ministerial responsibility

the difference between individual and collective responsibility

what is collective ministerial responsibility

The principle that ministers must support cabinet decisions or resign from government

what are the three main elements of collective responsibility

• secrecy

  • ministers must keep details of discussions in the cabinet system secret

  • differences of opinion cannot be revealed

• Binding decisions

  • once a decision is reached, it becomes binding on all ministers

  • regardless if they opposed it or were not directly involved in decision making

• confidence vote

  • govt must resign if it is defeated in a vote of confidence

what are the exceptions to collective ministerial responsiblity (with examples)

• temporary suspension during referendums

  • 1975 EEC referendum-Harold Wilson allowed ministers to campaign for a yes or no vote

  • cons and LD ministers permitted to campaign on opposite sides in the 2011 AV referendum

  • 2016 EU referendum-Cameron allowed ministers to openly campaign on both sides despite govt’s view to remain

    • 5 cabinet ministers campaigned to leave EU

exmaples of collective responsibility being relaxed during the 2010 coalition

• Coallition(2010)

  • identified 4 issues on which LD ministers would not be bound by CR:

    • construction of new nuclear power stations

    • tax allowances for married couples

    • higher education funding

    • renewal of Trident nuclear deterrent

  • also permitted to vote on opposing sides in the 2011 AV referendum

why did the relaxation of collective responsibility cause some issues during the 2010 coalition

• significant differences emerged between coalition partners

  • LD responded to the abandonment of legislation on the House of Lords reform by withdrawing support for constituency boundary changes

  • trade off between government unity and party distinctiveness became more difficult to manage as GE neared

  • most LD ministers voted in favour of a 2014 private members bill proposing exceptions to the government’s bedroom tax

    • conservative ministers opposed it

exceptions on CR- free votes

• Free votes may be granted to ministers as well as backbench MPs on issues of conscience

  • Cameron allowed a free vote on the Marriage (same sex couples) bill in 2013

    • Two cabinet ministers voted against the bill

  • Labour’s 1997 election manifesto promised a free vote on legislation to ban fox hunting

  • generational ban on tobacco was also a free vote-2024

  • assisted dying vote in 2024 -Terminally Ill Adults (End of Life Bill)

why might ministers leak information

disgruntled ministers and advisers may leak info because they want dissatisfaction about the policy or the conduct of government to be aired without going public

examples of prime ministerial dominance straining collective responsibility

• some cabinet ministers under Thatcher and Blair claimed that the PM had undermined collective responsibility by ignoring cabinet

  • e.g. Michael Heseltine, Nigel Lawson, Geoffrey Howe (under Thatcher) voiced Thatcher’s contempt for collegiality

  • Mo Moslem and Clare Short complained that Blair did not consult cabinet sufficiently

examples of leaks

• cabinet discussions have been revealed in books written by former ministers such as Ed Balls and Nick Clegg

why might’ve collective responsibility come under strain during Thatcher’s premiership(dissent and non resignation)?

• cabinet ministers opposed important aspects of government policy have survived in office even when their concerns have been made public

• Thatcher’s first cabinet consisted of ‘Wets’ (one nation conservatives)

  • they didn’t conceal their opposition to monetarist economic policy

  • none resigned and Thatcher dismissed them only when her position was secure

Further examples of non resignation straining CR

• LD ministers were openly critical of some coalition policies 2010-2015

  • only one junior minister resigned over policy differences

  • Norman Baker

why did Robin Cook resign

• resigned from being foreign secretary

• claimed that he could no longer accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain to military action in Iraq without broad international agreement or domestic support

• secretary of state for international development Clare Short publicly threatened to resign from the cabinet over policy in Iraq

  • supported the government’s resolution in the Commons but resigned 2 months later

why did Sir Iain Duncan Smith resign

• was secretary of state for work and pensions

• resigned IN 2016 because he was unable to accept the government’s planned disability benefits cuts, although he had agreed to the cuts before the budget

• he claimed that he could not support government economic strategy

  • had been uncomfortable with government policy for some time

  • joined the Leave campaign in EU referendum

why did Dominic Raab resign

• resigned in April 2023 as deputy prime minister and justice sec

• report investigating bullying allegations and complaints against Raab was handed to the PM

  • found that he had ben unreasonably and persistently aggressive

why did Caroline Flint resign

• minister for housing and planning-2008

• minister for EU (2008-09)

• resigned as EU minister in 2009

  • accused Brown of ‘female window dressing’

  • also accused him of running a 2 tier govt

what is individual ministerial responsibility

means that ministers are accountable to parliament for their own personal conduct and the conduct of their department and the policies they and their department pursue

in what circumstances do ministers resign

• mistakes within departments

• policy failure

  • includes chancellor of the exchequer Callaghan after 1967 devaluation of the sterling

  • Lord Carrington (foreign sec) resigned after Argentina invaded Falkland Islands in 1982

• personal misconduct

  • expenses scandals and criminal investigations have caused ministers to resign

    • e.g. David Blunkett and Pete Mandelson

• political pressure

  • resignations following a period a sustained period of pressure from parliament, the party or the press about a minister’s performance

  • e.g. Chief whip Andrew Mitchell resigned in 2012, weeks after allegedly insulting police officers

    • pressure on his position escalated

why did Sir Thomas Dugdale resign

• resigned in 1954 as minister of agriculture- due to the Crichel Down affair

  • Crichel Down was a piece of farmland bought compulsory by the government for use in WWII

  • was supposed to be returned to its owners after the war

  • however Minister of Agriculture took it over and let it out to another tenant

• told the House of Commons he was resigning

  • his resignation is an example of how ministers should rectify minor mistakes made by officials

what determines how Ministers are expected to behave

Ministers are expected to follow the ‘seven principles of public life’ set out in the 1955 Nolan Committee on Standards in Public Life and included in the Ministerial Code

why did David Blunkett resign (1st occasion)

resigned as Home Sec in 2004 after allegations about him requesting officials to fast-track a visa application for a nanny employed by his former lover

why did David Blunkett resign (2nd occasion)

returned after 2005 GE however resigned as secretary of state for work and pensions within 6 months. he failed to consult a watchdog about several extra-parliamentary jobs

why did Peter Mandelson resign (1st occasion)

resigned as Trade and Industry secretary in Dec 1998 after an undiscolsed home loan was revealed - a £373,000 home loan was accepted from a friend

why did Peter Mandelson resign (2nd occasion)

in 2001 as secretary state of NI- exploited his position to influence a passport application