Ministerial Responsibilty Flashcards
(21 cards)
What is individual MR
Constitutional convention that makes Gov ministers responsible for their own actions + their department.
Motivated to closely scrutinise all activities within their department.
All gov ministers, including PM, are drawn from parl. + are therefore accountable to it.
In relation to their responsibility for performance of department + their integrity and personal conduct.
Ministerial responsibilty
Codes that hold ministers to account for for actions + policies they endorse.
What
Responsibilty for department
Gov ministers are responsible for departments + parliament can hold them to account for it.
Accept responsibility for any failures/criticisms of department .
Give accurate info to parliament + correct any accidental mislead of parliament asap
When expected to resign
- Any key failures / unable to effectively run department, resign(not over a minor mistake tho).
- Resign to PM of know mislead parliament.
- If personal conduct falls below what is expected
Responsible for personal conduct
If personal conduct falls below what is expected must resign.
No harassing, bullying or ‘inappropriate or discriminating behaviour.’
How is IMR enforced
+changes made 2024
Ultimately the PM that enforces MR.
November 2024, Starmer published new + updated ministerial code Sets out standard of conduct expected of ministers + key in enforcing IMR.
Previously, PM must consent in order for independent advisor to launch investigation.
Now, advisor can launch investigations independently even when not politically advantageous for gov e.g Tulip Siddiq in Jan 2025 who referred herself to the Independent Advisor
Examples where ministers resigned- Amber Rudd
- Resigned as Home Secretary after inadvertently misleading Home Affairs Select Committee. Told commuter she was unaware of any deportation removal targets within the department, despite evidence showing documents.
Alsoat the time, her and home office under massive media scrutiny over wind rush scandal.
This shows IMR in relation to responsibility for department policies + mislead parliament still important in 2018, although media pressure likely played part in convince her to resign.
Andrew Gwynne
2025 feb
Labour health minister + MP for Gordon and Denton was fired + lost Labour whip following emergence of offensive messages he wrote.
-he hoped a pensioner who didn’t vote Labour would die, called a voter a hag + insult fellow MPs.
Gov were determined to uphold high standards for those in public office + WhatsApp messages were unacceptable.
-clear example of IMR as his behaviour violates ministerial code ‘discrimination’??
Behaviour violates ministerial code/falls below what’s expected.
Since coming to gov, Labour has strengthened ministerial code and have reinstated IMR within gov following a significant decrease of it under conservatives.
Priti Patel
In 2020, an independent investigation concluded that the then Home Secretary bullied civil servants; clear breach of IMR in relation to personal conduct.
She failed ot offer her resignation and PM Johnson failed to force her to resign. Partly as she was a big beast’ lots of power + very popular with right wing of Conservatives ; string stance on immigration.
Weakening of IMR as she breached the ministerial code and Boris kept her in office weakening that ministers are held accountable for their conduct.
Boris Johnson ❎
2022
The ‘party-gate’ scandal broke out in the media, revealing there had been some parties in number 10 during COVID lockdowns that broke the gov’s own laws + guidance.
-Boris and other key ministers attended, whilst Boris knowingly mislead Parliament about the parties (HOW?) Despite this, he didn’t resign.
Also, in May 2022, Johnson changed ministerial
code to weaken codes on IMR so ministers who breach Ministerial Codes are no longer expected to resign.
This example reflects IMR in relation to personal conduct + responsibilty for departmental failure was very unimportant + had broken down under Boris’ Gov.
Crucially, shows IMR is a weak convention that is dependant on PM as ‘judge, jury and executioner.’Furthermore, if PM themselves has broken IMR there is no mechanism to hold them to account.
IMR doesn’t remain important
IMR remains important
Collective ministerial responsibilty
Convention that included in Ministerial code + applies to all ministers.
Promote gov unity in face of opposition + mean gov as a whole is responsible to parliament for its decisions.
Key aspects
Gov monsters are collectively responsible for all Gov policies + must resign if Gov loses vote of confidence in parliament.
Must resign before disagreeing with policy.
Why are resignations rare on the ground of collective Mr
Resigning can end ministers political career.
Examples where CMR was important - Dodds
Annelids Dodds resigned as international development minister following PM Kier decision to cut the international aid budget by almost 50%.
-this was done to increase defense spending but Dodds warned it could cause China and Russia to increase global influence whilst harming UKs reputation.
This is a significant resignation of a high profile minister who attended Cabinet, as she could not personally support and defend the government’s decision publicly and maintain her principles.
o In her resignation letter, she criticised the decision and stated that it would “remove food and healthcare from desperate people,” thereby “deeply harming the UK’s reputation.”
Example where CMR was important -SB
Nov 2023, Sunak sacked Suella Braverman as Home Secretary following controversial opinion piece in the times about Met police’s handling of pro- Palestinian protests , accusing police of “playing favourites” and describing protestors as ‘hate marchers’
Her piece was published without being reviewed and approved by Downing Street ; violating ministerial code.
Her statements seen as challenge to sunaks authority and were criticised by Conservative Party.
• This can be seen as an example of collective ministerial responsibility being enforced, as
Braverman was sacked for breaching the convention that ministers must publicly support government decisions.
However, doesn’t simply show CMR being enforced
Because she had previously made many controversial comments, including that “multiculturalism has failed”, grooming gangs were “almost all British-Pakistani” and homelessness was a “lifestyle choice” that weren’t directly aligned with government messaging, without being sacked.
Therefore, Sunak’s eventual decision to sack Braverman can be argued to be as a consequence of growing public and media pressure rather than the ministerial code being enforced.
Collective ministerial responsibility wasn’t important
When Foreign Secretary in May’s government, Johnson consistently leaked his dissatisfaction with government policy and briefed against Theresa May, including writing critical weekly articles in the Daily Telegraph.
Due to his popularity within the Conservative Party, particularly with Brexiteers, and May’s weakness as a Prime Minister, she wasn’t able to sack him.
• This shows how collective ministerial responsibility was limited in importance under
Theresa May, as the fact she was a weak Prime Minister presiding over an ideologically divided party meant she couldn’t enforce it.
Wasn’t important x2
Steve Barclay Under Theresa May In 2019:
• In March 2019, Brexit Secretary Steve Barclay voted against his gov’s own plans to extend Article 50 in relation to Brexit, despite defending the plans in the House of Commons just hours earlier.
• The vote was not a free vote and Barclary didn’t resign in his role nor wasn’t forced to resign afterwards.
• This shows how collective ministerial responsibility significantly broke down under
May, who was unable to enforce it due to her weakness as a party leader and Prime Minister.
