as the first prime minister of Britain, did not actually hold the title. He was probably called first minister while the title of prime minister was not officially recognized until 1905. The extent of Prime Ministerial power depends on many factors. The formal powers of the Prime Minister are extensive. They range from the power to appoint, reshuffle and sack members of the Cabinet, appoint ambassadors and the heads of nationalised industries, advise on the appointment of judges and senior bishops in the Church of England, call an election and declare war. As the party leader the Prime Minister is also responsible for personifying the parties image. Below is a list illustrating some of the main responsibilities of a prime minister. The Prime Minister is · The leader of his party in the House of Commons · The head of government · She/he has the right to select his cabinet, hand out departmental positions, decide the agenda for cabinet meetings that they also chairs. · She/he can dismiss ministers if this is required · She/he directs and controls policy for the government · She/he is the chief spokesman for the government · She/he keeps the Queen informed of government decisions · She/he exercises wide powers of patronage and appointments in the civil service, church and judiciary · She/he can amalgamate or split government departments · She/he represents the countr... ... middle of paper ... ...ot what they wanted. This resulted in Thatcher loosing her title as party leader and Prime Minister and John major taking over government. This example provides strong evidence that although a Prime Minister holds the title and the "power", the cabinet can usurp them. Showing that the power the Prime Minister holds is not unlimited. To conclude, it could be argued that the Prime Minister holds the most powerful position within the country. However there are enough restraints to ensure that this power is not abused; e.g. opposition within the House of Commons and House of Lords, the Prime Ministers own backbenchers and cabinet, and the voting general public. In my opinion the Prime Minister holds a lot of power but they certainly can't do what they want with it, as safety nets within government have been instated.

Show More
Related

  • Limitations of the Canadian Prime Minister

    1053 Words  | 3 Pages

    In Mellon’s article, several aspects are mentioned supporting the belief that the prime minister is too powerful. One significant tool the prime minister possesses is “… the power to make a multitude of senior governmental and public service appointments both at home and abroad,” (Mellon 164). Mellon goes on to state the significance the prime minister has when allowed to appoint the government’s key member...

    Read More

  • A Comparison and contrast of Canadian Prime Ministers

    1212 Words  | 3 Pages

    The Prime Minister in Canada is the head of government and is appointed by the Governor General. Canada is the northern neighbor to the United States, and the Queen of England is its head of state. These powerful countries being so closely tied to Canada makes it a major player on the world stage, and gives considerable power to its Prime Ministers.There have been twenty-two Prime Ministers, with John Diefenbaker being the thirteenth, serving from 1957-1963, and Pierre Trudeau the fifteenth, who served 1968-1979 and again 1980-1984. Diefenbaker was a progressive conservative, a right-center group associated with British imperialism. Trudeau was part of the Liberal party of Canada, one that focused on individual freedom, ironic considering Trudeau was the only Prime Minister to enact the War Measures Act during peacetime. Domestically, these two Prime Ministers have done much in terms of protecting and growing a modern Canada. There are many ways these leaders' domestic policies were similar, such as helping to create an equality among Canadians, and many ways in which they had opposing policies, such as their policies regarding French-Canada.

    Read More

  • Congress and The Presidency

    370 Words  | 1 Pages

    This position requires the management of the Country by implementing the laws, nominations of officials, grant pardons, serve as Commander-in-Chief of the military, veto lows passed by Congress, and negotiate treaties. The President is also responsible proposing yearly budgets and helping boost economic development. The many divided tasks between Congress and the Presidency has made it

    Read More

  • Presidential Power: The Power of Persuasion

    1923 Words  | 4 Pages

    Political scientists have continually searched for methods that explain presidential power and success derived from using that power effectively. Five different approaches have been argued including the legal approach, presidential roles approach, Neustadtian approach, institutional approach, and presidential decision-making approach. The legal approach says that all power is derived from a legal authority (U.S. Constitution). The presidential roles approach contends that a president’s success is derived from balancing their role as head of state and head of government. The Neustadtian approach contends that “presidential power is the power to persuade“ (Neustadt, p. 11). The institutional approach contends that political climate and institutional relations are what determines presidential power. The last approach, decision-making, provides a more psychological outlook that delves into background, management styles, and psychological dispositions to determine where a president’s idea of power comes from. From all of these, it is essential to study one at a time in order to analyze the major components of each approach for major strengths and weaknesses.

    Read More

  • Democracy In Peril: The Pros And Cons Of Democracy

    1366 Words  | 3 Pages

    The original Parliamentary System was created in Great Britain. This form of government includes a leader known as a prime minister, usually from a legislative party. The prime minister then selects a cabinet from their legislative majority party. Their objective is to focus on the daily operations caused by the government’s bureaucracy. The parliamentary government is in charge of initiating and passing all legislation created. The advantages of this system is that there is a unified government, there is no veto power, and the party is responsible for the decisions, consequences or rewards of policies that are passed. The Cabinet must “maintain the confidence” of parliament. Some disadvantages of this method is that divided governments are Constitutionally impossible to control. In addition to that, power is from this system falls all on the Prime Minister and Cabinet. They rule with the entire trust of parliament on them. If something goes wrong, it’s solely their

    Read More

  • Presidential Power

    450 Words  | 1 Pages

    Richard E. Neustadt, the author of Presidential Power, addresses the politics of leadership and how the citizens of the United States rate the performance of the president's term. We measure his leadership by saying that he is either "weak or "strong" and Neustadt argues that we have the right to do so, because his office has become the focal point of politics and policy in our political system.

