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The Blair Government and the Core Executive

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 March 2014

Martin Burch  and
Ian Holliday
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Abstract

The article contests the view that the Blair government has presided over the demise of cabinet government in the UK, and the rise of a kind of British presidentialism. By examining changes made at the very heart of government, chiefly in the Prime Minister's and Cabinet Offices, it argues that change under Labour marks the latest stage in the evolution of Britain's still functioning system of cabinet government. Moreover, recent reforms, like so many before, have been partly prompted by deep-seated administrative factors that have helped to shape the core executive for close to a century. Nevertheless, the article concedes that the Blair reforms do reflect an acceleration of pre-existing trends, with the result that the executive arm of government has been substantially enhanced. This has led to some change in the balance of power both within the core executive and across central government more widely.

Type
Articles
Information
Government and Opposition , Volume 39 , Issue 1 , 2004 , pp. 1 - 21
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 2004.

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References

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9 For a detailed analysis of the changing nature of the core executive since 1916, and the cumulative nature of its development, see Burch and Holliday, British Cabinet System, op. cit., chs 1–5.

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