Unit 1

Basic Definition: It is the main group of ministers working collectively via debate to make important decisions with each minister having the most control over their department.

This style of government is believed to be in decline because recently long-term prime ministers have held more personal control and they can consult their own (unelected) advisors outisde government, e.g. think tanks, focus groups, experts/specialists or only key ministers, depends on their patronage, often referred to as Sofa (Tony Blair) or Kitchen (Harold Wilson) Cabinet. More recently David Cameron has been described as having a "Cabinet within a Cabinet".

This implies discussions no longer take place formally and that the prime minister is no…