Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Motor Traffic. – in the House of Commons at on 7 July 1925.
Mr Stanley Baldwin
, Bewdley
I would remind my hon. Friend that a strong Committee under the chairmanship of Sir Arthur Balfour was set up last July to inquire into the conditions and prospects of British industry and commerce, and is still at work, and that the problems presented by the iron and steel industry have been, within the last few days, referred specially to the Committee of Civil Research. In addition, there is a Committee of the Cabinet continuously in being, which promotes and co-ordinates Government action in all measures for the relief of unemployment. The last thing I should wish to do is to reject without full consideration any suggestion which seems to contain the promise of fruitful results, but I am bound to say that I cannot at present sec the advantage of appointing a Commission such as my hon. Friend suggests, in addition to the bodies which, as I have explained, are already dealing with the matter from various aspects.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
