Prime Minister written statement – made at on 2 June 2026.
Keir Starmer
Leader of the Labour Party, The Prime Minister
I am pleased to announce that the Government will update the Cabinet Manual.
The Cabinet Manual sets out the main Laws, rules, and conventions affecting the operation of government. It is intended primarily as an authoritative reference for Ministers and civil servants, but it also has a role in making the operation of government more accessible to Parliament and the public.
The Manual was first published in 2011 and has not been updated since. As a result, it has become significantly out of date, most notably in its descriptions of general elections, the UK’s relationship with the EU, and the devolution settlements. Its value for Ministers and officials, helping them navigate the UK’s constitutional arrangements, has been diminished by this lack of accuracy. An update will therefore restore the Manual’s status as an authoritative guide.
This update will also restate and underline the rules and conventions that underpin our democracy. Alongside wider work to strengthen the operation of government, including the Fundamental Review into the Organisation, Performance, and Transformation of the permanent Civil Service, it will provide an opportunity to demonstrate the Government’s commitment to high standards in public life.
The Government will seek feedback from the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in the House of Commons and the Constitution Committee in the House of Lords on draft text. As the Manual sets out constitutional arrangements from the view of the Executive, the Government will not seek Parliament’s approval of the text, following the approach established in 2010-11. Nevertheless, we hope this engagement will be a meaningful opportunity for MPs and peers to support the drafting process so that the Manual continues to be a non-party political document that provides a record of fact.
An update is long overdue and will serve to benefit Ministers, officials, Parliament, and the public.
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.
The House of Commons is one of the houses of parliament. Here, elected MPs (elected by the "commons", i.e. the people) debate. In modern times, nearly all power resides in this house. In the commons are 650 MPs, as well as a speaker and three deputy speakers.
The house of Lords is the upper chamber of the Houses of Parliament. It is filled with Lords (I.E. Lords, Dukes, Baron/esses, Earls, Marquis/esses, Viscounts, Count/esses, etc.) The Lords consider proposals from the EU or from the commons. They can then reject a bill, accept it, or make amendments. If a bill is rejected, the commons can send it back to the lords for re-discussion. The Lords cannot stop a bill for longer than one parliamentary session. If a bill is accepted, it is forwarded to the Queen, who will then sign it and make it law. If a bill is amended, the amended bill is sent back to the House of Commons for discussion.
The Lords are not elected; they are appointed. Lords can take a "whip", that is to say, they can choose a party to represent. Currently, most Peers are Conservative.
Laws are the rules by which a country is governed. Britain has a long history of law making and the laws of this country can be divided into three types:- 1) Statute Laws are the laws that have been made by Parliament. 2) Case Law is law that has been established from cases tried in the courts - the laws arise from test cases. The result of the test case creates a precedent on which future cases are judged. 3) Common Law is a part of English Law, which has not come from Parliament. It consists of rules of law which have developed from customs or judgements made in courts over hundreds of years. For example until 1861 Parliament had never passed a law saying that murder was an offence. From the earliest times courts had judged that murder was a crime so there was no need to make a law.
