Question

why is their concentration of powers in the hands of the prime minister??

Answer 1

The British Prime Minister has extensive personal power, which prevent there from being an „average“ Prime Minister. The power of the PM will change according to the personality of the PM, his popularity, the success of his government, external circumstances and the resources of other actors within the core executive.
Cabinet meetings are too dominated by the PM. The members of the Cabinet are simply ‘yes-sayers’. „With Mr Tony Blair there has been a reversion to a „command and control“ premiership with centralised and informal processes of decision-making tending to displace collective discussions in Cabinet and Cabinet committees“.


Also the doctrine of collective responsibility helps to strengthen the powers of the Prime Minister,  as ministers must not criticise government policy in public. This is underlined by the fact that many decisions of government are not taken by the Cabinet as a whole, but by the Prime Minister in consultation with a few key colleagues. Moreover, there are those who believe that the personality of the Prime Minister is now almost as important as stated party policies. But the implication is that if people vote for personalities as much as issues, then the opponent has no chance of winning the next election as long as the current PM’s personality and manner are still popular with the people. All these facts have led some to seek ways to limit or control the power of the PM in order to rehabilitate the Cabinet government..