Paper 2 examples Flashcards
Individual ministerial responsibility
PERSONAL MISCONDUCT
+ Neil Hamilton, minister of corporate affairs, resigned in 1994 over cash for qs
+ Chris Huhne, energy and climate change secretary, resigned in 2012 after being found guilty of perverting the course of justice
+ Matt Hancock, health secretary, 2021 over breaking covid rules
- Priti Patel, home sec., didn’t resign after an inquiry found she bullied civil servant Sir Phillip Rutman - ministerial code says no bullying (Johnson’s foreword)
- Boris Johnson didn’t resign over partygate and then changed the ministerial code so ministers no longer have to resign
MISTAKES WITHIN DEPTS.
+ Sir Thomas Dugdale, minister for agriculture, resigned in 1954 after an independent inquiry was critical of the Crichel Down affair (compulsory purchase of some land during war which should then have been returned but was let out instead)
- Chris Grayling, transport secretary, didn’t resign after he gave £14 mil. contract to Seaborne Freight who had no boats and then went bust - cancelled contracts cost the taxpayer around £50 mil.
- Gavin Williamson, education secretary, didn’t resign in 2020 after the exam-grading algorithm marked down loads of students
+ Estelle Morris, education secretary, resigned in 2002 after failing to meet govt. literacy and numeracy test targets
+ Amber Rudd, Home Secretary, resigned in 2018 because she inadvertently misled Parliament over targets to remove illegal immigrants
Collective ministerial responsibility
+/- Gavin Williamson, defence secretary, asked to resign in 2019 after a leak on Huawei’s involvement in 5G network - he said no because he thought it would incriminate him so he was sacked
+ Robin Cook, leader of HoC, resigned in 2003 saying he could no longer accept responsibility for govt.’s decision to join the USA invasion of Iraq without a 2nd UNSC resolution or domestic support
+ Iain Duncan Smith, work and pensions secretary, resigned in 2016 over cuts to disability benefits in the budget
+ Michael Heseltine, defence secretary, resigned in 1986 over the Westland affair where he and Thatcher went public about a cabinet despite over the future of Westland helicopters - he was ordered to stop campaigning for them to be merged with European companies
- Ministers given permission to disagree in EU referendum in 2016 - Gove campaigned to leave
- Suspended for the alternative vote referendum in 2011, renewal of Trident and tuition fees under coalition
- Many leaks from cabinet under May did not lead to anyone being sacked, and she also didn’t fire ministers who abstained a vote on ruling out a no deal Brexit in 2019
+ Greg Hands resigned as Minister for Trade Policy in 2018 to vote against govt. plans for a 3rd runway at Heathrow
Cabinet significance
+ decided whether to hold election in 2017
+ aided the departure of Thatcher from office in 1990
- PM can hold bi-laterals and bypass cabinet - Blair sofa govt. (informal meetings to make decisions)
Prerogative powers
> Fixed-term Parliaments Act removed PM’s power to call elections BUT this was repealed in 2022 and he now can again (Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022)
