Evaluate The View That The Prime

Minister Is Now Presidential. (30)

Politics Explained Essay Plan
Topic ➡ 3. Prime Minister And Executive
Structure ➡ Three paragraphs with for/against and an overall judgement within each
This Essay Plan Is Part Of A Package Of Essay Plans Covering The UK Government Part Of The
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Keep In Mind ➡ These are long plans as they’re intended to be revised from to cover the key
content you need to know for the exam. In the exam, you would need to adapt them for the
specific question you are asked and you certainly wouldn’t need to include everything, especially
not all of the examples. The judgements are also subjective and you don’t have to agree with
them!

Introduction
Key Definitions
The ‘Presidentialisation’ of the Prime Minister suggests that the Prime Minister increasingly acts like
and has the powers of a US President.

This essay will consider 3 key ways in which this is said to be the case: how they can act like a head
of state, how they have staff and capacity similar to the West Wing and how they can develop
personal legitimacy.

Paragraph One
State?
➡ Can The Prime Minister Act Like A Head Of
For: Arguments That Prime Minister Is Presidential
One key way in which 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.

Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential. (30) Politics Explained Essay Plan 1
 Tony Blair had a very close personal relationship with George Bush and drove foreign policy in
relation to the Iraq War, with little discussion around the cabinet table and ministers denied
access to key documents.

During the Brexit process, it was the Prime Minister that played a key role in determining the
Withdrawal Agreement and negotiating with the EU.

Boris Johnson and Theresa May, at different points, had key negotiations with the EU.

The Prime Minister represents the United Kingdom in international conferences such as the G7
and G20.

Gordon Brown, for example, played an important role in hosting the G20 in London in 2009
and coordinating the international response to the 2008 Financial Crisis.

During the COVID-19 Pandemic, Prime Minister Boris Johnson was initially very popular and
rallied the country behind him against the pandemic, whilst hosting regular press conferences
about the pandemic on TV.

This can be seen as acting like a head of state, as Johnson was seen as representing the
country and rallying it behind him in an emergency.

Though the monarch is the official Head of State in the UK, they play no political role and it is usually
the Prime Minister that welcomes foreign leaders.

Against: Arguments That Prime Minister Isn’t 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.

Prime Ministers are also hampered by the size of their majority and personal popularity.

David Cameron, for example, struggled to act presidentially as he was in charge of a coalition
government and therefore needed to cooperate with the Liberal Democrats both in Parliament
and the cabinet.

Ultimately, the Prime Minister is also not the Head of State in the UK.

Judgement
Overall, though the Prime Minister isn’t officially the Head of State in the UK, they are able to act as
one when conducting foreign policy and in emergencies. Though stronger Prime Ministers are better
able to do so, all Prime Ministers do so to an extent and should therefore be seen as presidential in
this regard.

Paragraph Two ➡ Does The Prime Minister Have A ‘West Wing’?

For: Arguments That Prime Minister Is Presidential
One key way in which the Prime Minister can be said to be Presidential is that Downing Street has
grown into a kind of West Wing supporting the Prime Minister, providing significant administrative

Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential. (30) Politics Explained Essay Plan 2
 support. This leads to less reliance on the cabinet for decision making and determining policy.

In recent years, Special Advisors (SPADs) have occupied an important role in Downing Street and in
decision making. These are unelected and are hired directly by the Prime Minister, working closely
with them to develop government strategy.

John Major had just 8 special advisors, but by 2005 Tony Blair had thirty.

Despite being unelected, special advisor Dominic Cummings held a very significant amount of
power in Boris Johnson’s government, arguably far more than any cabinet minister or other
member of government.

Boris Johnson even took a significant hit to his government’s popularity to defend Cummings
after he broke COVID rules by driving from London to Barnard Castle.

Whilst in the past Prime Ministers had little central support and relied a great deal on the cabinet as
ministers had the administrative support of large departments, modern Prime Ministers are well
supported by the Prime Minister's Office and the Cabinet Office.

Similar to the West Wing in the US, these resources are now arguably greater than those
available to a minister and enable the Prime Minister to have an overview of policy and drive
delivery and strategy across government.

Under Blair, the Prime Minister played a key role in developing long-term policies using the
Strategy Unit and using the Delivery Unit to monitor the delivery of policy across government, with
Blair playing a key role in driving through Health and Education policy in particular

Against: Arguments That Prime Minister Isn’t Presidential

On the other hand, it can be argued that the Prime Minister isn’t presidential because they ultimately
still rely on the cabinet to deliver policy and have far less central control and administrative capacity
than the West Wing in America.

