The Case for Ministerial Ethics

In Britain there have been ministerial resignations caused by indiscreet business practice or inappropriate personal behaviour. The study of ministerial ethics is concerned with the appropriate conduct of ministers. Initiatives designed to set standards of conduct appropriate to political life have concentrated on establishing guidelines and institutions for the legislature or for the public service, yet ministers face different motivations and carry different responsibilities to parliamentarians in general. Ministers, unlike their parliamentary colleagues, draw on the protective power of cabinet convention. Their decisions, mistakes and errors of judgement may be protected by cabinet secrecy, in circumstances where documentary evidence might otherwise be available. Collective responsibility ensures that ministers will as a group support cabinet decisions and defend colleagues from external critics. In most countries, ministers are not accountable to parliament in the ways they were once expected to be. The chapter also presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in this book.