Ministerial responsibility

2 types of ministerial responsibility

Collective

Individual

Definition of collective responsibility

- Of the government to Parliament

- Of members of government to each other & the PM

Min Code (2024) para 1.6(a)

Definition of individual responsibility

- Of ministers for personal conduct

- For Acts of departments (that they are in charge of) and civil servants

Para 1.1-1.3

Nature of ministerial responsibility

-Significant rules in parliamentary democracy

-Primary responsibility to Parliament

Are these rules legal?

No they are conventional rules but are still binding

What are the rules enforced by?

Political pressure

What does R v Chaytor say?

Ministers are also subject to the law

What is the ultimate sanction for breaking the rules?

resignation

Where are these rules written?

Ministerial code:

Written by PM since 1992

Standard of conduct

Guidance on how to discharge duties

What are the 3 principles of Marshalls definition of collective responsibilty?

1. Confidence

2.Unanimity

3. Confidentiality

What is confidence?

Tells us how the government stays the government

- Gov must keep the confidence of HoC

What were the old rules of confidence revived by the Dissolution and Calling of Parliament Act 2022?

If gov loses designated vote of no confidence must:

a. Resign (Baldwin 1924)

b. seek dissolution of parliament (Callaghan 1979( - rare

What is unanimity?

Ministers must support government policy unanimously in public

Quote by Lord Salisbury that says after gov make a decision you are responsible unless you resign?

"For all that passes in Cabinet every member of it who does not resign is absolutely and irretrievably responsible"

Quote about unanimity in ministerial code

Ministers should be able to express their views frankly in the expectation that they can argue freely in private while maintaining a united front when decisions have been reached" para 5.1

Examples of unanimity

- Westland affair

-Short 2003

- Brexit resignations

- Suella Braverman (2023)

What is confidentiality?

"the privacy of opinions expressed in Cabinet and Ministerial Committees, including in correspondence, should be maintained" Ministerial Code (2024) para 5.1

Examples of confidentiality

Brittan (1986), Williamson (2019), Braverman (2022)

What does an agreement to differ state?

We are going to set aside unanimity and collective respsonsibility

Examples of agreement to differ

- National Government in 1932 economic crisis

- Labour referendum on EEC membership in 1975

- Con-lib coalition gov 2010-15

-Eu referendum in 2016

Who said " leaking is corrosive and undermines trust and good government"?

Sir Jeremy Heywood, Cabinet Secretary on official memo 2016

What are the 3 things an individual minister has responsibility for?

a) Private conduct

b) his general conduct of his department

c) acts done (or things left undone ) by civil servants in his department

What is a ministers responsibility for private conduct?

- Ministers must uphold the "highest standards of propriety"

- Expected to observe the seven principles of public lide

What are the 7 Principles of Public Lide in Committee on Standards in Public Lide (1995)?

Selflessness

Integrity

Objectivity

Accountability

Openness

Honesty

Leadership

Examples of private conduct

Profumo affair 1963, Patel 2017, Patel 2020, Hancock (2021) Johnson ( 2019-22)

What does the ministerial code say about the general conduct of department?

"Ministers have a duty to Parliament to account, and be held account, for the policies, decisions and actions of their departments and agencies" Ministerial code 2024 para 1.6 (b)

Examples under general conduct of department

Carrington 1982

Kwarteng 2022

Truss 2022

What is the Maxwell- Fyfe doctrine?

- Minister must protect a civil servant who acts in accordance with his orders/policy, or makes minor error

- Min, while still continuously responsible, not bound to defend action of which he did not know or of which he disapproves'

Examples under Acts of civil servants

Crichel down affair 1954

Diskgate 2007

Rudd 2018

Who is the ultimate judge of the standards of behaviour expected of a minister?

The Prime Minister

What happens to ministers who do not retain the confidence of the Prime Minister?

They may no longer remain in office.

According to Finer (1956), what are the conditions for a minister's resignation?

The minister must be yielding, the Prime Minister unbending, and the party out for blood.

What did Woodhouse say about the media and resignations?

Most cases of resignation in the last 50 years owe something to the media

"A sustained campaign by the media against a minister may be sufficient o bring him or her down"

when was the ministerial code amended to offer a possibility of sanctions other than resigning?

2022 under jOhnson

Are ministers today more likely to resign over personal conduct or departmental errors?

Personal conduct—resignations over departmental errors are much less common.

Why might ministers resign more for personal issues than policy failures?

Possibly to protect the government from policy criticism or due to ease of blaming individuals.

Is the current approach to Ministerial Responsibility a constitutional issue?

It could be, raising questions about accountability and requiring reform like Labour's proposed (but stalled?) Ethics and Integrity Commission.

How can collective responsibility interact with individual ministerial responsibility?

It can be used either to shield individuals or sacrifice them to protect the government.

What is the Prime Minister's role in ministerial responsibility?

The PM often becomes the individual face of collective failure (e.g., Cameron after Brexit referendum).

What characterizes the May, Johnson, Truss, and Sunak period in terms of Ministerial Responsibility?

It's been described as an era of "Ministerial Irresponsibility" with systemic accountability issues.