The Cabinet Is No Longer Significant in Uk Politics
The current cabinet of the United Kingdom is the result of a coalition government formed after the 2010 general election. Headed by the Conservative leader David Cameron it combines Conservative and Liberal Democrat MPs and has been subject of intense scrutiny by each of the parties. This has meant that David Cameron has had to keep to his parties traditional values (e.g. Thatcherism) in order to hold party loyalty but at the same time make policy concessions to the Liberal Democrats so that he can maintain government unity. This has led to the cabinet being in a much stronger position (in relation to the prime minister) than in previous governments and has affirmed a re-emergence of the idea of cabinet government, an idea that had, in reality, become almost irrelevant.
During the formation of the government David Cameron made concessions to the Liberal Democrats so that the prospect of a coalition would look more appealing. These concessions included giving significant cabinet positions to Liberal Democrat MPs, Nick Clegg for example became Deputy Prime Minister. It was these concessions that so much reduced the possible individual power of the prime minister and gave the Liberal Democrat cabinet members large amounts of influence over government policy. This resulted from the conservative fear that any significant cabinet resignations would cause the collapse of the government and a the entering into power of the Labour party (as the polls indicate), this means that Cameron had to keep the Lib Dem party onside.
However fractures have emerged in the cabinet on various issues such as the economy and Europe, issues that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have traditionally differed on. Nick Clegg has also been under a lot of pressure by his party over his apparent lack of influence on Government part, leading to some questioning why they are still in the coalition. This was evident when Cameron vetoed a EU financial treaty in December 2011 without
During the formation of the government David Cameron made concessions to the Liberal Democrats so that the prospect of a coalition would look more appealing. These concessions included giving significant cabinet positions to Liberal Democrat MPs, Nick Clegg for example became Deputy Prime Minister. It was these concessions that so much reduced the possible individual power of the prime minister and gave the Liberal Democrat cabinet members large amounts of influence over government policy. This resulted from the conservative fear that any significant cabinet resignations would cause the collapse of the government and a the entering into power of the Labour party (as the polls indicate), this means that Cameron had to keep the Lib Dem party onside.
However fractures have emerged in the cabinet on various issues such as the economy and Europe, issues that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have traditionally differed on. Nick Clegg has also been under a lot of pressure by his party over his apparent lack of influence on Government part, leading to some questioning why they are still in the coalition. This was evident when Cameron vetoed a EU financial treaty in December 2011 without