Editing Cabinet of the United Kingdom

{{Short description|Senior decision-making body of the UK government}}
{{for|the current Cabinet|Cabinet of the United Kingdom#Current Cabinet}}
{{for|a list of former Cabinets|List of British governments}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2021}}
{{Infobox government agency
| name            = Cabinet of the United Kingdom<br />{{Small|of Great Britain and Northern Ireland}}
| seal            = Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg
| seal_width      = 140px
| seal_caption    = [[Royal Arms]] of [[His Majesty's Government]]<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 October 2024 |title=New Coat of Arms artwork unveiled |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-coat-of-arms-artwork-unveiled |access-date=2024-10-12 |website=Government Communication Service |publisher=[[UK Government]] |language=en}}</ref>
| logo            = 
| image = File:British Prime Minister David Cameron and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry at 10 Downing Street (26873120142).jpg
| image_caption = [[10 Downing Street#Cabinet Room|Cabinet Room]], [[10 Downing Street]]
| type            = [[Cabinet (government)|Cabinet]]
| formed          = {{Date and age|1644|p=1|br=1}}
| website         = {{URL|https://gov.uk/cabinet-office}}
| agency_type     = [[Privy Council of the United Kingdom#Committees|Committee of the Privy Council]]
| jurisdiction    = [[United Kingdom]]
| headquarters    = [[10 Downing Street#Cabinet Room|Cabinet Room, 10 Downing Street]]
}}
{{PoliticsUK}}
The '''Cabinet of the United Kingdom''' is the senior decision-making body of the [[Government of the United Kingdom]].<ref name=":3">{{Cite web |last=Durrant |first=Tim |date=31 March 2021 |title=Cabinet |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/cabinet |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200627145148/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/cabinet |archive-date=27 June 2020 |access-date=18 August 2021 |website=[[Institute for Government]]}}</ref> A committee of the [[Privy Council (United Kingdom)|Privy Council]], it is chaired by the [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] and its members include [[Secretary of State (United Kingdom)|Secretaries of State]] and senior [[Minister of State (United Kingdom)|Ministers of State]]. Members of the Cabinet are appointed by the Prime Minister and are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of the [[Parliament of the United Kingdom]], the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] and the [[House of Lords]]. 

The [[Ministerial Code]] says that the business of the Cabinet (and [[United Kingdom cabinet committee|cabinet committees]]) is mainly questions of major issues of policy, questions of critical importance to the public and questions on which there is an unresolved argument between departments.<ref>{{Cite web |date=August 2019 |title=Ministerial Code |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826920/August-2019-MINISTERIAL-CODE-FINAL-FORMATTED-2.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190906183316/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/826920/August-2019-MINISTERIAL-CODE-FINAL-FORMATTED-2.pdf |archive-date=6 September 2019 |access-date=20 April 2021 |website=[[gov.uk]] |page=4}}</ref>

The work of the Cabinet is scrutinised by the [[Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)|Shadow Cabinet]], made up of members of the [[His Majesty's Most Loyal Opposition|Official Opposition]].

==History==
{{More citations needed section|date=August 2021}}
Until at least the 16th century, individual officers of state had separate property, powers and responsibilities granted with their separate offices by royal command, and the Crown and the Privy Council constituted the only co-ordinating authorities. In England, phrases such as "cabinet counsel", meaning advice given in private, in a [[cabinet (room)|cabinet]] in the sense of a small room, to the monarch, occur from the late 16th century, and, given the non-standardised spelling of the day, it is often hard to distinguish whether "council" or "counsel" is meant.<ref name="oedCabinet">[[OED]] Cabinet</ref> The ''[[Oxford English Dictionary|OED]]'' credits [[Francis Bacon]] in his ''[[Essays (Francis Bacon)|Essays]]'' (1605) with the first use of "Cabinet council", where it is described as a foreign habit, of which he disapproves: "For which inconveniences, the doctrine of Italy, and practice of France, in some kings' times, hath introduced cabinet counsels; a remedy worse than the disease".<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Harvard Classics. 1909–14. > Francis Bacon > Essays, Civil and Moral. XX. Of Counsel. |url=http://www.bartleby.com/3/1/20.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304030736/http://www.bartleby.com/3/1/20.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |website=bartleby.com}}</ref> [[Charles I of England|Charles I]] began a formal "Cabinet Council" from his accession in 1625, as his Privy Council, or "private council", and the first recorded use of "cabinet" by itself for such a body comes from 1644, and is again hostile and associates the term with dubious foreign practices.<ref name="oedCabinet"/>

