The Relationship Between the Executive and Parliament
The executive depends on Parliament to pass its legislative programme and, formally, to retain its confidence, while Parliament depends on the executive for much of its own agenda, since government business normally takes priority over the parliamentary timetable.
Before you start
Make sure you're comfortable with these topics first:
Method
- Learn the main factors that affect a Prime Minister's power (majority size, party unity, personal authority, media, events, Cabinet loyalty) and be ready to rank or compare them, since 'which factor matters most' is a very common essay format.
- Learn how the 'payroll vote' and party whips work as tools the government uses to manage the Commons.
- Learn what a motion of no confidence is and what happens if the government loses one, plus a real historical example, the 1979 Callaghan government.
- For an evaluation question, plan three two-sided paragraphs, each weighing one factor's importance against a genuine counterpoint or a rival factor.
- Give each paragraph a clear judgement before moving on; asserting only that 'a big majority always means a strong PM' with no counter-example is capped in the middle band.
- Build a thesis-led introduction and a conclusion that weighs the three judgements to reach an overall, supported answer.
- Use specific, dated examples throughout, e.g. the 2017 loss of a Commons majority and the resulting confidence and supply deal, rather than vague generalisations about 'recent Prime Ministers'.
Worked example
'A Prime Minister's power depends more on their party than on Parliament as a whole.' Evaluate this statement. Plan the essay: a thesis, three two-sided paragraphs and a conclusion.
- Underline the claim: is party the bigger constraint, which means directly comparing party-based constraints with wider Parliament-based ones.
- Choose three comparisons: (1) party unity vs opposition numbers, (2) party leadership rules vs no-confidence votes, (3) whips vs select committees.
- Paragraph 1: a divided governing party can defeat its own legislation through backbench rebellions even with a comfortable majority, as happened repeatedly during the 2017-2019 Parliament over Brexit-related votes, weighed against the counterpoint that a united opposition of similar size could achieve the same result, so it is really about numbers rather than which side the rebels sit on, then a judgement.
- Paragraph 2: a Prime Minister can be removed mid-term by their own party's internal rules without any Parliament-wide vote at all, weighed against the counterpoint that a formal motion of no confidence, requiring a Commons majority against the government, remains the ultimate Parliament-wide sanction and can trigger a general election, then a judgement.
- Paragraph 3: party whips manage day-to-day discipline and can suspend the whip from persistent rebels, a tool government controls directly, weighed against the counterpoint that select committees and the House of Lords operate largely outside party control and can generate pressure a Prime Minister cannot simply whip away, then a judgement.
- Write a thesis and a conclusion that gives an overall answer on whether party or wider Parliament matters more, rather than simply listing both.
Practice questions
Try each question, then tap to reveal the answer.
Q1What happens when the House of Commons passes a motion of no confidence in the government?Show answer
Answer: By convention, the government is expected to resign or a general election is likely to follow, since it shows the government has lost the Commons' support.
Q2What was the 'confidence and supply' arrangement after the 2017 general election?Show answer
Answer: An agreement in which the Democratic Unionist Party agreed to support the Conservative government in key votes, including the Budget and confidence votes, without formally being part of a coalition, after the Conservatives lost their outright Commons majority.
Q3Give one example of a factor, other than majority size, that affects a Prime Minister's power.Show answer
Answer: Personal popularity and authority, party unity, media coverage, or external events such as an economic or international crisis.
Q4What is a 'whip' in the context of party discipline?Show answer
Answer: An instruction to MPs on how to vote (a written instruction is also called a whip), and also the title of the party official responsible for enforcing party discipline in votes.
Q5State one power the House of Lords has that can constrain government policy, regardless of the Commons majority.Show answer
Answer: The Lords can defeat secondary legislation (statutory instruments) outright, and can delay most other bills and force the Commons to reconsider amendments through ping-pong.
Q6Explain what is meant by the 'payroll vote' constraining backbench rebellion.Show answer
Answer: Ministers and their parliamentary private secretaries are expected to support the government or resign, so the larger this group is relative to the whole parliamentary party, the fewer genuinely independent backbench votes are available to rebel.
Q7Give one historical example of a UK government losing a motion of no confidence.Show answer
Answer: The Callaghan Labour government lost a confidence vote by a single vote in March 1979, triggering a general election.
Exam-style questions
Written in the style of a A Level Politics exam paper, with a full mark scheme.
Explain TWO factors that affect how much power a Prime Minister has over Parliament.
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'The size of a Prime Minister's Commons majority is the most important factor affecting their power over Parliament.' Evaluate this statement.
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See real A Level Politics past-paper questions, with official mark schemes →
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