Ministerial Responsibility - Collective Flashcards
what are the two types of ministerial responsibility
-collective
-individual
who owes collective MR and to who
-responsibility of the gov to Parliament
-responsibility of members of government to each other and the PM
what is the legal authority for collective responsibility
Ministerial Code (2024) para 1.6(a)
who owes individual MR and to who
-responsibility of ministers for their own personal conduct and for acts of department and civil servants
what is the legal authority for individual MR
-Ministerial Code (2024) para 1.1-1.3
describe the nature of ministerial responsibility (5)
- significant tp parliamentary democracy
-Parliament is central to constitution as gov must answer to Parl
-non legal, conventional rules but still binding
-enforced via political pressure
-consequences not uniform but ultimate sanction is resignation
-ministers still subject to the law eg R v Chaytor
what happened in the case of R v Chaytor and what principle came from it
-after 2009 expenses scandal
-ministers technically claimed expenses as part of their political role but SC rejected as MPs can commit fraud
broadly describe the ministerial code
-written by PM (since 1992)
-sets out stabdard if conduct expected of ministers
what are the 4 key questions to consider for MR
-how well do these conventions work
-do they really produce responsible gov?
-what should we expect from ministers, and how should the constitution control them?
-is the problem that politics isnt a constraint, or that we have a flawed political system?
what are Marshall’s 3 principles/rules for collective responsibility
-confidence
-unanimity
-confidentiality
who defined the 3 principles/rules for collective responsibility
-G.Marshall in Cinstitutional Conventions
explain Marshall’s ‘confidence’ principle for collective MR
-gov formed on basis of majority in HoC
-gov sustained by collectively retaining the confidence of the HoC
-sometimes deals with other parties to form ‘minority govs’ eg Theresa May 2017 with DUP
give an example of a minority gov
-Theresa May 2017 with DUP
-she lost election so had to make deal to retain HoC’s confidence
what is Theresa May 2017 with DUP an example of
-a ‘minority gov’ (to retain the confidence of the HoCommons to be ‘the gov’
how did confidence of HoC in gov used to be tested (old rules)
-if gov loses HoC’s confidence they are designated a “Vote of No Confidence”
-they must either (i) resign (Baldwin, 1924) or (ii) seek dissolution of Parliament (McDonald 1924, Callaghan 1979)
what are one of the 2 things that must be done if there is a vote of no confidene
(i) resignation (Baldwin 1924)
(ii) seek dissolution of Parliament (McDonald 1924, Callaghan, 1979)
what is the authority for a vote of no confidence in HoC resulting in a resignation
-dissolution of Baldwin gov 1924
what is Baldwin 1924 an authority for?
a vote of no confidence in HoC resulting in a resignation
what is the authority for a vote of no confidence in HoC resulting in seeking the dissolution of Parliament
dissolution of McDonald gov 1924; and Callaghan 1979
what is McDonald 1924; Callaghan 1979 an authority for
a vote of no confidence in HoC resulting in seeking the dissolution of Parliament
give 2 examples of govs that did not lose the Vote of No Confidence when voted on
-2019 Theresa May
-2022 Boris Johnson
what changed the old rules for determining HoC confidence in gov
-Fixed-Term Parliaments Act 2011
what did the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 change
-brought in fixed rules for the length of a Parliament
-intended for no general elections to be held as gov would serve for fixed term
did the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011 change much practically
-practically, no as general elections didnt really stop when givs were in trouble
-eg 2017 Theresa May won 2/3 vote to get an early election
-eg 2019 BoJo had one off legislation setting asude FTPA for an election
give 2 examples of PMs getting around the Fixed-term Parliaments Act 2011
-2017 Theresa May won 2/3 vote under terms of FTPA to get early election
-2019 Boris Johnson had one off legislation setting aside the FTPA for an early election
what is the newest/supreme legislation for the principle of confidence for MR
-Dissolution and Carling of Parliament Act 2022