There were [[List of English ministries|ministries in England]] led by the [[List of English chief ministers|chief minister]], which was a personage leading the English government for the monarch. Despite primary accountability to the monarch, these ministries, having a group of ministers running the country, served as a predecessor of the modern perspective of cabinet. After the ministry of [[James Stanhope, 1st Earl Stanhope|Lord Stanhope]] and [[Charles Spencer, 3rd Earl of Sunderland|Lord Sunderland]] collapsed, [[Robert Walpole|Sir Robert Walpole]] rose to power as [[First Lord of the Treasury]]. Since the reign of [[George I of Great Britain|King George I]] the Cabinet has been the principal executive group of British government. Both he and [[George II of Great Britain|George II]] made use of the system, as both were not native [[English language|English]] speakers, unfamiliar with British politics, and thus relied heavily on selected groups of advisers. The term "minister" came into being since the royal officers "ministered" to the sovereign. The name and institution have been adopted by most English-speaking countries, and the [[Cabinet (government)|Council of Ministers]] or similar bodies of other countries are often informally referred to as cabinets.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

[[File:Cabinet Office (29542331802).jpg|thumb|Cabinet Office, London]]

The modern Cabinet system was set up by Prime Minister [[David Lloyd George]] during his premiership, 1916–1922, with a [[Cabinet Office]] and secretariat, committee structures, unpublished [[minutes]], and a clearer relationship with departmental Cabinet ministers. The formal procedures, practice and proceedings of the Cabinet remain largely unpublished.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

This development grew out of the exigencies of the [[World War I|First World War]], where faster and better co-ordinated decisions across government were seen as a crucial part of the war effort. Decisions on mass [[conscription]], co-ordination worldwide with other governments across international theatres, and armament production tied into a general war strategy that could be developed and overseen from an inner "[[War cabinet|War Cabinet]]". The country went through successive crises after the war: the [[1926 United Kingdom general strike|1926 general strike]]; the [[Great Depression]] of 1929–32; the rise of [[Bolshevism]] after 1917 and [[fascism]] after 1922; the [[Spanish Civil War]] 1936 onwards; the invasion of [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinia]] 1936; the League of Nations Crisis which followed; and the re-armament and resurgence of Germany from 1933, leading into the [[World War II|Second World War]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

==Composition==
The [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]] decides the membership and attendees of the Cabinet.<ref>{{Cite web |date=October 2011 |title=The Cabinet Manual |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60641/cabinet-manual.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180415090557/https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/60641/cabinet-manual.pdf |archive-date=15 April 2018 |access-date=18 August 2021 |website=[[Government of the United Kingdom]] |page=22}}</ref>

The total number of Cabinet ministers who are entitled to a salary is capped by [[Ministerial and other Salaries Act 1975|statute]] at 21, plus the [[Lord Chancellor]], who is paid separately.<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Rhodes |first1=Chris |last2=Watson |first2=Chris |date=6 August 2021 |title=Limitations on the number of Ministers |url=https://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03378/SN03378.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150611011836/http://researchbriefings.files.parliament.uk/documents/SN03378/SN03378.pdf |archive-date=11 June 2015 |access-date=18 August 2021 |website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]] |page=6}}</ref> Some ministers may be designated as also attending Cabinet, like the [[Attorney General for England and Wales|Attorney General]],<ref name=":2"/> as "...it has been considered more appropriate, in recent times at any rate, that the independence and detachment of his office should not be blurred by his inclusion in a political body – that is to say the Cabinet – which may have to make policy decisions upon the basis of the legal advice the law officers have given."<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Jones |first=Elwyn |author-link=Elwyn Jones, Baron Elwyn-Jones |date=April 1969 |title=The Office of Attorney-General |journal=[[Cambridge Law Journal]] |volume=27 |issue=1 |pages=47 |doi=10.1017/S0008197300088899 |s2cid=145400357}}</ref>

The Cabinet is a committee of the Privy Council (though this interpretation has been challenged) and, as such, all Cabinet ministers must be privy counsellors.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hennessy |first=Peter |title=The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders Since 1945 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0140283938 |pages=47 |author-link=Peter Hennessy}}</ref>

