Decision making in UK Politics

The Prime Minister and the Cabinet

Prime Ministers have many powers that can only be exercised effectively with the support of
the Cabinet. The Cabinet is the group of high-ranking government ministers selected to run
the Departments of State, such as the Foreign Office, Home Office, Ministry of Defence and
Treasury.

The Prime Minister chairs the regular Cabinet meetings and sets the agenda for those
meetings. During these meetings decisions on implementing government policy will be
made. Through the Cabinet Office, which monitors the activities of all the Departments of
State, Prime Ministers maintain an overview of how Cabinet decisions are being
implemented. The Prime Minister also appoints smaller committees within the Cabinet and
will often sit on the most powerful of these. Prime Ministers have tended, in recent years, to
have an 'inner' Cabinet of very close colleagues. On major issues, this group will often have
decided the outcome of a Cabinet meeting before it begins.

Prime Minister David Cameron at a cabinet meeting.

Cabinet Ministers have been known to rebel, despite the control wielded by the Prime
Minister. This may result in a Cabinet 'reshuffle'; where members of the Cabinet are moved
or removed, while others, more loyal or compliant, will be appointed. However, the Prime
Minister must be careful not exercise too much control in this way as it is important that he
retain the loyalty of his backbench MPs for the stability of the party.

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Parliament

Parliament has two Houses: the House of Commons and the House of Lords. The Commons
is by far the more important as the Lords are not elected and their powers are limited.

Houses of Parliament

The UK is divided into 650 constituencies. Each constituency votes for an MP who usually
represents a political party in the House of Commons. It is possible, but rare, for
independent candidates to be elected in Britain. MPs represent everyone within their
constituency, whether they voted for them or not. Without the help of the party to finance an
election, a candidate would have little chance of being elected.

Although MPs win a seat through the electorate, they are expected to show loyalty to their
party. However they are often faced with difficult compromises between party and
constituency. Sometimes the party leadership may have a policy which is harmful to the
MP's constituency, and MPs who are government ministers or in the shadow cabinet can
often find their interests are at odds in this way.

Legislation is decided during debates, whether in the Lords or Commons. MPs can use a
number of different debates to air their views on specific issues. They then have the
opportunity to vote at the end of debates. With limited time given to debates, it is not always
easy to get an opportunity to speak. Often debates are badly attended and MPs only turn up
at the last minute to vote along party lines, as instructed by the Whips.

Concern that Parliament's procedures are out of date has led to proposals for reform. In the
House of Commons, MPs working hours changed to become more family-friendly by starting
work in the morning and not going on late into the night. Friday is free for MPs to visit
constituencies, and changes have been made to Question Time and the way the
Government announces policies.

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House of Commons chamber

In the House of Lords the hereditary peers are being abolished; only a few remain until the
future of the Lords is decided. Some want an elected second chamber with similar powers to
the Commons, others prefer an advisory second house with many of the new style 'Lords'
appointed to bring in experienced people to improve government. It is very difficult to get
agreement on how the House should be reformed.

MPs represent their constituents both in the House of Commons and in the constituency.
They usually visit the constituency at weekends and hold surgeries to deal with problems
raised by constituents. MPs also keep in touch with local issues through the local party
officials, attending local events, etc They will become involved in local issues eg a campaign
to stop a factory closing down.

Whips

Whips are senior members of the party who rally support among MPs to vote in a particular
way. The whip system is used to maintain party unity. MPs who disobey the Whips can
experience difficulties from within the party. However sometimes MPs are allowed a 'free
vote', which means they can vote according to their own opinion. If the MPs from the
majority party vote in large numbers against the Government in a debate, however, this
might cause problems for the Prime Minister and a vote of 'no confidence' could be called. If
the Government loses a confidence vote a General Election will take place.

Question Time

The Prime Minister can be held to account by Parliament. Prime Minister's Question Time is
an opportunity for the Opposition to question the leader of the government on policy or
topical matters. Advance notice of the questions is given to the Prime Minister to allow
answers to be prepared. However, on these occasions, a supplementary question, or a
clever Leader of the Opposition, can cause difficulties for the Prime Minister.

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Select Committee

Committees

Legislation and policy is often examined and discussed in committees. There are two forms
of Parliamentary committee. Select Committees are chosen to look into specific issues. They
have great powers of investigation and can call Ministers, including the Prime Minister, and
civil servants to give evidence. They have been known to force changes in Government
policy, but there are sometimes fears that the Prime Minister has too much influence in
appointments to these committees.
General Committees look at parliamentary legislation and can suggest amendments to bills.
These used to be called Standing Committees.

