EXTRA-The Importance of the Cabinet Flashcards
Which former Chancellor under Margret Thatcher wrote of the unsuitability of the Cabinet in making crucial and long term plans?
Nigel Lawson
How long did Nigel Lawson say that each of the 22 ministers could speak if there was a two and a half hour meeting?
for 6 and a half minutes each
What is the real main role of the cabinet as opposed to providing a forum for detailed discussion on a wide range of policies?
the main role is to facilitate cohesion and coordination of governmental policies generally and provide boundaries for these policies
What is Cabinet often said to be called due to the fact that most policies are determined in Cabinet committees?
a rubber stamp
Who said that Cabinet is no longer a central organ of government and that the system is no longer collective in 2001 which was a verdict on life under Blair?
Peter Hennessy’s
What did Peter Hennessy say in 2001 on his verdict on life under Blair?
that the cabinet is no longer a central organ of government.
The system is no longer collective
What did Peter Hennessy confirm in 2005?
that very few decisions are now made in the Cabinet even if they at least come before the Cabinet
What is the Cabinet for ministerial and departmental disagreements?
the final court of appeal
What was Butlers opinion on the Cabinet?
that there were too many sofa chats and too many occasions when minutes were not taken
When Butler said that there was too many sofa chats and too many occasions when minutes were not taken, why was/is this a problem?
this is because it leads to a subsequent lack of clarity about what has been decided
What did the ex-Cabinet Secretary of the Blair administration say about Cabinet dislike?
the “informality and circumscribed procedures”
What did (as said by ex-Cabinet Secretary) the “informality and circumscribed procedures” of Cabinet mean?
that the role of Cabinet was marginalised in decision making over Iraq in the run up to the war.
How many occasions was the Iraq war discussed in Cabinet before the war broke out?
24 occasions
What did Butler disapprove of regardless of the fact that Cabinet discussed the war on Iraq on 24 occasions?
that the frequent reports of the foreign and defence secretaries and the PM were often unscripted
