Ministerial responsibility

Individual ministerial responsibility = The principle that members of cabinet take ultimate
responsibility for what occurs within their department, inc both administrative + policy
failures. They are also individually responsible to the PM for their personal conduct

According to the principle of individual ministerial responsibility:

●​ Ministers are accountable to Parliament 4 actions of their department.
○​ Means that ministers must respond honestly to questions asked by members
of the legislature
●​ IMR means that a minister shld take personal responsibility for serious
administrative or policy mistakes that occur within their department.

Policy Failure
In 1982, Lord Carrington resigned as foreign secretary from Maggie T’s govt in the
immediate aftermath of Argentina’s invasion of the Falklands.
-​ Reason 4 resignation = foreign office shldve been more aware of Argentina’s
intentions + shldve made clearer what the response of the British govt wld be any
military intervention

In 2002, Tony Blair’s education secretary = Estelle Morris → caught up in political crisis over
who shld take responsibility 4 scandal involving inappropriate A-level grade fixing.
-​ Morris took full responsibility 4 policy failure + resigned

→ Some MPs hold on to office despite intense parliamentary + media criticism of their
departments arguing:
●​ Not personally responsible for actions of those working in their departments
●​ The policy for which they were responsible was the policy the whole govt + they did
not have to take any individual responsibility for its failings
○​ E.g. = Norman Lamont, Chancellor of the exchequer,1992
■​ On ‘Black Wednesday’ (16 Sept 1992) Major govt forced 2 abandon
the EU exchange rate mechanism (ERM) → raised interest rates by a
staggering 5% in an attempt to retain membership.
●​ Lamont (as CofE) refused to resign as this policy was also that
of the PM → claimed that since Major had not resigned,
neither shld he
○​ E.g. = Gavin Williamson, education secretary 2020
■​ Due to Covid-19 schools were required to provide A-level and GCSE
candidates with centre-assessed grades which wld be modified w/ an
algorithm → many A-level pupils didn’t achieve grades required for
uni. Williamson abandoned algorithm + pupils were given grades
based on centre assessment
●​ Sally Collier, chief regulator of Ofqual, resigned → her
responsibility for the policy failure + Williamson stayed as
education secretary until 2021
Scandal
A minister can be held to account 4 their personal conduct if this brings the govt into
disrepute → expected to take responsibility 4 actions + maybe resign.

E.g. → Matt Hancock, health secretary 2021

The Sun newspaper published photographs of the secretary of state for health, kissing a
colleague below him = Gina Coladangelo. He disregarded the Covid distancing regulations,
DESPITE BEING HEALTH SECRETARY MIND YOU!!
-​ Quickly forced to resign from govt duhhhhhh

E.g → Gavin Williamson, minister of state (minister without portfolio), 2022

The Conservative chief whip = Wendy Morton → complained that Williamson sent her
abusive texts over not being invited to the Queen’s (Queen Elizabeth II) funeral. +
Allegations of using bullying language against civil servants when he was defence secretary
also surfaced.
-​ Resigned from Sunak’s govt on 8 Nov (2022)

Collective ministerial responsibility = all members of the government are expected to

publicly support it. If a minister cannot do this, they should resign. They should also not
disclose the contents of private ministerial discussions. If the administration is defeated on a
vote of confidence, this convention also states that all members of the government must
resign.

According to the principle of collective ministerial responsibility → If govt loses a vote of

confidence in HofC, the whole govt must resign
E.g. → March 1979 → Callaghan Labour govt lost a vote of confidence by 311 to 310
votes, precipitating a sudden general election

●​ Collective ministerial responsibility requires → discussion within cabinet must be kept

secret in order to maintain the integrity of govt
●​ Members of govt must support agreed policies (even if they personally don’t) →
important to maintain the unity of govt.
○​ Unity = represents strength and so collective ministerial responsibility is
fundamental to the survival of government.
■​ If collective responsibility did not operate, the authority of PM wld be
undermined
●​ If a minister can’t publicly agree w/ govt policy (or govt is running) → must resign or
return to backbench

High-profile ministerial resignations over collective responsibility

E.g. Geoffery Howe, leader of the House of Commons and deputy prime, 1990
The pro-European Geoffrey Howe resigned from the Thatcher govt b4 she delivered her
assault on European federalism speech
-​ Resignation = cld no longer serve under an increasingly Eurosceptic PM.
-​ His resignation prompted the leadership challenge of Michael Heseltine and by the
end of November, Thatcher had been forced from office.

