The Impossible Office?: The History of the British Prime Minister

Description

Marking the third centenary of the office of Prime Minister, this book tells its extraordinary story, explaining how and why it has endured longer than any other democratic political office in world history. Sir Anthony Seldon, historian of Number 10 Downing Street, explores the lives and careers, loves and scandals, successes and failures, of all our great Prime Ministers. From Robert Walpole and William Pitt the Younger, to Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, Seldon discusses which of our Prime Ministers have been most effective and why. He reveals the changing relationship between the Monarchy and the office of the Prime Minister in intimate detail, describing how the increasing power of the Prime Minister in becoming leader of Britain coincided with the steadily falling influence of the Monarchy. This book celebrates the humanity and frailty, work and achievement, of these 55 remarkable individuals, who averted revolution and civil war, leading the country through times of peace, crisis and war. Cover Half-title page Series page Title page Copyright page Dedication Contents Preface Chapter 1 The Bookend Prime Ministers: Walpole and Johnson Chapter 2 A Country Transformed, 1721–2021 Chapter 3 The Liminal Premiership: From the Saxons to 1806 Chapter 4 The Transformational Prime Ministers, 1806–2021 Chapter 5 The Powers and Resources of the Prime Minister, 1721–2021 Chapter 6 The Constraints on the Prime Minister, 1721–2021 Chapter 7 The Eclipse of the Monarchy, 1660–2021 Chapter 8 The Rise and Fall of the Foreign Secretary, 1782–2021 Chapter 9 The Rise, and Rise, of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1660–2021 Chapter 10 The Impossible Office?: The Prime Minister by 2021 Acknowledgments Notes Bibliography Index