Ministerial Responsibility Flashcards
What is the principle of individual ministerial responsibility? - PM and Cabinet
Individual ministerial responsibility is the idea that ministers are accountable for their own personal actions and conduct as a minister and for the actions of their department as a whole.
What is the expected consequence of a minister misleading Parliament? Who is the ‘ultimate judge’ of ministerial standards and behaviour? - PM and Cabinet
If a minister has misled Parliament they are expected to reign from their position, although this is only a convention. The PM is the ultimate judge of standards and behaviour, with this linking to the prerogative power of appointing/dismissing ministers.
What impacts the fate of ministers when their conduct/departmental actions are under scrutiny? (3) - PM and Cabinet
The factors impacting the fate of ministers when under scrutiny are the severity of the situation, level of parliamentary/media criticism and the attitude of the PM.
Why was Priti Patel forced to resign in 2018? What trend is this showing? - PM and Cabinet
Priti Patel was forced to resign in 2018 for holding unsanctioned meetings with the Israeli Government as work for her former employer. This is demonstrating that ministers nowadays tend to resign over personal conduct than over departmental failings.
How have ministers recently argued that they are not themselves responsible for some departmental failures? - PM and Cabinet
Given that Government actions are now being delegated to executive agencies, the Secretary of State can argue that the error was committed by the head of the executive agency and that they therefore should resign rather than the minister.
What recent example is there of the head of an Executive Agency being forced to resign rather than a minister? - PM and Cabinet
In 2020, the head of OFQUAL, Sally Collier, was forced to resign over the exams fiasco rather than Secretary of State for Education, Gavin Williamson.
Describe the circumstances in which Andrew Mitchell was forced to resign from Cabinet. What position did he hold? - PM and Cabinet
Andrew Mitchell was forced to resign as Chief Whip after referring to a police officer as a ‘pleb’, along with other expletives, after he was refused entry to Downing Street through a certain gate.
Describe the circumstances in which Liam Fox was forced to resign from Cabinet. What position did he hold? - PM and Cabinet
Liam Fox was forced to resign as Secretary of State for Defence following him allowing close friend Adam Werrity into meetings despite the fact he had no security clearance. This threatened national security.
What is the principle of collective ministerial responsibility? - PM and Cabinet
The principle of collective ministerial responsibility is that ministers must openly support decisions made by Cabinet or resign from their position in government.
How are ministers able to disapprove of government decisions without losing their job/resigning? - PM and Cabinet
Ministers are permitted and able to dissent privately against decisions in Cabinet meetings, yet publicly they must support decisions to present a united front.
How did Robin Cook resign due to the principle of collective ministerial responsibility? What role did he have? - PM and Cabinet
Robin Cook resigned as Leader of the House of Commons in opposition to Tony Blair’s war in Iraq, as he did not believe the war to be lawful having not had a resolution from the UN.
How did Baroness Warsi resign due to the principle of collective ministerial responsibility? - PM and Cabinet
Baroness Warsi resigned from her role as a Foreign Minister due to David Cameron’s policy of supporting Israeli settlements being built on the Gaza Strip.
When has Collective Ministerial Responsibility been suspended in the past? - PM and Cabinet
The principle of Collective Ministerial Responsibility has previously been suspended during the 1975 and 2016 EU Referendums and the 2010-15 Coalition Agreement between CON + LIB.
What is the ‘payroll vote’? - PM and Cabinet
The ‘payroll vote’ is the formality that all Members of Parliament involved in Government will support legislation, guaranteeing that a proposal will receive a certain number of votes.
What are the positives of Collective Ministerial Responsibility? - PM and Cabinet
Collective Ministerial Responsibility creates a strong and united front by all Cabinet ministers and the Government, it strengthens the power and legitimacy of the PM, guarantees the support of Cabinet ministers in Parliament, allows private disagreements.
