The Cabinet
The Cabinet is the committee at the centre of the British political system and is the supreme decision-making body in government.
Every Tuesday during Parliament, Secretaries of State from all departments and some other ministers meet in the Cabinet room in Downing Street to discuss the big issues of the day.
Government Cabinets have met in the same room since 1856, when it was called the Council Chamber.
The Prime Minister chairs the meetings, selects its members, and also recommends their appointment as ministers by the Monarch. The Secretary of the Cabinet is responsible for preparing records of its discussions and decisions.
The Cabinet
- Prime Minister, First Lord of the Treasury and Minister for the Civil Service – Rt Hon David Cameron MP
- Deputy Prime Minister, Lord President of the Council – Rt Hon Nick Clegg MP
- First Secretary of State, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs – Rt Hon William Hague MP
- Chancellor of the Exchequer – Rt Hon George Osborne MP
- Chief Secretary to the Treasury – Rt Hon Danny Alexander MP
- Secretary of State for the Home Department – Rt Hon Theresa May MP
- Secretary of State for Defence – Rt Hon Philip Hammond MP
- Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills; and President of the Board of Trade – Rt Hon Dr Vincent Cable MP
- Secretary of State for Work and Pensions – Rt Hon Iain Duncan Smith MP
- Lord Chancellor, Secretary of State for Justice – Rt Hon Chris Grayling MP
- Secretary of State for Education – Rt Hon Michael Gove MP
- Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government – Rt Hon Eric Pickles MP
- Secretary of State for Health – Rt Hon Jeremy Hunt MP
- Leader of the House of Lords, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster – Rt Hon Lord Strathclyde
- Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs – Rt Hon Owen Paterson MP
- Secretary of State for International Development – Rt Hon Justine Greening MP
- Secretary of State for Scotland – Rt Hon Michael Moore MP
- Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change – Rt Hon Edward Davey MP
- Secretary of State for Transport – Rt Hon Patrick McLoughlin MP
- Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport; and Minister for Women and Equalities – Maria Miller MP
- Secretary of State for Northern Ireland – Rt Hon Theresa Villiers MP
- Secretary of State for Wales – David Jones MP
Also attends Cabinet
- Minister without Portfolio – Rt Hon Kenneth Clarke QC MP
- Leader of the House of Commons, Lord Privy Seal – Rt Hon Andrew Lansley CBE MP
- Chief Whip (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury) – Rt Hon Andrew Mitchell MP
- Minister for the Cabinet Office, Paymaster General – Rt Hon Francis Maude MP
- Minister for Government Policy, Cabinet Office – Rt Hon Oliver Letwin MP
- Minister of State at the Cabinet Office and the Department for Education – Rt Hon David Laws MP
- Minister without Portfolio (and Co-Chairman of the Conservative Party) – Rt Hon Grant Shapps MP
- Senior Minister of State (Faith and Communities), Department for Communities and Local Government and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office – Rt Hon Baroness Warsi
- Minister of State (Universities and Science), Department for Business, Innovation and Skills – Rt Hon David Willetts MP
- Attorney General – Rt Hon Dominic Grieve QC MP*
*attends Cabinet when Ministerial responsibilities are on the agenda
Read more: Further information on how Government works (Cabinet Office website)