Discreet, inconspicuous, prudent... The perfect prime-ministerial aide is always in the background, a low-profile figure unknown outside the Westminster bubble. Unfortunately, reality often falls short of the ideal; for as long as the office of Prime Minister has existed, its occupants have been supported by a range of colourful individuals who have garnered public interest, controversy and criticism. At Power's Elbow tells their story for the first time, uncovering the truth behind three ...

The story of how the UK Parliament came to use the Internet from the 1960s onwards has never been told. Electrified Democracy places the impact of technology on parliamentary workings in its longer term historical context. The author identifies repeating patterns of perception and analysis, and cultural tendencies in the perception of inventions dating back over centuries that have reasserted themselves in connection with the parliamentary response to networked computers. He uncovers evide...

The office of Prime Minister stands at the apex of the British political system. An undertsanding of this post is essential to all who are -- or aspire to be -- within government, or who observie it from outside.This book combines the methods of history and political science to produce theories of the development, nature and power of the premiership, and to explain the implications for present politicians and analysts. It is essential reading for for academics, students, journalists and al...

A reflection on the state of democracy and observance of the British constitution in the United Kingdom.In The Bonfire of the Decencies, Peter Hennessy and Andrew Blick use Boris Johnson’s tenure as prime minister to argue that mechanisms for the upholding of constitutional principles in the United Kingdom are deficient and require an overhaul. They show that, from the outset, Johnson’s time in office was a source of serious disruption that saw standards a...

Does the United Kingdom’s constitution sufficiently protect its democracy from a rogue prime minister?In light of the resurgence of the far Right across Europe and some of the rhetoric of the 2024 General Election, which carried whiffs of political authoritarianism, Could It Happen Here? explores the possible consequences of a British prime minister refusing to leave office. Mapping out the processes that might occur after such an eventuality, the responsi...

This book describes an astounding feat of constitutional writing and publication. For a number of decades, officials working across different branches of the United Kingdom (UK) constitution have been engaged in a series of separate projects. Taken in their totality, they amount to a vast enterprise. Yet, until now, no-one has fully recognised or critically analysed what has taken place. There has been a proliferation in the UK of publicly available codes, normally lacking a basis in statu...

How far did the European Union (EU) referendum result of 23 June 2016 really justify and necessitate the policies executed in response to it? What are the implications of that vote and its prolonged aftermath for the United Kingdom (UK) constitution? What other challenges does our political system face? This book seeks to answer these questions. It considers from a constitutional perspective the way in which the decision to leave the EU was taken and then implemented, discussing in particu...

The 800th anniversary of Magna Carta falls in June 2015. In this work Dr Blick argues that this event should be the occasion for a reassessment of the past, present and future of the UK constitution. He draws on his experience as research fellow to the first ever parliamentary inquiry into the possibility of a written constitution for the UK. Dr Blick considers a series of English and UK historical texts from Anglo-Saxon times onwards, among which Magna Carta is the most prominent, which s...

The European Union referendum of 23 June 2016 proved to be the trigger for the most prolonged period of political turbulence in the peacetime history of the UK; leading to major policy changes and realignments in the party-political system. This book considers from an historical perspective the democratic device that provided the focus for this upheaval. Beginning in the late nineteenth century, it discusses how the idea of using referendums to resolve major political disputes first came o...

This volume explores constitutional reform, and in particular expansions in the franchise. It presents evidence covering the origins of these transitions and the subsequent development of demands for reform. It also deals with other changes such as the secret ballot. The volume examines accounts of the debates that took place about the merits of reform and the form it should take if enacted. It includes evidence of the party-political considerations and tactical motivations leading to refo...

This volume covers the nature and operation of different organs of the constitution. It includes documents dealing with Parliament; the monarchy; the legal system; the Church; the Prime Minister and the Cabinet; the Civil Service; and local government. It presents accounts from insiders who were directly involved in working these institutions; and of the perceptions of outside observers. It identifies documents pertaining to key moments of change in the history of these entities, including...

This volume considers the UK as a state that was both internally differentiated and placed a premium on its external relations and world power. It contains documents dealing with the implications of the multinational status of the UK. They relate to matters including discussions over the status of Ireland; and the constitutional position of the other nations of the UK. The volume also contains documents connected to the constitutional implications of the Empire, including the way in which ...