PRESIDENTIALIZING THE PREMIERSHIP

PRESIDENTIALIZING THE PREMIERSHIP

Presidentiaiizing the Premiership Sue Pryce Department of Politics University of Nottingham

First published in Great Britain 1997 by MACMILLAN PRESS LTD Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS and London Companies and representatives throughout the world A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library. First published in the United States of America 1997 by ST. MARTIN'S PRESS, INC., Scholarly and Reference Division, 175 Fifth Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10010 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Pryce, Sue, 1947- Presidentializing the premiership 1 Sue Pryce. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 978-0-312-17554-2 (cloth) I. Executive advisory bodies-great Britain. 2. Cabinet system -Great Britain. 3. Prime ministers-great Britain. 4. Great Britain-Politics and government-i 964-1 979. 5. Great Britain -Politics and govemment-1979-6. Executive advisory bodies- -United States. 7. Cabinet system-united States. 8. Presidents- -United States. 9. United States-Politics and government. I. Title. JN405.P79 1997 352.7'43'0941-dc21 97-7101 CIP Sue Pryce 1997 ISBN 978-1-349-40006-5 DOI 10.1057/9780230379992 ISBN 978-0-312-17554-2 Softcoverreprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1997 978-0-333-68185-5 All rights reserved. No reproduction, copy or transmission of this publication may be made without written permission. No paragraph of this publication may be reproduced, copied or transmitted save with written permission or in accordance with the provisions of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, or under the terms of any licence permitting limited copying issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London WI P 9HE. Any person who does any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages. The author has asserted her right to be identified as the author of this work in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. This book is printed on paper suitable for recycling and made from fully managed and sustained forest sources. 10 9 8 7 6 5 06 05 04 03 02 01 4 3 2 I 00 99 98 97 ISBN 978-0-230-37999-2 (ebook)

ToKen

'The first opinion that is formed of a ruler's intelligence is based on the quality of the men he has around him. When they are competent and loyal he can always be considered wise, because he has been able to recognize their competence and to keep them loyal. But when they are otherwise, the prince is always open to adverse criticism; because his first mistake has been in the choice of his ministers.' Machiavelli

Contents Preface ix 1 Introduction 1 2 Constitutional Propriety and the Politics 6 of Advice to the Executive in Britain 3 An American Presidential Model 22 4 Harold Wilson 1964-70: A Presidential Premier 46 5 Edward Heath 1970-4: A Counter-Revolutionary? 83 6 Harold Wilson 1974-6: A Presidentializing 115 Premier 7 James Callaghan 1976-9: A Caretaker 147 8 Margaret Thatcher 1979-90: An Outsider 163 9 Conclusion 192 Appendix 204 Bibliography 212 Index 225 vii

Preface This book was inspired by the political and constitutional fuss that erupted when Nigel Lawson resigned as Chancellor in 1989. He attributed a large measure of the blame for his sudden departure from the exchequer, to the fact that Mrs Thatcher was listening to alternative economic advice. The implication was that there were rules about advice that the prime minister was not observing. Controversy about advice had erupted from time to time ever since Mrs Thatcher entered No. to and it was often linked with claims that the prime minister was behaving 'presidentially'. I remembered that similar complaints had been made during Harold Wilson's premierships, especially when, in 1967, George Brown resigned as Foreign Secretary. This prompted me to investigate whether there were indeed constitutional rules circumscribing advice to the prime minister, and to examine what, if any, connection existed between prime ministerial advisory strategies and the claims that British politics was becoming presidentialized. Had the presidentialization of electoral politics in Britain brought about a change in constitutional and institutional relationships at the heart of British government? This book is my own work but it would never have been completed without support and practical assistance. I am grateful to Mrs Jan Beckett, the librarian at Harlaxton College, for the help she gave me with my research. She took a keen interest in the progress of my work and always made me feel welcome even on occasions when my queries must have been tiresome. Thanks are also due to Sunder Katwala and Karen Brazier of Macmillan Press for providing me with guidance on the intricacies of publishing. I am greatly indebted to my friend and mentor, Dr John McClelland of the Politics Department of the University of Nottingham, for reading early drafts of this work, providing inspirational advice and for setting standards to which I shall always aspire. Finally, I would like to thank my husband, Ken Pryce, for using his considerable expertise and infinite patience to produce this work in camera ready form; for always encouraging me, providing me with emotional support and for sharing my priorities. ix