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58-703: The Lord High Steward is the first of the Great Officers of State in England , nominally ranking above the Lord Chancellor . The office has generally remained vacant since 1421, and is now an ad hoc office that is primarily ceremonial and is filled only for a coronation. At coronations of the British monarch , the Lord High Steward bears St Edward's Crown . The Lord High Steward has

116-595: A political body – that is to say the Cabinet – which may have to make policy decisions upon the basis of the legal advice the law officers have given." The Cabinet is a committee of the Privy Council (though this interpretation has been challenged) and, as such, all Cabinet ministers must be privy counsellors. Members of the Cabinet are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of Parliament, as convention dictates that ministers may only be recruited from

174-463: A remedy worse than the disease". Charles I began a formal "Cabinet Council" from his accession in 1625, as his Privy Council, or "private council", and the first recorded use of "cabinet" by itself for such a body comes from 1644, and is again hostile and associates the term with dubious foreign practices. There were ministries in England led by the chief minister , which was a personage leading

232-811: A rule, so that they may continue to carry out their ceremonial functions in the House. The Lord High Constable (formally the Lord High Constable of England ) was the commander of the royal armies and the Master of the Horse and, in conjunction with the Earl Marshal , president of the Court of Chivalry or Court of Honour . The office was originally inherited by the Earls of Hereford , though it reverted to

290-590: Is appointed, they have been granted a customary peerage. The Cabinet is now made up almost entirely of members of the House of Commons. Civil servants from the Cabinet Secretariat and special advisers (on the approval of the prime minister) can also attend Cabinet meetings, but neither take part in discussions. It has been suggested that the modern Cabinet is too large, including by former Cabinet Secretary Mark Sedwill and scholars Robert Hazell and Rodney Brazier . Hazell has suggested merging

348-644: Is at the head of the law offices of Scotland; all prosecutors act in his/her name. The Lord Justice Clerk serves as a deputy of the Lord Justice General. Finally, the Lord Lyon King of Arms is the sole judge in the Lyon Court , which determines cases relating to heraldry . Prior to the Union of 1707 there were eight officers of state: four greater officers, and four lesser officers. This

406-543: Is currently always held by His Majesty's Principal Secretary of State for Justice . Historically, the Chancellor has enjoyed duties pertaining to the judiciary, and in the past he was the presiding officer of the House of Lords, and was made a peer if not already one; however, since 2007 only commoners have been appointed to the office. The Lord Keeper of the Great Seal was generally a temporary position to handle

464-490: Is the ultimate decision-making body of the executive within the Westminster system of government in traditional constitutional theory. This interpretation was originally put across in the work of 19th-century constitutionalists such as Walter Bagehot , who described the Cabinet as the "efficient secret" of the British political system in his book The English Constitution . The political and decision-making authority of

522-908: Is upon the offices of Treasurer of the Exchequer and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland, and not on the Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom. The Commissioners include the Prime Minister and the Chancellor of the Exchequer , who act as First Lord and Second Lord of the Treasury respectively, with other junior government whips serving as junior lords. The Lord President of the Council presides over His Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council , otherwise known as

580-576: Is vested in the Crown, who may otherwise dispense it to other individuals (mainly members of the Royal Family ), or put it under commission, notably when it was held by the Board of Admiralty , from 1708 to 1964. The term "officer of state" is sometimes used loosely of any great office under the Crown. As in England, many offices are hereditary . A number of historical offices ended at, or soon after,

638-707: The College of Arms , and issues warrants for the grant of arms in England, Wales and Ireland. His Majesty's High Court of Chivalry , with jurisdiction over all matters relating to heraldry, is presided over by the Earl Marshal. The Lord High Admiral (formally the Lord High Admiral of the United Kingdom ) is the ceremonial head of the Royal Navy , holding no command at sea but, rather, jurisdiction over maritime affairs, including courts. The office

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696-478: The Council of Ministers or similar bodies of other countries are often informally referred to as cabinets. The modern Cabinet system was set up by Prime Minister David Lloyd George during his premiership, 1916–1922, with a Cabinet Office and secretariat, committee structures, unpublished minutes , and a clearer relationship with departmental Cabinet ministers. The formal procedures, practice and proceedings of

