ABSTRACT
The survey of the Cabinet system reveals a complicated, uneven, sometimes inconsistent picture. On the one hand segmentation and departmentalism enhance the position of the premier, who becomes one of the few ministers who knows what is going on in all areas of government. If the British collegiate ethos were to wither away, the Cabinet system, ever adaptable and flexible, would turn itself into something similar to the German or French pattern. The Cabinet system is not just a mechanism for taking decisions: it is a means of nurturing political loyalty between colleagues. Indeed, the UK manages policy coordination better than most, and it is difficult to identify even advanced Cabinet systems in OECD countries that do better. It is clear that the Cabinet has not at any time since the nineteenth century been a strategic body. It deals with casework across the span of government but rarely pauses to relate these individual decisions to the government’s overall programme.
