Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential.

Introduction

• The ‘Presidentialisation’ of the Prime Minister suggests that the Prime Minister increasingly acts like and has the powers of a President

Paragraph Focus

• Para 1 = Head of State

• Para 2 = ‘West Wing’

• Para 3 = Developing Personal Legitimacy

Para 1 - Weaker Argument = Not Presidential

• The ability of a Prime Minister to act like a President is limited by their personality and events outside of their control.

• Prime Ministers who lack charisma and are hampered by events outside of their control are much less likely to be able to act presidentially.

• Whilst Blair and Thatcher may have been able to be more presidential, John Major, Gordon Brown and Theresa May were much less able to do so.

Para 1 - Stronger Argument = Presidential

• the Prime Minister can be said to be presidential is that they often act like a head of state, particularly in the context of foreign policy and in emergencies when they can rally the country behind them

• February/March 2025 Starmer represented the U.K. in key foreign policy meetings centred on the Ukraine War, including a bilateral meeting with Donald Trump and a meeting with Zelensky

• this can be seen as acting like a head of state, as Starmer was seen as representing the country

Para 2 - Weaker Argument = Not Presidential

• it can be argued that the Prime Minister isnʼt presidential because they ultimately still rely on the cabinet to deliver policy

• The UK Government operates under a core-executive model where power is very fragmented and the Prime Minister canʼt control all of government policy.

• This leads to the Prime Minister still relying on cabinet ministers to run their departments,

• for example, in Sunak government, David Cameron led the UK in peace negotiations on the Israel-Palestine conflict

Para 2 - Stronger Argument = Presidential

• Downing Street has grown into a kind of West Wing supporting the Prime Minister, providing significant administrative support.

• This leads to less reliance on the cabinet for decision making and determining policy.

• In recent years, Special Advisors have occupied an important role in Downing Street and in decision making.

• By the end of the summer of 2024, Starmer had already appointed over 20 special advisers working for number 10 and over 80 working across government.

Para 3 - Weaker Argument = Not Presidential

• it can be argued that Prime Ministers arenʼt Presidential because they are still accountable both to Parliament and have to keep both on side in order to effectively pursue their goals and remain as Prime Minister

• 3 recent Prime Ministers May, Johnson and Truss - were ultimately removed by their cabinets and the wider Conservative Party after becoming unpopular.

• This shows the limits to how much the Prime Minister can be presidential, as they ultimately remain accountable to their party and cabinet

Para 3 - Stronger Argument = Presidential

• it has been argued that the Prime Minister is now presidential is that they are able to use the office to develop personal popularity

• The Prime Minister can use the media and their personal popularity to reach out to the public and create a level of personal support that can allow them to determine and drive through policy.

• This has been aided by the growth of television and social media, as well as TV debates between leaders

• Tony Blair was very successful in courting support from the right-wing press and developing his personal image

• due to his very his popularity he was able to determine a lot of government policy himself