The British Presidency

The Premiership of Tony Blair has not only reaffirmed previous trends towards leader-centered parties and governments, it has provided a decisive change in the development of a British presidency. The strategies and techniques designed to secure and expand Blair’s public outreach, together with the priority attached to the prime minister’s personal pledges and individual vision have propelled the office into new dimensions of independence. Michael Foley argues that the ascendancy of Blair is not an aberration, but rather a culmination of trends that have established vigorous leadership as a key criterion of political evaluation and governing competence. This edition is completely up-to-date, including the first convincing analysis of Tony Blair's leadership style.

Examines the new resources, strategies and motivations of British political leadership and argues that they have produced a British presidency. Foley asserts that the nature of the premiership has altered and that British and American premiership are developing on a parallel.

Echoing Mahatma Gandhi's comment on Western civilization, Graham Allen thinks the British constitution would be a very good idea—a clear constitution providing real power to the British people and their elected representatives. In The Last Prime Minister he showed the British people how they had acquired an executive presidency by stealth. It was the first-ever attempt to codify the Prime Minister's powers, many hidden in the mysteries of the royal prerogative. This timely new edition takes in new issues, including Parliament's constitutional impotence over Iraq.

This handbook examines the personal relationships between American presidents and British prime ministers. It aims to determine how personal diplomacy shaped the Anglo-American relationship and whether individual leaders made the relationship “special.” From the great rapprochement of the 1890s to the Cold War and contemporary transatlantic rapport, the Anglo-American relationship has been one of global significance, making presidents and prime ministers central to international security, trade and commerce, culture, and communication. Naturally, it explores the ideas and convictions of presidents and prime ministers, the political parties they led, as well as the political images constructed in the media and how the aura of the Anglo-American relationship might differ from the reality. With a deeper understanding of these political leaders and the relationship they forge with their counterparts, we come that much closer to appreciating the dynamics of transatlantic statecraft.

In this timely book, Mark Garnett provides a bracing reassessment of the role of the British Prime Minister, from Margaret Thatcher’s controversial tenure to Boris Johnson’s attempt to confront a pandemic with a ministerial team created to face the very different challenge of Brexit. Taking a thematic approach, Garnett explores the impact of major political developments and personalities on key aspects of prime ministerial functions as party leader, Cabinet-maker, chief diplomat and electoral talisman. Much of the controversy over the position of Prime Minister, he concludes, arises from a confusion between the occupant’s inescapable political prominence and his or her – often limited – ability to achieve positive policy outcomes. With both David Cameron and Theresa May forced to resign since 2016, the book questions whether the nature of the job has become a deterrent for politicians who are motivated by a desire to serve the British public, opening the way for individuals with much less laudable motivations.