Civil Service

Senior civil servants are the men and women in all the top Departments of State, such as the
Treasury, the Department of Health and the Foreign Office. They are full time, experienced
and highly paid professionals, who do all the important tasks required for the functioning of
these Departments. They are on hand to provide information, draft reports and advice to
Ministers.

Traditionally, the appointments of senior civil servants are not political. They are expert
professionals who are expected to serve Ministers of any political party, giving information
and advice of the highest quality. When there is a general election and a change of party in
power, the senior civil servants are expected to accept the new government's policies and
adapt to meet them. They must be politically neutral and impartial.

Following a Cabinet 'reshuffle', when the Prime Minister changes the Ministers in his/ her
Cabinet, or moves them to different jobs, civil servants will be expected to be as loyal to the
new Minister as they were to the previous one and to keep them informed of all important
departmental matters. They will prepare papers on policy, spending and planning in line with
government policy. The new Minister is then free to accept or adapt these papers. Civil
servants will also research information, which the Minister might need during parliamentary
Question Time.

Although Ministers understand and often set the government policy for their departments, it
is civil servants who know how the department actually works and they are expected to
guide Ministers. However, it is possible that civil servants are not always completely neutral
and may try to interfere in government policies. On some occasions they have been accused

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of being too secretive or being politically motivated, not giving Ministers important
information, or trying to get their own views taken into account.
There are different ways of describing the relationship between Ministers and senior civil
servants in the UK system of government:

 constitutional model - where civil servants are neutral and impartial

 adversarial model - where civil servants and ministers are in conflict
 village life model - where civil servants and ministers work in harmony. The Ministers
create policies and civil servants have the experience to implement them effectively.
 bureaucratic expansion model - civil servants want to increase their own power

Pressure groups
Pressure groups are organisations which campaign for changes in the law or new legislation
in specific areas. As such, they can have a strong influence on public opinion and voting
behaviour.

Pressure groups allow people the opportunity to participate in democracy by being involved
in social change without necessarily joining a political party. In some ways, pressure groups
may be viewed as essential to democracy because they allow the free expression of opinion
and the opportunity to influence governments. Because of this, pressure groups are not
tolerated in non-democratic countries.

There are different kinds of pressure groups:

 cause or 'promotional' groups
 interest or 'sectional' groups
 insider groups
 outsider groups

Cause or 'promotional' groups

These have open membership from the public. They promote a cause, eg Friends of the
Earth, which is concerned with protecting the environment.

Interest or 'sectional' groups

These are open only to certain individuals, like the members of a trade union, eg the
National Union of Journalists.

Insider groups

These have close links with the government. They will give advice and will be consulted prior
to legislation which may affect that group, eg the British Medical Association will be
consulted on matters relating to health.

Outsider groups

These groups often take action of which the government disapproves. Organisations like
Greenpeace often engage in civil disobedience or direct action in order to reinforce their
point. Some outsider groups are also wealthy and use a great deal of publicity to attract
people to promote their cause.

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Sometimes pressure groups might be seen as a threat to democracy because a relatively

small, unelected group of individuals can force a change in the law. Pressure groups employ
a variety of methods to promote their cause.
Demonstrations are an example of direct action, which may or may not have an effect on a
government. Petitions are another way to raise awareness among politicians of public feeling
about a specific issue. Media advertising may also be used to attract public sympathy and
this may help the pressure group in its efforts to influence the government.

Pressure groups and Parliament

Pressure groups may also have influence inside Parliament if there is an MP who is a
member of the group or is sympathetic to it. MPs with affiliations to pressure groups must
declare an interest when speaking on behalf of the group. MPs may not receive payment for
promoting the cause unless they declare it. Insider groups may be involved in the decision-
making process by being on committees with Ministers, MPs and civil servants, as well as
writing advisory papers and sponsoring MPs. Outsider groups also have an opportunity to
lobby politicians and their views will often be taken into consideration. There is criticism of
the undue influence that may be wielded by the large and wealthy groups. There are some
very large and wealthy pressure groups which can afford to use expert parliamentary
lobbyists, who know the parliamentary and legislative system and can make direct contact
with Ministers and MPs. Some people argue that some pressure groups have more
opportunities than others to influence what decisions are made by Parliament.

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