The principles of government

Partly as a result of the electoral system, Britain, unlike much of Western Europe, normally has a ‘single-party government’. In other words, all members оf the government belong to the same political party. There were however several governments in Britain whose members were drawn from a variety of different parties (this is known as ‘coalition government’).

The habit of a ‘single-party government’ has helped to establish the tradition known as collective responsibility. That is, every member of the government shares the responsibility for every policy made by the government. Since the Second World War, all governments have been formed either by the Labour Party or the Conservative Party. Members of the same party are likely to agree on a programme of policies. Having won the election, they will also have the support of the majority of MPs in the House of Commons. This will enable them to put their policies into practice. Of course, individual government members may hold different opinions, but they are expected to keep these private. By convention, no member of the government can criticize government policy in public. Any member who does so must resign. Another principle of the Cabinet’s work, the doctrine of ministerial responsibility, demands that a Minister should accept a full administrative responsibility for the administration of his/her department. A Minister’s resignation is the only publicly acceptable course of action if serious errors of judgment, significant mistakes, or miscarriages of justice occur. The doctrine provides direct and effective political accountability for the actions of the executive. It is one of the central components of the doctrine of the separation of powers which is itself a cornerstone of any democratic and responsible government.

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