Cabinet of Albeinland

Cabinet of Albeinland
70th Cabinet of Albeinland
Incumbent
Cockade of Albeinland
Date formed	15 October 2018
People
Head of state	George Owen
Head of government	Vincent Lloyd
Deputy head of government	Paul Huxley
No. of ministers	14
Member party	United Conservative Party
Status in legislature	Majority
Opposition cabinet	Shadow Cabinet
Opposition party	Progressive Republican League
Opposition leader	Rebecca Evans
History
Election(s)	2018
Predecessor	Whestling Cabinet

The Cabinet of Albeinland is the collective decision-making body of the Government of Albeinland. It consists of the prime minister and senior cabinet ministers, making up the executive branch of the Albish government alongside the lord-protector.

The current cabinet is headed by Vincent Lloyd, who was invited by Lord Owen to form a government after the 2018 general election.

History

The idea of a cabinet only arose years after the establishment of the Kingdom of Albeinland. During commonwealth times, there were few institutions on a national scale as most responsibilities were delegated to local governments, with the remaining ones being directly managed by the lord-protector. To increase the support of the recently-established monarchical rule among the upper classes, Arthur I decided to give more power to its advisory councils on matters like trade, finances and foreign policy, creating the first cabinet. Cabinet members were called Ministers of the Crown and were treated as equal in a primus inter pares system, acting like advisors in internal and foreign affairs to the sovereign. Despite the major influence of the Treasury over national politics, there was no relationship among government offices, de facto acting as separate institutions.

It was only after the Albish Spring in 1786 and the re-introduction of a republican system that a modern version of the cabinet was established. The Common Charter created the office of prime minister, designated to lead and co-ordinate the cabinet and therefore the entire government, leading to more unity among ministries into one single body. Sir George Hackey, who became the country's first republican prime minister in 1787, continued with the concept of primus inter pares, with cabinet members enjoying a high degree of autonomy, and laid other conventions that would be used in the 19th and early-20th centuries.

With the Great War in 1910, the idea of a high autonomous and independent cabinet became incompatible as more coordination was needed, leading to massive reforms by prime minister Douglas Hertford which included the creation of cabinet offices, secretariats, closer relationship with its members and more centralization towards the prime minister's figure, establishing the current system. This centralization would continue and would reach its height during the first premiership of Lucius Farley in the Melasian Crisis, with the prime minister effectively having presidential powers that continues to the present day.

Cabinet meetings

The cabinet meets every week on a Tuesday at 7 am in 9 Loegria Street, the prime minister's official residence, a tradition which was originally created in the 1830s and that still continues today. The main topics discussed in cabinet meetings are the preparation of government issues to the following week and the management of public and political problems, as well as the discussion of future policies and decisions. Despite being rare, there was a series of emergency meetings at several times in history, such as the ones during the Great War, Melasian Crisis and the 1991 terrorist attacks.

Parliamentary accountability

As part of one of the several conventions that set the semi-codified Albish Constitution, the prime minister and the cabinet must come from the General Assembly, specifically from the House of Commons, although there isn't any restriction for the appointment or election of a State Council member. The prime minister and its government must have parliamentary support to maintain themselves in power, with most of this support being enforced by party whips, but it could be through coalitions and party agreements as well. If such accountability is lost, the prime minister needs to declare new general elections or resign from office.

Current cabinet

Portfolio	Minister	Took office
Prime Minister	Vincent Lloyd	12 November 2018
Secretary of Finances	Paul Huxley	12 November 2018
Secretary of Foreign Affairs	Jessica Campbell	03 June 2020
Secretary of Home Affairs	Arthur Hastings	12 November 2018
Secretary of Justice	Stuart Walpole	09 April 2019
Secretary of Defence	William May	27 October 2019
Secretary of Health and Social Care	Alicia Moore	16 February 2020
Secretary of Women, Minorities and Human Rights	Jessica Schneidler	09 April 2020
Secretary of Education	John Nibley	11 April 2019
Secretary of Environment	Theresa Winthrop	21 December 2018
Secretary of Agriculture	Matthew Crawford	12 November 2018
Secretary of Infrastructure	Alex Tenley	12 November 2018
Secretary of Housing and Local Communities	Peter Leighton	12 November 2018
Secretary of Work, Jobs and Labour	Edward Lester-Rowley	27 February 2019
Secretary of Waters and Ports	Robert Durham	12 November 2018

Shadow Cabinet

Main article: Shadow Cabinet of Albeinland

The official opposition has a Shadow Cabinet, which is composed by the Leader of the Opposition and shadow ministers. Also, minor parties have spokepersons, which shadows government offices as well.

See also

Government of Albeinland Prime Minister of Albeinland

Politics of Albeinland General Assembly of Albeinland