Members of the Cabinet are by convention chosen from members of the two houses of Parliament, as convention dictates that ministers may only be recruited from the House of Commons or the House of Lords, although this convention has been broken in the past for short periods.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Shaw |first=Neil |date=2023-11-13 |title=How David Cameron can be Foreign Secretary when he is not an MP |url=https://www.kentlive.news/news/uk-world-news/how-david-cameron-can-foreign-8902377 |access-date=2023-11-19 |website=Nottinghamshire Live |language=en}}</ref> [[Patrick Gordon Walker]] is perhaps the most notable exception: he was appointed to the Cabinet despite losing his seat in the [[1964 United Kingdom general election|1964 general election]], and resigned from Cabinet after running and losing in a by-election in January 1965.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hennessy |first=Peter |title=The Prime Minister: The Office and its Holders Since 1945 |publisher=[[Penguin Books]] |year=2000 |isbn=978-0140283938 |pages=47–48 |author-link=Peter Hennessy}}</ref> Sometimes, when a minister from neither House is appointed, they have been granted a customary peerage.<ref>{{Cite web |title=How members are appointed |url=https://www.parliament.uk/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/members-and-their-roles/how-members-are-appointed/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120512043644/http://www.parliament.uk:80/business/lords/whos-in-the-house-of-lords/members-and-their-roles/how-members-are-appointed/ |archive-date=12 May 2012 |access-date=18 August 2021 |website=[[Parliament of the United Kingdom]]}}</ref> The Cabinet is now made up almost entirely of members of the House of Commons.<ref name=":2"/>

[[Civil Service (United Kingdom)|Civil servants]] from the Cabinet Secretariat and [[Special adviser (UK)|special advisers]] (on the approval of the prime minister) can also attend Cabinet meetings, but neither take part in discussions.<ref name=":3"/>

It has been suggested that the modern Cabinet is too large, including by former [[Cabinet Secretary (United Kingdom)|Cabinet Secretary]] [[Mark Sedwill]] and scholars Robert Hazell and [[Rodney Brazier]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite news |title=Times letters: Mark Sedwill's call for a cull of the cabinet |language=en |work=[[The Times]] |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/times-letters-mark-sedwills-call-for-a-cull-of-the-cabinet-6x2kgqdhc |access-date=2020-11-30 |issn=0140-0460}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2020-09-07 |title=Rodney Brazier: Why is Her Majesty's Government so big? |url=https://ukconstitutionallaw.org/2020/09/07/rodney-brazier-why-is-her-majestys-government-so-big/ |access-date=2020-11-30 |website=UK Constitutional Law Association |language=en}}</ref> Hazell has suggested merging the offices of [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]], Scotland, and [[Secretary of State for Wales|Wales]] into one Secretary of State for the Union,<ref name=":0"/> in a department into which Rodney Brazier has suggested adding a minister of state for England with responsibility for [[Subdivisions of England|English local government]].<ref name=":1"/>

==Meetings of the cabinet==
[[File:The Cabinet table.jpg|thumb|The Cabinet table]]
[[File:Huntley & Palmers Her Majesty's Cabinet.jpg|thumb|Her Majesty's Cabinet on a 19th-century trade card]]
{{See also|United Kingdom cabinet committee}}
Most cabinet meetings take place in the [[10 Downing Street#Cabinet Room|Cabinet Room]] of [[10 Downing Street]]; however, they have been known to take place in other places.<ref name=":3"/>

Despite the custom of meeting on a Thursday, after the appointment of [[Gordon Brown]], the meeting day was switched to Tuesday.<ref name="Telegraph1">{{Cite news |last=Jones |first=George |date=2 July 2007 |title=Cabinet moves to Tuesdays |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556065/Cabinet-moves-to-Tuesdays.html |url-status=live |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1556065/Cabinet-moves-to-Tuesdays.html |archive-date=12 January 2022}}{{Cbignore}}</ref> However, when [[David Cameron]] became prime minister, he held his cabinet meetings on Thursdays again. Upon [[Theresa May|Theresa May's]] tenure, she switched the cabinet meetings back to Tuesday.<ref>{{Cite news |date=13 May 2010 |title=David Cameron coalition team in first cabinet meeting |work=BBC News |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/election_2010/8679134.stm |access-date=15 June 2017}}</ref>

The length of meetings varies according to the style of the Prime Minister and political conditions, but modern meetings can be as short as 30 minutes.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}} Ministers are bound by the [[Constitutional convention (political custom)|constitutional convention]] of [[Cabinet collective responsibility|collective ministerial responsibility]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Zodgekar |first=Ketaki |date=4 November 2019 |title=Collective responsibility |url=https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/collective-responsibility |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201003073230/https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/collective-responsibility |archive-date=3 October 2020 |access-date=18 August 2021 |website=[[Institute for Government]]}}</ref>

