Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-c4f8m Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T18:04:16.801Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Ministerial Selection and Intraparty Organization in the Contemporary British Parliament

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  29 April 2010

CHRISTOPHER KAM ,
WILLIAM T. BIANCO ,
ITAI SENED  and
REGINA SMYTH
CHRISTOPHER KAM*
Affiliation:
University of British Columbia
WILLIAM T. BIANCO*
Affiliation:
Indiana University
ITAI SENED*
Affiliation:
Washington University in St. Louis
REGINA SMYTH*
Affiliation:
Indiana University
*
Christopher Kam is Assistant Professor, Department of Political Science, University of British Columbia, C-410 Buchanan Bldg., 1866 Main Mall, Vancouver, BC, CanadaV6T 1Z1 (ckam@interchange.ubc.ca).
William T. Bianco is Professor, Department of Political Science, Indiana University, 210 Woodburn Hall, 1100 E. Seventh Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7110 (wbianco@indiana.edu).
Itai Sened is Professor, Department of Political Science, Washington University in St. Louis, Campus Box 1063, One Brookings Drive, Saint Louis, MO. 63130-4899 (sened@artsci.wustl.edu).
Regina Smyth is Associate Professor, Department of Political Science, Indiana University, 210 Woodburn Hall, 1100 E. Seventh Street, Bloomington, IN 47405-7110 (rsmyth@indiana.edu).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

This article promotes a characterization of intraparty politics that explains how rank- and-file party members control the delegation of power to their cabinet ministers and shadow cabinet ministers. Using the uncovered set as a solution concept and a measure of party members' collective preferences, we explore the hypothesis that backbenchers' preferences constrain the ministerial selection process in a manner that mitigates agency problems. Specifically, promotion is distributed preferentially to members whose own policy preferences are proximate to the uncovered set of all party members' preferences. Our analysis of ministerial appointments in the contemporary British Parliament supports this view. For both the Labour and Conservative parties, front bench appointments are more sensitive to the collective preferences of backbenchers in each party as measured by the party uncovered set than to the preferences of the parties' leaders.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 104 , Issue 2 , May 2010 , pp. 289 - 306
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Aldrich, John H., and McKelvey, Richard D.. 1977. “A Method of Scaling with an Application to the 1968 and 1972 Presidential Elections.” American Political Science Review 71: 111–30.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Arrow, Kenneth. 1951. Social Choice and Individual Values. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Austen-Smith, David, and Banks, Jeffrey. 1999. Positive Political Theory I: Collective Preference. University of Michigan Press.Google Scholar
Banks, Jeffery S. 1985. “Sophisticated Voting Outcomes and Agenda Control,” Social Choice and Welfare 1: 295–306.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beigman, Eyal, and Sened, Itai. 2009. “Seemingly Sufficiently Small: The Size of the Uncovered Set.” Unpublished manuscript, Washington University in St. Louis.Google Scholar
Bianco, William T., Jeliaskov, Ivan, and Sened, Itai. 2004. “The Uncovered Set and the Limits of Majority Rule.” Political Analysis 12: 256–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianco, William T., Lynch, Michael, Miller, Gary, and Sened, Itai. 2006. “A Theory Waiting to be Discovered and Used: A Reanalysis of Canonical Experiments on Majority Rule Decision Making.” The Journal of Politics 68 (4): 837–50.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianco, William T., Lynch, Michael S., Miller, Gary J., and Sened, Itai. 2008. “The Constrained Instability of Majority Rule: Experiments on the Robustness of the Uncovered Set.” Political Analysis 16: 115–37.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bianco, William T., and Sened, Itai. 2005. “Uncovering Conditional Party Government: Reassessing the Evidence for Party Influence in Congress and State Legislatures.” American Political Science Review 99: 361–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Blondel, Jean, and Manning, Nick. 2002. “Do Ministers Do What They Say? Ministerial Unreliability, Collegial and Hierarchical Governments.” Political Studies 50: 455–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buck, Philip. 1963. “The Early Start toward Cabinet Office, 1918–55.” Western Political Quarterly 16: 624–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Budge, Ian, Crewe, Iver, McKay, David, and Newton, Kenneth. 2001. The New British Politics. 2nd ed. Harlow, UK: Longman.Google Scholar
Cox, Gary W. 1987a. The Efficient Secret: The Cabinet and the Development of Parties in Victorian England. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W. 1987b. “The Uncovered Set and the Core.” American Journal of Political Science 31: 408–22.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cox, Gary W., and McCubbins, Matthew D.. 1993. Legislative Leviathan: Party Government in the House. Berkeley, CA: University of California Press.Google Scholar
