British Presidency

The premiership of Tony Blair has not only reaffirmed previous trends towards leader-centred parties and governments, it has provided a decisive sea 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 marginalisation 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 in the book 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 evaluation and governing competence. The Blair presidency locates the emergence of the New Labour project and its defining ideal of strong leadership within the contemporary context of Margaret Thatcher's conviction politics and the dysfunctional premiership of John Major. The book concludes that Blair's rise to power and his dominating presence in government represents a decisive precedent and the standard against which his competitors and successors will be judged.