Prime Ministers Powers in British Politics - Assignment Example

Answer United Kingdom is a sovereign democracy, with the Queen as head of the The British Parliament consists of two houses which are calledHouse of Commons and House of Lords. The House of Commons has elected representatives headed by the Prime Minister and they are accountable to the parliament and the Crown. Parliament is the essential and definitive link between citizens and government (Norton, 2000). The constitutional convention of British political structure primarily relies on the principle mutual dependence between prime minister, minister and civil servants. The prime minister and ministers seek advice of efficient body of permanent government officials who have the knowledge and expertise in the area or the department. The principle of indivisibility and mutual dependence serve as constraints for the prime minister and ministers. Prime minister is accountable to the parliament and therefore, in practice, he is as powerful as his ministers allow him to have. Historically, British prime ministers have enjoyed varying powers. Constitutionally prime minister has ‘certain prerogatives, for example recommending the appointment of ministers and determining the membership of Cabinet and Cabinet committees…. Cabinet is the ultimate decision-making body of government’ (Cabinet Office 2010: 36, 53). Though prime minister lacks policy making decisions but personalization of prime ministership has significantly contributed to his/ her acquiring the status of most power individual in the government. Jones & Norton (2010) assert that British prime minister has sweeping powers because his powers given through conventions give him control over Whitehall. He appoints ministers and cabinet colleagues as well as senior civil officers. He can also create or abolish departments. These powers provide him/her with significant authority which is often used to meet one’s political agenda. They have group of advisors, comprising of civil officers, experts and headed by Chief of Staff. From Winston Churchill to Margaret Thatcher and Tony Blair, all have exhibited unique personal charisma. In recent times, Thatcher was exemplary example of prime minister who was able to usher new reforms in policies and foreign affairs. She was responsible for massive changes to socio-economic platform of the country. She introduced enterprise culture by liberalizing trade, deregulation and sweeping privatization (Dunleavy, 2000). She was called Iron Lady because of her strong leadership initiatives in areas which were hitherto considered traditional and highly conservative. Her successor, Tony Blair was one of the most dynamic young leaders of the present time. He was part of devolution process that had increased his stature in political arena. He had brought transparency to the government functioning. Indeed, the cult figure of British prime minister has increasing developed high level of authority to intervene in policy matters through personal charisma and power of persuasion. The main reason for allowing prime minister to intervene in policy matters has been the external environment vis-à-vis socio-economic pressure, threat to national security, economic downturn, change in global power, EU etc. (Budge et al., 2003) The changing relationship in the transforming world affairs with shifting powers has necessitated the role and powers of British Prime Ministers to be reassessed to meet new challenges (Dunleavy, 2006). Thatcher’s personal style was hugely responsible for the extensive changes that she was able to carry forward. Blair’s personal charisma had made him very popular amongst the young generation and provided him with confidence to take firm decisions in international affairs like Iraq War which ultimately led to his electoral defeat. The British political tradition relies on heuristic values and ideology that is linked to consensus and reflects change through dominant political ideology of changing British government (Kingdom, 2003). In the age of uncertainty and fast transforming global socio-political environment, conflicting paradigms pose serious challenges to the government and its emerging new relationships within the changing political traditions. Westminster model predominantly defines the role and powers of prime minister which relies on responsibility of government as perceived by the political parties. The broad scope of prime minister’s powers are therefore, often redefined through the changing political tradition of the times. (words: 656) Answer 2 Media is one of the most powerful platforms with wide ranging impact on every sphere of the public life. The emerging new technologies have given further boost to its influence. The wider the base, the more powerful tool it becomes to influence perception and views about social issues and political ideologies. But the conscientious approach of media towards social issues and concerns has gradually changed to encompass the vested interests of few. Indeed, the various