--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Cabinet government rests on the principle…" description: "\"Cabinet government rests on the principle of collective responsibility: Ministers debate and argue in private but then hammer out a common policy which..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/david-lidington-7277_collective-responsib_cabinet-government-rests-on-the-principl_944281.jpg" --- # Cabinet government rests on the principle of collective… ![“Cabinet government rests on the principle of collective responsibility: Ministers debate and argue in private but then hammer out a common policy which they all agree to support.” quote by David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/david-lidington-7277_collective-responsib_cabinet-government-rests-on-the-principl_944281.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/david-lidington-7277_collective-responsib_cabinet-government-rests-on-the-principl_944281.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4c6/david-lidington-7277_collective-responsib_cabinet-government-rests-on-the-principl_944281.jpg) > “Cabinet government rests on the principle of collective responsibility: Ministers debate and argue in private but then hammer out a common policy which they all agree to support.” [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Ministers discuss policy privately, then present a unified front publicly. **In simple terms:** Private debate leads to public unity. Key Takeaway Support collective decisions after discussion. Themes politics collaboration responsibility Mood analytical neutral Type explanatory philosophical When to use this quote - parliamentary sessions - policy drafting - crisis management Key Concepts government decision‑making public policy Questions to Reflect On - How does private debate shape policy? - When should dissent be voiced? A Different Perspective Public may view unanimity as suppressing dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cabinet Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cabinet-government-1636782/) [Collective responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/collective-responsibility/) [Common Policy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/common-policy-1636783/) [Government](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/government/) [Ministers Debate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ministers-debate-1636781/) [Policy Agree](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/policy-agree-1636785/) [Politics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/politics/) [Responsibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility/) [Responsibility Ministers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responsibility-ministers-1636784/) [Support](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/support/) ## Related quotes > [It has been said that England invented the phrase, 'Her Majesty's Opposition'; that it was the first government which made a criticism of administration…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-bagehot/it-has-been-said-that-england-invented-the-phrase-her-majesty-s-2/) [Walter Bagehot](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-bagehot/) > [The government's instinct is to shroud itself in secrecy - to act like the office of a president instead of as a collective cabinet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-kennedy/the-government-s-instinct-is-to-shroud-itself-in-secrecy-to-act-like/) [Charles Kennedy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-kennedy/) > [No matter who uses chemical weapons against people and organisations, the international community must formulate a common policy and find a solution that would…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vladimir-putin/no-matter-who-uses-chemical-weapons-against-people-and-organisations/) [Vladimir Putin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vladimir-putin/) > [The essential task of Canadian statesmanship is to discover the terms on which as many as possible of the significant interest groups of our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-underhill/the-essential-task-of-canadian-statesmanship-is-to-discover-the-terms/) [Frank Underhill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-underhill/) > [The E.U. cannot give up on common solidarity. 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How peace had to be understood in all its moral dimensions. The proper coexistence…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/colum-mccann/he-has-read-whole-volumes-on-the-philosophy-of-nonviolence-how-peace/) [Colum McCann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/colum-mccann/) ## More by David Lidington > [In Africa, animals and the natural landscape allow local communities to support themselves, as there is a constant source of money from tourism.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-lidington/in-africa-animals-and-the-natural-landscape-allow-local-communities/) [David Lidington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-lidington/) > [The rule of law and the independence of the judiciary underpin our democracy and lie at the heart of our way of life. 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It forces him to face again the fundamental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pope-pius-xii/bodily-pain-affects-man-as-a-whole-down-to-the-deepest-layers-of-his/) [Pope Pius XII](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pope-pius-xii/) > [“Still, among the critics of the concept of collective guilt, Bultmann was one of the few who spoke of a collective responsibility of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hammann-konrad/still-among-the-critics-of-the-concept-of-collective-guilt-bultmann/) [Hammann Konrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hammann-konrad/) > [A citizen of the Roman Empire, for example, would have placed less value on individual liberty in the modern Western sense than on collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-baxter/a-citizen-of-the-roman-empire-for-example-would-have-placed-less/) [Stephen Baxter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-baxter/) > [Our fortunes rise together, and they fall together. 'All men are brothers,' said the Analects. 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In…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deborah-stone/government-is-a-contrivance-of-human-wisdom-to-provide-for-human/) [Deborah Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deborah-stone/) > [Inevitably, the role of being a backbench Member of Parliament is completely different from being a minister bound by collective responsibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicky-morgan/inevitably-the-role-of-being-a-backbench-member-of-parliament-is/) [Nicky Morgan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicky-morgan/) > [If you are making policies through speeches that are contradicting some of the policy development your colleagues are embarked on, you are destroying collective…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dominic-grieve/if-you-are-making-policies-through-speeches-that-are-contradicting/) [Dominic Grieve](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dominic-grieve/) > [As elected leaders, it is our collective responsibility to set standards of respect and elevate understanding between the communities we represent.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dean-phillips/as-elected-leaders-it-is-our-collective-responsibility-to-set/) [Dean Phillips](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dean-phillips/) > [We have a collective responsibility to do everything we can to make sure that everyone feels that the workplace is a safe and equal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/channing-dungey/we-have-a-collective-responsibility-to-do-everything-we-can-to-make/) [Channing Dungey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/channing-dungey/) > [Our interests are indeed common European interests, and the only way to serve them is by common means. 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