754-492: The Dukes of Ancaster and Kesteven . The 3rd Duke left two daughters as heirs. The House of Lords ruled that the two sisters were jointly Lord Great Chamberlain and could appoint a Deputy to fulfil the functions of the office. The same ruling was applied in 1902 for the then joint office holders, the 1st Earl of Ancaster , the 4th Marquess of Cholmondeley , and the 1st Earl Carrington . In 1912 an agreement

812-626: The House of Commons and the House of Lords . The Ministerial Code says that the business of the Cabinet (and cabinet committees ) is mainly questions of major issues of policy, questions of critical importance to the public and questions on which there is an unresolved argument between departments. The work of the Cabinet is scrutinised by the Shadow Cabinet , made up of members of the Official Opposition . Until at least

870-763: The Lord High Chancellor of Great Britain ) is the most senior of the Great Officers other than the Lord High Steward (who is appointed only on a temporary basis for coronations): he is the cabinet minister responsible for the Ministry of Justice (formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department and the Department for Constitutional Affairs ), and formally the Keeper of the Great Seal . The office

928-742: The Norman Conquest , England adopted the officers from the Normandy Ducal court (which was modelled after the French court) with a steward , chamberlain and constable . Originally having both household and governmental duties, some of these officers later split into two counterparts in Great Officer of the State and officer of the royal household, while other offices were superseded by new offices or absorbed by existing offices. This

986-779: The Treaty of Union 1707 . There are also a number of Officers of the Crown and Great Officers of the Royal Household. These Officers of State were also called "Officers of the Crown" despite there being a separate group of officers so named that are not officers of state and, unlike the officers of state, did not sit or vote in meetings. — James Ogilvy 1st Earl of Seafield (Lord High Chancellor) David Boyle 1st Earl of Glasgow (Treasurer-depute) The Honourable Francis Montgomerie (Treasurer in Parliament ) John Erskine 23rd and 6th Earl of Mar After

1044-403: The constitutional convention of collective ministerial responsibility . Cabinet ministers, like all ministers, are appointed and may be dismissed by the monarch without notice or reason, on the advice of the prime minister. The allocation and transfer of responsibilities between ministers and departments is also generally at the prime minister's discretion. The Cabinet has always been led by

1102-467: The power of the prime minister , who moved from being the primus inter pares of the Asquith Cabinets of 1906 onwards, to the dominating figures of David Lloyd George, Stanley Baldwin , and Winston Churchill . The Institute for Government claims that the reduced number of full Cabinet meetings signifies "that the role of Cabinet as a formal decision-making body has been in decline since

1160-421: The 16th century, individual officers of state had separate property, powers and responsibilities granted with their separate offices by royal command, and the Crown and the Privy Council constituted the only co-ordinating authorities. In England, phrases such as "cabinet counsel", meaning advice given in private, in a cabinet in the sense of a small room, to the monarch, occur from the late 16th century, and, given

1218-574: The Cabinet remain largely unpublished. This development grew out of the exigencies of the First World War , where faster and better co-ordinated decisions across government were seen as a crucial part of the war effort. Decisions on mass conscription , co-ordination worldwide with other governments across international theatres, and armament production tied into a general war strategy that could be developed and overseen from an inner " War Cabinet ". The country went through successive crises after

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1276-491: The Cabinet. The total number of Cabinet ministers who are entitled to a salary is capped by statute at 21, plus the Lord Chancellor , who is paid separately. Some ministers may be designated as also attending Cabinet, like the Attorney General , as "...it has been considered more appropriate, in recent times at any rate, that the independence and detachment of his office should not be blurred by his inclusion in

1334-489: The Crown in 1512 on the attainder of Edward Stafford, 3rd Duke of Buckingham , and is now reinstated only for the day of a coronation (where he commands the whole of the coronation troops). The Earl Marshal of England assumed the place of the Constable in the royal palace in the command of the royal armies. The Earl Marshal (formally the Earl Marshal and Hereditary Marshal of England ), held in conjunction with

1392-465: The English government for the monarch. Despite primary accountability to the monarch, these ministries, having a group of ministers running the country, served as a predecessor of the modern perspective of cabinet. After the ministry of Lord Stanhope and Lord Sunderland collapsed, Sir Robert Walpole rose to power as First Lord of the Treasury . Since the reign of King George I the Cabinet has been