elements of political system vis-à-vis changing dynamics of society, government, political parties, corporate world etc. have become vital ingredients of exploitation by the media. In the recent times, the role of media in the political campaign has come under lot of criticism (Hall Jamieson & Waldmann, 2004). Ridout & Mellen, (2007) assert that though media tends to exploits issues, often for vested interests, it has also become a powerful tool that is exploited by the system, especially the political parties and politicians and the corporate world to garner support for their own political agenda. In British politics, media plays dominant role, both as assessor as well as tool to be exploited by politicians and corporate world. Vested interests now dominate the overall goals and objectives of the media moghuls. Herman and Chomsky (1988) claim that news media has increasingly become the voice of powerful elites who become adept at manipulation of public opinion. It is now controlled by cartel of big five: Time Warner, Walt Disney Company, Murdoch’s New Corporation, Viacom and Bertelsmann (Bagdikian (2004). They have stake in all forms of mass media vis-à-vis radio and television, newspaper and publishing house, motion pictures etc. They therefore, wield considerable power and have significant influence on the public representatives who often promote cartel’s dubious aims and objectives. The recent phone tapping by the News of the World, owned by Murdock, highlights the long reaching hands of the media (bbc, 2012). In the current times, media and politics have become closely aligned. Negrine (2008) says that contemporary crop of politicians have become professionals who display their political skills through manipulated media. There is tacit cooperation and subtle manipulation of media by the political leadership. ‘BBC’s future is entirely in the hands of the government of today. There were many close shaves under the Tories…. journalism focuses not on who owns the news media, but on how those media are positioned relative to the power elites within the societies’ (McNair, 2003; 59, 62). They filter news to influence public opinion (Blumler & Kavanagh, 1999). Tony Blair as Prime Minister had judiciously exploited media while taking controversial issues and reforms. The initial support on war against Iraq and Saddam Hussein had later turned independent to promote public opinion and media became the nemesis of Blair. Indeed, media can make or break people. It was amply displayed in Blair’s case when he was projected by the media as the Young dynamic face of the UK and later demolished for participating in Iraq war. Political parties and politicians have realized the full potential of media and tend to manipulate it to their benefit. But the role of media is vital for a democratic state to discharge its duty effectively. The role of media in government has been significant as it helps to promote their various schemes and policies amongst the masses and encourages public participation. Thus media needs to perform its real duty with high ethical consideration and fairness. (words: 568) Answer 3 Interest groups are important ingredients of democratic structure that participate in political dialogue with government and businesses to represent the interests of the public. People not only become politically active by franchising their votes or joining political parties but also by becoming members of some interest group that has social stake. Through interest groups and advocacy, civil society becomes proactive participant in social change and political process (Kumar, 1993). Indeed civil society has long since been active in forging social relationship through interest or pressure groups and associations that may represent their interests. Tocqueville (2006) in his reflections had stated that Americans are forever forming association to promote their causes or issues of interests. The propensity to form interest groups has risen from the fact that changing socio-economic developments have created new avenues of growth and interest for civil society which needed a platform to promote them amongst wider audience. Mobilization of civil society by the interest groups is one of the key aspects which significantly contribute to their success. The engagement of civil society through interest groups or pressure groups is hugely important for promoting greater accountability of actions (Wittman, 2009). The various interest groups are formed on the common goals and objectives whose membership could be diverse encompassing people coming from different background. There are more than 7000 interest groups in UK which have social, economic, environmental, religious and other such agenda (IOAM, 2012). They raise issues which are pertinent and even file legal suit against the institution if they flout social norms that may adversely impact the civil society. Animal welfare and animal rights groups have hugely helped to restrain pharmaceutical companies against experiments on the animals. In