E.g. Robin Cook, leader of the HofC, 2003

Resignation = (From Blair’s govt) over its preparations for war against Iraq. He was
unconvinced by claims that Saddam Hussein was a threat to the UK’s national interests. +
against military actions

E.g. Boris Johnson, foreign secretary 2018

Bojo = unenthusiastic supporter of Theresa May’s Brexit negotiations
-​ Resignation = decided that he cldn’t publicly support her Chequers Agreement as the
basis for an EU withdrawal agreement.
-​ “We must have collective responsibility. Since I cannot in all conscience
champion these proposals, I have sadly concluded that I must go.’

Breaking the rules?

Extent to which collective ministerial responsibility always operates can be contested.
-​ Ministers can choose to remain in govt while making indiscreet criticisms of it.
-​ E.g. John Major, PM , 1990-97 → didn’t trust several Euroscpetic members
of his cabinet, whom he rightly believed were briefing th express against him
behind his back

Ministers who have broke (+ almost broke) collective ministerial responsibility + didn’t
resign from govt:
 ●​ 1974 → Tony Benn, Judith Hart + Joan Lestor = 3 members of Harold Wilson’s
govt.
Backed a resolution by Labour’s National Executive Council condemning the govt’s
decision to agree to joint UK/SA naval exercises as a ‘gross error’.
-​ Wilson informed → if they were not prepared to abide by collective ministerial
responsibility then he wld acknowledge this ‘as a decision on your part that
you didn’t wish to continue as a member of this administration.’
-​ They didn’t resign

●​ 2010-15 → Vince Cable, Lib Dem business secretary in coalition govt

Frequently critical of his Conservative colleagues, in 2014 he publicly criticised
George Osborne’s cuts in public expenditure in his autumn budget statement

●​ 2016 → Bojo, Foreign secretary in Theresa May govt

Criticism of the govt’s developing EU policy had been hostile
-​ E.g. PM said she favoured a customs partnership w/ the EU, Johnson told the
Daily Mail that the plan was ‘totally untired + would make it very,very difficult
to do free trade deals’
-​ Theresa May refused to sack him as foreign secretary, claiming that
she preferred not to have ‘a cabinet of yes men’.

Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible

PM may acknowledge that it is impossible to achieve collective ministerial responsibility →
(in these circumstances) the convection is suspended + ministers are allowed to disagree
publicly w/ each other.

-​ Occurred during the UK’s referendums on continued membership of the European

Economic Community (1975) + European Union (2016)

E.g. Harold Wilson govt, European Economic Community, 1975

Allowed members of the cabinet to campaign in favour of or against membership.
-​ Roy Jenkins (=yes 2 membership) + Tony Benn (= no 2 membership) debated the
issue on TV during Panorama

E.g. David Cameron govt, European Union, 2016

Cameron = Remain → knew eurosceptic members of his cabinet (e.g. Michael Gove + Chris
Grayling) would resign
-​ Suspended collective ministerial responsibility on this issue, allowing members of
cabinet (e.g. Iain Duncan Smith → Work + Pensions + Theresa Villers → Northern
Ireland) to campaign against membership even though the policy of govt was to
remain.

E.g. Theresa May govt, expansion of Heathrow, 2016

PM suspended collective ministerial responsibility over controversial govt plans to expand
Heathrow.
-​ Bojo = Foreign Office + Justine Greening = Education → had constituencies that wld
be affected + were known to be against expansion
The convention of collective ministerial responsibility has thus been put under significant
strain in recent years:
-​ When PM have suspended the principle
-​ When govt’s have failed to resign despite being defeated on a core policy manifesto
commitment
-​ When members of govt have successfully disassociated themselves from govt policy