1450-737: The Government of the day to account is often cited by the UK media as a justification for the vigour with which they question and challenge the Government. The classic view of Cabinet Government was laid out by Walter Bagehot in The English Constitution (1867) in which he described the prime minister as the primus-inter-pares (" first among equals "). The view was questioned by Richard Crossman in The Myths of Cabinet Government (1972) and by Tony Benn . They were both members of

1508-1016: The Great Seal by the Clerk of the Crown in Chancery and the Crown Office . The Chief Justiciar (which superseded the Lord High Steward) was once ranked above the Lord High Chancellor in power, influence and dignity until 1231, when the position lost its standing in the Kingdom. With the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 , the Lord Chancellor has been replaced in some roles by the Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales as head of

1566-596: The Great Seal until the appointment of a new High Chancellor, or for a non-noble appointment. Eventually, the Keeper was granted the same status as the Chancellor. By the late 1700s, the Lord Keeper's role was merged into the Chancellorship itself. Lords Commissioners of the Great Seal may be appointed to exercise the office of Lord Chancellor. The Lord Chancellor is assisted in his responsibility as custodian of

1624-454: The House of Commons or the House of Lords, although this convention has been broken in the past for short periods. Patrick Gordon Walker is perhaps the most notable exception: he was appointed to the Cabinet despite losing his seat in the 1964 general election , and resigned from Cabinet after running and losing in a by-election in January 1965. Sometimes, when a minister from neither House

1682-561: The Labour governments of the 1960s and thought that the position of the prime minister had acquired more power so that prime ministerial government was a more apt description. Crossman stated that the increase in the power of the prime minister resulted from power of centralised political parties, the development of a unified civil service, and the growth of the prime minister's private office and Cabinet secretariat . Graham Allen (a government whip during Tony Blair's first government) makes

1740-1402: The Lord Clerk Register the only one fixed in precedency. A number of offices ended at, or soon after, the Union of 1707. These include the High Chancellor, the High Treasurer, the Secretary of Scotland, the Treasurer-depute, the President of the Privy Council, and the High Admiral of Scotland. Cabinet of the United Kingdom King Charles III [REDACTED] William, Prince of Wales [REDACTED] Charles III ( King-in-Council ) [REDACTED] Starmer ministry ( L ) Keir Starmer ( L ) Angela Rayner ( L ) ( King-in-Parliament ) [REDACTED] Charles III [REDACTED] [REDACTED] [REDACTED] The Lord Reed The Lord Hodge Andrew Bailey Monetary Policy Committee The Cabinet of

1798-666: The Lord High Treasurer. The Chamberlain also has charge of the Palace of Westminster (working within the House of Lords), and is responsible for arrangements during the State Opening of Parliament , a role which he shares with the Earl Marshal. The office was originally held by the Earls of Oxford . Later, however, the Chamberlainship came to be inherited by the Earl of Lindsey and then his multiple heirs, who later became

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1856-630: The Lord Keeper of His Majesty's Privy Seal) was responsible for the monarch's privy seal , until the use of such seal became obsolete, and is now considered a sinecure position, usually granted to the Leader of one or other of the Houses of Parliament . The Lord Great Chamberlain (formally the Lord Great Chamberlain of England ) originally had financial duties pertaining to the royal Court , though these duties have now been assumed by

1914-551: The Privy Council, though different governments have given the office various additional duties (as Churchill did after the Second World War ). Since 1951, the office has usually been held by either the Leader of the House of Commons or the Leader of the House of Lords , with the other serving as Lord Privy Seal , though the office can be given to other high-ranking government ministers. The Lord Privy Seal (formally

1972-565: The Treasury Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury Lord Marshal of England (1135–1386) Lord High Admiral of Great Britain (1707–1800) Lord (High) Admiral of England (1512–1707) High Admiral of England, Ireland and Aquitaine (1385–1512) The Lord High Steward (formally the Lord High Steward of England ) has the sole power to preside over the impeachment trials of peers,

2030-598: The United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom . A committee of the Privy Council , it is chaired by the Prime Minister and its members include Secretaries of State and senior Ministers of State . Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister and are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom ,

