collective ministerial responsibility

• Types of CMR

  1. Discussions within the Cabinet kept secret to maintain the integrity of government
  2. Members of gov must support agreed policies even if they are critical in private
  3. Ministers have to resign if they cannot publically agree
  4. If the government loses a vote of no confidence, the whole goevernment must resign
• Discussions within the Cabinet kept secret

  Problematic - Cabinet does not meet and engage in full session debate on all important policy so ministers have to commit to policy they were not involved in developing
• Circumventing CMR

  'Public disagreement' is fluid - ministers can brief journalists 'off the record' about their dissent, rely on allies outside government to relay disagreement OR Cabinet can agree to license 'open disagreement'
• Cabinet agreeing to licence disagreement

  Esp in coalition gov

  • 2010-15 government openly disagreed on Trident renewal, the construction of new nuclear power stations and the 2011 the AV referendum
  • CMR set aside for Same-Sex Marriage Act vote

  Esp in Brexit

  • 2016 - David Cameron allowed ministers to publicly disagree with the government’s stated Remain position during the Brexit referendum campaign
• Resignations over the principle

  Several resignations!

  • 16/11/2023 10 Labour shadow frontbenchers resigned over Starmer calling for the ministers to not vote in the SNP amendment, Gaza ceasefire vote
  • 2023 Braverman resigned
• Resignations leading to collapse of gov/power of PM

  Seen many times highlighting the power of ministers

  • 1990 - pro-European Howe resigned from Thatcher’s government, prompting the leadership challenge of Heseline and by the end of November Thatcher had been forced out of office
  • 2021 - Sunak spoke out against Johnson for “side lining his ministers”
  • 2023 Braverman resigned
• Resignations not leading to consequences for gov/PM

  Undermines power of CMR

  • 1958 - Thorneycroft the Chancellor resigned because he could not publicly support what he saw as excessive public spending by the government. Two other treasury ministers Powell and Birch resigned but Macmillan dismissed these as “little local difficulties” and the government won the 1959 election by a landslide.
  • 2003 - Cook, the leader of the HoC under Blair resigned over preparations for war against Iraq. However, the UK continued to prepare for war and Blair won a 3rd election in 2005.
• Some minsters refuse to resign

  Severely undermine the principle of CMR, dependent on the PM's power

  • 2021 - a letter was leaked in which Sunak lobbied for a relaxation of travel restrictions but was not removed from office/resigned
  • May, lacking political authority, was unwilling and unable to dismiss senior ministers who openly questioned her government’s approach
• Ministers betraying CMR in general

  They do this by going against the government in a vote/speaking out publically against gov policy etc.

  • 2019 - Rudd, Gauke and Clark said they would defy government and vote against a no deal Brexit, and in this vote 13 ministers abstained
  • 2022 - ministers broke ranks to say they did not support the idea of failing to increase benefits in line with inflation
  • April 2024 - rumours of Badenoch, Secretary of State for Business and Trade, voting against cigarette legislation.