==Importance==
{{Further|Powers of the prime minister of the United Kingdom#Contemporary theories of prime ministerial power}}{{More citations needed section|date=August 2021}}
Cabinet ministers, like all ministers, are appointed and may be dismissed by the [[Monarchy of the United Kingdom|monarch]] without notice or reason, on the advice of the prime minister. The allocation and transfer of responsibilities between ministers and departments is also generally at the prime minister's discretion. The Cabinet has always been led by the prime minister, whose originally unpaid office as such was traditionally described as merely {{lang|la|[[primus inter pares]]}} (first among equals), but today the prime minister is the preeminent [[head of government]], with the effective power to appoint and dismiss Cabinet ministers and to control the Cabinet's agenda. The extent to which the Government is collegial varies with political conditions and individual personalities.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

The Cabinet is the ultimate decision-making body of the [[executive (government)|executive]] within the [[Westminster system]] of government in traditional constitutional theory. This interpretation was originally put across in the work of 19th-century constitutionalists such as [[Walter Bagehot]], who described the Cabinet as the "efficient secret" of the British political system in his book ''[[The English Constitution]]''. The political and decision-making authority of the cabinet has been gradually reduced over the last several decades, with some claiming its role has been usurped by a "prime ministerial" government. In the modern political era, the prime minister releases information concerning the [[ministerial ranking]] in the form of a list detailing the seniority of all Cabinet ministers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=MPs and Lords |url=https://members.parliament.uk/Government/Cabinet |website=Her Majesty's Government}}</ref>

The centralisation of the Cabinet in the early 20th century enhanced the [[Powers of the prime minister of the United Kingdom|power of the prime minister]], who moved from being the ''primus inter pares'' of the [[H. H. Asquith|Asquith Cabinets]] of 1906 onwards, to the dominating figures of David Lloyd George, [[Stanley Baldwin]], and [[Winston Churchill]].{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

The [[Institute for Government]] claims that the reduced number of full Cabinet meetings signifies "that the role of Cabinet as a formal decision-making body has been in decline since the war."<ref name="H&P">{{Cite web |last1=Andrew |first1=Blick |last2=George |first2=Jones |date=7 June 2010 |title=Policy Papers {{!}} The power of the Prime Minister > Measuring Cabinet government |url=https://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/the-power-of-the-prime-minister |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151107235151/https://www.historyandpolicy.org/policy-papers/papers/the-power-of-the-prime-minister |archive-date=7 November 2015 |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=historyandpolicy.org}}</ref> This view has been contradicted by [[Vernon Bogdanor]], a British constitutional expert, who claims that "the Cabinet has, in fact, been strengthened by the decline in full meetings, as it allows more matters to be transferred to cabinet committees. Thus, business is done more efficiently."<ref>{{Cite news |title=Vernon Bogdanor: Britain is in the process of developing a constitution |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/vernon-bogdanor-britain-is-in-the-process-of-developing-a-constitution-6161122.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141030034917/http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/commentators/vernon-bogdanor-britain-is-in-the-process-of-developing-a-constitution-6161122.html |archive-date=30 October 2014 |access-date=2014-09-28 |website=[[Independent.co.uk]]|date=22 September 2004 }}</ref>

Most prime ministers have had a so-called "kitchen cabinet" consisting of their own trusted advisers who may be Cabinet members but are often non-cabinet trusted personal advisers on their own staff. In recent governments, generally from [[Margaret Thatcher]], and especially in that of [[Tony Blair]], it has been reported that many or even all major decisions have been made before cabinet meetings. This suggestion has been made by former ministers including [[Clare Short]] and [[Chris Smith, Baron Smith of Finsbury|Chris Smith]], in the media, and was made clear in the [[Butler Review]], where Blair's style of "sofa government" was censured.{{Citation needed|date=August 2019}}

The combined effect of the prime minister's ability to control Cabinet by circumventing effective discussion in Cabinet and the executive's ability to dominate parliamentary proceedings places the British prime minister in a position of great power, that has been likened to an [[elective dictatorship]] (a phrase coined by [[Quintin Hogg, Baron Hailsham of St Marylebone]] in 1976). The relative inability of Parliament to hold the Government of the day to account is often cited by the UK media as a justification for the vigour with which they question and challenge the Government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2010 |title=Newspaper support in general elections |url=https://www.theguardian.com/news/datablog/2010/may/04/general-election-newspaper-support |website=The Guardian}}</ref>

