Officially Official | Yes, Prime Minister | BBC Comedy Greats

I want the public to know that there are no divisions in cabinet but there are divisions well I don't want them multiplied prime minister if you multiply divisions you get back to where you started if you divide four by two you get two then if you multiply it you get back to four again unless of course you multiply different divisions in which case by two bar send them in yes I want to keep the employment secretary in the cabinet and the defense secretary but I can't let this R go on any longer and I can't allow the employment secretary to be seen to defeat me I can't risk it then I suggest that you ask the committee to agree to these three points first that they agree to accept cabinets collective decision secondly there's a cooling off period with no further discussion and further that all future speeches and press statements are cleared with the cabinet office yeah Splendid that should do it yes point one uh a cooling off period uh point two no more de or discussions no no what was the second one Collective PR I'm sorry I can't quite I'll write it down for you prime minister gentl please be seated now you've all had a copy of the agenda item one uh minutes of the last meeting prime minister excuse me a point of order I see that my plan for defense establishment relocation is not on the agenda that is correct dler here but why not so all this leaking this been going on is creating a very damaging R in the Press I can't allow the cabinet to seem divided it is divided yeah well that's why it mustn't look it it's a very complex issue and I've decided to defer all further discussion until a later date I can't understand it you were in faor of it last time no I wasn't yes you were and so was everyone except the Secretary of State for defense no they weren't yes they were and you promised a further discussion um I'm sorry to interrupt but I think not what there was no such promise and the Prime Minister did not support the proposal if he had it would appear in the minutes and it doesn't doesn't it prime minister why was my request for a further discussion and your reply not minuted it is characteristic of all committee discussions and decisions that every member has a vivid recollection of them and that every member's recollection of them differs violently from every other member's recollection consequently we accept the convention that the official decisions are those and only those which have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials from which it emerges with an elegant inevitability that any decision which has been officially reached will have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials and any decision which is not recorded in the minutes has not been officially reached even if one or more members believe they can recollect it so in this particular case if the decision had been officially reached it would have been officially recorded in the minutes by the officials and it isn't so it wasn't

Channel: BBC Comedy Greats

Views: 1,416,565

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Id: 85fx0LrSMsE

Length: 3min 6sec (186 seconds)

Published: Wed Oct 28 2009