Collective cabinet responsibility – the convention by which individual members of the government are held accountable for the actions of the government as a whole – lies at the heart of the British political system.
The convention, around since the 18th century, rests on two core principles. First, that ministers must be free to engage in debate behind closed doors before coming to a collective decision. And second, that once agreed in cabinet, all ministers, from the chancellor to the lowliest parliamentary private secretary, must abide by the position and vote with the government, or else resign.
I regret to inform you that 29 days into the Liz Truss administration, collective cabinet responsibility has all but collapsed.
Where to start? Penny Mordaunt, Leader of the House of Commons, said today that benefits should rise with inflation. She was subsequently joined by Welsh Secretary, Robert Buckland, and Work and Pensions Secretary, Chloe Smith, both of whom shared their reservations about a potential real-terms cut.
Things then got weirder on the issue of the 45p tax cut. Home Secretary Suella Braverman said she was “disappointed” by the U-turn, calling backbench discord a “coup”. Levelling Up Secretary Simon Clarke then quote tweeted Braverman’s comments, adding that “Suella speaks a lot of good sense, as usual“.
In fairness, Truss herself has admitted she still wants to reduce the top rate of tax for high earners, suggesting she might one day become the first prime minister to break her own whip.
So to clarify, that’s several cabinet members to the prime minister’s left publicly pressuring her to uprate benefits by inflation, and two more to her right bemoaning the humiliating U-turn on a policy that has upended this entire conference.
Oh, and Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg found the time to encourage shoppers to defy the government’s ban on junk food being displayed at supermarket tills by moving chocolate to checkout counters. With friends like these operating within the cabinet, who needs Michael Gove?
The economic cost of the disastrous mini-budget may be receding, at least in terms of the cost of government borrowing. 30-year gilts have now returned to pre-budget levels following the Bank of England’s emergency intervention. But the prime minister must be all too aware of one big difference – there is no lender of last resort when it comes to lost political capital.
Elsewhere in the paper, a court has heard that the car driven by Chris Kaba collided with police vehicles in the incident when he was shot. As our Courts Correspondent Tristan Kirk reports, the vehicle being driven by Kaba, 24, who was unarmed, had been linked to a firearms incident the previous day, leading to it being tailed by police and then eventually stopped.
In the comment pages, Homes & Property Editor Prudence Ivey argues that the tax-slashing mini-Budget can’t be described as good for London if Londoners don’t benefit. While Nimco Ali says Emmanuel Macron is tiny, but hot – and that men who surgically extend their legs are fools.
And finally, much like Tony Blair in the 1990s, who allegedly claimed his favourite food was both fish and chips *and* fettuccine with olive oil, sun-dried tomatoes and capers (depending on the audience), we bring you London’s best mocktails for Sober October *and* seven British vodkas for National Vodka Day. Consider it a free vote.