The classic view of Cabinet Government was laid out by Walter Bagehot in ''The English Constitution'' (1867) in which he described the prime minister as the ''primus-inter-pares'' ("[[Primus inter pares#Prime minister or premier|first among equals]]").<ref name="Fairclough 2002, p. ≈23">{{Cite book |last=Fairclough |first=Paul |title=Advanced Government and Politics |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-19-913434-2 |chapter=6.1 The Primemister |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dxqkElM8jiYC&pg=PA23}}</ref> The view was questioned by [[Richard Crossman]] in ''The Myths of Cabinet Government'' (1972) and by [[Tony Benn]]. They were both members of the Labour governments of the 1960s and thought that the position of the prime minister had acquired more power so that prime ministerial government was a more apt description.<ref name="Fairclough 2002, p. ≈23"/> Crossman stated that the increase in the [[Powers of the prime minister of the United Kingdom|power of the prime minister]] resulted from power of centralised political parties, the development of a unified civil service, and the growth of the prime minister's private office and [[Cabinet Office|Cabinet secretariat]].<ref name="Williams 1998, pp. 113–114">{{Cite book |last=Williams |first=Andy |title=UK Government & Politics |publisher=Heinemann |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-435-33158-0 |pages=113–114 |chapter=Prime ministerial government |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6keDJpK0xL8C&pg=PA113}}</ref>

[[Graham Allen (politician)|Graham Allen]] (a government whip during Tony Blair's first government) makes the case in ''The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency'' (2003) that the office of prime minister has presidential powers,<ref>{{Cite book |last=Allen |first=Graham |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=UED0CgAAQBAJ |title=The Last Prime Minister: Being Honest About the UK Presidency |date=14 February 2017 |publisher=Andrews UK Limited |isbn=978-1-84540-609-7 |author-link=Graham Allen (politician)}}</ref> as did [[Michael Foley (academic)|Michael Foley]] in ''The British Presidency'' (2000).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foley |first=Michael |title=The British Presidency |publisher=Manchester University Press |year=2000 |isbn=978-0-7190-5016-9 |pages=1-[https://books.google.com/books?id=-tK4nZYLyxcC&pg=PA26 26] |chapter=Chapter 1: The Blair revolution and presidential standard |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-tK4nZYLyxcC&pg=PA26}}</ref> However, the power that a prime minister has over his or her cabinet colleagues is directly proportional to the amount of support that they have with their political parties and this is often related to whether the party considers them to be an electoral asset or liability. Also when a party is divided into factions a prime minister may be forced to include other powerful party members in the Cabinet for party political cohesion. The Prime Minister's personal power is also curtailed if their party is in a power-sharing arrangement, or a formal coalition with another party (as happened in the [[Cameron–Clegg coalition|coalition government]] of 2010 to 2015).<ref name="Williams 1998, pp. 113–114"/><ref name="Fairclough 2002, p. ≈23"/><ref>{{Cite book |last=Palekar |first=S.A. |title=Comparative Politics and Government |date=2008 |publisher=PHI Learning Pvt. Ltd. |isbn=978-81-203-3335-2 |page=37 |chapter=Position of the Prime Minister |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ofkYGJ8zHpYC&pg=PT37}}</ref>

==Current Cabinet==
{{Main|Starmer ministry}}
The current cabinet is led by the newly appointed Prime Minister [[Keir Starmer]] and succeeded the [[Sunak ministry]]. This is Starmer's first cabinet following the [[2024 United Kingdom general election|2024 General Election]]. 

{{As of|2024|11|29|post=,}} the makeup of the current Cabinet is as follows:<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |title=Ministers |url=https://www.gov.uk/government/ministers |access-date=29 November 2024 |website=[[Government of the United Kingdom]]}}</ref>
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center"

|-
| colspan=5 | [[File:Coat of arms of the United Kingdom (2022, lesser arms).svg|50px]]<br />[[Starmer ministry]]

|-
! colspan=2 scope="col" | Minister<br />
! Office(s)
! Department
! Took office

