Cabinet of the United Kingdom

The **Cabinet of the United Kingdom** is the collective decision-making body of Her Majesty's government of the United Kingdom, composed of the Prime Minister and other heads of the executive departments, the most senior of government ministers.

The Cabinet is selected primarily from the elected members of the House of Commons by the Prime Minister. Cabinet ministers are usually heads of government departments, mostly with the office of "Secretary of State for [function; e.g., Defence]". Some cabinet ministers can be ministers without portfolio, either directly as such or (more commonly) by holding sinecure posts such as Lord Privy Seal, or otherwise empty titles such as First Secretary of State. Certain other cabinet ministers are in a somewhat hybrid position, where they have a portfolio, but do not head a government department; the Lord President of the Council being such an example, where that office has accreted a collection of responsibilities over time, but which does not have a Lord President's Department attached to it. Although generally the most powerful or prestigious members of the Cabinet head critical ministries such as the Foreign Office, ministers without portfolio can also be important components. The Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is, by far, the most powerful Cabinet minister yet heads no department, although the Prime Minister's Office co-ordinates their oversight of the whole government.

The collective co-ordinating function of the Cabinet is reinforced by the statutory position that all secretaries of state jointly hold the same office, and can exercise the same powers. This does not, however, apply to the non-secretaries of state in the Cabinet, such as the Leader of the House of Commons (when such office of Cabinet rank). Technically, therefore, the Cabinet is composed of many more people than legal offices, since the Secretary of Stateship is actually in commission, as is the position of Lord High Treasurer, with the Prime Minister and Chancellor being the First and Second Lords of the Treasury, respectively.

The Cabinet 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 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 Cabinet rank in the form of a list detailing the seniority of all Cabinet ministers.

The Cabinet is the executive committee of Her Majesty's Privy Council, a body which has legislative, judicial and executive functions, and whose large membership includes members of the Opposition. Its decisions are generally implemented either under the existing powers of individual government departments, or by Orders in Council.

## Incumbent cabinet ministers

The incumbent Cabinet is the executive body of the Kallas ministry and is comprised of select individuals.