Part of Oral Answers to Questions — Mercantile Marine. – in the House of Commons at on 30 January 1940.
Sir James Henderson-Stewart
, Fife Eastern
asked the Prime Minister whether he is aware that since the war began-a series of confidential and highly-important statements have been made to meetings of the 1922 Committee in the House of Commons by Members of the War Cabinet on the strategy, plans, and progress of the war; that these have been practically the only meetings of private Members addressed by Cabinet Ministers since the outbreak of hostilities; that despite repeated protests such meetings have been confined strictly and deliberately to members of the Conservative Party; that, in consequence, facts of vital concern regarding the war have been made available to some Members of Parliament and withheld from others; and whether, in order to act in accordance with the united effort of the nation, he will take immediate steps to ensure that when Cabinet Ministers have confidential statements to make upon war matters to Members of Parliament, they shall be made to meetings open to all parties in the House who support the war effort?
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.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
