The Roles and Functions of Cabinet and Cabinet Ministers Flashcards
What is the traditional view of where decision-making power is within government?
the cabinet with the PM acting as a ‘chair’
What is the doctrine in which Cabinet operates under?
the doctrine of collective responsibility
What are the 3 functions of the cabinet?
1) decision-making
2) coordinating departments
3) forward planning
What did Bagehot call Cabinet ?
the ‘efficient secret’ of British government
How did Bagehot describe the role of cabinet in joining the executive part of the state to the legislature?
Described it as the ‘buckle’
How has the cabinet’s role in the area of decision making been undermined?
by the development of prime ministerial power and the increased use of bilaterals
which is fait accompli?
something that has already been decided
What are decisions presented to the cabinet as?
as a fait accompli
What are examples of decisions which were presented to the cabinet as fait accompli ?
decisions over the Millennium Dome and handing control over interest rates to the Bank of England in 1997
What has cabinet always had the role of doing?
of having a role in coordinating the activities of government departments
What does Cabinet provide where the direction of policy can be discussed ?
a ‘talking shop’
What did Blair reduce cabinet meetings to a week?
a 45 minute session
How did Mo Mowlan feel about Blair reducing the cabinet meetings to 45 minutes a week?
He felt that he had reduced the status of the cabinet to a briefing room where colleagues were brought up to speed on policies already decided elsewhere in bilateral meetings
What term did Mowlam and others use to describe Blairs way of decision-making?
‘sofa government’
