Tuesday, November 20, 2007

What Exactly is the Cabinet For?

Adam Boulton has just reported on Sky News that the Northern Rock crisis wasn't even discussed at this morning's Cabinet meeting. I find this incredible and leads me to ask, what is the point of Cabinet government if major crises aren't discussed by the Cabinet. It can only mean that the whole thing is being run from Number Ten and Number Eleven. We already know that there are only three Ministers who Gordon Brown takes into his confidence - Balls, Miliband and Alexander. Isn't it about time one or two Cabinet members got some backbone and insisted on things like this being discussed openly in full Cabinet?

Gordon Brown promised a return to cabinet government when he took over. It's yet another commitment he's jettisoned when the going got rough.

12 comments:

Tony said...

The end of 'sofa' government did not mean we would end up with cabinet government. We now have 'armchair' government as there is only room for one decision maker and we know who that is...

Anonymous said...

What exactly is a government for?

It seems as though HMRC have lost millions of people's details. Oh sorry computer says no, seems as though it will be the defense.

Governments will go after OAPs for not paying their council tax, but they can waste billions upon billions and no one gives a damn. Is it more or does something there not make sense.

Anonymous said...

Presumably they were too busy discussing the flying shit from HMRC!

Anonymous said...

No point having a kick about in Cabinet, someone has taken the ball away!

Anonymous said...

Isn't it about time one or two Cabinet members got some backbone and insisted on things like this being discussed openly in full Cabinet?

Isn't it time that one or two of those turkeys called for a vote of no confidence in the government.....after all,its is nearly Christmas.

Anonymous said...

I seem to recall that the BBC and other Leftist commentators used to constantly go on about bad it was that Maggie did not discuss things with her cabinet ministers, nonsense of course but now it is true those critics have gone curiously silent.

Mind you they also used to go on (and on) about how bad it was that Maggie had compromised the political neutrality of the Civil Service by employing Bernard Ingham, and we all know what happened once the Labour Party got elected to power.

Man in a Shed said...

Personally I think Gordon Brown has lost the plot. He's just not up to being prime minister.

Mulligan said...

The cabinet is there to provide stooges to take the blame whenever things go wrong, leaving Gordon to take the credit (when or, more accurately, if) things go right.

Anonymous said...

Cabinets are too large, of course, but cabinet ministers are spineless. Not one of them (with the possible exception of Gordon Brown) had the balls to stand up to Alistair Campbell when he was cock of the roost.

One possible reason, or at least contributory factor, is that none of them have anywhere to go outside politics. Heseltine could stand up to Margaret Thatcher because he was rich and successful in his own right.

Anonymous said...

It is no longer possible to believe this is an honest government. It is as dishonest and conniving as the Blair one.

Philipa said...

The cabinet is to put all your expensive items in so they don't get damaged lying around daily life.

Chris Paul said...

Obviously if some arse is running to Boulton and/or Dale with every detail of the cabinet runnings they will aim to avoid discussing anything that Boulton and Dale want to be leaked to programme and blog respectively. Stands to reason.