Oral Answers to Questions — Royal Navy. – in the House of Commons am ar 16 Gorffennaf 1925.
Mr Robert Boothby
, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Eastern
asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he can now make a statement on the subject of marriage allowances for naval officers?
Mr William Bridgeman
, Oswestry
No. Sir.
Mr Robert Boothby
, Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Eastern
Will the right hon. Gentleman give the House an assurance that ho will continue to press the Cabinet in this matter, and even adopt a menacing attitude if necessary?
Mr William Bridgeman
, Oswestry
I adopt the attitude which I think is most likely to succeed.
Sir Clement Kinloch-Cooke
, Cardiff East
Is my right hon. Friend aware that the First Lord of the Admiralty on three occasions made a statement on this subject, and that, therefore, the Cabinet must know what that statement is, and is ho prepared to abide by that statement, for his own sake?
Mr William Bridgeman
, Oswestry
Yes, Sir.
Mr Leslie Hore-Belisha
, Plymouth, Devonport
Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that this subject is causing almost as much anxiety to naval officers as it is to him, and that they express the view that it would be better to give a clear-cut decision one way or the other, seeing that the money has been voted?
Mr William Bridgeman
, Oswestry
Yes, Sir; I am quite aware of that.
The cabinet is the group of twenty or so (and no more than 22) senior government ministers who are responsible for running the departments of state and deciding government policy.
It is chaired by the prime minister.
The cabinet is bound by collective responsibility, which means that all its members must abide by and defend the decisions it takes, despite any private doubts that they might have.
Cabinet ministers are appointed by the prime minister and chosen from MPs or peers of the governing party.
However, during periods of national emergency, or when no single party gains a large enough majority to govern alone, coalition governments have been formed with cabinets containing members from more than one political party.
War cabinets have sometimes been formed with a much smaller membership than the full cabinet.
From time to time the prime minister will reorganise the cabinet in order to bring in new members, or to move existing members around. This reorganisation is known as a cabinet re-shuffle.
The cabinet normally meets once a week in the cabinet room at Downing Street.
