P.H. Collin Dictionary of LAW

Cabinet – A body of ministers consisting mostly of heads of chief government departments but also including some ministers with few or no departmental responsibilities; it is headed by the Prime Minister, in whose gift membership lies. As the principal executive body under the UK constitution, its function is to formulate government policy and to carry it into effect (particularly by the initiation of legislation). The Cabinet has no statutory foundation and exists entirely by convention, although it has been mentioned in statute from time to time, e.g. in the Ministers of the Crown Act 1937.

Government department – An organ of central government responsible for a particular sphere of public administration (e.g. Treasury). It is staffed by permanent civil servants and is normally headed by a minister who is politically responsible for its activities and is assisted by one or more junior ministers, usually responsible for particular aspects of departmental policy.   

Oxford Dictionary of LAW

 

b) Use (the, a, -) government; (the) executive; (the) Cabinet in the following sentences:

1. The head of the ... became known as the Prime Minister during the eighteenth century.

2. It is the duty of the Prime Minister to preside over the ....

3. The prime Minister speaks for the ... in the House of Commons on the most important topics.

4. Ministers not in the ... are called to attend its meetings when matters affecting their departments are under discussion.

5. Any decision by a departmental minister binds the ... as a whole.

6. In normal times the ... meets for a few hours once or twice a week during parliamentary sittings, and rather less frequently when Parliament is not sitting.

7. The Prime Minister, the Ministers of State in the ... and their ... departments manned by civil servants are known as the ....

 

 

TEXT 2 THE CABINET AND THE PRIME MINISTER

 

All major government decisions are taken by the Cabinet, a committee of senior government ministers. It is for the Cabinet to determine the policies, to be submitted to Parliament, to determine the content and priorities of legislative proposals, and to ensure that the relevant policies are carried out.

By convention all members of the Cabinet are collectively responsible for decisions taken. While the matter is under discussion ministers can air their views but once the matter is decided all members of the Government, whether within the Cabinet or not, must support it. If they are unable to do this then they should resign as Michael Heseltine did during the Westland affair. The force with which this convention is observed has varied with the political climate. Indeed it was formally suspended during the campaign prior to the referendum on continuing membership of the E.U.

There are no rules prescribing the size of the Cabinet. It varied last century from small war time cabinets where the ministers had no departmental responsibilities, to cabinets consisting of more than 20 ministers representing all the main departments of state. Increasingly the Cabinet operates through a network of committees, the result being that ministers may be bound by decisions in which they have had little more than nominal participation. The terms of reference of these committees and their membership were made public for the first time in 1992.

As with the Cabinet itself, the office of Prime Minister is one which is barely recognised in law. Last century saw a steady increase in the powers of the Prime Minister who is now in a very strong position.

(a) As leader of the party in power, he has been chosen by the electorate, has control over the party machinery and can normally rely on the strength of party loyalty to maintain his position. His public profile is higher than that of any other minister.

(b) As chairman of the Cabinet, he can to a large extent determine the nature of discussions within the Cabinet. No votes are customarily taken. Rather, the Prime Minister sums up the sense of the meeting. Matters can be referred to sub-committees and the agenda manipulated to ensure the desired result.

(c) As ultimate head of the civil service, the Prime Minister has powers over senior appointments and access to all information.

(d) The Cabinet Office, although technically providing a service for all members of the cabinet, has grown in recent years into the Prime Minister's special source of assistance and information. This greatly strengthens the Prime Minister's ability to argue against proposals put forward by departmental ministers who are forced to rely almost entirely on the briefs, prepared for them by their departmental civil servants. This has been supplemented in recent years by a substantial increase in the use of "special advisers".

(e) The Prime Minister is the source of much patronage. He appoints and dismisses government ministers and has at his disposal a wide selection of public appointments, honours, etc.

It is, however, wrong to think of the Prime Minister as having absolute power. However dominant, he must keep the support of his party both inside and outside Parliament. Ultimately his strength will depend on his personality, but as Rodney Brazier points out, when affairs go badly his authority will wane and if luck deserts him he may well be finished. The removal of Prime Minister Thatcher in 1990 following her failure to win conclusively in the first ballot of the leadership election, emphasises the Prime Minister's ultimate dependence on continued party support.

NOTES TO THE TEXT

 Westland – A British company making helicopters which was at the centre of a major public disagreement between senior politicians in the Conservative government led by Margaret Thatcher in 1986.Westland was in serious financial difficulties. Michael Heseltine, the minister of defence, wanted it to be sold to a group of European companies, but Leon Brittan, the secretary of state for trade and industry, and other senior politicians, wanted it to be sold to the US company Sikorski. Michael Heseltine resigned from the Cabinet when he was told that he could not make any public statement on the matter without Mrs Thatcher’s approval. Leon Brittan later resigned when he was forced to admit that he had allowed a secret letter criticizing Michael Heseltine to be made public. Westland was sold to Sikorski.

Shadow Cabinet – the group of British MPs from the Opposition (= the main party opposing the government) who would probably form the Cabinet if their party were in power. Each member of the Shadow Cabinet speaks on behalf of his party on matters for which he or she would be responsible.

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