Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 5 March 1947.
Mr Hugh Dalton
, Bishop Auckland
12:00,
5 March 1947
I have to inform the House that His Majesty's Governments in Australia and New Zealand have announced their intention to make gifts to His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom for the reduction of the heavy burdens which the people of the United Kingdom are carrying, as a consequence of financial arrangements entered into during the War. The Australian Government are making a gift of £25 million Australian—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]—and the New Zealand Government a gift of £12½ million New Zealand—[HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear."]
The Australian Prime Minister states that his Cabinet have been considering various forms of assistance which Australia might be able to render to Britain at this time, and have decided to make this gift as a contribution to the war costs incurred by Britain in and around the Pacific.
The New Zealand Prime Minister states that the gift from the Government and the people of New Zealand is in recognition of the magnificent and unprecedented effort of the United Kingdom in maintaining freedom and making possible its expansion in the years to come, and of the enormous burden that the people of the United Kingdom have carried and are bearing during the post-war period.
I am sure that this House, and the people of Britain, will most warmly appreciate these generous gifts and the spirit which has prompted our kinsmen in the two great Dominions in the South Pacific. This is yet one more proof, for all the world to see and ponder, that we of the British Commonwealth are members of one family, no less closely united in peace than in war. I am sending a message of thanks and deep appreciation to both Dominion Governments today.
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.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
