- Reaction score
- 8,358
- Points
- 1,160
David Cameron has released his fellow ministers to campaign against his preferred Brexit policy while remaining as ministers in his government. Those ministers are still held accountable for their actions in parliament during question period.
Concurrently his senior civil servant (in Canada the equivalent, I believe is recently appointed Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary of the Cabinet), has advised departmental bureaucrats that they may not share data with Eurosceptic ministers, or work against government policy, even when it means working against their own minister who is responsible for their work.
All of this leaves me scratching my head. And probably a few others.
I think the situation is further complicated if I throw in the notion of the Prime Minister not being supreme in Cabinet but only Primus Inter Pares.
Cabinet is a subset of the Privy Council which actually reports to and is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the PM. I believe the Privy Council in general and the Cabinet in particular can revolt and toss the PM as has happened to a number of sitting PMs in the UK. Margaret Thatcher comes to mind. Once appointed they, ministers, are no longer subject to the PM's discipline except as they allow the discipline to be applied for party purposes (ie getting re-nominated, re-elected) and the PM has the support of the majority of the rest of Cabinet.
Does this mean that if the PM were to fire half his Cabinet he runs the risk of in turn being fired?
And what does it mean for the credibility of the Civil Service if they are told to ignore their ministers?
This is a Brit problem but given our identical system it appears to me that the questions would be the same here.
ERC. Are you there?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12176293/Jeremy-Heywood-to-face-questions-over-ban-on-data-for-Eurosceptic-ministers.html
Concurrently his senior civil servant (in Canada the equivalent, I believe is recently appointed Michael Wernick, Clerk of the Privy Council and Secretary of the Cabinet), has advised departmental bureaucrats that they may not share data with Eurosceptic ministers, or work against government policy, even when it means working against their own minister who is responsible for their work.
All of this leaves me scratching my head. And probably a few others.
I think the situation is further complicated if I throw in the notion of the Prime Minister not being supreme in Cabinet but only Primus Inter Pares.
Cabinet is a subset of the Privy Council which actually reports to and is appointed by the Crown on the recommendation of the PM. I believe the Privy Council in general and the Cabinet in particular can revolt and toss the PM as has happened to a number of sitting PMs in the UK. Margaret Thatcher comes to mind. Once appointed they, ministers, are no longer subject to the PM's discipline except as they allow the discipline to be applied for party purposes (ie getting re-nominated, re-elected) and the PM has the support of the majority of the rest of Cabinet.
Does this mean that if the PM were to fire half his Cabinet he runs the risk of in turn being fired?
And what does it mean for the credibility of the Civil Service if they are told to ignore their ministers?
This is a Brit problem but given our identical system it appears to me that the questions would be the same here.
ERC. Are you there?
Jeremy Heywood to face questions over ban on data for Eurosceptic ministers
Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service, ordered civil servants to deny ministers who want to campaign to leave the EU access to government statistics and research
By Tim Ross, Senior Political Correspondent10:00PM GMT 27 Feb 2016
David Cameron’s most senior official will be summoned before a parliamentary inquiry to explain why he has banned Eurosceptic ministers from seeing their own official papers in the run up to the referendum.
Sir Jeremy Heywood, the Cabinet Secretary and head of the Civil Service, ordered civil servants to deny ministers who want to campaign to leave the EU access to government statistics and research.
It is a recipe for dispute and confusion about what should be objective facts and statistics.
In a letter last week, he said it would not be “appropriate” for civil servants to allow ministers campaigning to leave the EU to see “official departmental papers” relating to Europe before the poll on June 23.
Civil servants must also not help Eurosceptic ministers prepare speeches or briefings opposing the UK’s EU membership, he warned.
One Eurosceptic government source said civil servants had been told to spy on Leave supporters in Whitehall, adding: “We are definitely being watched.”
Now Sir Jeremy is facing a furious backlash from MPs and aides. Iain Duncan Smith, one of six Eurosceptic Cabinet ministers, said he will defy the Downing Street ban and continue to scrutinise all documents that come from his department.
On Tuesday the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs select committee will question Sir Jeremy over his handling of the issue.
The row has fuelled anger among Eurosceptics that Downing Street is unfairly using the full might of the government machine to campaign against Britain leaving the EU, and trying to tie the hands of respected Cabinet ministers campaigning for Brexit.
Concerns have also been raised that both the campaigns to Remain in and Leave the EU will not have equal access to accurate figures in order to make their cases responsibly to voters.
The ban could mean that Downing Street orders officials to produce figures or research which would help make the case for EU membership, behind the backs of their own Eurosceptic ministers.
These ministers fear they will be kept in the dark about any requests from Number 10 for data from their own departments.
Yet the same Eurosceptic ministers would still be responsible for the accuracy of all such research which their departments produced, even though they will have no means to approve it – or request additional checks - before it is released.
Bernard Jenkin, the Tory MP who chairs the select committee, said: “We are expecting to cross examine Sir Jeremy Heywood on Tuesday afternoon.
"There are issues arising from his letter concerning the impartiality of the Civil Service, the ability to hold Whitehall departments accountable to Parliament through their ministers, and about the accuracy and impartiality of the information which will be used by both sides in the campaign.
“I have had several ministers seeking my advice as chair of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee on the question of whether civil servants are obliged to obey the instruction to deny ministers sight of what Downing Street and the Cabinet office may be asking for.
One leading Eurosceptic said ministers would struggle to work together "harmoniously" again after the referendum if Downing Street was seen to have "stacked up an advantage to themselves" in the campaign.
Chris Grayling, the Leader of the House of Commons, said: "All those involved have got to be extremely careful to ensure that public money is not spent inappropriately by either side."
Mr Duncan Smith, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said that as the “seal-holder” of his department he had no intention of relinquishing control over statistics and research produced by his officials.
“As a Cabinet minister I am responsible for all matters that are published and produced from the department and I am answerable to Parliament for that. So all matters will come through my office, like they always do,” Mr Duncan Smith said.
“My officials and I all believe that I must have the right to continue to look at this."
Downing Street sources said Sir Jeremy was simply providing guidance on how the referendum would affect civil servants working in departments whose ministers were campaigning for Brexit.
The government’s position is in favour of Britain’s continuing membership of the EU but Mr Cameron has given ministers permission to campaign for Brexit in a “personal capacity”, a Number 10 source said.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/eureferendum/12176293/Jeremy-Heywood-to-face-questions-over-ban-on-data-for-Eurosceptic-ministers.html