452:. The cabinet members, along with the Prime Minister, schedule weekly closed door sessions to discuss the collective stance of the cabinet to avoid inconsistent responses from cabinet ministers. The solidarity of the cabinet is consistently challenged by the opposition in an attempt to create contradictions between cabinet ministers. It is therefore imperative for the cabinet members to have their responses as common and similar as possible.
32:
223:
The New South Wales
Parliamentary Library Research Service in Australia explains that "one aspect of collective ministerial responsibility is that Ministers share responsibility for major government decisions, particularly those made by the cabinet and, even if they personally object to such decisions, Ministers must be prepared to accept and defend them or resign from the cabinet".
301:. Cabinet solidarity is not a legal requirement, but a political convention and practiced norm. There is no written law that upholds cabinet collective responsibility, but it is deeply ingrained in Australia's cabinets as a political norm and is therefore an important aspect of the collective strength and influence of the prime minister's administration.
289:, albeit informally. They lie at the core of ministerial governance. Cabinet solidarity is purely a political convention designed to maintain or protect the collective good as perceived by a partisan ministry. It rests on the notion that the executive ought to appear a collective entity, able to maintain cohesion and display political strength".
535:
responsibility to the people also benefits party and personal loyalty to the prime minister. Solidarity within the cabinet can strengthen the prime minister's party and accelerate policy decisions and interests of that party. Presidential democracies often lack the ability to pass legislation quickly in times of emergency or instances of
547:
Because cabinet collective responsibility forces the cabinet ministers to publicly agree with the prime minister's decisions, political debate and internal discourse is hindered. When disagreements occur within a cabinet dependent on collective responsibility, negotiating collective agreements can be
364:
and its ministers are collectively responsible for all its decisions. However, the constitution allows a minister to dissent by expressing an objection which is entered into the minutes. Nevertheless, while formally allowed, dissent is uncommon because it jeopardizes the stability of the government.
534:
A parliamentary system that uses cabinet collective responsibility is more likely to avoid contradictions and disagreements between cabinet members of the executive branch. Cabinet ministers are likely to feel there is a practical and collective benefit from being part of a team. Cabinet collective
271:
power over legislation passed by
Congress. Cabinet unity and collective agreement between members are important to cabinet stability and party politics, but cabinet members do not have to publicly support legislation proposed or supported by the president. It is, however, in a cabinet member's best
222:
of the executive and legislative branches the prime minister relies on the cabinet to always support policy decisions. A breach of cabinet collective responsibility, such as when a cabinet member publicly disagrees with an executive decision, results in resignation or termination from the cabinet.
373:
retired in 1981. A new cabinet must be approved by a parliamentary majority, thus a government platform is agreed upon by the participating parties. It is distinct from party platforms and details the compromises that parties made in order to cooperate. If a party fails to follow the government
151:
must publicly support all governmental decisions made in
Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in the legislature. This convention formed in the 19th century in the United Kingdom. Some political parties, most commonly
258:
In non-parliamentary governments like that of the United States, cabinet collective responsibility is not formally practiced. This is due to a clearer separation of the executive and the legislature in policy-making. The United States president's
427:
In New
Zealand, the principle of cabinet confidentiality is always observed. However, Cabinet solidarity can be weakened in coalition governments in which members from junior parties in the cabinet can openly dissent on specific policies through
280:
Parliamentary democracies such as
Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada practice and adhere to cabinet collective responsibility. Rhodes, Wanna and Weller offer this description of the principle of cabinet solidarity in
594:. 15 November 2004. p. 7: "As with so much of the United Kingdom constitutional and political system, collective ministerial responsibility is not something created or explained in some statute or constitutional document."
409:
ruled in 1993 that such discussions could not be disclosed because
Article 28.4.2° required absolute confidentiality of cabinet discussions (though not of decisions which were formally recorded). The
866:
178:, the government is responsible collectively, and thus the entire government resigns. The consequence will be that a new government will be formed or parliament will be dissolved and a
272:
interest to support and align with the president's policies because they serve at the pleasure of the president, who can at any time dismiss them or appoint them to another position.
405:
was investigating allegations of political corruption, and wanted to take evidence from a minister about cabinet meetings at which controversial proposals had been discussed. The
297:
In
Australia, cabinet collective responsibility is fundamental to cabinet confidentiality, but also to protect private information from becoming public and possibly threatening
484:
239:
the members of the cabinet must publicly show a unified position, and must vote with the government even if they privately disagree with the decision that has been made.
233:
the members of the cabinet must not reveal the content of discussions which take place. This allows for cabinet members to privately debate and raise concerns.
410:
324:, the cabinet is on rare occasion allowed to freely vote its conscience and to oppose the government without consequence, as occurred with the vote on
49:
728:
312:
where any MP may vote as they wish, but these issues are rare and never tied to official party policy, and normally party discipline is very tight.
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difficult. Cabinet collective responsibility is therefore dependent on the mutual agreement and collective unity of the cabinet and its members.
889:
96:
604:
448:. Once selected as cabinet ministers, each minister leads one of the government departments. Cabinet ministers respond to oral questions from
68:
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of parliamentary democracy: "Cabinet solidarity and collective responsibility are twin dimensions of responsible party government that enjoy
167:
If a member of the
Cabinet wishes to openly object to a Cabinet decision then they are obliged to resign from their position in the Cabinet.
136:
938:
75:
567:
562:
687:
Petersen, Eric (19 May 2005). "Congress: A brief comparison of the
British House of Commons and the U.S. House of Representatives".
422:
82:
440:
The United
Kingdom practices cabinet collective responsibility. The prime minister selects a number of cabinet ministers from the
953:
348:
is much tighter than in other Westminster-system countries; it is very rare for any MP to vote counter to the party leadership.
