Excellent article: The Executive: Cabinet Reshuffle in September 2012

Revision Update: The Executive: Cabinet Reshuffle in September 2012:

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Excellent article: The Executive: Coalition: All Good Things Must Come to an End

Revision Update: The Executive: Coalition: All Good Things Must Come to an End:

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Excellent article: The Executive: Prime Ministerial Power and Coalition

Revision Update: The Executive: Prime Ministerial Power:

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Excellent article The Executive: Collective and Individual Ministerial Responsibility

Revision Update: The Executive: Collective and Individual Ministerial Responsibility:

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Revision Update: Parliament: Is Executive Power Checked?

Revision Update: Parliament: Is Executive Power Checked?:

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How powerful is the PM? May 2013 EU cabinet splits emerge

Article here

From 2011 - Very good documentaries: The Great Offices of State - Home Office, Foreign Office, Treasury

The Great Offices of State - Part 1 - The Dark Department - YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaFvy6FaxOA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7SBxkXDOFzU


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What factors affect PM appointments to cabinet?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p01736qr

Only available for another 5 days

Blair and sofa government, cabinet relations etc.

Reshuffle!!!!

The post-shuffle Cameron cabinet in full HERE.

Who's in the Coalition Cabinet?

This is a great resource for seeing who's who in the coalition cabinet.

Unit 1 and Unit 2 revision: House of Lords and Referendums

The issue over the last couple of weeks boils down to three new developments:

• The threat of Tory resignations if Cameron pushes ahead with Clegg's proposals (80% elected etc.). Cameron is at odds with most of his own Tory MPs, as he says he's in favour of Lords reform, whilst they are largely against. Even some cabinet ministers are hinting that Lords reform could be a resignation issue. The other issue is whether or not Cameron should whip his Tory MPs into voting for Lords reform or whether it should be up to the individual MPs. Some say that around 80 Tory MPs will vote against the proposed reforms when the time comes to vote on legislation.
• The question of whether or not a referendum should be held over whether or not Clegg's proposals should be put into action. A parliamentary committee will report on Monday (23/4/12) that a referendum should be held on the issue. Many Tory MPs agree, hoping that most people can be persuaded that reform is necessary and expensive (like AV campaign). However, Miliband is also in favour of a referendum. Clegg says that the coalition already has a democratic mandate for Lords reform as it was in both coalition parties' manifestos before the last election, and therefore a referendum is not needed. Unit 1 retakers should take note of this referendum possibility.
• The issue of whether or not the coalition can survive it's disagreements over Lords reform. See this blog for a brief analysis...and here.

The three issues are interwoven. 

What the coalition agreement says about Lords reform HERE.

This weekend has seen some excellent coverage in The Guardian and the Telegraph (as usual).

Guardian:

• Article on coalition splits over Lords reform
• Article on cabinet tensions
• Against reform article
• In favour of reform editorial

Telegraph:

• Article on Conservative party tensions over Lords reform.
• Article about junior ministers threatening to resign over Lords reform.
• Miliband gives his reasons for supporting a Lords reform referendum.
• Lib Dem Lord Oakeshott hits out at Tory MPs against Lords reform saying they should "grow up" and remember the coalition agreement.

Anyone hoping to get a decent Unit 2 (or Unit 1 retake) grade will be reading these articles and taking notes on arguments and controversies, party positions and splits within parties.

The prime minister and his MPs: David Cameron's local difficulty | The Economist

The prime minister and his MPs: David Cameron's local difficulty | The Economist:

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Politics: Britain’s new gang of four | The Spectator

Politics: Britain’s new gang of four | The Spectator:

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Ten things you need to know about the group of four that runs the Coalition The Tory Diary

Ten things you need to know about the group of four that runs the Coalition The Tory Diary:

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