Part of Oral Answers to Questions — General Election – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 29 May 1945.
Mr Thomas Johnston
, Stirlingshire and Clackmannanshire Western
12:00,
29 May 1945
asked the Prime Minister if he is prepared to make any statement regarding the intentions of the Government on the further progress of the Education (Scotland) Bill, now being considered by the Scottish Grand Committee; and whether he proposes any constitutional rearrangements to enable the Noble Lord the Secretary of State for Scotland to take part in the proceedings; or how, otherwise, he intends to ensure that the Government will be represented, with Cabinet authority, in the Committee stage of this Measure.
In a general election, each constituency chooses an MP to represent it by process of election. The party who wins the most seats in parliament is in power, with its leader becoming Prime Minister and its Ministers/Shadow Ministers making up the new Cabinet. If no party has a majority, this is known as a hung Parliament. The next general election will take place on or before 3rd June 2010.
Secretary of State was originally the title given to the two officials who conducted the Royal Correspondence under Elizabeth I. Now it is the title held by some of the more important Government Ministers, for example the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs.
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.
