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Meaning of ministerial responsibility
Ministerial responsibilities refer to the duties of a member of the cabinet (such as a member of the House of Commons or the House of Lords).
Ministerial responsibility entails the member's responsibility to the government and their responsibility to the prime minister. These responsibilities can be viewed from two perspectives – collective ministerial responsibility, and individual ministerial responsibility.
Collective ministerial responsibility
Collective ministerial responsibility is the responsibility that all members of the executive have as a group.
These include:
Confidentiality: all ministers take part in cabinet meetings, which are meetings that the prime minister holds to discuss important issues within various departments and to discuss how to handle matters such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Each minister must keep this information confidential by not speaking about it outside the meeting. The importance of this is to ensure that the public is not aware of the different opinions of the ministers, which at times can vary and can prevent the government from appearing united and strong.
Confidence votes: these are votes that take place when there is a large consensus in the belief that the leader in charge of the country is no longer fit or suitable to be the prime minister. The vote is carried out in the Houses of Parliament and a simple majority can result in the prime minister losing their job. But in the UK, the executive is both the prime minister and their cabinet, so if the prime minister loses confidence, they, alongside their cabinet, must resign from the position.
In 1979, James Callaghan lost his leadership role after the Scottish devolution bill was defeated.
Binding decisions: this means that after discussing a bill or a decision, if it has been agreed on by a majority in the cabinet, then all cabinet ministers must vote in favour of it in parliament regardless of whether they are opposed to it or not. If they refuse to vote in consensus, then they are expected to resign or be dismissed by the prime minister.
In 2002, Clare Short resigned due to her opposition to the invasion of Iraq.
Exceptions to collective ministerial responsibility
There are very few exceptions when collective ministerial responsibility does not need to be abided by.
During referendums: these are votes that take the form of a simple ‘yes’ or ‘no’ question -- for example, whether Britain should exit the European Union. The prime minister commonly waves collective ministerial responsibility during referendums.
In 2011, Liberal Democrats and Conservatives were free to vote on whether the UK should adopt the AV style for its general elections.
During coalitions: coalitions are when a single party does not have a majority in parliament so is joined with another party (usually one much smaller) to form a majority.
In 2010-2015, the Conservative Party entered an agreement with the Liberal Democrats. Together with the leaders of the respective parties, David Cameron and Nick Clegg, they decided there would be four issues in which ministers were not bound to collective ministerial responsibility. These were: tax allowance for married couples, higher education funding, new nuclear power stations, and the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent.
Free votes: these are the exceptional cases that prime ministers can choose. In a free vote, a minister does not need to carry out their collective ministerial responsibility. The vote can be on any issue.
In 2013, David Cameron allowed a free vote on legalising same-sex marriage.
What are the strains on collective ministerial responsibility?
The system of collective ministerial responsibility is not perfect and there can be some problems that can occur and lead to strains.
These are:
Leaks: ministers are supposed to refrain from disclosing information about their meetings and opinions, especially if they are against a particular policy. However, some can be very frustrated and their advisers can leak information. This could be because they do not want to publicly expose their opposition to the government whilst at the same time showing that there is a difference of opinion within the government.
Presidential style government: this is when the prime minister acts as if he has the powers of a president, relying heavily on the prime minister's office in decision-making rather than working with cabinet members.
Many cabinet ministers under the Thatcher and Blair governments claimed their prime ministers were acting with presidential powers. This led to dissatisfaction among the members of the cabinet.
Non-resignations: this is when a minister has gone against their collective ministerial responsibility but has not resigned and has not been dismissed.
An example of non-resignations can be seen during Margaret Thatcher’s first cabinet when some members publicly defied her decisions. However, she only replaced them once she held a strong position within her party and the country.
Individual ministerial responsibility
Individual ministerial responsibility is the responsibility that individual ministers have upon themselves and their specific department. This can include how the department runs, how they work, and their conduct. Ministers also have the responsibility to abide by the ministerial code which sets the conduct standards that ministers must follow. If they break the ministerial code they should resign. However, this rule is not legally binding as can be seen with Priti Patel, who was found to have bullied her staff but did not resign from her position as Home Secretary.
However, there are cases when the minister does not take responsibility on behalf of their department, namely when a civil servant carries out an action that was not approved by the minister. If whatever went wrong can be traced back to being the fault of a civil servant, then often the minister will not take responsibility.
Differences between individual and collective ministerial responsibilities
Individual | Collective |
Responsible for personal and departmental decisions | Not responsible for any decisions |
Responsible for abiding by the ministerial code and expected to resign when breaking it | Responsibility to keep cabinet meetings and disputes confidential |
Responsible for making sure departments work in an effective way | Must vote for whatever is agreed in cabinet meetings |
On reflection, we can assume that ministers must abide by both their individual and collective ministerial responsibilities, which go hand in hand. In either situation, if a minister was found to have not carried out their responsibilities there can be serious consequences.
Ministerial Responsibility - Key takeaways
- Ministerial responsibilities are the duties of a member of the cabinet, this can be a member of the House of Parliament or the House of Lords.
- Collective ministerial responsibility is the responsibility that all members of the executive have as a group.
- The collective ministerial responsibilities are: confidentiality, resigning if the government loses a confidence vote, and voting on the same line as the government.
- Individual ministerial responsibility is the responsibility that individual ministers have upon themselves and their specific department.
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Frequently Asked Questions about Ministerial Responsibility
What is ministerial responsibility?
Ministerial responsibilities are the duties of a member of the cabinet, this can be a member of the House of Parliament or the House of Lords.
How does the concept of ministerial responsibility work?
With collective ministerial responsibilities all members of the cabinet have a collective responsibility, but individual responsibility is the responsibility a minister has on behalf of themselves and their respective team
What is an example of ministerial responsibility?
In terms of collective responsibiliity, voting in parliament based on what was agreed in cabinet meetings and for individual, ministers need to abide by the ministerial code.
What is meant by ministerial responsibility in the British political system?
Ministerial responsibilities are the duties of a member of the cabinet, this can be a member of the House of Parliament or the House of Lords.
What is the theory of ministerial responsibility?
Ministerial responsibilities are the duties of a member of the cabinet, this can be a member of the House of Parliament or the House of Lords.
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