Cabinet collective responsibility , also known as collective ministerial responsibility , is a constitutional convention in parliamentary systems and a cornerstone of the Westminster system system of government, that members of the cabinet must publicly support all governmental decisions made in Cabinet, even if they do not privately agree with them. This support includes voting for the government in the legislature. This convention formed in the 19th century in the United Kingdom. Some political parties, most commonly communist , apply a similar convention of democratic centralism to their central committee .
36-502: Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (abbreviated as TNEB ) is a power generation and distribution company owned by Government of Tamil Nadu , India. It was created as a regulated monopoly under section 131 of the Electricity Act (2003) as a successor of the erstwhile Tamil Nadu Electricity Board . It is the largest State Electricity Board (SEB) in the country in terms of number of consumers (30.75 million as of 31 March 2020). TNEB
72-461: A Gopuram or Hindu temple tower on the background. There are two inscriptions in Tamil language displayed around the rim of the seal runs. தமிழ் நாடு அரசு ( Tamil Nadu arasu ) translating to "Government of Tamil Nadu" is inscribed on the top. Inscribed at the bottom is வாய்மையே வெல்லும் ( Vaymaiye Vellum ) which translates to "Truth Alone Triumphs" and derived from the words " Satyameva Jayate " in
108-526: A conscience vote where any MP may vote as they wish, but these issues are rare and never tied to official party policy, and normally party discipline is very tight. In Canada , the cabinet is on rare occasion allowed to freely vote its conscience and to oppose the government without consequence, as occurred with the vote on capital punishment under Brian Mulroney . These events are rare and are never on matters of confidence . The most prominent Canadian cabinet minister to resign because he could not vote with
144-785: A coalition. In non-parliamentary governments like that of the United States, cabinet collective responsibility is not formally practiced. This is due to a clearer separation of the executive and the legislature in policy-making. The United States president's cabinet members cannot simultaneously serve in Congress , and therefore cannot vote on legislation supported by the executive. The president instead has veto power over legislation passed by Congress. Cabinet unity and collective agreement between members are important to cabinet stability and party politics, but cabinet members do not have to publicly support legislation proposed or supported by
180-549: A minister about cabinet meetings at which controversial proposals had been discussed. The Supreme Court ruled in 1993 that such discussions could not be disclosed because Article 28.4.2° required absolute confidentiality of cabinet discussions (though not of decisions which were formally recorded). The Seventeenth Amendment of the Constitution was passed by referendum in 1997 to add Article 28.4.3°, which allows such disclosures in exceptional circumstances. In New Zealand,
216-425: A new government will be formed or parliament will be dissolved and a general election will be called. Cabinet collective responsibility is not the same as individual ministerial responsibility , which states that ministers are responsible for the running of their departments, and therefore culpable for the departments' mistakes. Cabinet collective responsibility is a tradition in parliamentary governments in which
252-410: A partisan ministry. It rests on the notion that the executive ought to appear a collective entity, able to maintain cohesion and display political strength". In Australia, cabinet collective responsibility is fundamental to cabinet confidentiality, but also to protect private information from becoming public and possibly threatening national security . Cabinet solidarity is not a legal requirement, but
288-459: A political convention and practiced norm. There is no written law that upholds cabinet collective responsibility, but it is deeply ingrained in Australia's cabinets as a political norm and is therefore an important aspect of the collective strength and influence of the prime minister's administration. Occasionally on highly controversial issues such as the 1999 republic referendum , there may be
324-582: A secretary to the government, who is the official head of the department with the Chief secretary superintending control over the secretariat and staff. The departments have further sub-divisions which may govern various undertakings and boards. There are 43 departments of the state. The state emblem was designed in 1949 and consists of the Lion Capital of Ashoka without the bell lotus foundation and flanked on either side by an Indian flag with an image of
360-444: Is a successful vote of no confidence in the government or a two-thirds vote for a snap election in the assembly, in which case an election may be held sooner. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature . The judiciary branch is led by a High Court ( Madras High Court ) led by a Chief Justice . The Governor is the de jure constitutional head of state while
396-595: Is agreed upon by the participating parties. It is distinct from party platforms and details the compromises that parties made in order to cooperate. If a party fails to follow the government platform, other parties in the government can pull the plug and force the entire government to resign. Article 28.4.2° of the Constitution of Ireland states: In 1992, the Beef Tribunal was investigating allegations of political corruption, and wanted to take evidence from
