The Last Prime Minister by Graham Allen

Author:Graham Allen
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Civilization, politics, British constitution, presidency, prime minister, parliament, sovereignty, centralisation of power, media, cabinet office, civil service, democracy
ISBN: 9781845406080
Publisher: Andrews UK Limited 2017
Published: 2017-02-14T00:00:00+00:00

2 Parliamentary Answer 15 October 2001 PQ 1130

3Guardian, 24 Sept 1999.

4 Jack Straw, quoted by Peter Hennessy, The Times, 25 Sept 2000.

5 See Appendix 5.

6 For example Observer, 24, Oct 1999.

7 Tories 42.4%; Labour 27.6%; Lib/SDP alliance 25.4%.

8 Tony Blair quoted in The Times, 5 August 2001.

3. Making the UK Presidency Work

While many learned works [1] have been written about the end of cabinet government in the UK and a few have alluded to the development of a Presidency in the UK, those which have talked about a Presidency have done so in negative or at best, neutral terms.

I disagree. My view may be a more original one: not only does the UK have a Presidency, but it is a welcome and necessary development for the UK in the modern world. Hard though it may be for people in the UK to accept, a Presidency is a perfectly valid, acceptable, indeed commonplace way of conducting an executive.

The Functions of the Presidency

The UK needs its Presidency and its powers should not be diminished. It is no part of my vision for reform of the UK Presidency that it should be enfeebled in the foreign or domestic setting. A Presidency set in a pseudo-Athenian democracy or hamstrung by warring domestic institutions or paralysed by internal veto would be no good for us globally, nationally or individually.

We need a strong executive for several reasons, most importantly :

The need for prompt and decisive executive action in the modern political world.

The need for clear and authoritative communication to the public.

The requirement for “joined-up” government or effective co-ordination of public sector activity.

The opportunity Britain has to influence global developments.

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