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THE ROLE OF MINISTERS

THE ROLE OF MINISTERS. Ministers are responsible for the work of their departments , they :- prepare legislation and put that legislation into effect. There is a hierarchy of ministers ranging from The Prime Minister at the top to

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THE ROLE OF MINISTERS

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  1. THE ROLE OF MINISTERS

  2. Ministers are responsible for the work of their departments , they :- • prepare legislation and • put that legislation into effect. • There is a hierarchy of ministers ranging from • The Prime Minister at the top to • (unpaid ) Parliamentary Private Secretaries (PPSs) at the bottom.

  3. Prime Minister (1) Cabinet Ministers (22) Ministers of State(29) Parliamentary Under Secretaries (36) PPSs (46) Law Officers (4) Whips (23) These figures are taken from reshuffle July 1998.

  4. Junior Ministers are ministers not in the Cabinet • Most Ministers are MP’s . Some may be Lords • Outsiders are sometimes appointed. • Usually they are given a peerage to ensure they are accountable to parliament

  5. RESHUFFLES • Reshuffles may:- • change the political complexion of the government or • result in structural reorganisation of government or • prevent rival power bases being built • BUT rapid turnover of ministers can affect the balance of power between ministers and civil servants and it can also • make it difficult for ministers to work with their European counterparts

  6. WHY DO MINISTERS RESIGN? • There are 5 main reasons for ministerial resignations • Reshuffles • Electoral defeat of a minister • Personal reasons • Collective responsibility • Individual ministerial responsibility

  7. Ministers are supposed to resign if their department makes mistakes (role responsibility) or if they make a mistake (personal responsibility) • Often, however they try to evade responsibility for example, Michael Howard 1996 (Conservative - did not resign) Stephen Byers (Labour - did resign)

  8. Part [c] question Jan 2003 • [c] Analyse the circumstances in which ministers resign?

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