Part of Points of Order – in the House of Commons at 1:26 pm on 26 November 2008.
George Osborne
Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer
1:26,
26 November 2008
I am saying that the Government did not fix the roof when the sun was shining. I am saying that we entered this recession with the worst budget deficit and the highest levels of personal debt in the developed world. I am saying that our housing boom was double that of America, and that that is why independent groups such as the International Monetary Fund say that we will have the worst recession of any developed economy. I know that Mr. Blunkett wants to get back into the Cabinet, having resigned from it twice—indeed, that is the best way to get into the Prime Minister's current Cabinet—but the truth is that I have listed what the Government of whom he was a part have done to the economy in the past 10 years.
It is not just the appalling debt figures—
An emergency debate is a debate called at short notice on a subject of a "specific and important matter that should have urgent consideration". An MP may apply to the Speaker for an emergency debate under the rules of Standing Order No. 24. Many more MPs request emergency debates than are granted. The Speaker usually grants no more than one or two a year and limits them to matters of national importance. They take place within 24 hours of being granted.
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.
