Article

Collective Ministerial Responsibility in British Government: the Testing of a Convention, 2010-2019

Details

Citation

Kippin S & Pyper R (2021) Collective Ministerial Responsibility in British Government: the Testing of a Convention, 2010-2019. Political Quarterly, 92 (3), pp. 522-530. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-923x.13012

Abstract
The functioning of the convention of collective ministerial responsibility in British government during the period 2010–19 is assessed by examining, in turn: the convention’s historical context, its operation during the period of the 2010–15 Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government, and its application during 2015–19 in the extraordinary circumstances of the Brexit fissures. The key variables and causal factors which historically affected the implementation of the convention continued to have relevance in this period, during which it further evolved under the relative tensions of coalition politics and the more severe strains of fundamental policy differences on a matter of strong political salience. In spite of the stresses placed upon the convention’s operation during this extraordinary period, it remains viable as a core feature of the constitution.

Keywords
collective responsibility; ministerial resignations; coalition; Brexit; constitution

Journal
Political Quarterly: Volume 92, Issue 3

StatusPublished
Publication date30/09/2021
Publication date online31/05/2021
Date accepted by journal27/05/2021
URLhttp://hdl.handle.net/1893/32673
PublisherWiley
ISSN0032-3179
eISSN1467-923X

People (1)

People

Dr Sean Kippin

Dr Sean Kippin

Lecturer in Public Policy, Politics