2088-411: The abolition of the Mayor of the Palace , France established seven officers of the crown (ordered by rank): the high constable , the high admiral , the high or great chancellor , the great justiciar, the great chamberlain , the great protonotary , and the great steward or seneschal . These offices were duplicated in the Kingdom of Scotland. By the time of King Malcolm II, the great protonotary

2146-401: The cabinet has been gradually reduced over the last several decades, with some claiming its role has been usurped by a "prime ministerial" government. In the modern political era, the prime minister releases information concerning the ministerial ranking in the form of a list detailing the seniority of all Cabinet ministers. The centralisation of the Cabinet in the early 20th century enhanced

2204-413: The case in The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency (2003) that the office of prime minister has presidential powers, as did Michael Foley in The British Presidency (2000). However, the power that a prime minister has over his or her cabinet colleagues is directly proportional to the amount of support that they have with their political parties and this is often related to whether

2262-480: The custom of meeting on a Thursday, after the appointment of Gordon Brown , the meeting day was switched to Tuesday. However, when David Cameron became prime minister, he held his cabinet meetings on Thursdays again. Upon Theresa May's tenure, she switched the cabinet meetings back to Tuesday. The length of meetings varies according to the style of the Prime Minister and political conditions, but modern meetings can be as short as 30 minutes. Ministers are bound by

2320-442: The judiciary, and the Lord Speaker as chair of the House of Lords . The Lord High Treasurer (formally the Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom ), is responsible for government finances and spending. The office has been vacant since the death of Charles Talbot, 1st Duke of Shrewsbury , in 1714. With the passing of the Consolidated Fund Act 1816 , the offices of Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain (who in turn held

2378-458: The last of which happened in 1806. The most visible duty of the Lord High Steward today, even though purely ceremonial, is bearing St Edward's Crown at the coronations of monarchs . The Lord High Stewardship was held by the Earls of Leicester until 1399, when it was merged into the Crown. Since 1421, the office is vested during coronations (and in the past for the trial of peers), and is otherwise left vacant. The Lord Chancellor (formally

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2436-518: The media, and was made clear in the Butler Review , where Blair's style of "sofa government" was censured. The combined effect of the prime minister's ability to control Cabinet by circumventing effective discussion in Cabinet and the executive's ability to dominate parliamentary proceedings places the British prime minister in a position of great power, that has been likened to an elective dictatorship (a phrase coined by Quinton Hogg, Lord Hailsham in 1976). The relative inability of Parliament to hold

2494-414: The non-standardised spelling of the day, it is often hard to distinguish whether "council" or "counsel" is meant. The OED credits Francis Bacon in his Essays (1605) with the first use of "Cabinet council", where it is described as a foreign habit, of which he disapproves: "For which inconveniences, the doctrine of Italy, and practice of France, in some kings' times, hath introduced cabinet counsels;

2552-438: The office Marshal of England, was originally responsible for the monarch's horses and stables, as well as taking charge over the royal armies; these duties were shared with the Constable. His duties evolved to ceremonial responsibilities in regard to the organisation of major ceremonial state occasions, most notably coronations, state funerals, and the State Opening of Parliament. The Earl Marshal also remains to have charge over

2610-412: The office of Treasurer of the Exchequer of Great Britain ) and Lord High Treasurer of Ireland were merged into that of the Lord High Treasurer of the United Kingdom. The Act also enabled His Majesty to put the two offices in commission, granting the powers of the Lord High Treasurer to the said commission (the Lords Commissioners of His Majesty’s Treasury ). Contrary to popular belief, the commission

2668-424: The offices of Secretary of State for Northern Ireland , Scotland, and Wales into one Secretary of State for the Union, in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility for English local government . Most cabinet meetings take place in the Cabinet Room of 10 Downing Street ; however, they have been known to take place in other places. Despite

2726-455: The post until his death in 1421. The equivalent offices in Scotland and Ireland respectively are the Great Steward of Scotland (always held by the heir to the throne, known in Scotland as the Duke of Rothesay ) and the Lord High Steward of Ireland (held by the Earls of Shrewsbury , who are also Earls of Waterford in the Peerage of Ireland ). Incomplete before 1660 . Great Officers of State (United Kingdom) Initially, after

