3.2 - The Concept of Ministerial Responsibility Flashcards
Collective ministerial responsibility - What is collective ministerial responsibility?
Collective responsibility is the principle by which minsters must support Cabinet decisions or leave the executive
Collective ministerial responsibility - What are the five key principles of collective responsibility?
1) Ministers are collectively responsible for gov policy
2) All ministers must publicly support all gov policies, even if privately they disagree with them
3) If a minister wishes to dissent publicly from a gov policy, they are expected to resign as a minister first and return to the backbenches
4) If a minster dissents without resigning, he or she can expect to be dismissed by the PM
5) As Cabinet meetings are secret, any dissent within gov is concealed
Collective ministerial responsibility - Why is collective ministerial responsibility important?
Important as it is a great support to the PM’s power – a PM’s authority is greatly enhanced by the fact that they will not experience open dissent from their Cabinet, while the gov presents a unified front to political onlookers
Collective ministerial responsibility - Instances of collective ministerial responsibility being suspended - Coalition Agreement
During the 2010-15 coalition, the Coalition Agreement was made which included all the policies the two-party leadership decided should be common to both sets of ministers – collective responsibility applied to the areas covered by the Coalition Agreement, but not other areas such as Trident
Collective ministerial responsibility - Instances of collective ministerial responsibility being suspended - Brexit
During the Brexit campaign ministers were free to express views counter to the official gov position of remain – several ministers including Michel Gove and Boris Johnson openly campaigned against the gov’s position
Collective ministerial responsibility - Instances of collective ministerial responsibility being suspended - Confidence and supply gov
Between 2017-19 for the confidence and supply gov various Cabinet ministers were critical of May’s various Brexit deals – this was more out of necessity than any real policy as May was trying to satisfy two polarised wings of the Conservative Party and forcing any ministers to resign over the issues may have led to an even greater loss in support and an even earlier and to her period as PM
Individual ministerial responsibility - What is individual ministerial responsibility
Ministers are collectively responsible for gov policy but also individually responsible for their department, their performance as a minister, and conduct as an individual
Individual ministerial responsibility - Four key features of individual ministerial responsibility?
1) Ministers must be prepared to be accountable to P for the policies and decisions made by their department – this means answering questions in the House, facing interrogation by select committees and justifying their actions in debates
2) If a minister makes a serious error of judgement, he or she should resign
3) If a serious error is made by a minister’s department, whether or not the minister was involved, he or she is honour-bound to resign
4) If the conduct of a minister falls below the standard of what is required for public office, particularly if they break the ministerial code of conduct, they should leave office and may face dismissal by the PM
Individual ministerial responsibility - Instances of ministers breaking individual ministerial responsibility - Amber Rudd
In 2017, a scandal emerged that saw the Home Office treat many rightful British citizens, the Windrush generation, as illegal immigrants with benefits and services being cancelled, jobs loss, and even deportation in some cases as part of the Home Office’s efforts to crack down on illegal immigration, wanting to deport 10% of illegal immigrants – Rudd initially said she didn’t know of this target, but it was soon revealed that she did so she promptly resigned for unintentionally misleading P
Individual ministerial responsibility - Instances of ministers breaking individual ministerial responsibility - Matt Hancock
In June 2021 the Sun leaked CCTV footage of Matt Hancock, then health sec, kissing a work aide during Covid – very against lockdown rules – he resigned the following day after criticism from across the political spectrum
Individual ministerial responsibility - Instances of ministers breaking individual ministerial responsibility - Dominic Raab
In 2023 after repeated bullying allegations levied against him by a series of civil servants and staff, an independent investigation found that he had broken the ministerial code of conduct, and he resigned as deputy PM in April 2023
