The Last Prime Minister
    Being honest about the UK presidency

    new updated edition, focusing on Parliament's constitutional impotence during the Iraq crisis

    Graham Allen MP

    March 2003, 96 pp., 090784541X (pbk.), $17.90 / £8.95

    available for only £2.50 via:

    essays in political and cultural criticism

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    Introduction (Sample Chapter)
    "Iconoclastic, stimulating and well-argued, and its publication could hardly be more timely"
    Vernon Bogdanor, Times Higher Education Supplement
        “The member for Nottingham North rose to his feet, the House of Commons, packed as usual for Prime Ministers Questions, fell silent. “Would the Prime Minister tell this House of Commons by what right, what authority does he — unelected as his office is, by Parliament or the people — believe he can take our country to war and much else, without the formal involvement of Parliament or the people? How can he lecture others about the rule of law when his own legitimacy is so tenuous?” The PM reddened and spluttered replying “Golly y’know I’ve never even thought about it like that, but you are right. I’ll get straight on and sort out this constitutional nonsense so all of us, the electorate included, can understand our political system and the position of my Office in it”.
        In your dreams Graham!

        But there is as always a serious point. For as I write these lines, thousands of  British soldiers . . .”

        Graham Allen MP, The Last Prime Minister (2nd. Edition), p. 1


    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.
     

  • ‘Sharp, well-informed and truly alarming.’ Peter Hennessy
  • ‘Should be read and pondered by everyone interested in the future of the UK’s constitution.’ Anthony King
  • ‘One of the most original constitutional thinkers in the Commons.’ Andrew Marr
  • ‘A stimulating read.’ Network
  • "Sound , locally based governance is the key to the challenges facing humankind, so Graham Allens's short book is a forceful reminder of just how far we are away from achieving it"  Chris Wright  Fourth World Review

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    Table of Contents

    Contents
    Foreword
    Acknowledgements
    Preface to Second Edition
    Introduction

    Chapter 1: The Origins of the UK Presidency

    The Failed Revolution
    First Among Equals
    The Myth of Parliamentary Sovereignty

    Chapter 2: The Modern UK Presidency

    Centralisation of Power in the UK
    The Modern Media
    The End of Cabinet
    The Decline of Party
    The Ethic of the British Civil Service
    The Personalisation of Politics

    Chapter 3: Making the UK Presidency Work

    The Functions of the Presidency
    Building the UK Presidency
    Defining the UK Presidency

    Chapter 4: The Future of the UK Presidency

    The Presidency Changing Itself
    Legitimising the UK Presidency
    A New Democratic Settlement
    What Parliament Needs To Do

    Conclusion

    Further Reading

    Appendices

    The Presidential Office — Structure & Policy Advice
    The Presidential Staff
    Comparison of UK and US Presidencies
    Prime Ministership Bill

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