I know a member of the House of Lords can be made a member of the government but can someone from another party also be made one? The reason I ask is because although I'm no great advocate for nationalisation I think the time's drawing very near when we should chop these senior bank executives down to size, who, I might add, if it wasn't for us, Joe Public, they wouldn't have a job from which to resign in the first place. Let them all resign and take the banks into public ownership, if only for a period of time. Were this to happen I think Vince Cable is ideal for the job of overseeing the government's involvement. He's been proved right on the majority, if not all of his predictions and he's one politician who holds almost universal respect, has no axe to grind nor anything to prove.
Being 86,I cannot rmember (in peacetime) any member of a government who was not a member of the party that was in power..
However,having said that,during WW2 the government was a coalition made up of members of the main parties.
So,I don't think there is any legal reason why it couldn't be as you wish,it's just not been done.
Mind you lots of things that are just tradition need changing,so maybe your suggestion could start the ball rolling?
Good Question Mrs.Sippy.