Examine the ways in which the US and UK cabinets are different (12)
One difference between the US and UK cabinets is how executive power is distributed. In the
US cabinet, the Constitution states that ‘all executive power’ is vested in the president, which is
why members of the cabinet are referred to as cabinet officers or secretaries, not ministers. This
means that cabinet officers have no power vested to them directly, so they are considered as
being subordinate to the president in terms of power- the president makes decisions, not the
cabinet, hence why it is called the ‘president’s cabinet’. In comparison, the UK cabinet is
considered ‘first among equals’ with the prime minister. It cannot be called the ‘prime minister’s
cabinet’, as the members of cabinet exist as part of a plural executive with the prime minister,
with real administrative power vested in them. The members are referred to as ministers, rather
than mere secretaries, who make up a collective decision-making body.
Another difference between the US and UK cabinets is the relationship between cabinet
members and the head of the executive. In the UK, their relationship is far from being strangers-
they have most likely served together in Parliament and possibly in a shadow cabinet before.
Some may even be regarded as the prime minister’s potential political rivals, like when Home
Secretary Theresa May succeeded prime minister David Cameron when he faltered in 2016.
Their cabinet meetings are obliged to be frequent and regular, which is unlike the cabinet in the
US in which the president decides the frequency/regularity, which can have several months
between. Cabinet officers will not have served together before, making many of them complete
strangers to each other and to the president- there is no shadow cabinet in the US in which for
them to have worked together before. Cabinet meetings are often the only time some members
see the president, making their relationship much more distant, compared to the UK. Politically,
they’re not regarded as the president’s political rivals, due to the separation of powers.
A third difference between the US and UK cabinets is cabinet appointments. In the US, the
president has to gain a majority vote in the Senate in order to approve a cabinet officer to be
appointed. This is due to the fact that members of the legislature cannot serve as part of the
cabinet concurrently, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. This means
that they aren’t elected by the public, many of them have no previous political affiliation, and the
president is not limited in choice- it could be anyone. However in the UK, membership of the
cabinet is exclusive to members of Parliament, who have already been elected by their
constituency. Therefore, the prime minister does not need to gain political approval from
Parliament for their cabinet appointments. This makes the prime minister’s choice very limited in
their cabinet appointments.
One difference between the US and UK cabinets is how executive power is distributed. In the
US cabinet, the Constitution states that ‘all executive power’ is vested in the president, which is
why members of the cabinet are referred to as cabinet officers or secretaries, not ministers. This
means that cabinet officers have no power vested to them directly, so they are considered as
being subordinate to the president in terms of power- the president makes decisions, not the
cabinet, hence why it is called the ‘president’s cabinet’. In comparison, the UK cabinet is
considered ‘first among equals’ with the prime minister. It cannot be called the ‘prime minister’s
cabinet’, as the members of cabinet exist as part of a plural executive with the prime minister,
with real administrative power vested in them. The members are referred to as ministers, rather
than mere secretaries, who make up a collective decision-making body.
Another difference between the US and UK cabinets is the relationship between cabinet
members and the head of the executive. In the UK, their relationship is far from being strangers-
they have most likely served together in Parliament and possibly in a shadow cabinet before.
Some may even be regarded as the prime minister’s potential political rivals, like when Home
Secretary Theresa May succeeded prime minister David Cameron when he faltered in 2016.
Their cabinet meetings are obliged to be frequent and regular, which is unlike the cabinet in the
US in which the president decides the frequency/regularity, which can have several months
between. Cabinet officers will not have served together before, making many of them complete
strangers to each other and to the president- there is no shadow cabinet in the US in which for
them to have worked together before. Cabinet meetings are often the only time some members
see the president, making their relationship much more distant, compared to the UK. Politically,
they’re not regarded as the president’s political rivals, due to the separation of powers.
A third difference between the US and UK cabinets is cabinet appointments. In the US, the
president has to gain a majority vote in the Senate in order to approve a cabinet officer to be
appointed. This is due to the fact that members of the legislature cannot serve as part of the
cabinet concurrently, which includes the House of Representatives and the Senate. This means
that they aren’t elected by the public, many of them have no previous political affiliation, and the
president is not limited in choice- it could be anyone. However in the UK, membership of the
cabinet is exclusive to members of Parliament, who have already been elected by their
constituency. Therefore, the prime minister does not need to gain political approval from
Parliament for their cabinet appointments. This makes the prime minister’s choice very limited in
their cabinet appointments.
