Cabinet

Question 1

Convention of Cabinet Convention under strain: 5 points

Answer 1

Temporary suspension
Leaks
Dissent and non-resignation
PM dominance

Question 2

Temporary suspension

Answer 2

The PM might temporarily suspend the convention to prevent ministerial resignations. E.G.: Harold Wilson allowed ministers to campaign for both yes and no campaigns during the 1975 referendum on European Economic Community

Question 3

Leaks

Answer 3

Unhappy ministers & their advisers may leak information of cabinet meeting to the media. They do this because they want dissatisfaction with policy or conduct to be aired but they don’t want to go public with their criticisms because they don’t want to be fired.
E.G., in the 1990s the press published details of divisions on Europe in John Major’s cabinet. Undermines cabinet collective responsibility where they all have to publicly agree on policy

Question 4

PM dominance

Answer 4

Some Cabinet ministers under Thatcher and Blair believed that the PM had undermined cabinet collective responsibility by ignoring the cabinet.
EG, Michael Heseltine under Margaret Thatcher resigned because of her contempt for collegiality.
EG, Caroline Flint resigned from Blair’s cabinet in 2009, accusing him of running a two-tier government which an inner circle than included few women

Question 5

Coalition

Answer 5

The 2010 coalition agreement set out 4 issues on which the Lib Dem ministers wouldn’t be bound by collective responsibility. These were construction of new nuclear power stations, tax allowances for married couples, higher education funding.
And ministers were free to campaign on different sides the 2011 AV referendum

Question 6

Dissent and non-resignation

Answer 6

Cabinet ministers who oppose important aspects of govt policy have survived in office even when their concerns have been made public. EG, Clare Short stayed in cabinet for 2 months after publicly expressing concerns about he 2003 invasion of Iraq, before finally resigning

Question 7

Individual ministerial responsibility, grounds for resignation, 4 reasons:

Answer 7

Mistakes within department
Policy failure
Personal misconduct
Political pressure

Question 8

Mistakes within departments

Answer 8

EG, Sir Thomas Dugdale who was the agricultural minister resigned in 1954 when mistakes made by civil servants in the Chichel Down case came to light. sometimes ministers survive.
EG reports on the sale of arms to Iraq in 1996 uncovered mistakes made within the department of defence but the minister survived

Question 9

Policy failure

Answer 9

Eg foreign secretary Lord Carrington and 2 junior ministers resigned after Argentina invaded Faulklands in 1982

Question 10

Personal misconduct

Answer 10

Ministers are meant to follow the '7 principles of public life' as stated in the MINISTERIAL CODE: 
Selflessness
Integrity
Objectivity
Accountability
Openness
Honesty
Leadership
EG, the Nolan Commitee was set up after the cash for questions case which lead to the resignation of Neil Hamilton and Tim Smith

Question 11

Political pressure

Answer 11

This results from a period of sustained pressure from Parliament, the party or the press about the minister’s performance