Theministerial ranking,Cabinet ranking,order of precedence in Cabinetororder of precedence of ministersis the "pecking order"[1]or relative importance[2]of senior ministers in theUK government.
Use
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The ministerial ranking is said byPeter Hennessyto be decided by thePrime Ministeralone[1]and reportedly by the Cabinet Office Precedent Book as being wholly decided by the Prime Minister, "guided partly by tradition and partly by political and personal considerations".[2]Inhis autobiographyDavid Cameronsaid that it ".. bines seniority of post and the length of time as a cabinet minister to determine the rank of everyone present".[3]
TheCabinet Manualstates that when the Prime Minister is unable to attendCabinet,or the chair and any deputy chair of aCabinet committeeare absent, the next most senior minister in the ministerial ranking should take the chair.[4]
One constitutional law academic,Rodney Brazier,has suggested that if the Prime Minister were to die suddenly, the monarch could ask theDeputy Prime Minister,or if there was no such person available, the next most seniorMPin the ministerial ranking to take temporary charge of thegovernment.[5]
Importance
editHennessy says that it "...matters more than one thinks in establishing the power of a Prime Minister in relation to his most senior colleagues"[1]and Harold Wilson has been noted to be one prime minister to take the ranking seriously.[2]It has been noted that it was through the ministerial ranking rather than beingfirst secretarythatGeorge Brownwas able to exercise "...deputising duties".[2]It has also been said that, upon his 1995 appointment as deputy prime minister and first secretary,Michael Heseltinealso insisted that he became number two on the ministerial ranking.[6]
However, David Cameron has stated that it was "something we had never bothered with"[3]andHarold Macmillanhas reportedly said that he would have preferred an order based on the traditional dignity of offices, deeming it "all rather nonsense".[2]
Additionally, in April 2020, whenBoris Johnsonwas moved into intensive care with COVID-19, a government press release stated that he had askedFirst Secretary of StateDominic Raab"to deputise for him where necessary",[7]but the ministerial ranking on the parliament.uk website around the time showedRishi Sunaktechnically ranking above Raab.[8]
See also
editReferences
edit- ^abcHennessy, Peter (2000).The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders Since 1945.Penguin Group.p. 63.ISBN0713993405.
- ^abcdeThornton, Stephen; Kirkup, Jonathan (14 June 2021)."From Rab to Raab: The Construction of the Office of First Secretary of State".Parliamentary Affairs.2021:0: 186–210.doi:10.1093/pa/gsab038.
- ^abCameron, David (2019).For the Record.William Collins.p. 656.ISBN9780008239305.
- ^The Cabinet Manual2011, p. 35.
- ^Brazier, Rodney (2020).Choosing a Prime Minister: the Transfer of Power in Britain.Oxford University Press.p. 87.ISBN9780198859291.
- ^Thornton, Stephen; Kirkup, Jonathan (14 June 2021)."From Rab to Raab: The Construction of the Office of First Secretary of State".Parliamentary Affairs.2021:0: 186–210.doi:10.1093/pa/gsab038.
- ^"Statement from Downing Street: 6 April 2020".GOV.UK.Retrieved12 August2020.
- ^"Her Majesty's Government: The Cabinet".21 April 2020.Archivedfrom the original on 21 April 2020.Retrieved12 August2020.
External links
edit- Official UK Parliament website,which orders Cabinet Ministers by ministerial ranking.