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Chapter 1 - The 300th Anniversary Bookend Prime Ministers

Walpole and Johnson

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 March 2024

Anthony Seldon
Assisted by
Jonathan Meakin ,
Illias Thoms  and
Tom Egerton
Anthony Seldon
Affiliation:
University of Buckingham
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Summary

This chapter analyses the first prime minister, Robert Walpole, against Boris Johnson – the prime minister at the time of the office’s 300th anniversary. The two PMs bookend 300 momentous years of history, but what has changed about the office of prime minister? Comparing personal and political, the chapter examines the machinery of government, from patronage in Parliament to departmental power as well as the core driver for the role of prime minister. While the country and office have changed, some core functions and political realities remain the same in the British system.

Keywords

JohnsonWalpoleofficeprime ministercomparative politics17212024changecontinuity
Type
Chapter
Information
The Impossible Office?
The History of the British Prime Minister - Revised and Updated
 , pp. 1 - 29
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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