what did the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022 do
-revived the old rules (vote of no confidence–> resign or seek dissolution of Parliament/ general election
-and added ‘dissolution principles
describe Marshall’s principle of unanimity for collective MR
-ministers must support gov policy unanimously in public
what are two sources establishing Marshall’s principle of unanimity for collective MR
-Lord Salisbury, Hansard 1878 said if you dont agree with a policy resign or else be responaible for it
-Ministerial Code (2024) para 5.1 says Ministers must have a united front when decisions have been reached
what did Lord Salisbury, Hansard 1878 say about Marshall’s principle of unanimity for collective MR
said if you dont agree with a policy resign or else be responaible for it
what does the Ministerial Code (2024) para 5.1 say about Marshall’s principle of unanimity for collective responsibility
says Ministers must have a united front when decisions have been reached
give 4 examples of resignations over unanimity
-Short (2003) over Iraq war, formal warning then resignation later
-Tracey Crouch (2018) over gov’s U turn over reducing max strike at Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which causes another U turn
-Brexit 2017-19
-Suella Braverman (2023) sacked over article published criticising Met Police w/out PM approval
explain what happened in Short (2003)
unanimity resignation over Iraq war
-called PM reckless
-formal warning then resignation later
explain what happened in Tracey Crouch (2018)
unanimity resignation bc gov’s U turn over reducing max strike at Fixed Odds Betting Terminals which causes another U turn as her resignation brought attention to it
explain what happened in Brexit 2017-19
-huge numbers of resignations under May and Boris Johnson
-for both pro and anti brexit reasons
-chaos for unanimity
explain what happened in Suella Braverman (2023)
she was sacked over article published criticising Met Police w/out PM approval
part of wider disagreement over policing policies with PM
explain Marshall’s principle of confidentiality
‘the privacy of opinions expressed in Cabinet and Ministerial Committees, including in correspondence, should be maintained’
- Min Code (2024) para 5:1
give 3 examples of resignations due to the policy of confidentiality
-Brittan (1986)
-Williamson (2019
-Braverman (2022)
what happened in Brittan (1986)
-re Westland Affair
-Brittan leaked a letter in support of PM and criticising Secretary of Defence
-resigned bc he breached confidentiality
what happened in Williamson (2019)
-leak from National Security Council abouter whether Huawei would have access to UK’s 5G network
-May chose Williamson as scapegoat, he denied, sacked anyway
what happened in Braverman (2022)
-Braverman shared confidential docs with another MP who was not entitled to access them and was not a member of gov
-sacked by Truss for 6 days brought back by Sunak (sacked later)
what academic refers to the exceptions to these principles
-Brazier’s ‘safety valves’
what are Brazier’s two kinds of safety valves/exceptions to Marshall’s 3 principles
-agreements to differ (formal but rare, can qualify unanimity)
-leaking (informal but regular, can qualify confidentiality)
explain Brazier’s safety valve/exception (i) agreements to differ
-gov says cant agree on every issue, must accept ministers will gave diff opinions
give 4 examples of Brazier’s safety valve/exception (i) agreement to differ
-‘national’ and coalition govs in 1932 economic crisis
-Con-Lib coalition gov 2010-15 and Alternative Voting referendum campaign 2011
-EU referendum 2016
-Labour gov’s position of ‘neutrality’ on assisted dying bill 2024 so Ministers can vote with their consciencw
explain Brazier’s safety valve/ exceptioon (ii) confidentiality
-info given to journalists confidentially so ministers can air disagreement with certain gov policies
-very common work around of confidentiality
give 3 arguments for collective responsibilty being necessary
-creates strong, unified gov
-makes accountability possible by Parl
-flexible and adaptive to different circumstances
give 3 arguments for collective responsibility not being necessary
-empowers and advantages the PM over others
-barrier for public debate and scrutiny
-exceptions based on politics or principles?