|-
! colspan=5 | Cabinet ministers

|-
|[[File:Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer Official Portrait (cropped).jpg|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>[[Sir]] '''[[Keir Starmer]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Holborn and St Pancras (UK Parliament constituency)|Holborn and St Pancras]]}}
| [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Prime Minister]]
[[First Lord of the Treasury]]<br>
[[Minister for the Civil Service]]<br>
[[Minister for the Union]]
| [[Cabinet Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Angela Rayner Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Angela Rayner]]'''<br/>{{Small|MP for [[Ashton-under-Lyne (UK Parliament constituency)|Ashton-under-Lyne]]}}
| [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|Deputy Prime Minister]]
[[Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government]]
| [[Ministry of Housing, Communities, and Local Government]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Rachel Reeves Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped 2) (cropped).jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Rachel Reeves]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Leeds West and Pudsey (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds West and Pudsey]]}}
| [[Chancellor of the Exchequer]]
[[Second Lord of the Treasury]]
| [[HM Treasury]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Pat McFadden Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Pat McFadden]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Wolverhampton South East (UK Parliament constituency)|Wolverhampton South East]]}}
| [[Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster]]{{Efn|Used as [[sinecure]].}}<br>[[Minister for Intergovernmental Relations]]
| Cabinet Office
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:David Lammy, 2024 (cropped).jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[David Lammy]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Tottenham (UK Parliament constituency)|Tottenham]]}}
| [[Foreign Secretary (United Kingdom)|Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs]]
| [[Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Yvette Cooper Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Yvette Cooper]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley (UK Parliament constituency)|Pontefract, Castleford and Knottingley]]}}
| [[Home Secretary|Secretary of State for the Home Department]]
| [[Home Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:John Healey Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[John Healey (politician)|John Healey]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Rawmarsh and Conisbrough (UK Parliament constituency)|Rawmarsh and Conisbrough]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Defence]]
| [[Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Defence]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Shabana Mahmood Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Shabana Mahmood]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Birmingham Ladywood (UK Parliament constituency)|Birmingham Ladywood]]}}
| [[Lord Chancellor]]
[[Secretary of State for Justice]]
| [[Ministry of Justice (United Kingdom)|Ministry of Justice]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Wes Streeting Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Wes Streeting]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Ilford North (UK Parliament constituency)|Ilford North]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Health and Social Care]]
| [[Department of Health and Social Care]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Bridget Phillipson Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Bridget Phillipson]]'''<br/>{{Small|MP for [[Houghton and Sunderland South (UK Parliament constituency)|Houghton and Sunderland South]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Education]]
[[Minister for Women and Equalities]]
| [[Department for Education]]
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Ed Miliband 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Ed Miliband]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Doncaster North (UK Parliament constituency)|Doncaster North]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero]]
| [[Department for Energy Security and Net Zero]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Liz Kendall Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Liz Kendall]]'''<br/>{{Small|MP for [[Leicester West (UK Parliament constituency)|Leicester West]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Work and Pensions]]
| [[Department for Work and Pensions]]
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Jonathan Reynolds Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Jonathan Reynolds]]'''<br/>{{Small|MP for [[Stalybridge and Hyde (UK Parliament constituency)|Stalybridge and Hyde]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Business and Trade]]
[[President of the Board of Trade]]
| [[Department for Business and Trade]]<br />
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Peter Kyle Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Peter Kyle]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Hove and Portslade (UK Parliament constituency)|Hove and Portslade]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Science, Innovation and Technology]]
| [[Department for Science, Innovation and Technology]]
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Heidi alexander portrait 2024.jpg|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Heidi Alexander]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Swindon South (UK Parliament constituency)|Swindon South]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Transport]]
| [[Department for Transport]]
|{{Start date and age|2024|11|29|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Steve Reed Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 4.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Steve Reed (politician)|Steve Reed]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Streatham and Croydon North (UK Parliament constituency)|Streatham and Croydon North]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]]
| [[Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs]]
|  {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Lisa Nandy Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Lisa Nandy]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Wigan (UK Parliament constituency)|Wigan]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport]]
| [[Department for Culture, Media and Sport]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:Hilary Benn Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (crop 1).jpg|alt=|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Hilary Benn]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Leeds South (UK Parliament constituency)|Leeds South]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Northern Ireland]]
| [[Northern Ireland Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
||[[File:Ian Murray Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|120x120px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Ian Murray (Scottish politician)|Ian Murray]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Edinburgh South (UK Parliament constituency)|Edinburgh South]]}}
| [[Secretary of State for Scotland]]
| [[Office of the Secretary of State for Scotland|Scotland Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Jo Stevens Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Jo Stevens]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Cardiff East (UK Parliament constituency)|Cardiff East]]}} 
| [[Secretary of State for Wales]]
| [[Office of the Secretary of State for Wales|Wales Office]]
| {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Lucy Powell Leader of the House (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Lucy Powell]]'''<br/>{{Small|MP for [[Manchester Central (UK Parliament constituency)|Manchester Central]]}}
| [[Leader of the House of Commons]]
[[Lord President of the Council]]
| [[Office of the Leader of the House of Commons]]{{Efn|The Office of the Leader of the House of Commons is a ministerial department of the Cabinet Office.}}
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
| [[File:The Baroness Smith of Basildon 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Angela Smith, Baroness Smith of Basildon|The Baroness Smith of Basildon]]'''<br />{{Small|[[Life peer]]}}
| [[Leader of the House of Lords]]
[[Lord Privy Seal|Lord Keeper of the Privy Seal]]
| [[Office of the Leader of the House of Lords]]
|  {{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}
|-