Crossman, Richard H. S. 1963. “Introduction” to Bagehot, W., The English Constitution. London: Fontana.Google Scholar
Dewan, Torun, and Hortala-Vallve, Rafael. 2009. “The Three A's of Government Formation: Appointment, Allocation, and Assignment.” PSPE Working Papers 07-2009. Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK.Google Scholar
Dewan, Torun, and Myatt, David P.. 2007. “Scandal, Protection, and Recovery in the Cabinet.” American Political Science Review 101: 63–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Winter, Lieven. 2002. “Parties and Government Formation, Portfolio Allocation and Policy. Definition.” In Political Parties in the New Europe: Political and Analytical Challenges, eds. Luther, K. R. and Müller-Rommel, F.. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Döring, Herbert, ed. 1995. Parliaments and Majority Rule in Western Europe. New York: St. Martin's.Google Scholar
Duverger, Maurice. 1964. Political Parties: Their Organization and Activity in the Modern State. 3rd edition. London: Methuen.Google Scholar
Epstein, David, and O'Halloran, Sharyn. 2001. “Legislative Organization under Separate Powers.” Journal of Law, Economics and Organization 17: 373–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fey, Mark. 2008. “Choosing from a Large Tournament.” Social Choice and Welfare 31 (2): 301–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Foley, M. 2000. The British Presidency. Manchester: Manchester University Press.Google Scholar
Gabel, Matthew J., and Huber, John. 2000. “Putting Parties in Their Place: Inferring Party Left–Right Ideological Positions from Party Manifestos Data.” American Journal of Political Science 44: 94–103.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hix, Simon, Noury, A., and Roland, G.. 2007. Democratic Politics in the European Parliament. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, John D. 1996. “The Vote of Confidence in Parliamentary Democracies.” American Political Science Review 90: 269–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Huber, John D., and Martinez-Gallardo, Cecelia. 2008. “Replacing Cabinet Ministers: Patterns of Ministerial Stability in Parliamentary Democracies.” American Political Science Review (102) 2: 169–80.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Indridason, Indridi, and Kam, Christopher. 2008. “Cabinet Reshuffles and Ministerial Drift.” British Journal of Political Science 38: 621–56.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Christopher. 2001. “Do Ideological Preferences Explain Parliamentary Behaviour: Evidence from Great Britain and Canada.” Journal of Legislative Studies 7: 89–126.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Christopher. 2009. Party Discipline and Parliamentary Government. Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kam, Christopher, and Indridason, Indridi. 2005. “The Timing of Cabinet Reshuffles in Five Westminister Parliamentary Systems.” Legislative Studies Quarterly 30: 327–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kiewiet, D. Roderick, and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1991. The Logic of Delegation: Congressional Parties and the Appropriations Process. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar
King, Anthony. 1981. “The Rise of the Career Politician in Britain—And Its Consequences.” British Journal of Political Science 11: 249–85.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laver, Michael. 2006. “Legislatures and Parliaments in Comparative Context.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, eds. Weingast, B. and Wittman, D., Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Laver, Michael, and Schofield, Norman. 1990. Multiparty Government: The Politics of Coalition in Europe. Oxford: University of Oxford Press.Google Scholar
Laver, Michael, and Shepsle, Kenneth A.. 1990. “Government Coalitions and Intraparty Politics.” British Journal of Political Science 20: 489–507.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Laver, Michael, and Shepsle, Kenneth A.. 1994. Cabinet Ministers and Parliamentary Government. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Laver, Michael, and Shepsle, Kenneth A.. 1996. Making and Breaking Governments. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lijphart, Arend. 1999. Patterns of Democracy: Government Forms and Performance in Thirty-Six Countries. New Haven, CT: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Lipset, Seymour Martin, and Rokkan, Stein. 1967. Party Systems and Voter Alignments: Cross National Perspectives. New York: The Free Press.Google Scholar
MacDonald, Stuart Elaine. 1987. “Political Ambition and Attainment: A Dynamic Analysis of Parliamentary Careers.” Unpublished Ph.D. diss. University of Michigan.Google Scholar
Mackintosh, John Pitcairn. 1962. The British Cabinet. Toronto: University of Toronto Press.Google Scholar
