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.