441:
210:
faster and more effective. Unlike a presidential system, as used, for example, in the United States, a parliamentary system's
64:
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was passed by referendum in 1997 to add Article 28.4.3°, which allows such disclosures in exceptional circumstances.
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is responsible for appointing the cabinet ministers. The cabinet ministers are usually selected from the same
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Collective responsibility is not circumvented by appointing Ministers outside of Cabinet, as has occurred in
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are responsible for the running of their departments, and therefore culpable for the departments' mistakes.
260:
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958:
488:
336:. The most prominent Canadian cabinet minister to resign because he could not vote with the cabinet was
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platform, other parties in the government can pull the plug and force the entire government to resign.
20:
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were Ministers outside of Cabinet, despite their parties not being considered part of a coalition.
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383:
341:
267:, and therefore cannot vote on legislation supported by the executive. The president instead has
42:
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467:. On occasion, this principle has been suspended; most notably in the 1930s when in Britain the
360:, collective responsibility has been established both constitutionally and as a convention. The
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Research Paper 04/82: "The collective responsibility of Ministers – an outline of the issues"
459:, the doctrine applies to all members of the government, from members of the cabinet down to
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333:
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shall meet and act as a collective authority, and shall be collectively responsible for the
366:
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Cabinet collective responsibility is a tradition in parliamentary governments in which the
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Minority governments in Australia 1989-2009: accords, charters and agreements
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605:"MESSAGE FROM THE QUEEN—ARMY RESERVE FORCES. (Hansard, 8 April 1878)"
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will be called. Cabinet collective responsibility is not the same as
153:
31:
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British government in crisis : or the third English revolution
859:"Helen Clark and Jim Anderton with their coalition agreement, 1999"
727:
Strøm, Kaare; Müller, Wolfgang C.; Bergman, Torbjörn (2006-01-19).
170:
Cabinet collective responsibility is related to the fact that if a
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suspended the cabinet collective responsibility doctrine for the
423:
Cabinet of New Zealand § Collective responsibility after MMP
357:
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Cabinet collective responsibility consists of two main features:
890:"EU referendum to take place on 23 June, David Cameron confirms"
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Parliament and Constitution Centre, the House of Commons Library
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opted to make use of the relaxation by campaigning to leave.
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to stay in the cabinet, despite her public opposition to the
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allowed Cabinet members to campaign both for and against the
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as the prime minister to make collective decision-making for
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730:
Delegation and Accountability in Parliamentary Democracies
304:
Occasionally on highly controversial issues such as the
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795:"Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution Act, 1997"
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Rhodes, R.A.W.; Wanna, John; Weller, Patrick (2009).
332:. These events are rare and are never on matters of
56:. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
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701:
682:
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650:. : NSW Parliamentary Library Research Service.
857:Holl, Maarten; Palmer, Matthew (20 June 2012).
630:"British and American Constitutional Democracy"
518:in 1975. Prominent cabinet ministers including
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397:administered by the members of the Government.
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16:Political concept in parliamentary politics
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568:Political Appointments System in Hong Kong
147:system of government, that members of the
563:Principal Officials Accountability System
411:Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution
218:branches are intertwined. Because of the
116:Learn how and when to remove this message
686:
645:
463:. Its inner workings are set out in the
863:Te Ara: The Encyclopedia of New Zealand
821:Forde, Michael; Leonard, David (2013).
487:on whether the UK should remain in the
263:members cannot simultaneously serve in
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475:members to oppose the introduction of
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184:individual ministerial responsibility
133:collective ministerial responsibility
54:adding citations to reliable sources
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829:. A&C Black. pp. 129–130.
65:"Cabinet collective responsibility"
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939:Constitution of the United Kingdom
869:from the original on 30 April 2014
782:Attorney General v Hamilton (No 1)
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888:Rowena Mason (20 February 2016).
514:, following the precedent set by
461:Parliamentary Private Secretaries
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129:Cabinet collective responsibility
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369:became the norm after President
156:, apply a similar convention of
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823:"6.10 Cabinet confidentiality"
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247:where, from 2005 to 2008,
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646:Griffith, Gareth (2010).
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143:and a cornerstone of the
137:constitutional convention
21:Collective responsibility
306:1999 republic referendum
19:Not to be confused with
384:Constitution of Ireland
382:Article 28.4.2° of the
342:wage and price controls
230:Cabinet confidentiality
949:Political terminology
704:Comparing Westminster
421:Further information:
367:coalition governments
172:vote of no confidence
158:democratic centralism
141:parliamentary systems
706:. OUP. p. 127.
395:Departments of State
186:, which states that
50:improve this article
672:Cabinet Manual 2008
469:National Government
283:Westminster systems
959:Westminster system
800:Irish Statute Book
763:. pp. 28.4.2°
760:Irish Statute Book
512:2016 EU referendum
477:protective tariffs
362:Finnish Government
326:capital punishment
236:Cabinet solidarity
145:Westminster system
944:Political culture
713:978-0-19-956349-4
657:978-0-7313-1860-5
609:api.parliament.uk
537:national security
479:; and again when
430:agree to disagree
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308:, there may be a
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287:constitutionality
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43:verification
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873:2 September
628:Leroy Way.
497:Clare Short
491:. In 2003,
417:New Zealand
338:John Turner
253:Peter Dunne
245:New Zealand
216:legislative
208:legislation
933:Categories
614:2023-12-08
574:References
530:Advantages
493:Tony Blair
334:confidence
176:parliament
76:newspapers
293:Australia
212:executive
188:ministers
160:to their
154:communist
867:Archived
784:2 IR 250
552:See also
495:allowed
444:and the
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371:Kekkonen
276:Examples
265:Congress
194:Overview
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473:Liberal
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