! colspan=5 | Ministers who also attend Cabinet
|-
|[[File:Alan Campbell Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped).jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>[[Sir]] '''[[Alan Campbell (politician)|Alan Campbell]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Tynemouth (UK Parliament constituency)|Tynemouth]]}}
|[[Chief Whip|Government Chief Whip]]
[[Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury]]
| HM Treasury{{Efn|Technically a part of the Treasury, but de facto a part of a semi-independent whips office supported by the Cabinet Office.}}
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}

|-
|[[File:Darren Jones Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped) 2.jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Darren Jones]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Bristol North West (UK Parliament constituency)|Bristol North West]]}}
| [[Chief Secretary to the Treasury]]
| HM Treasury
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}
|-
|[[File:Richard Hermer Official Cabinet Portrait, July 2024 (cropped).jpg|frameless|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Richard Hermer|The Lord Hermer]]'''<br />{{Small|[[Life peer]]}}
| [[Attorney General for England and Wales]]
[[Advocate General for Northern Ireland]]
| [[Attorney General's Office (United Kingdom)|Attorney General's Office]]
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|5|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}
|-
|[[File:Official portrait of Ellie Reeves MP crop 2, 2023.jpg|125x125px]]
| scope="row" | {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Ellie Reeves]]'''<br />{{Small|MP for [[Lewisham West and East Dulwich (UK Parliament constituency)|Lewisham West and East Dulwich]]}}
| [[Minister without portfolio (United Kingdom)|Minister without Portfolio]]
| Cabinet Office 
|{{Start date and age|2024|7|6|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}
|-
| [[File:Official portrait of Baroness Chapman of Darlington crop 2, 2021.jpg|125x125px]]
| {{Small|[[Right Honourable|The Rt Hon]]}}<br/>'''[[Jenny Chapman| The Baroness Chapman of Darlington]]'''<br />{{Small|[[Life peer]]}}
|[[Minister of State for Development and Africa|Minister of State for International Development, Latin America and Caribbean]]
|Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office
|{{Start date and age|2025|2|28|df=yes|p=yes|br=yes}}
|}