The UK Government operates under a core-executive model where power is very fragmented and the
Prime Minister can’t control all of government policy. Instead, they seek to act as managers, using
their appointments power and their ability to offer some coordination in an effort to gain as much
influence as possible.

This leads to the Prime Minister still relying on cabinet ministers to run their departments, whilst
relying on cabinet decision making to settle key disputes and pass policies, especially when there
is a cabinet rivalry or the government has a small majority/limited popularity.

When Theresa May was seeking to introduce a Brexit deal, the hardline Brexiteers in her
cabinet (as well as the DUP and the fact she lacked a majority), including Boris Johnson, had
a lot of influence due to their support among the party and forced Theresa May to a harder
Brexit deal.

This has especially been the case since 2010, when there have been a series of governments
with small majorities/coalitions.

When developing policy, David Cameron had to consult key members of his cabinet,
particularly Lib Dem leader Nick Clegg, to ensure they would have wide support.

The cabinet is also highly important for a government to project unity to the public and make
important decisions during a crisis, as joined up decision making between departments is essential.

Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential. (30) Politics Explained Essay Plan 3
 For example during COVID, Johnson not only wanted to present a united front, but also relied a
lot on government ministers, especially Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Judgement
Overall, the Prime Minister has certainly become more presidential in recent years due to the growth
of Downing Street and administrative support of SPADs, however they ultimately still rely on the
cabinet for decision making and implementing policy and therefore can’t be seen as presidential in
this regard.

Paragraph Three
Legitimacy
➡ Can The Prime Minister Develop Personal
For: Arguments That Prime Minister Is Presidential
One key way in which it has been argued that the Prime Minister is now presidential is that they are
able to use the office to develop personal popularity.

This is linked to Michael Foley’s concept of ‘Spatial Leadership’ that suggests that Prime
Ministers are becoming more like US presidents by distancing themselves from the party and
government for which they are responsible.

They present themselves as outsiders and develop personal popularity with the public using the
media in particular.

In the 2019 election, for example, Boris Johnson distanced himself from the Conservative Party that
had been in power for 9 years and sought to present himself as offering the electorate a change,
including a move away from austerity.

His personal popularity was important to the Conservative Party being able to win over significant
numbers of former Labour voters in the Red Wall.

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
becoming key fixtures of campaigns and media coverage of politics often focusing on leaders.

Tony Blair was very successful in courting support from the right-wing press and developing his
personal image. Due to his very high popularity at the start of his premiership, he was able to
determine a lot of government policy himself, for example in health and education, where there
was a lot of centralised control.

Against: Arguments That Prime Minister Isn’t Presidential

On the other hand, it can be argued that Prime Ministers aren’t Presidential because they are
ultimately still accountable both to their party and to Parliament and have to keep both on side in
order to effectively pursue their goals and remain as Prime Minister.

Prime Ministers rely on the party in order to pass the government’s legislative agenda and on the
cabinet to deliver government policy. If the Prime Ministers distances themselves too much from
either/seeks to sideline the cabinet in particular, the cabinet can remove them.

This happens in particular when the Prime Minister is no longer popular with the public and
therefore would no longer help the party win the next election.

Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential. (30) Politics Explained Essay Plan 4
 The last 3 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

It can be argued that the office of the Prime Minister is elastic; the more a Prime Minister attempts to
expand the office the more resistance they face.

For example, Margaret Thatcher was ultimately removed by her cabinet despite her big majority.
This was in part due to her pursuing the Poll Tax in 1989/90 despite opposition from all sides,
including within her own party, and without consulting local authorities fully.

Her sidelining of the cabinet and conviction politics ultimately came back to bite her and bring her
down.

Judgement
Overall, though the Prime Minister is able to use the media to distance themselves somewhat from
their party and develop personal popularity, the last 3 Prime Ministers being removed by their
cabinets/party show that the Prime Minister is not presidential in this regard.

They are ultimately accountable both to their cabinet and party and if they try to sideline the cabinet
and distance themselves from their party too much, they will be removed.

Overall Argument
In conclusion, the Prime Minister is not now Presidential.

Whilst it is true that foreign policy and emergencies enable the Prime Minister to act like a head of
state, they are not presidential as they ultimately rely on the support of their cabinet and party to
retain power.

Not only is maintaining cabinet support necessary to deliver government policy, it is also highly
important in allowing the Prime Minister to keep their position, as if they become unpopular and lose
the support of their cabinet and wider party, they will be removed, as has been seen with the last 3
Prime Ministers.

Other Possible Essay Questions To Practice

Adapting This Plan To Answer
Evaluate the view that prime ministers have become more presidential in recent years. (30)

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Evaluate The View That The Prime Minister Is Now Presidential. (30) Politics Explained Essay Plan 5