Theresa May: What are her powers?

On July 13^th 2016, Rt Hon Theresa May MP addressed the media outside 10 Downing Street after becoming Britain’s latest Prime Minister.  In this speech, Mrs May signalled her intentions and the target audience in which she her intentions are directed to:

“We are fighting against the burning injustice that, if you’re born poor, you will die on average 9 years earlier than others.  If you’re black, you’re treated more harshly by the criminal justice system than if you’re white.  If you’re a white, working-class boy, you’re less likely than anybody else in Britain to go to university.  If you’re at a state school, you’re less likely to reach the top professions than if you’re educated privately.  If you’re a woman, you will earn less than a man. If you suffer from mental health problems, there’s not enough help to hand.”

Of Course, the elephant in the room is Brexit too.  So, along with the above address and Mrs May’s issue with Brexit, this blog will investigate it what formal and informal powers Theresa May has at her disposal to ensure that her policies get through.

 

Formal Powers of the Prime Minister

Foreign Policy

It is worth noting that Mrs May’s main source of power may still be secured in her foreign policy.  This is where we will start as the fabric of her premiership will be how she conducts herself abroad.

1. Negotiate Foreign Treaties

The Prime Minister has the power to formally conclude and ratify an agreement with other countries. 

This is going to be an aspect of Mrs May’s role that could define her premiership because of the triggering of Article 50 of the Lisbon treaty (which Gordon Brown signed).  The task of the Prime Minister, amongst other things, is to negotiate a deal that virtually unfastens the sovereignty of the EU over the UK.

1. Command Armed Forces

Although there is no codified Parliamentary procedure that formally required government to seek approval of Parliament to declare war, the Prime Minister typically holds a debate in Parliament that leads to a vote.  This was seen in the build up to the Iraq war. 

Once this has been concluded, the Prime Minister does have the sole formal power to determine how the armed forces are deployed in wartime.  A key illustration is how Tony Blair operated a ‘boots on the ground’ policy after Parliament voted to go to war in Iraq.

There is, however, nothing on the horizon to indicate that Mrs May will need to focus on this particular formal power in the foreseeable future.

 

Domestic Policy

Of course it would be remiss of this blog to not recognise the domestic formal powers of Mrs May also.  In consideration of items beyond Brexit, Mrs May must continue to deliver the Cameron’s legacy mandate and the below powers will help to ensure this.

1. Appoint/Dismiss Ministers

The Prime Minister creates their own cabinet and junior ministers by selecting them based on support of their policies.  This is the principle factor for deciding their team because without this, the Prime Minister cannot expect domestic success.  Theresa May appointed David Davies to the position of ‘Secretary of State for leaving the EU’ because of his commitments to the vote leave campaign and David Cameron appointed George Osborne because he knew Osborne’s identical commitment to low taxation

Allied to this, political reliability and experience is important.  It is worth noting that potential will be considered for junior ministers, as was the case with David Miliband under Blair’s tenure.

What remains to be seen is how Mrs May’s appointments will play out.  Perhaps the first test will be the March budget.

1. Grant Peerages

The Prime Minister has the power to recommend people to serve in the House of Lords as life peers.  A recent photograph revealed that Mrs May is very aware of this power when she was spotted in the gallery overseeing the debate around the Brexit bill. 

Mrs May has a dilemma here though.  Although my earlier blog ‘How does the UK Government control the UK Parliament?’ indicates that the Prime Minister can control the House of Lords through her executive advantages in the commons, it is no secret that the Conservative Party do not have a majority in the Lords.  This means that defeats, such as the recent Brexit bill, can be a regular

Occurrence.  In fact both Prime Ministers since 2015 have been defeated a total of 60 times in the Lords.

 

These are typically former serving members of their party or a lifelong experienced person recognised in their field.  John Major famously granted Margaret Thatcher a peerage to serve in the House of Lords in the 90s.

 

Watch this space.  No doubt there will be opportunities for Mrs May to appoint more of ‘her type’.  With the polls also reporting an 18 point lead in the polls, will the Conservative population grow in te Lords?

 

 

Informal Powers of the Prime Minister

Foreign Policy

Now is the time to also look at Mrs May’s informal powers abroad.  This is where we will look at the potential she has to extend her authority abroad in the next couple of years.

1. Represent The Nation To Foreign Power

It is absurd to think that this is not a formal power of the Prime Minister.  This is because the constitution has evolved beyond what is documented in Parliament or by convention.  However, the Prime Minister is unofficially considered as the figurehead for the country both domestically and abroad.  This means that any international incidents require the Prime Minister to represent the UK. 

Theresa May has already began doing this, clocking up air miles throughout the political world.  In January she outlined to the rest of Europe in 2017 what the UK’s intentions were when trading after Article 50 was invoked.  Likewise, a state visit to the USA saw her (literally) hand in hand with Trump.

Her statesmanship and political diplomacy will be tested over her first term and this will be scrutinised speech by speech and visit by visit.

Domestic Policy

Now time to return back home and back to the mandate.  We will now consider what the Americans would refer to as ‘extra constitutional’ powers at Mrs May’s disposal.

1. Chief Policy Maker To The Government

The Prime Minister sets out which policies the government will implement by setting out their manifesto in elections.  Furthermore, they then control cabinet to ensure the heads of each department implement this. 

Mrs May is only one of twelve Prime Ministers that have assumed office without a general election, as is possible under the constitution of the United Kingdom.  This therefore means that the policy agenda, as previously outlined, is from the legacy of the Cameron Conservatives.  There is some significant contrast on her own personal autonomy, unlike Tony Blair when he was able to steamroll his policies such as the Human Rights Act 1998 and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005.

However, with reference again to Mrs May’s 18 point lead in the polls, it may not be too long before she can enforce her own ‘one nation’ conservatism.

1. Control Of The Cabinet

The Prime Minister ensures that collective cabinet responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility exist.  This is to guarantee that the UK Government are seen as a strong and stable government.  It also ensures the Prime Minister is not seen as weak.

Tony Blair was notorious for his control of the cabinet.  Blair ruthlessly fired Robin Cook from the cabinet once he became too much of a political liability over personal affairs circulating in the media.  Likewise, Margaret Thatcher had no issue with reshuffling whenever the need arose.

As Mrs May has reshuffled her cabinet when she became PM, perhaps to distance herself from David Cameron’s legacy, such as the removal of George Osborne and Michael Gove.  Overwhelming winning the commons vote over Brexit is one evidential factor that could suggest that the control is there at present.

1. Make ‘Emergency Decisions’

Although Parliament should be consulted when something major needs deciding or legislating, the Prime Minister can make decisions that quickly eradicates a problem that cannot wait to be resolved.  An illustration is when Tony Blair stopped the distribution of red meat in the early 00’s to prevent the spread of mad cow disease.

This is a trivial point at this stage but, depending on the strength of Mrs May’s authority and subjective approach to this power, ‘emergencies’ may become a feature if other options are exhausted.

 

In Conclusion

The previous blog ‘How does the UK Government control the UK Parliament?’ does also explore the limitations of Mrs May, so it is not the intention of this blog to suggest that Mrs May has all of these powers without significant control such as Parliament, the European Union and (of course) the electorate.

 

There is nothing to illustrate that Mrs May will not execute her powers as and when required and, with the polls at 18 points ahead, where will these powers lead her and the UK in the forthcoming years?