How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period?

Authors Avatar

PIED 3160 Prime Ministers and British politics

Section B

2) How and why has the role of the prime minister changed over the post-1945 period?

        Amongst the literature devoted to the various prime ministers that have held office since 1945, there is by no means a consensus that the job of the prime minister has changed in the last half century. Jones suggests that “the conventional wisdom expressed by some academics and journalists [is] that the position of the prime minister in the British system of government has altered significantly in recent years”(King, 1985, p195). However in an academic textbook, it is alleged that “the job of the prime minister has remained essentially unchanged for the past century”(Rose, 2001, p55)

         The world has changed so much since 1945 that inevitably the roles performed by prime ministers over the last 59 years have altered. Whilst prime minister’s roles may have changed in order to adapt to different circumstances at different times, the job of prime minister has not necessarily developed new roles. As Hodder-Williams points out “all alterations are changes; development, on the other hand, implies a number of changes which move in one perceptible direction” (1995, p225). This serves to explain the confusion surrounding whether or not the job of the prime minister has changed since 1945.

        One reason why difficulties arise in demonstrating how the job of prime minister has changed is because the office of prime minister has no formal powers dictated by a constitution. The prime ministership “is not an office with powers stipulated in a written constitution, as in America or France” (Rhodes, 2000, p48). The prime ministership is instead “best conceived of as a combination of roles or relationships” (Hodder-Williams, 1995, p226). These relationships are with the cabinet, the public, parliament, and other nations. Due to a lack of definition concerning these relationships, prime ministers have varied in almost every dimension of the job. The flexibility of an unwritten constitution has therefore prompted the belief that “the office of the Prime Minister, is what its holder chooses and is able to make of it” (Asquith, as in King, 1991, p34). Therefore a prime minister can still in theory act as he chooses, and define his own role when entering office. However he is constrained by the expectation to perform certain roles, such as appearing in parliament for prime minister’s questions and attending international summits. The expectations upon a prime minister are effectively his source of power, so the power of a prime minister therefore depends on how these role expectations shift. The cause of a shift is either down to a prime ministers skilful manipulation, or luck in the form of unexpected events, as such a prime minister’s role and therefore power can shift during a single term in office. Therefore there is still some merit to the claim that the office of prime minister is what its ‘holder chooses’.

So whilst the job of prime minister has not changed in the last half century, in the sense that there have not been any formal powers added to the position, the role expectations of a prime minister today are different to what they were in 1945. “The major determinants of power have remained essentially unaltered, but … the context in which prime ministers must operate has greatly changed” (Hodder-Williams, 1995, p227).

        The role and therefore power of the prime minister has developed over the last half century in two key ways. In relation to Westminster, the role of the prime minister has increased. Parallel to this however the prime minister’s global role has been reduced. “While a prime minister’s influence at Westminster is increasing greatly, it is declining in the shrinking world of which Downing street is but a part within the world of Westminster” (Rhodes, 2000, p48). A number of explanations have been offered to account for the prime minister’s increased government role such as: a greater number of staff in downing street, a far reaching public image, more power in patronage, and less accountability to parliament. His/her reduced global role is thought to have arisen from; the collapse of the empire, membership of the EU, and the global economy. Coupled with these role developments is therefore also a development of power, as different roles mean different expectations upon the prime minister and therefore different powers.

Join now!

        In order to become prime minister a politician must first of all become leader of his party. As such the changes since 1945 by both the Labour and the Conservatives regarding the selection of party leaders have in effect changed the role of the prime minister. Since 1965 the leader of the Conservatives has been elected by the Conservative members of the House of Commons, whereas prior to this he was chosen by ‘leading figures in the party’ (King, 1991, p26). Furthermore the reform also “calls for the annual election of the leader” (King, 1991, p29). King has suggested ...

This is a preview of the whole essay