How important is the Cabinet? (UK politics)

Intro=The Cabinet is a committee of the leading members of government, and it comprises of between 20-25 members, most of whom are secretaries of state and are responsible for running Whitehall departments. The Cabinet is a collective decision-making body and makes the most important policy decisions. The cabinet is the ultimate decision making body of government.On the one hand, the Cabinet is not important:-The authority and importance of the cabinet has decreased because policy is increasingly made elsewhere in government. i.e. in policy committees, policy units and by private advisors. As a result, the main focus of the cabinet is to act as a rubber stamp to approve policy made elsewhere.-Decline of cabinet meetings. As a result, impossible to debate and discuss the entire political agenda, which leads to a 'sofa government'. Blair's Cabinet meetings were described as "collect orders".-PM has prerogative powers and uses the party whip. This means the PM has superior power over the cabinet, as the PM can demote rebellious or ineffective members of govt with more politically loyal ones- cabinet reshuffle powers. Case study of Justine Greening resigning after refusing to work in May's reshuffle.-PM's prerogative powers means it can work without the sanction of cabinet. i.e. Blair granted Bank of England's semi-independence in setting interest rates in 1997 with consolation of only the Chancellor, Gordon Brown. PM can also choose to ignore wishes of own party- Blair and Iraq war.On the other hand, the Cabinet is important:-Formal Policy Approval- policy decisions must be approved by the cabinet in order to become official party policy.-Policy Coordination- the Cabinet manages the business and presentation of policy. The 2015 Coalition govt strengthened the role of the cabinet because there was need for 2 parties to negotiate policy- as a result, cabinet meetings where held more regularly.-Cabinet has the power to bring down govt/PM if not united- cabinet can overrule the PM and disunity with a cabinet can lead to questionable doubt about PM and their leadership. i.e. Thatchers' leadership ended in 1990, partly due to resignation of 3 important cabinet ministers- Helstine, Lawson, and Howe.-Cabinet is a symbol for collective govt- regular cabinet meetings to which PM reports to and policies are approved by maintains the collective face of govt and ensures appropriate checks and balances are enacted= legitimacy.Conclusion= Overall, the role of the Cabinet is incredibly important to British government legitimacy, accountability, and in ensuring that policies are correctly enacted.