Cabinet

If you follow politics, you’ll probably have heard the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster mentioned from time to time, without what the office is or what its holder does being explained. And it might seem strange that Pat McFadden, who played a … [Read more...] about What does the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster do?

The principle of collective responsibility exists in tension with transparent government. The former tends towards preserving the confidentiality of Cabinet decisions and the latter requires governmental action to be open to examination, scrutiny and … [Read more...] about What Happens When Transparent Government Conflicts With Collective Responsibility?

The unexpected resurrection of David Cameron’s political career in the closing weeks of 2023 reopened a long-standing constitutional controversy. There is a convention that all government ministers must sit in either the Commons or the Lords, … [Read more...] about Bring on the Goats: ‘Outsider’ ministers are a good idea: their peerages are otiose

In November of 2023 I was delighted to be appointed as a Research Fellow for the Constitution Society. My work for the Society will compare the operation of constitutions in the UK and Sri Lanka. In this blog, I explore the interactions between … [Read more...] about Balancing accountability and stability: A comparison of 2022 Executive Resignations in the United Kingdom and Sri Lanka

Collective responsibility is a constitutional convention which has existed since the eighteenth century aiming to unite ministers so that they speak with one voice when facing a monarch and the public. The principles behind this convention were born … [Read more...] about The transformation of collective responsibility

In its response to the Public Administration Select Committee’s 2010 report, Goats and Tsars: Ministerial and other appointments from outside Parliament, the UK Government (led at the time by Prime Minister David Cameron) agreed with the … [Read more...] about Jobs for the boys: The exceptional Lord Cameron of Chipping Norton

To understand the significance of reshuffles, we must first understand the motivations of the Prime Minister enacting them. The primary one of all Prime Ministers is to maintain power, and this can be achieved by winning elections and fending off … [Read more...] about The Complex Implications of Reshuffles