Estimating the Distribution of Positional Influence in Cabinet Committees under Major

Abstract

For all the rhetorical importance of ‘cabinet government’ as an ideal, no one informed about British politics believes that a great deal of business is or can be effectively transacted at weekly meetings of 23 ministers lasting for around an hour and a half. Ministers, officials, journalists and academics agree that the ‘real’ business of government is transacted elsewhere — in the cabinet committee system, bilateral or trilateral meetings between ministers and inside the Whitehall departments. Cabinet committees (known in officialese as ‘ministerial standing committees’) form perhaps the most central and least documented part of the modern core executive. Their task is to pre-process issues, and relieve the burden on full cabinet meetings. Each committee consists of only a selection of the cabinet members, those with relevant departmental interests plus others assigned by the prime minister. Some include a few junior ministers as well. Subcommittees below standing committees exist in areas where there are numerous issues. And in addition to the permanent standing committees a wide range of temporary committees have been set up at different times to handle specific policy decisions or especially pressing issues. Finally cabinet committees are paralleled by ‘official committees’ of civil servants which meet in advance of ministerial meetings: they seek to establish areas of agreement, clarify the remaining problems and help each department to best work out its options and position.