    Read More

  • The Prime Minister of Canada

    1908 Words  | 4 Pages

    This essay has argued that there are many limitations that the Prime Minister is subjected too. The three most important are federalism in Canadian society, the role of the Governor General, and the charter of rights and freedoms. I used two different views of federalism and illustrated how both of them put boundaries on the Prime Minister’s power. Next I explain the powers of the governor general, and explained the ability to dissolve parliament in greater detail. Last I analyzed how the charter of rights of freedoms has limited the Prime Minister’s power with respect to policy-making, interests groups and the courts. The Prime Minister does not have absolute power in Canadian society, there are many infringements on the power that they have to respect.

    Read More

  • Presidential Power in a National Crisis

    1198 Words  | 3 Pages

    Presidents of the United States take an oath to uphold the Constitution. In times of crisis, however, presidents are tempted to circumvent the spirit of the Constitution in the name of political expediency. The president of the United States of America is frequently under pressure, which could be for something as simple as dealing with his wife (especially if she's running for the US Senate), but usually the problem is more extensive. Then, the whole nation is affected, and the problem becomes a national crisis. A widespread panic is possible. The president must propose a plan to aid his nation while keeping the public under control. Lincoln. Roosevelt and Truman proposed bills to stop or prevent the national crises that plagued the country.

    Read More

  • Stephen Harper's Influence On Canada

    694 Words  | 2 Pages

    Stephen Harper, the leader of the Canadian conservative party, promised that if re-elected he will protect the national security of Canada by criminalizing trips to certain regions. The main goal of his promise is to prohibit travelling to regions where Islamic groups enroll and train people. According to Harper, the threat is real and only with this legislation, Canadian security could be ensured. Harper also promised that some exceptions would be made for people that prove that they are travelling to “terrorist hotspot” for legitimate purposes i.e. journalists or aid workers. The leaders of the other parties had different reactions to the promise made by Harper. For instance, Justin Trudeau is convinced that Harper talks about security in order to distract people from the conservative’s failure in the Canadian democracy. While Tom Mulcair thinks that Stephen Harper decided to announce his legislation at the same time as Mike Duffy’s trial in order to turn aside the scandal in which conservatives are involved.

    Read More

  • Presidential Power: The Power Of The American President

    1544 Words  | 4 Pages

    While relationship between the legislative, executive and judiciary largely remained the same, the public perception of President’s place in system has changed (Jeffrey Tulis, 1990). In the twentieth century, a strong executive emerged and was institutionalized in American national politics. Even though the framers anticipated that Congress would be the predominant branch of government, contemporary presidents wield formidable formal and informal resources of governance. As a result, the public expectations of presidents have grown and created a gap between expectations and formal powers. In an attempt to explain presidential power and its limits, four major often conflicting theories of presidential power has emerged in the last four decades.

    Read More

  • The Power Of The Executive Branch

    1016 Words  | 3 Pages

    The power of the Executive branch has expanded over time to become the most authoritative division of government. In contrast to the Constitution 's fundamental designer, James Madison, who predicted the Legislative branch would dominate due to it’s power in making laws and regulating taxes/spending, the executive powers have proven to be superior and ever broadening. From the birth of the Republic, the President has sought to protect his rights and seek beyond his restriction of power. Setting the precedent as early as 1795, George Washington refused to relay documents relating to the Jay Treaty to the House of Representatives and saw his actions as a justified act of “executive prerogative.” Moreover, weaving throughout the Nineteenth century, presidents such as Andrew Jackson and Abraham Lincoln conceived and added functions, such as the extensive use of the veto and the president’s direct and active role as Commander in Chief to their executive tool-belt. The Constitution communicates very little details regarding the President’s use of the power of veto and the role as Commander in Chief, but it was these presidents which established the major authority of the executive branch in these areas.

    Read More

  • Parliamentary Sovereignty

    1481 Words  | 3 Pages

    One of the most influential and celebrated scholars of British consistutional law , Professor A.V Dicey, once declared parliamentary soverignity as “the dominant feature of our political insitutions” . This inital account of parliamentray soverginity involved two fundamental components, fistly :that the Queen-in-Parliament the “right to make or unmake any law whatever” and that secondly “no person or body is recognised by the law of England as having a right to override or set aside the legislation of Parliament.” . However this Diceyian notion though an established principle of our constitution now lies uneasy amongst a myriad of contemporary challenges such as our membership of the European Union, the Human Rights Act and a spread of law making authority known as ‘Devolution’. In this essay I shall set out to assess the impact of each of these challenges upon the immutability of the traditional concept of parliamentary sovereignty in the British constitution.

    Read More

  • Power of the Prime Minister

    1356 Words  | 3 Pages

    be necessary to take a brief look at the history of the office of the

    Read More

  • The Royal Prerogative

    2051 Words  | 5 Pages

    Historically the prerogative was exercised by the monarchy, the majority of powers are now used by ministers, and very few remained the personal preserve of the sovereign. The extent to which the judiciary and the legislature are able to regulate the exercise of prerogative powers by the executive has increased. However, there are still some who are concerned by the lack of control that can be exerted by the other constitutional bodies.

    Read More

  • Control Of The Royal Prerogative

    1577 Words  | 4 Pages

    As accountability has been set out through controls and we can look at those controls to the prerogative in three ways. Judicial, Parliamentary and Constitutional. We will start by looking at the Constitutional controls, back in 1689 the bill of rights was formed limiting the kings powers and use of those powers and setting out the rights of parliament for example the king had to get parliaments permission before raising taxes. In the modern day this allows Executive Ministers to exercise the majority of the prerogative powers in their own right or through the advice they provide to the Queen, which she is, bound constitutionally to follow.

    Read More

More about The Power Of The Prime Minister

Open Document