McCarty, Nolan, and Cutrone, Michael. 2006. “Does Bicameralism Matter?” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Economy, eds. Weingast, B. and Wittman, D., Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
McDonald, Michael D., and Budge, Ian. 2005. Elections, Parties, Democracy: Conferring the Median Mandate. Oxford: Oxford University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKelvey, R. D. 1976. “Intransitivities in Multidimensional Voting Models and Some Implications for Agenda Control.” Journal of Economic Theory 12: 472–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKelvey, Richard D. 1979. “General Conditions for Global Intransitivities in Formal Voting Models.” Econometrica 47: 1085–1112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKelvey, Richard D. 1986. “Covering, Dominance, and Institution Free Properties of Social Choice.” American Journal of Political Science 30: 283–314.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKelvey, Richard D., and Aldrich, John. 1977. “A Method of Scaling with an Application to the 1968 and 1972 Presidential Elections.” American Political Science Review 71: 111–30.Google Scholar
McKelvey, Richard D., and Schofield, Norman. 1986. “Structural Instability of the Core.” Journal of Mathematical Economics 15: 179–98.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McKelvey, Richard D., and Schofield, Norman. 1987. “Generalized Symmetry Conditions at a Core.” Econometrica 55: 923–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Nicholas. 1980. “A New Solution Set for Tournament and Majority Voting.” American Journal of Political Science 24: 68–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Nicholas. 2007. “In Search of the Uncovered Set.” Political Analysis 15: 21–45.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Miller, Nicholas R., Grofman, Bernard, and Feld, Scott L.. 1989. “The Geometry of Majority Rule.” Journal of Theoretical Politics 1 (4): 379–406.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Müller, Wolfgang. 2000. “Political Parties in Parliamentary Democracies: Making Delegation and Accountability Work.” European Journal of Political Research 37: 309–33.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, Pippa, and Lovenduski, Joni. 1992. British Candidate Study, 1992. http://www.pippanorris.com/ (accessed March 15, 2010).Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa, and Lovenduski, Joni. 1997. British Representation Study, 1997. http://www.pippanorris.com/ (accessed March 15, 2010).Google Scholar
Norris, Pippa, and Lovenduski, Joni. 2001. British Representation Study, 2001. http://www.pippanorris.com/ (accessed March 15, 2010).Google Scholar
Penn, Elizabeth M. 2006. “Alternate Definitions of the Uncovered Set and Their Implications.” Social Choice and Welfare 27: 83–87.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plott, Charles. 1967. “A Notion of Equilibrium and Its Possibility under Majority Rule.” American Economic Review 57: 787–806.Google Scholar
Powell, G. Bingham Jr. 2007. “Aggregating and Representing Political Preferences.” In Oxford Handbook of Comparative Politics, eds. Boix, C. and Stokes, S. C.. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Powell, G. Bingham, and Vanberg, Georg. 2000. “Election Laws, Disproportionality and Median Correspondence.” British Journal of Political Science 30: 383–411.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard. 1971. “The Making of Cabinet Ministers.” British Journal of Political Science 1: 393–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Saalfeld, Thomas. 2000. “Members of Parliament and Governments in Western Europe: Agency Relations and Problems of Oversight.” European Journal of Political Research 37: 353–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sartori, Giovanni. 1976. Parties and Party Systems: A Framework for Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Schofield, Norman. 1978. “Instability of Simple Dynamic Games,” Review of Economic Studies 45: 575–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schofield, Norman, and Sened, Itai. 2006. Multiparty Democracy. New York: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth A. 1979. “Institutional Arrangements and Equilibrium in Multidimensional Voting Models.” American Journal of Political Science 23: 27–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shepsle, Kenneth, and Weingast, Barry. 1984. “Uncovered Sets and Sophisticated Voting Outcomes with Implications for Agenda Institutions.” American Journal of Political Science 25: 49–75.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shugart, Matthew Soberg. 1998. “The Inverse Relationship between Party Strength and Executive Strength: A Theory of Politicians’ Constitutional Choices.” British Journal of Political Science 28: 1–29.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spirling, Arthur, and McLean, Iain. 2007. “UK OCOK? Interpreting Optimal Classification Scores for the U.K. House.” Political Analysis 15: 85–96.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Strøm, Kaare. 2000. “Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies.” European Journal of Political Research 37: 261–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar