Page 165 - DPOL202_COMPARATIVE_POLITICS_AND_GOVERNMENT_ENGLISH

Comparative Politics and Government

Notes 5. Another defect of the theorem of Prime Ministerial government is its unrealistic assumption
that everything is static. There are things he might essay in a given situation, say after a successful
government election, that he would hesitate to attempt if things were going badly for him in
the Parliament.
6. If Richard Crossman is right in saying — and most historians support histhesis — that the
situation Bagehot was describing was just about to end, so there is a case for saying that Richard
Crossman’s analysis failed to take account of the new checks and balances qualifying the power
of the Prime Minister. These include certainly the greater power of Cabinet committees, not to
mention the select committees, whose exteended power is one of Richard Crossman’s
achievements.
Though none may agree wholly or in part with the argument of Crossman about redesignating
the British form of government, none can deny this fact that the Prime Minister has become the
most powerful institution in the political system of England.
Prime Minister

If the Cabinet is the most important institution of the English constitutional system, the Prime Minister
by virtue of being its leader is the most powerful officer. He is the real head of the government, while
the monarch above him is the titular head of the state. In the words of Ramsay Muir, while the
Cabinet “is the steering wheel of the ship of the state, the Prime Minister is the steersman.” The
peculiar thing about this great office is that it has irresistibly grown since the times of Robert Walpole.
Curiously, it has no legal basis: it is based on usages and conventions. It is bound with the designation
of the First Lord of Treasury since 1721. Historical information reveals that for the first time in 1878
the title of the Prime Minister made appearance in a public document when Lord Beaconsfield signed
the Treaty of Berlin.
It was reiterated in the Ministerial Salaries and Member’s Pensions Act of 1965.

The Chequers Estate Act of 1917 made a passing reference, but the Ministers of the
Crown Act of 1937 gave a legal recognition to this great office by assigning fifth position
to the Prime Minister in order of precedence and also by specifying his salary and pension.

Appointment: The Prime Minister is appointed by the monarch. Invitation to form the government
implies his appointment. Convention requires that the monarch must choose the leader of the majority
party in the House of Commons who can run the government with a comfortable majority behind
him. It makes the point clear that British government is plebiscitical. That is, the real choice is made
by the people who register their electoral verdict by giving majority either to the Labour or to the
Conservative party. The existence of two well-organised and disciplined political parties has made it
essential that this office alternate between the two according to the verdict of the electorate.
The question of the appointment of the Prime Minister is based upon some well-established
conventions. First, he must be a member of the House of Commons. That is, a peer cannot hold this
office until he renounces his peerage as Sir Alec Douglas-Home had to do in 1963. This convention
started in 1902 (after the exit of Lord Salisbury) and was confirmed in the event of 1923 when after
the resignation of Bonar Law, the King invited Stanley Baldwin in preference to the ambitious
Conservative candidate Lord Curzon. Second, he must be the leader of the party having clear majority
in the House of Commons. In case a Prime Minister dies or resigns and the issue of appointing his
successor comes up, the monarch may either consult its top-ranking leader before making up his
mind, or may ask the party concerned to apprise him of its decision in this regard. For instance, after
the resignation of Sir Anthony Eden in 1956, the Queen invited Macmillan to form the government
on the advice of Sir Winston Churchill; likewise she invited Douglas-Home in 1963 on the advice of
the outgoing Prime Minister.

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