recent times, environmental pressure groups have become dominant forces to promote sustainable business practices and green habits amongst the people. The labour unions of UK are very strong institutions which boast of very large membership. They have strong political clout and therefore are able influence public policies and introduce new reforms for the wider welfare of the working class. The activities of the interest groups are mainly motivated by the desire to influence the outcome of final policy outcome in the legislation. Indeed, the efficacy of the interest groups often depends on the membership; the larger the number of its members, greater is its power to influence public or private authority. They develop new styles of political activism and protest in ways that are intended to attract attention of people towards the cause and provoke reactions from the authority. The protest marches, sit-ins, black flags, fast, etc. have emerged as popular measures that are adopted by the interest groups. Interest groups greatly facilitate democratic processes and motivate civic society to participate in politics indirectly. They often wield tremendous power if they have large number of members. The teachers’ union and students union have huge backing and therefore they are better able to serve the interests of their members. The students had staged massive protests against the fee hike (Coughan, 2010). The involvement of civic society in the policy making bodies has increasingly become part of government strategy when reforms are introduced. The agenda for public policy is set when issues are raised by the interest groups. The citizen associations, business bodies and voluntary agencies often start the movement at local and state levels and thereby generate greater support nationally. These interest groups have not only the support of the public but also of eminent people like politician, social worker, legislative members etc. which lends credibility to the issue. Government spends huge amount of money on the implementation of public policy and therefore, it become necessary to know if the benefits would be worth the effort in terms of time and money that are spent on it. Interest groups facilitate decision making by evaluating it on public forum and help enforce accountability not only in government actions but also in businesses and other fields where stakeholders’ interests are at stake. Thus, one can conclude that they help in the democratic process by empowering the public to create alternative political resources for the wider interests of the citizens. (words: 687) Reference Bagdikian, Ben H. (2004) The New Media Monopoly, NY: Beacon Press. BBCNews UK. (4 August, 2012) Q&A: News of the World phone-hacking scandal, Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11195407 Budge, Ian et al. (2003) New British Politics, London: Longman. Blumler, J G. and Kavanagh, D. (1999) ‘The Third Age of Political Communication: influences and features’, Political Communication, vol. 16, pp. 209-230. Cabinet Office (2010) The Cabinet Manual – Draft: A Guide to Laws, Conventions, and Rules on the Operation of Government, Available from: http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/sites/default/files/resources/cabinet-draft-manual.pdf Coughan, Sean. (3 Nov. 2010) Students face tuition fees rising to £9,000, Available from: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/education-11677862 Dearlove, John, Saunders, Peter R, (2000) Introduction to British politics, Cambridge: Polity Press Dunleavy, Patrick et al. (2006) Developments in British politics 8, Basingstoke: Pelgrave. Hall Jamieson, Kathleen & Waldmann, Paul. (2004) The Press Effect. Politicians, journalists, and the stories that shape the political world, New York: Oxford University Press. Herman, E and Chomsky, N. (1979) Manufacturing Consent, New York. Pantheon. IOAM. (2012). Market Potential, Available from: http://www.iofam.co.uk/Market_Potential_.aspx Jones, Bill. & Norton, Phillip. (2010) Politics UK, Esse: Pearson Education Limited. Kumar, K. (1993) ‘Civil Society: An Inquiry into the Usefulness of an Historical Term’, British Journal of Sociology, vol. 44, no. 3 (September 1993), pp. 375-95. Negrine, R. (2008) The Transformation of Political Communication, Hampshire: Palgrave Macmillan. Kingdom, J. E. (2003) Government and politics in Britain: an introduction, McNair, Brian. (2003) News and Journalism in the UK. 4th edition, London: Routledge. Norton, Philips. (July 2000) Strengthening Parliament: The Report of Commission to strengthen Parliament, London: Published by Conservative Party. Ridout, Travis N and Mellen, Rob, Jr. (2007) ‘Does the Media Agenda Reflect the Candidates Agenda?’, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics, vol. 12, no. 2, pp. 44-62. Tocqueville, Alexis D. (2006) Democracy in America, Available from: Wittman, D. (2009) ‘How pressure groups activate voters and move candidates closer to the median’, Economic Journal, vol. 119, no. 540, pp. 1324-1343. Read More