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WalesPoliticsQuick questions
Government in Wales and the UK (AS Unit 1)
Quick questions on The UK executive: Prime Minister, Cabinet and core executive - WJEC A-Level Government and Politics
5short Q&A pairs drawn directly from our worked dot-point answer. For full context and worked exam questions, read the parent dot-point page.
What is individual ministerial responsibility?Show answer
Under individual ministerial responsibility, each minister is accountable to Parliament for their own conduct and the running of their department. In serious cases of personal misconduct or departmental failure, the convention is that a minister may be expected to resign, though in practice resignations depend heavily on political circumstances and the PM's support.
What are power that depends on circumstances?Show answer
The case that a Prime Minister is constrained rather than all-powerful is shown when a PM loses the confidence of their own party or Cabinet and is forced out, despite holding all the formal levers of patronage and prerogative. A leader with a large, united majority can dominate; one whose party turns against them can fall quickly. This is why the strongest essays argue that prime ministerial power is contingent on majority size and party support, not fixed by the office alone.
What is q1?Show answer
What is meant by collective ministerial responsibility? [4 marks]
What is q2?Show answer
Name two prerogative powers exercised by the Prime Minister. [2 marks]
What is q3?Show answer
To what extent has the office of Prime Minister become too powerful? [25 marks]
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