Executive
Political Studies: Edexcel A Level, topic 17.2.7
Similar and Different Powers
The President and Prime Minister mainly differ in their roles and powers, however, both are head of the executive branch of government and propose legislation to be passed.
Similar powers 1
- The President and Prime Minister are both chief executives and run the government’s executive branch.
- The Prime Minister chairs meetings of the cabinet, creates new government roles and departments and heads the Civil Service.
- The President uses the Executive Office of the President (EXOP) to help run the executive.
- The President and Prime minister both have the role of submitting the annual budget.
Similar powers 2
- The President and Prime Minister both propose legislation to be passed through the legislature.
- The Prime Minister’s proposals are made in the King’s Speech whilst the President proposes legislation in the State of the Union Address.
- Both the President and Prime Minister can nominate members of the executive.
- The Prime Minister has patronage powers to appoint politicians to the cabinet.
- The president must have appointments confirmed by a Senate vote.
Different powers
- The President has powers which the Prime Minister does not have, including signing and vetoing legislation, pardon powers, the head of state role and judicial appointments.
- The Prime minister plays an important role in the legislature, unlike the President, and has patronage powers.
Presidential and Prime Ministerial Powers
The president and prime minister mainly differ in their roles and powers, however, both are head of the executive branch of government and propose legislation to be passed.
Presidential powers 1
- The president appoints federal judges, including all Supreme Court justices.
- The president nominates a judge who must be confirmed by a vote in the Senate, whilst in the UK judicial appointments are made by the monarch following recommendation from the Judicial Appointments Commission and the Lord Chancellor.
- The president can pardon citizens from criminal sentences.
Presidential powers 2
- The president has the power to sign a bill into law or veto the bill, whilst in the UK it is the monarch who signs the legislation.
- If the president objects to legislation passed by Congress, they can veto it.
- The president is the head of state, meaning that they are the figurehead of the USA and perform ceremonial functions on behalf of the country.
- In the UK the monarch is the head of state.
- The president uses persuasion and bargaining methods to pass their legislation through Congress.
Prime Ministerial powers 1
- The prime minister has a significant role in Parliament.
- The prime minister appears before the House of Commons Liaison Committee which reviews all matters relating to select committees.
- The prime minister is involved in key parliamentary debates and answers questions weekly at Prime Minister’s Question Time.
Prime Ministerial powers 2
- The prime minister has the power of patronage to appoint to positions other than the executive, and without needing the consent of Parliament.
- The prime minister appoints peers to the House of Lords and bishops to the Church of England.
- The prime minister and government pass their legislation through Parliament by using tools of party discipline such as party whips.
Accountability in the US and UK governments
The president and prime minister are both accountable to their legislatures, however, they are held to account in different ways because the president is separate from Congress whilst the prime minister is a member of Parliament.
US accountability 1
- Congress holds the president to account over their legislative proposals.
- Congress can amend or reject bills from becoming law.
- In 2018 the Senate failed to pass an appropriations bill, contributing to a government shutdown.
- The Senate has the power to reject any treaty proposed by the president by a two-thirds majority.
US accountability 2
- The Senate can vote against the president’s nominations to the judiciary and executive.
- Congress can override a president’s veto if both the House of Representatives and the Senate pass it with a two-thirds majority in each chamber.
- Congress can investigate and impeach the president, vice president, and other civil officers.
UK accountability
- Departmental select committees summon government ministers to answer in-depth questions on their department’s work.
- Question Time enables backbench MPs to directly question ministers weekly on government actions.
UK accountability 2
- Government legislation is scrutinised in debates in the House of Commons and House of Lords.
- MPs in the House of Commons can put forward a motion for a vote of no confidence in the government.
- If a vote of no confidence is successful, the Prime Minister must resign or seek a dissolution of Parliament, potentially triggering a general election, as there is no longer a fixed 14-day period.
Test yourself on Executive
If the government loses to a vote of no confidence, how many days are there to form a new government?