10.2b Collective Ministerial Responsibility

Question 1

Collective ministerial responsibility

Answer 1

Under collective ministerial responsibility, ministers that fail to publicly support cabinet policies must resign from the government.

In 2018 Boris Johnson resigned as foreign secretary as he disagreed with the government’s ‘Chequers deal’ for leaving the European Union.

Question 2

Advantages

Answer 2

Collective ministerial responsibility ensures the government appears united and that ministers support all other government members.

Collective ministerial responsibility ensures a strong government as it means the government has a clear official position on policies.

In 2013 Liberal Democrat ministers sided with Conservative ministers in opposing a Mansion Tax, which they had previously supported, which ensured a strong coalition government.

Question 3

Disadvantages

Answer 3

Collective ministerial responsibility means that ministers have to defend policies they do not agree with, meaning policies can be forced upon them by the prime minister.

Members of Tony Blair’s Cabinet were not asked for their approval on invading Iraq in 2003 until three days before the invasion, where cabinet ministers claim they were forced to agree to war.

Question 4

Relaxing collective responsibility

Answer 4

In cases where the prime minister may want to keep a politician in the cabinet but know they cannot support a particular issue, they may relax collective ministerial responsibility.

David Cameron relaxed collective ministerial responsibility during the EU referendum, giving ministers the choice to campaign for staying or leaving the EU.