PM & Cabinet
In dividu al Min ister ial Respon sibility:
This is the principal that ministers are accountable to parliament for the actions of
their department. This means that ministers must respond honestly to questions ask
by members of the legislature. Therefore, they should justify the actions of their
department during Parliamentary debate, in written responses and by appearing
before select committees.
This principle also means that a minister should take personal responsibility for
serious administrative or policy mistakes that occur within their department and of
which they should've been aware. They are also expected to not act in anyway that
would discredit the government of which they are remember.
Adm in istr ative Failur e:
When A level students were unable to take their exams in 2020 (pandemic), schools
had to calculate the results via algorithm. However, this algorithm was flawed and
meant that many of the students missed their grades needed for university. Gavin
Williamson (education secretary) abandoned this system, and pupils were given their
grades based purely on their centre assessment. Sally Collier (chief regulator of
Ofqual) resigned because of her involvement in this administrative failure; however,
Williamson remained in his position until he was dismissed by Boris Johnson in
2021
Policy failu r e:
On “Black Wednesday’ (16th September 1992), the Major government was forced to
abandon the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), having raised its interest
rates by 5% in an attempt to retain membership. Norman Lamot (Chancellor of the
Exchequer) was most closely associated with this policy failure but refused to resign.
He claimed that since Major did not resign, why should he.
Scan dal:
If a minister's personal conduct brings the government or themselves into disrepute,
they are expected to take responsibility and potentially resign.
Matt Hancock (health secretary in 2021) was exposed by the Sun newspaper for
secretly kissing a colleague, Gina Coladangelo. This was a blatant disregard of Covid
distancing regulations, and he therefore resigned.
, In 2022, the home secretary Suella Braverman resigned her position as she used her
personal email to send an official document to a colleague. In her resignation letter
she stated, ‘The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility
for their mistakes”. She then launched an attack at the then PM Liz Truss, claiming
she had concerns about the direction of the government. Truss resigned a day later
and on 25 October Rishi Sunak re-appointed Suella as home secretary.
Collective Min ister ial Respon sibility:
According to the principal of collective ministerial responsibility, if the government
loses a vote of confidence in the House of Commons, the whole government must
resign. This memorably happened on the 28th of March 1979 when the labour
government of James Callaghan lost a vote of confidence by 311 to 310 votes, in a
sudden general election.
Discussions within cabinet must be kept secret in order to maintain the integrity of
government.
Members must support agreed policies, even if in private they disagree. This is to
maintain unity within the government, as a government that appears disunified
appears weak. It would also undermine the authority of the Prime Minister. If they
can’t publicly agree with a government policy or the way in which the government is
being run, they must resign.
High pr ofi le r esign ation s over collective r esponsibility:
B or is John son , for eign secr etar y, 2018
Having been an unenthusiastic supporter of Theresa Mays Brexit negotiations, Boris
Johnson finally resigned when he decided that he could not publicly support her
Chequers agreement as the basis for an EU withdrawal agreement
Robin Cook, leader of the H ouse of Com m ons, 2003
Robin Cook resigned from Tony Blair's government over its preparations for war
against Iraq. Cook was unconvinced by claims that Saddam Hussein was a threat to
the UK's national interests and in his resignation speech explained, “I intend to join
those tomorrow night to vote against military action now”. Jeremy Corbyn, among
others, lent him support. The UK continued its preparations for war and Blair won a
third general election victory in 2005.
In dividu al Min ister ial Respon sibility:
This is the principal that ministers are accountable to parliament for the actions of
their department. This means that ministers must respond honestly to questions ask
by members of the legislature. Therefore, they should justify the actions of their
department during Parliamentary debate, in written responses and by appearing
before select committees.
This principle also means that a minister should take personal responsibility for
serious administrative or policy mistakes that occur within their department and of
which they should've been aware. They are also expected to not act in anyway that
would discredit the government of which they are remember.
Adm in istr ative Failur e:
When A level students were unable to take their exams in 2020 (pandemic), schools
had to calculate the results via algorithm. However, this algorithm was flawed and
meant that many of the students missed their grades needed for university. Gavin
Williamson (education secretary) abandoned this system, and pupils were given their
grades based purely on their centre assessment. Sally Collier (chief regulator of
Ofqual) resigned because of her involvement in this administrative failure; however,
Williamson remained in his position until he was dismissed by Boris Johnson in
2021
Policy failu r e:
On “Black Wednesday’ (16th September 1992), the Major government was forced to
abandon the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM), having raised its interest
rates by 5% in an attempt to retain membership. Norman Lamot (Chancellor of the
Exchequer) was most closely associated with this policy failure but refused to resign.
He claimed that since Major did not resign, why should he.
Scan dal:
If a minister's personal conduct brings the government or themselves into disrepute,
they are expected to take responsibility and potentially resign.
Matt Hancock (health secretary in 2021) was exposed by the Sun newspaper for
secretly kissing a colleague, Gina Coladangelo. This was a blatant disregard of Covid
distancing regulations, and he therefore resigned.
, In 2022, the home secretary Suella Braverman resigned her position as she used her
personal email to send an official document to a colleague. In her resignation letter
she stated, ‘The business of government relies upon people accepting responsibility
for their mistakes”. She then launched an attack at the then PM Liz Truss, claiming
she had concerns about the direction of the government. Truss resigned a day later
and on 25 October Rishi Sunak re-appointed Suella as home secretary.
Collective Min ister ial Respon sibility:
According to the principal of collective ministerial responsibility, if the government
loses a vote of confidence in the House of Commons, the whole government must
resign. This memorably happened on the 28th of March 1979 when the labour
government of James Callaghan lost a vote of confidence by 311 to 310 votes, in a
sudden general election.
Discussions within cabinet must be kept secret in order to maintain the integrity of
government.
Members must support agreed policies, even if in private they disagree. This is to
maintain unity within the government, as a government that appears disunified
appears weak. It would also undermine the authority of the Prime Minister. If they
can’t publicly agree with a government policy or the way in which the government is
being run, they must resign.
High pr ofi le r esign ation s over collective r esponsibility:
B or is John son , for eign secr etar y, 2018
Having been an unenthusiastic supporter of Theresa Mays Brexit negotiations, Boris
Johnson finally resigned when he decided that he could not publicly support her
Chequers agreement as the basis for an EU withdrawal agreement
Robin Cook, leader of the H ouse of Com m ons, 2003
Robin Cook resigned from Tony Blair's government over its preparations for war
against Iraq. Cook was unconvinced by claims that Saddam Hussein was a threat to
the UK's national interests and in his resignation speech explained, “I intend to join
those tomorrow night to vote against military action now”. Jeremy Corbyn, among
others, lent him support. The UK continued its preparations for war and Blair won a
third general election victory in 2005.