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#1732772041274432-496: Is more likely to avoid contradictions and disagreements between cabinet members of the executive branch. Cabinet ministers are likely to feel there is a practical and collective benefit from being part of a team. Cabinet collective responsibility to the people also benefits party and personal loyalty to the prime minister. Solidarity within the cabinet can strengthen the prime minister's party and accelerate policy decisions and interests of that party. Presidential democracies often lack
468-646: Is that Ministers share responsibility for major government decisions, particularly those made by the cabinet and, even if they personally object to such decisions, Ministers must be prepared to accept and defend them or resign from the cabinet". Cabinet collective responsibility consists of two main features: Collective responsibility is not circumvented by appointing Ministers outside of Cabinet, as has occurred in New Zealand where, from 2005 to 2008, Winston Peters and Peter Dunne were Ministers outside of Cabinet, despite their parties not being considered part of
504-837: Is the tenth largest Indian state by area . Tamil Nadu is divided into 38 districts , each of which is administered by a District Collector , who is an officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) appointed to the district by the Government of Tamil Nadu. For revenue administration, the districts are further subdivided into 87 revenue divisions administered by Revenue Divisional Officers (RDO) which comprise 310 taluks administered by Tahsildars . The taluks are divided into 1349 revenue blocks called Firkas which consist of 17,680 revenue villages. The local administration consists of 15 municipal corporations , 121 municipalities and 528 town panchayats in
540-473: Is the administrative body responsible for the governance of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu . Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislature and head of judiciary. Under the Constitution of India , de jure executive authority lies with the governor , although this authority is exercised only by, or on the advice of, the chief minister , the de facto authority and
576-513: Is the highest judicial authority of the state with control over all the civil and criminal courts in the state. It is headed by a Chief Justice , a position currently held by K. R. Shriram . The court is based out of Chennai and has a bench at Madurai since 2004. As per the 2011 census , Tamil Nadu had a population of 7.21 crores and is the seventh most populous state in India. It covers an area of 130,058 km (50,216 sq mi) and
612-430: The 2003 Iraq War ; however, she later resigned. Prime Minister David Cameron suspended the cabinet collective responsibility doctrine for the 2016 EU referendum , following the precedent set by Harold Wilson in 1975. Prominent cabinet ministers including Michael Gove and Chris Grayling opted to make use of the relaxation by campaigning to leave. A parliamentary system that uses cabinet collective responsibility
648-633: The Chief Minister is the de facto chief executive . The governor is appointed by the President of India . Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly , the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister , whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Given that he has
684-565: The Government of Tamil Nadu decided to divide TNEB into two subsidiaries. On 1 November 2010, TNEB Limited became a holding company with two subsidiaries, Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation Limited (TANGEDCO), responsible for power generation , and Tamil Nadu Transmission Corporation Limited (TANTRANSCO), responsible for power transmission . Government of Tamil Nadu The Government of Tamil Nadu ( Tamil : Tamiḻnāṭu aracu ; IPA: [t̪əmɪɻnɑːɖʉ əɾəsʉ] )
720-536: The House of Lords . Once selected as cabinet ministers, each minister leads one of the government departments. Cabinet ministers respond to oral questions from MPs . The cabinet members, along with the Prime Minister, schedule weekly closed door sessions to discuss the collective stance of the cabinet to avoid inconsistent responses from cabinet ministers. The solidarity of the cabinet is consistently challenged by
756-495: The Indian emblem . Cabinet collective responsibility If a member of the Cabinet wishes to openly object to a Cabinet decision then they are obliged to resign from their position in the Cabinet. Cabinet collective responsibility is related to the fact that if a vote of no confidence is passed in parliament , the government is responsible collectively, and thus the entire government resigns. The consequence will be that
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#1732772041274792-406: The cabinet . Following elections to the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly , the state's governor usually invites the party (or coalition) with a majority of seats to form the government. The governor appoints the chief minister, whose council of ministers are collectively responsible to the assembly. Legislative assembly elections are held every five years to elect a new assembly, unless there
828-462: The fusion of powers of the executive and legislative branches the prime minister relies on the cabinet to always support policy decisions. A breach of cabinet collective responsibility, such as when a cabinet member publicly disagrees with an executive decision, results in resignation or termination from the cabinet. The New South Wales Parliamentary Library Research Service in Australia explains that "one aspect of collective ministerial responsibility
