The British Presidency

The premiership of Tony Blair has not only reaffirmed previous trends towards leader-centred parties and governments, it has provided a decisive change in the development of a genuine British presidency. The array of strategies and techniques designed to secure and expand Blair's public outreach, together with the priority attached to the prime minister's personal pledges and individual vision have propelled the office into new dimensions of independence and leverage. The marginalization of the Labour Party, the House of Commons and even the Cabinet has revealed the capacity of the British system to take up the contemporary dynamics of public leadership. The central argument here is that only through the use of concepts and perspectives more commonly associated with the American presidency is it possible to illuminate the strengths and weaknesses of an emergent British presidency. Foley argues that the ascendancy of Blair is not an aberration, but rather a culmination of trends that have established vigorous leadership as a key criterion of political evalation and governing competence.The Blair presidency locates the emergence of the New Labour project and its defining ideal of strong leadership with the contemporary context of Margaret Thatcher's conviction polititcs and the dysfunctional premiership of John Major. The book concludes that Blair's rise to power and his domnating presence in government represents a decisive precedent and the standard against which his competitors and successors will be judged.