The Cabinet Flashcards
What is the cabinet?
• the cabinet is made up of senior government ministers, typically from the same party as the pm and are chosen by the Pm
3 members of Starmer’s cabinet and their roles?
• Angela Rayner- deputy PM and Secretary of State for housing
Rachel Reeves- Chancellor of the Exchequer
Yvette cooper- Home secretary
What are two Nolan principles?
•Honesty- public officials should be always truthful
Accountability - public officials are accountable for all their decisions and actions
What are the functions of the cabinet?
• To determine key issue policies
• Crisis management
• dispute all resolution
Where does the PM’s authority stem from?
• leader of the largest party in the commons
• royal prerogative powers
• Popular mandate
Limitations of the government?
• Parliamentary sovereignty- parliament can reject government proposals
• Judicial review- Courts can rule government actions as unlawful
• Opposition and scrutiny
• media and public opinion- negative press can heavily impact government authority
Define Collective Cabinet Responsibility and give an example of it?
• CCR is where a minister should publicly support government decisions and should resign if they heavily disagree with the policy- an example being the resignation of Robin cook from the Labour Party over the British invasion of Iraq in 2003
Define Individual ministerial responsibility and give an example of it?
• IMR is a constitutional convention where a cabinet minister bears the ultimate responsibility for the actions of the ministry - an example being the resignation of Peter Mandleson for failing to disclose a substantial loan from a businessman/ colleague in 1999
Longest ever serving PM?
Robert Walpole served over 20 years between 1721-1742
Margaret Thatcher has served the longest time in the modern era, over 11 years
Who won the “most votes ever”?
• Boris Johnson’s Conservative Party in 2019
What are Cabinet committees?
• Small groups of ministers that focus on specific policies to help reduce the burden of the cabinet
• Usually Chaired by senior ministers or the PM
• They help reduce the workload of full cabinet meetings
2 prime ministerial styles ?
• Presidential- a strong, centralised leadership with with the PM taking on a dominant role
• Collegial- a style where the PM works collaboratively with their cabinet with an emphasis on collective decision making and team leadership
