Cabinet of the United Kingdom

Cabinet of the United Kingdom
of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
Royal Arms version used by the UK Government since October 2024[1]

Prime Minister Keir Starmer hosts his first Cabinet meeting in the Cabinet Room
Cabinet overview
Formed1644
(380 years ago)
 (1644)
TypeCommittee of the Privy Council
JurisdictionUnited Kingdom
HeadquartersCabinet Room, 10 Downing Street
WebsiteCabinet Office webpage

The Cabinet of the United Kingdom is the senior decision-making body of the Government of the United Kingdom.[2] A committee of the Privy Council, it is chaired by the Prime Minister and its members include Secretaries of State and senior 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 and the House of Lords.

The Ministerial Code says that the business of the Cabinet (and 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.[3]

The work of the Cabinet is scrutinised by the Shadow Cabinet, made up of members of the Official Opposition.

  1. ^ "New Coat of Arms artwork unveiled". Government Communication Service. UK Government. 12 October 2024. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
  2. ^ Durrant, Tim (31 March 2021). "Cabinet". Institute for Government. Archived from the original on 27 June 2020. Retrieved 18 August 2021.
  3. ^ "Ministerial Code" (PDF). gov.uk. August 2019. p. 4. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 September 2019. Retrieved 20 April 2021.