The Cabinet and SpAds

One example of cabinet roles being pragmatic:

Secretary of State for Leaving the EU replaced by Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities.

Who held the position as Minister of State for Brexit Opportunities?

Jacob Rees-Mogg

What is the cap on the number of government Ministers?

109

How many Ministers can be MPs?

95

Example of a PM appointing a close ally to Cabinet:

David Cameron appointing George Osbourne as Chancellor.

Example of a PM appointing a minister to appease a faction

Rishi Sunak appointing Suella Braverman

Example of a PM appointing a minister to prevent criticism

Theresa May appointing Boris Johnson to Foreign Sec

Example of a PM appointing a minister to project stability

Sunak appointing David Cameron Foreign Sec

What percentage of Starmer's first cabinet were ethnic minorities?

12%

What percentage of Starmer's cabinet were privately educated?

8%

What percentage of Starmer's first cabinet went to Oxbridge?

40%

What are cabinet committees?

Small groups of Cabinet Ministers

Who is the Cabinet Secretary?

Most Senior Member of the Civil Service

Greatest difference about the Cabinet Secretary to other ministers?

Permanent regardless of party in power

Why is Simon Case controversial?

Asked to lead partygate investigation but found to have held parties himself.

Which PM had a sofa government?

Tony Blair

Who can become more powerful in sofa government?

Unelected SPADs

One example of a PM announcing policy without consulting cabinet

Tony Blair announcing the UK would match EU headline spending without consulting Brown

When did Tony Blair announce that the UK would match EU health spending?

2000

How many SPADs were there in 1997?

38

How many SPADs were there in 2021?

113

What was Allistair Campbell's role in the Iraq War?

Justifying the invasion of Iraq with the Dodgy Dossier.