The Cabinet Roles Explained
The major cabinet jobs each run a part of government. Here is what the big roles cover, the same ones you assign ministers to in the game. (Department names change over time; what each role is responsible for is more stable.)
The Chancellor of the Exchequer
The Chancellor runs the Treasury and is responsible for the public finances and the economy: taxation, public spending and the Budget. Widely seen as the most powerful job after the Prime Minister, because almost every other department's plans depend on the money the Chancellor controls.
The Home Secretary
The Home Secretary leads the Home Office, responsible for law and order at home: policing, crime, national security and counter-terrorism, immigration and borders. It is one of the great offices of state and one of the most operationally demanding jobs in government.
The Foreign Secretary
The Foreign Secretary handles the UK's relationships with the rest of the world: diplomacy, foreign policy, international development and the diplomatic service. Another great office of state, it involves representing the country abroad and responding to events overseas.
The Health Secretary
The Health Secretary is responsible for the health and social care system, including the NHS and public health. With a vast budget and a service used by everyone, it is one of the most scrutinised roles in government.
The Education Secretary
The Education Secretary oversees schools, colleges, and skills and (depending on the government) often children's services and aspects of higher education. The brief shapes opportunity over the long term, which makes it politically sensitive.
The Defence Secretary
The Defence Secretary runs the Ministry of Defence and the armed forces: military strategy, spending and operations. The role combines long-term decisions about equipment and capability with responses to immediate security threats.
The Housing & Communities Secretary
This role is responsible for housing, planning and local government, and usually for communities policy. It covers how and where homes get built and how local services are funded, issues that are felt directly in every part of the country.
The Work & Pensions Secretary
The Work & Pensions Secretary oversees the welfare and pensions system: benefits, state pensions and support into work. It manages one of the largest areas of public spending and touches millions of people's incomes.
How this connects to the game
In Downing Draft you place each politician you draft into one of these roles. How well a minister suits their brief feeds into how your government performs, so matching people to jobs is half the challenge. For the bigger picture of how the Cabinet works as a team, see what the Cabinet does.