Agencies and policies instituted to streamline Ottawa's planning process instead concentrate power in the hands of the Prime Minister, more powerful in Canadian politics than the U.S. President in America. Riveting, startling, and indispensable reading.
This report is concerned exclusively with the Gomery Commission's second mandate: to make recommendations, based on the factual findings of its first report, on a series of issues such as government transparency & accountability, the relationship between public servants and politicians, and the responsibilities that should be assigned to Parliament & parliamentarians. Part one outlines the reforms introduced by the federal government since the Commission was established in February 2004 and the suggestions the Commission heard from Canadians about what they felt should be done about accountability & transparency in government and other issues considered in the first report. Part two has five sections covering accountability issues, including the fundamental bases for the responsibilities & accountabilities of Ministers & senior public servants, the capacity of Parliament to hold the government to account, and the roles of the Prime Minister, Ministers, exempt staff, the Privy Council Office, and the Clerk of the Privy Council. Part three deals with more specific issues such as the future management of advertising & sponsorship activities as well as lobbying. It assesses measures to improve transparency, including legislative initiatives pertaining to information access, whistleblowing, sanctions related to failure to fulfil financial administration obligations, appointments to Crown corporations, and internal audits. Part four contains the Commission's consolidated recommendations which are also found throughout the report. The recommendations are designed to rebalance the relationship between Parliament & government, better assign responsibility, and strengthen accountability in the public interest.
This Private Member's Bill contains provisions relating to: the appointment of the Prime Minister; the term of office; the functions of the post and accountability to Parliament; the power to delegate functions; the power to appoint staff or make appointments elsewhere in the civil service or public bodies; the use of Crown prerogative powers; a duty to behave lawfully, subject to the authority of the House of Commons; and public policy statements.
He illuminates, often for the first time, precise Prime Ministerial attitudes toward, and authority over, nuclear weapons policy, the planning and waging of war, and the secret services, as well as dealing with governmental overload, the Suez crisis, and the "Soviet threat." He concludes with a controversial assessment of the relative performance of each Prime Minister since 1945 and a new specification for the premiership as it meets its fourth century."--BOOK JACKET.
Prime Minister's Questions is the bear pit of British politics. Watched and admired around the world, it is often hated at home for bringing out the worst in our politicians. Yet despite successive leaders trying to get away from Punch and Judy politics, it's here to stay. Ayesha Hazarika and Tom Hamilton spent five years preparing Ed Miliband for the weekly joust, living through the highs and lows, tension and black humour of the political front line. In this insightful and often hilarious book, including an updated afterword discussing the key events of 2018, they lift the lid on PMQs and what it's really like to ready the leader for combat. Drawing on personal recollections from key players including Tony Blair, David Cameron, Harriet Harman, William Hague and Vince Cable alongside their unique knowledge, Hazarika and Hamilton take you behind the scenes of some of the biggest PMQs moments.
Fronted by one of the world’s most iconic doors, 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the British Prime Minister and the heart of British politics. Steeped in both political and architectural history, this famed address was originally designed in the late seventeenth century as little more than a place of residence, with no foresight of the political significance the location would come to hold. As its role evolved, 10 Downing Street, now known simply as ‘Number 10,’ has required constant adaptation in order to accommodate the changing requirements of the premiership. Written by Number 10’s first ever ‘Researcher in Residence,’ with unprecedented access to people and papers, No. 10: The Geography of Power at Downing Street sheds new light on unexplored aspects of Prime Ministers’ lives. Jack Brown tells the story of the intimately entwined relationships between the house and its post-war residents, telling how each occupant’s use and modification of the building reveals their own values and approaches to the office of Prime Minister. The book reveals how and why Prime Ministers have stamped their personalities and philosophies upon Number 10 and how the building has directly affected the ability of some Prime Ministers to perform the role. Both fascinating and extremely revealing, No. 10 offers an intimate account of British political power and the building at its core. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the nature and history of British politics.
Even before the prolonged political crisis triggered by the 2016 EU referendum, and the unprecedented challenges to government posed by the Covid-19 pandemic, one could argue that a Prime Minister’s opportunities had become heavily compromised by unrealistic media-driven public expectations. In this timely book, leading analyst of UK politics Mark Garnett provides a re-assessment of the role of the British Prime Minister, from Margaret Thatcher’s controversial tenure to Boris Johnson’s autocratic post-Brexit regime. Taking a thematic approach, he explores the impact of major political developments and personalities on key aspects of the prime ministerial function 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 inevitable political prominence and his or her – often limited - ability to achieve positive policy outcomes. In view of the enforced resignations of David Cameron and Theresa May since the referendum, the book questions whether the nature of the job has become a deterrent for politicians who hope to find personal satisfaction in public service, opening the way for individuals with much less laudable motivations.