==List of Cabinets 1900–2024==
{{Div col|colwidth=30em}}
* [[Unionist government, 1895–1905#Cabinets|Cabinets of the Unionist government, 1895–1905]]
* [[Liberal government, 1905–1915#Campbell-Bannerman ministry|Cabinets of Henry Campbell-Bannerman's ministry, 1905–1908]]
* [[Liberal government, 1905–1915#Asquith ministry|Cabinets of H. H. Asquith's ministries, 1908–1915]]
* [[Asquith coalition ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of H. H. Asquith's coalition ministry, 1915–1916]]
* [[Lloyd George ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of David Lloyd George's ministries, 1916–1922]]
* [[Conservative government, 1922–1924#Bonar Law's Cabinet, October 1922 – May 1923|Cabinets of Bonar Law's ministry, 1922–1923]]
* [[Conservative government, 1922–1924#Baldwin's Cabinet, May 1923 – January 1924|Cabinets of Stanley Baldwin's first ministry, 1923–1924]]
* [[First MacDonald ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Ramsay MacDonald's first ministry, 1924]]
* [[Second Baldwin ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Stanley Baldwin's second ministry, 1924–1929]]
* [[Second MacDonald ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Ramsay MacDonald's second ministry, 1929–1931]]
* [[National Government (1931)#Cabinet|Cabinets of Ramsay MacDonald's first national government, 1931]]
* [[National Government (1931–1935)#Cabinet|Cabinets of Ramsay MacDonald's second national government, 1931–1935]]
* [[National Government (1935–1937)#Cabinet|Cabinets of Stanley Baldwin's national government, 1935–1937]]
* [[National Government (1937–1939)#Cabinet|Cabinets of Neville Chamberlain's national government, 1937–1939]]
* [[Chamberlain war ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Neville Chamberlain's war ministry, 1939–1940]]
* [[Churchill war ministry#Ministers who held war cabinet membership, 10 May 1940 – 23 May 1945|Cabinets of Winston Churchill's war ministry, 1940–1945]]
* [[Churchill caretaker ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Winston Churchill's caretaker ministry, 1945]]
* [[Attlee ministry#First Attlee ministry|Cabinets of Clement Attlee's first ministry, 1945–1950]]
* [[Attlee ministry#Second Attlee ministry|Cabinets of Clement Attlee's second ministry, 1950–1951]]
* [[Third Churchill ministry#1955 cabinet|Cabinets of Winston Churchill's third ministry, 1951–1955]]
* [[Eden ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Anthony Eden's ministry, 1955–1957]]
* [[Conservative government, 1957–1964#First Macmillan ministry|Cabinets of Harold Macmillan's first ministry, 1957–1959]]
* [[Conservative government, 1957–1964#Second Macmillan ministry|Cabinets of Harold Macmillan's second ministry, 1959–1963]]
* [[Conservative government, 1957–1964#Douglas-Home ministry|Cabinets of Alec Douglas-Home's ministry, 1963–1964]]
* [[Labour government, 1964–1970#List of ministers|Cabinets of Harold Wilson's first and second ministries, 1964–1970]]
* [[Heath ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Ted Heath's ministry, 1970–1974]]
* [[Labour government, 1974–1979#Wilson ministry|Cabinets of Harold Wilson's third and fourth ministries, 1974–1976]]
* [[Cabinet of James Callaghan|Cabinets of James Callaghan's ministry, 1976–1979]]
* [[First Thatcher ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Margaret Thatcher's first ministry, 1979–1983]]
* [[Second Thatcher ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Margaret Thatcher's second ministry, 1983–1987]]
* [[Third Thatcher ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Margaret Thatcher's third ministry, 1987–1990]]
* [[First Major ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of John Major's first ministry, 1990–1992]]
* [[Second Major ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of John Major's second ministry, 1992–1997]]
* [[First Blair ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Tony Blair's first ministry, 1997–2001]]
* [[Second Blair ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Tony Blair's second ministry, 2001–2005]]
* [[Third Blair ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Tony Blair's third ministry, 2005–2007]]
* [[Brown ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Gordon Brown's ministry, 2007–2010]]
* [[Cameron–Clegg coalition#Cabinets|Cabinets of the Cameron–Clegg coalition, 2010–2015]]
* [[Second Cameron ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of David Cameron's second ministry, 2015–2016]]
* [[First May ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Theresa May's first ministry, 2016–2017]]
* [[Second May ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Theresa May's second ministry, 2017–2019]]
* [[First Johnson ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Boris Johnson's first ministry, 2019]]
* [[Second Johnson ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Boris Johnson's second ministry, 2019–2022]]
* [[Truss ministry#Cabinet|Cabinets of Liz Truss's ministry, September 2022 – October 2022]]
* [[Sunak ministry#Cabinets|Cabinets of Rishi Sunak's ministry, 2022–2024]]
* [[Starmer ministry|Cabinets of Keir Starmer's ministry, 2024–present]]
{{Div col end}}

==See also==
* [[British Government frontbench]]
* [[List of female cabinet members of the United Kingdom]]
* [[Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet (United Kingdom)|Official Opposition Shadow Cabinet]]
* [[United Kingdom cabinet committee]]

==Notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
===General references===
{{refbegin}}
* {{Cite book |url=https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/5a79d5d7e5274a18ba50f2b6/cabinet-manual.pdf |title=The Cabinet Manual |date=October 2011 |publisher=Cabinet Office, [[UK Government]] |language=en}}
{{refend}}

===Specific references===
{{Reflist|30em}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Members of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom}}
* [http://www.cabinetoffice.gov.uk/ Cabinet Office – Main Site]

{{Starmer Cabinet}}
{{British ministries}}
{{Departments of the United Kingdom Government|type=autocat off}}
{{Downing Street}}
{{Privy Council (United Kingdom)}}
{{United Kingdom topics}}
{{Europe topic|Cabinet of |title=National cabinets of Europe}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cabinet Of The United Kingdom}}
[[Category:Cabinet of the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Cabinet Office (United Kingdom)]]
[[Category:Lists of government ministers of the United Kingdom]]