864-416: The prime minister is responsible for appointing the cabinet ministers. The cabinet ministers are usually selected from the same political party as the prime minister to make collective decision-making for legislation faster and more effective. Unlike a presidential system, as used, for example, in the United States, a parliamentary system's executive and legislative branches are intertwined. Because of
900-667: The 1930s when in Britain the National Government allowed its Liberal members to oppose the introduction of protective tariffs ; and again when Harold Wilson allowed Cabinet members to campaign both for and against the 1975 referendum on whether the UK should remain in the European Economic Community . In 2003, Tony Blair allowed Clare Short to stay in the cabinet, despite her public opposition to
936-448: The ability to pass legislation quickly in times of emergency or instances of national security . Because cabinet collective responsibility forces the cabinet ministers to publicly agree with the prime minister's decisions, political debate and internal discourse is hindered. When disagreements occur within a cabinet dependent on collective responsibility, negotiating collective agreements can be difficult. Cabinet collective responsibility
972-464: The assembly on the basis of universal adult suffrage was held in January 1952. The legislature of Tamil Nadu was bicameral until 1986, when it was replaced by a unicameral legislature after the abolishment of Tamil Nadu Legislative Council . Any bill passed by the legislature needs the assent of the governor before becoming an act. The Madras High Court was established on 26 June 1862 and
1008-448: The cabinet was John Turner , who refused to support wage and price controls . In Canada, party discipline is much tighter than in other Westminster-system countries; it is very rare for any MP to vote counter to the party leadership. In Finland , collective responsibility has been established both constitutionally and as a convention. The Finnish Government and its ministers are collectively responsible for all its decisions. However,
1044-490: The confidence of the assembly, the chief minister's term is for five years and is subject to no term limits . Chennai is the capital of the state and houses the state executive, legislative and head of judiciary. Source: The Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly consists of 234 members elected through democratic elections . The current seat of the assembly is at Fort St. George in Chennai . The first election to
1080-410: The constitution allows a minister to dissent by expressing an objection which is entered into the minutes. Nevertheless, while formally allowed, dissent is uncommon because it jeopardizes the stability of the government. Namely, majority coalition governments became the norm after President Kekkonen retired in 1981. A new cabinet must be approved by a parliamentary majority, thus a government platform
1116-597: The opposition in an attempt to create contradictions between cabinet ministers. It is therefore imperative for the cabinet members to have their responses as common and similar as possible. In the United Kingdom , the doctrine applies to all members of the government, from members of the cabinet down to Parliamentary Private Secretaries . Its inner workings are set out in the Ministerial Code . On occasion, this principle has been suspended; most notably in
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1152-490: The president. It is, however, in a cabinet member's best interest to support and align with the president's policies because they serve at the pleasure of the president, who can at any time dismiss them or appoint them to another position. Parliamentary democracies such as Australia, the United Kingdom and Canada practice and adhere to cabinet collective responsibility. Rhodes, Wanna and Weller offer this description of
1188-421: The principle of cabinet confidentiality is always observed. However, Cabinet solidarity can be weakened in coalition governments in which members from junior parties in the cabinet can openly dissent on specific policies through " agree to disagree " arrangements. The United Kingdom practices cabinet collective responsibility. The prime minister selects a number of cabinet ministers from the House of Commons and
1224-468: The principle of cabinet solidarity in Westminster systems of parliamentary democracy: "Cabinet solidarity and collective responsibility are twin dimensions of responsible party government that enjoy constitutionality , albeit informally. They lie at the core of ministerial governance. Cabinet solidarity is purely a political convention designed to maintain or protect the collective good as perceived by
1260-433: The urban and 385 panchayat unions and 12,618 village panchayats , administered by Village Administrative Officers (VAO). Greater Chennai Corporation , established in 1688, is the second oldest in the world and Tamil Nadu was the first state to establish town panchayats as a new administrative unit. The administration of the state government functions through various secretariat departments. Each department consists of
1296-664: Was formed on 1 July 1957 as the Madras State Electricity Board according to the Electricity Supply Act of 1948 as a successor to the erstwhile Electricity Department of the Government of Madras under the authority of the Department of Power. It was responsible for electricity generation, distribution and transmission, and it regulated the electricity supply in the state. Later it was renamed Tamil Nadu Electricity Board. In October 2008,
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