Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 19 June 1941.
Sir James Henderson-Stewart
, Fife Eastern
May I ask whether my right hon. Friend does, not appreciate the concern caused by the report of the speech, which was contained in the "Times," of 16th June, where my right hon. Friend is stated to have said:
It was clear that in the war effort the command of the Navy, Army and Air Force must be united, and the example of that unity must be reflected from the top"?
In view of the principle of Cabinet responsibility, is it not natural that the country should have assumed that my right hon. Friend was talking as a member of the Cabinet in making this important statement?
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.
