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What are the sources of a Prime Minister’s power

and how may circumstances alter them?

The Prime Minister has many sources of power, each one being
very important. Without each of these sources, the Prime Minister
would not be able to lead his country in an effective manner nor would
they remain in government. The authority and power of a Prime
Minister can be shown to be from the party he stands for, the cabinet
itself, the Parliamentary majority, the Royal Prerogative, the electorate
and the media support. This essays aims to explain these sources of
the Prime Minister’s power and how certain circumstances may alter
them.
The media support is key in a Prime Minister’s power, as the
media itself is very powerful. It has an immense power to sway the
beliefs of a nation; media reaction can be extremely important in
making or breaking a Prime Ministers authority. News papers
constantly give an opinion of the Prime Minister’s actions and the
decisions he makes. There was a cartoon of the Prime Minister John
Major in newspaper when he was in office, showing him running down
Downing Street wearing a pair of underpants over his suit. This is an
example of how the media can have a negative effect on the authority
of a Prime Minister. The purpose of political cartoons is always to
ridicule the politician, however, when the media is in fact viciously
ridiculing a politician, such as the recent cartoons of Gordon Brown in
the Times, the effects can be catastrophic. It is possible for a politician
to survive hostility, however, it is possible for a nation to loose a large
amount of faith in a Prime Minister, when all around are simply
laughing at him.
The media does not simply have negative effects though. An
example of this is the success of Tony Blair in 1997 when he won the
general election. The media adored Blair, even the newspapers which
were usually against Labour, were supporting him such as the Daily
Mail. The newspaper ‘The Sun’ is the paper which has the highest
circulation in the country and is very influential. For example, in the
1992 election, ‘The Sun’ supported the Conservatives and showed that
they were extremely against Neil Kinnock and the Labour party. It is
highly believed that the Sun won the election for the Conservatives by
influencing the majority of the Nation.
The party which the Prime Minister stands for is a fundamental
part of his authority and power. Most Prime Minsters are backed firmly
by there party’s and when they are not backed sufficiently it can cause
problems. With regards to the last four Prime Ministers, they have lost
authority due to poor relations within the party. This is even the case
with the previous Prime Minister, Tony Blair.
The Cabinet is the next body which gives authority to the Prime
Minister. The Prime Minister himself appoints the cabinet and he has
the power to hire or dismiss who he wishes. In recent years, the Prime
Minister has not paid as much attention to the cabinet, for example
Tony Blair, and this has resulted in loss of support and authority.
The Parliamentary Majority is also a source of authority for the
Prime Minister. If there is a large parliamentary majority then the
Prime Minister will have a considerable amount of political “prowess”
within the House of Commons. He can, with general ease, pass the
legislation he wishes. He does not have the problem of a coalition
government to contend with as could be the case in the upcoming May
2010 election. We have seen both the Conservatives and the Labour
party recently attempting to form closer ties with the Liberal
Democrats, with there being a possibility of a Hung Parliament.
The Royal Prerogative is another main source of the Prime
Minister’s power. The Queen, though neutral in her political views,
gives advice to the serving Prime Minister when they are in power. As
the Sovereign, the Queen has the prerogative to appoint the Prime
Minister. She is bestowing the power as political leader upon him thus
the Royal prerogative is a source of his power.
Though the Queen presents the authority to rule over the Prime
Minister, she does not choose, realistically, whether he is elected or
not. The Electorate are the people of this country who vote for such a
person take power. The party with the most votes cast in their favour
is able to put their leader in the post of Prime Minister. The Prime
Minister relies of the people to vote for him/his party in order to obtain
that authority and power.
We must now examine how circumstances may alter these
sources of power. The most noticeable or publicised source of a Prime
Minister’s power, the media, is normally that which changes the most.
By this, the media can become hostile towards the Prime Minister
causing many issues. An example of this is the recurring problem of
the war in Afghanistan. Weekly, the media criticise Gordon Brown for
his approach towards Afghanistan, be it that the Army is not receiving
enough money or the spelling mistakes within his letters to the family
of fallen service men. The problems within Afghanistan, the death of
British soldiers and the difficulties in securing the country in order to
withdraw affect the authority of the Gordon Brown through the
criticism he receives.
In 2008 the 42 day detention bill, of which its purpose was to
extend the time allowed to hold a terror suspect without trial, was
brought to the commons. It was a widely publicised piece of legislation
which was widely criticised as it completely went against one of the
oldest laws in England; Habeus Corpus: if a suspect cannot be charged
then he must be released. This bill caused anxiety within the Labour
party and thus tested the authority of Gordon Brown. The recent
problem of public debt has even more so caused problems between
Gordon Brown and the electorate. The need to cut public spending is
not something which the nation wants to hear.
Only within the past week, there has been a serious incident in
which has threatened the power and authority of Gordon Brown.
Patricia Hewitt and Geoff Hoon contacted Labour MPs in an attempt to
gain their support for a secret ballot on Gordon Brown. Few Labour
MPs came forth and publically announced their support for the ballot,
however, a few Cabinet Ministers including David Milliband, when
questioned gave support to the Prime Minister which appeared weak.
This is a key circumstance in which the Prime Minister has found
himself. There were great mutterings that the Labour party had
become split and through this, the strong party support that Gordon
Brown requires is weaker thus having an effect on his power. It is also
said that the Labour party see Gordon Brown as a ‘looser’. They do not
hold a high opinion of him and thus do not support him.
Gordon Brown has problems with his presentation as Prime
Minister. For example, he arrived late to sign the Lisbon treaty much to
the annoyance of the other political leaders. As well as this, he has
been seen as incompetent by the electorate and the media after discs
containing secret government data were lost. These events only
damaged even more two very important sources of the Prime Ministers
power.
In conclusion, the Prime Minister has 6 main sources of power,
these being his Party, the Cabinet, Parliamentary Majority, the Royal
Prerogative, the Electorate and the Media. Certain circumstances have
altered these sources, for example, the call for a secret ballot on
Gordon Brown’s leadership by two Labour MPs weakens the link
between Gordon Brown and his own party affecting his power and
authority.

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