What, if Anything, Does ‘Cabinet Government’ Mean?

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What, if Anything, Does 'Cabinet Government' Mean?

Britain has a Cabinet Government. The Cabinet performs a number of very important roles that are all significant in the day to day running of the government. The main modern function of the Cabinet is to administer and supervise government policy. The Cabinet may have recently devolved the majority of the administrating power to various departments and committees, but their role is to still guide them and oversee networks of ministerial and official committees, and be responsible for their actions. The Cabinet provides political leadership for the party in government, and is the arena in which most important decisions are made. The Cabinet is the body in which many of the most important political decisions are taken, such as the decision to go to war or the decision to increase or reduce expenditure on the NHS, and this role gives them exceptional power. Cabinet government shares authority, with decision-making based upon discussion and compromise. Heywood (1997:402) defines Cabinet government as 'a system of government in which executive power is vested in a cabinet that meets formally and regularly, each member having (in theory) equal influence and being subject to collective responsibility'. The Cabinet