While in opposition, Labour often chastised Conservative prime ministers (PMs) for being loose in their interpretation of the Ministerial Code. In May 2022, Boris Johnson attempted to revise the code so that ministers who breached the regulations would not have to resign or be sacked. The issuing of the Labour government’s Ministerial Code in November 2024 was as much about distancing the party from the past as it was about strengthening ministerial integrity.
The principle of individual ministerial responsibility (IMR) states that a minister is responsible for their own actions and for those people in their department. This broad interpretation often means that ministerial resignations and sackings do not follow a set criterion or timescale for dismissal. The convention of collective cabinet responsibility (CCR) has been the fulcrum of Cabinet government since the eighteenth century, binding ministers to uphold the collective decisions of Cabinet. If ministers veer away from these, they must either resign or face being sacked. Ministers who contravene IMR and CCR can put serious strain on the perceived effectiveness of government and the prime minister’s own leadership.
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