Mark Henderson answered
The UK government's Cabinet meetings are kept secret to protect the government from any leak of information which may harm their political authority or Britain's national security.
The Prime Minister heads the cabinet and dictates the political agenda of the Cabinet discussions. The government is expected to communicate its decisions to Parliament and the Public after they have been taken in the Cabinet meetings. Cabinet meetings are held weekly.
The Prime Minister alone has the power to appoint and dismiss any Cabinet member and, to achieve this, the Prime Minister advises the monarch to dismiss the minister - although a minister is usually also given the option to resign. The Prime Minister can also "reshuffle" the cabinet to switch the posts of ministers within the Cabinet.
The Cabinet is governed by two conventions: Cabinet collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility. The effect of this is that, if a Cabinet minister cannot accept a decision made by The Cabinet, then he or she must resign. If a vote of no confidence is passed in Parliament, then every Cabinet minister is expected to resign from the executive.
Should a Prime Minister die in office then the deputy Prime Minister would take over for the remainder of the term, while the ruling party would start the search for a replacement candidate to run in the next general election. For example, if David Cameron were to die today, then Nick Clegg, the deputy PM, would became Prime Minister.
The Prime Minister heads the cabinet and dictates the political agenda of the Cabinet discussions. The government is expected to communicate its decisions to Parliament and the Public after they have been taken in the Cabinet meetings. Cabinet meetings are held weekly.
The Prime Minister alone has the power to appoint and dismiss any Cabinet member and, to achieve this, the Prime Minister advises the monarch to dismiss the minister - although a minister is usually also given the option to resign. The Prime Minister can also "reshuffle" the cabinet to switch the posts of ministers within the Cabinet.
The Cabinet is governed by two conventions: Cabinet collective responsibility and individual ministerial responsibility. The effect of this is that, if a Cabinet minister cannot accept a decision made by The Cabinet, then he or she must resign. If a vote of no confidence is passed in Parliament, then every Cabinet minister is expected to resign from the executive.
Should a Prime Minister die in office then the deputy Prime Minister would take over for the remainder of the term, while the ruling party would start the search for a replacement candidate to run in the next general election. For example, if David Cameron were to die today, then Nick Clegg, the deputy PM, would became Prime Minister.
