What is the Cabinet?
The nutshell
The Cabinet is a small team of the government's most senior ministers. The Prime Minister picks who joins the Cabinet, leads its weekly meetings, and the Cabinet decides the government's biggest plans.
Every fact on this page comes from official guides and non-partisan explainers. Each source tag — like GOV — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
What the Cabinet is
The Cabinet is a small team of the government's most senior ministers. Ministers are chosen by the Prime Minister from MPs and members of the House of Lords.GOV UK Parliament describes the Cabinet as around 20 of the most senior ministers, each leading a policy area or a department such as Health, Transport or Defence.Parl
How the Cabinet works
The Cabinet meets once a week while Parliament is sitting, usually on a Tuesday, in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street.IfG The Prime Minister leads the meeting. The Institute for Government describes the Cabinet as the senior decision-making body in government, and GOV.UK says it meets to discuss the most important issues for the government.GOV
Collective responsibility
Cabinet ministers can argue in private, but the discussion stays confidential. Once the Cabinet agrees a decision, that decision is binding on every member of the government.HoC A minister who cannot support a Cabinet decision in public is expected to resign, according to the House of Commons Library.HoC
- Big decisions are shared across a team of senior ministers, not taken by one person alone
- Weekly meetings let ministers from different departments agree one government position
- Under collective responsibility, the whole government publicly stands behind each decision
- Much detailed decision-making now happens in smaller Cabinet committees, not the full Cabinet
- Power can concentrate in the Prime Minister and a small group of trusted ministers
- Cabinet meetings are private, so voters cannot see how a decision was reached
The deep end6 min
What the Cabinet is, and who is in it
The Cabinet is the group of the most senior ministers in the government. GOV.UK describes it as made up of the senior members of government — the Secretaries of State who head departments, plus some other ministers.GOV The Prime Minister chooses each Cabinet minister, and almost all are MPs or members of the House of Lords.GOV UK Parliament puts the usual size at around 20 of the most senior ministers.Parl
How the Cabinet meets and decides
The Cabinet meets once a week when Parliament is sitting, currently on a Tuesday morning, in the Cabinet Room at 10 Downing Street.IfG The Prime Minister chairs the meeting. The Institute for Government describes the Cabinet as the senior decision-making body in government and the ultimate arbiter of government policy.IfG Some junior ministers may attend Cabinet without being full members.
Collective responsibility
A convention called collective responsibility binds the Cabinet together. The House of Commons Library records that a minister may disagree in private, but once the Cabinet makes a decision that decision is binding on all members of the government.HoC A minister who cannot support the agreed position in public is expected to resign. The House of Commons Library also notes that governments have on occasion set this convention aside.HoC