Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at 12:00 am on 4 June 1964.
Mr Kenneth Lewis
, Rutland and Stamford
12:00,
4 June 1964
As there seems to be such interest opposite in the Commonwealth and in a Minister going out to Southern Rhodesia, might it not have been better if the Leader of the Opposition had gone to a Commonwealth country instead of electioneering on a visit to Russia?
The "Leader of the Opposition" is head of "Her Majesty's Official Opposition". This position is taken by the Leader of the party with the 2nd largest number of MPs in the Commons.
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.