2784-439: The prime minister, whose originally unpaid office as such was traditionally described as merely primus inter pares (first among equals), but today the prime minister is the preeminent head of government , with the effective power to appoint and dismiss Cabinet ministers and to control the Cabinet's agenda. The extent to which the Government is collegial varies with political conditions and individual personalities. The Cabinet

2842-409: The principal executive group of British government. Both he and George II made use of the system, as both were not native English speakers, unfamiliar with British politics, and thus relied heavily on selected groups of advisers. The term "minister" came into being since the royal officers "ministered" to the sovereign. The name and institution have been adopted by most English-speaking countries, and

2900-400: The sole legal power to preside over impeachment trials of peers (which last happened in 1806). The trial of peers by their peers (a law which applied for felonies) was abolished in 1948. In general, but not invariably, the Lord Chancellor was deputised (to act as Lord High Steward) in the felony trials. There was a "Court of the Lord High Steward" which served this purpose when Parliament

2958-797: The war." This view has been contradicted by Vernon Bogdanor , a British constitutional expert, who claims that "the Cabinet has, in fact, been strengthened by the decline in full meetings, as it allows more matters to be transferred to cabinet committees. Thus, business is done more efficiently." Most prime ministers have had a so-called "kitchen cabinet" consisting of their own trusted advisers who may be Cabinet members but are often non-cabinet trusted personal advisers on their own staff. In recent governments, generally from Margaret Thatcher , and especially in that of Tony Blair , it has been reported that many or even all major decisions have been made before cabinet meetings. This suggestion has been made by former ministers including Clare Short and Chris Smith , in

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3016-407: The war: the 1926 general strike ; the Great Depression of 1929–32; the rise of Bolshevism after 1917 and fascism after 1922; the Spanish Civil War 1936 onwards; the invasion of Abyssinia 1936; the League of Nations Crisis which followed; and the re-armament and resurgence of Germany from 1933, leading into the Second World War . The Prime Minister decides the membership and attendees of

3074-537: Was due to many of the offices becoming hereditary because of feudalistic practices, and thus removed from the practical operation of either the state or the Royal Household . The Great Officers then gradually expanded to cover multiple duties, and have now become largely ceremonial. Lord High Chancellor of England (1068–1707) Lord High Treasurer of Great Britain (1714–1817) Lord High Treasurer of England ( c.  1126 –1714) Chancellor and Under-Treasurer of His Majesty's Exchequer and Second Lord of

3132-611: Was extinct and the great justiciar was replaced by the Lord Justice General . The post of High Constable is held by the Earls of Erroll . Originally, the heads of the Keith family held the office of Earl Marischal but, in 1716, the holder was attainted for treason, and the office has not been re-granted. The Dukes of Argyll are the Hereditary Masters of the Household. All other officers are Crown appointments. Many of these offices, though originally associated with political power, are now only ceremonial . The remaining officers are related to Scotland's judiciary . The Lord Justice General

3190-417: Was limited by an act of parliament, such that two officers of state, Comptroller and Master of Requests, were merged with Lord High Treasurer and Lord Secretary respectively. The greater officers were the Lord High Chancellor , Lord High Treasurer , Lord Privy Seal and Lord Secretary ; the lesser officers were the Lord Clerk Register , Lord Advocate , Lord Treasurer-depute and Lord Justice Clerk , with

3248-422: Was not in session. Initially the position was largely an honorary one. It grew in importance until its holder became one of the most powerful men of the kingdom. From the late 12th century, the office was considered to be bound with the Earldom of Leicester . When the House of Lancaster ascended the throne in 1399, Henry IV made his second son, Thomas of Lancaster, Duke of Clarence , Lord High Steward. He held

3306-403: Was originally an important noble , though in the 19th century the office was combined with that of Lord President of the Court of Session . Now, the Lord Justice General is the head of Scotland's judiciary. The Lord Clerk Register is an officer with miscellaneous functions that include conducting the elections of Scottish representative peers , and registering births and deaths. The Lord Advocate

3364-409: Was reached that the office should rotate every reign amongst themselves and their heirs, with the Cholmondeleys serving every other reign, and the heirs of Ancaster and Carrington every four reigns each. The House of Lords Act 1999 removed the automatic right of hereditary peers to sit in the House of Lords, but the Act provided that the Lord Great Chamberlain and the Earl Marshal be exempt from such

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