Preface; 1. The Bookend Prime Ministers: Walpole and Johnson; 2. A Country Transformed, 1721–2021; 3. The Liminal Premiership: From the Saxons to 1806; 4. The Transformational Prime Ministers, 1806–2021; 5. The Powers of the Prime Minister, 1721–2021; 6. The Constraints on the Prime Minister, 1721–2021; 7. The Falling Power of the Monarchy, 1660–2021; 8. The Rise and Fall of the Foreign Secretary, 1782–2021; 9. The Rise, and Rise of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, 1660–2021; 10. The Impossible Office: The Prime Minister by 2021.
How and why has the office of British Prime Minister lasted an incredible 300 years? Who have been the best, and worst?
Sir Anthony Seldon is the acknowledged national authority on all matters to do with Number 10 and Prime Ministers. His first book on a Prime Minister, Churchill's Indian Summer (1981) was published forty years ago, and since then he has written or edited many books, including the definitive insider accounts of the last five Prime Ministers. He is the honorary historian at Number 10 Downing Street, chair of the National Archive Trust, and has interviewed virtually all those who have worked in Number 10 in the last 50 years. Jonathan Meakin was educated at Royal Holloway, University of London and at the University of St Andrews. He has had a lifelong interest in history. He has worked on many publications with Anthony Seldon, including Cameron at 10 and The Cabinet Office, 1916–2016. Illias Thoms has worked with Anthony Seldon for over ten years and this is their fourth book together, including Cameron at 10 and Brown at 10. He graduated from Balliol College, Oxford with a degree in history and politics in 2014 and works as an assistant director in the UK film and television industries.
'A tremendous, magisterial book, informed and underpinned by
brilliant historical and political insight. A triumph.' William
Boyd, author of Trio, Restless and Any Human Heart
'Anthony Seldon enriches our understanding of what it takes to run
Britain, with some intriguing ideas for improving the Premiership.'
Camilla Cavendish, former Head of No. 10 Policy Unit, and author of
Extra Time: Ten Lessons for Living Longer Better
'A brilliant, panoramic survey of the fifty-five individuals who
have been prime minister since Robert Walpole - and their families
too. The most moving sentence is right at the end. On the evening
of David Cameron's resignation, his daughter asks him at bedtime:
'Daddy, when are we going back home?' By then, you feel you know
many of the holders of the office of prime minister intimately, how
they changed it and it and how it changed them. A must read.'
Andrew Adonis, former transport minister, education minister and
Head of No. 10 Policy Unit, and author of Ernest Bevin, Labour's
Churchill
'Three hundred years of one of the world's most difficult jobs is
worth some reflection - and there is no better way to go about that
than to read this excellent book. With a rich knowledge of our
prime ministers and the eye of an expert historian, Anthony Seldon
has produced a stimulating and enjoyable study of the unceasing
development of their power and role. There is much here to inform
everyone from the general reader to the political addict, and some
important indicators of what the future may hold.' William Hague,
former Leader of the Opposition, First Secretary of State, Foreign
Secretary, and Leader of the House of Commons
'A fascinating review of the role of the prime minister and those
who have filled it. How were they constrained, how did they
change the role, and how did it change them and the
country. Anthony Seldon also suggests some improvements
including making No. 10 more streamlined, agile and diverse and
ensuring that prime ministers and those around them understand the
role. Reading this book would give them a good start.' Jacqui
Smith, former Home Secretary
'Anthony Seldon has a brilliant ability to capture the humanity of
prime ministers as well as their role in history which is why this
fascinating account is so readable as well as authoritative. It is
essential reading for anyone who wants to understand both how
Downing Street works and the extraordinary characters of those who
have lived there.' Rachel Sylvester, The Times
'A good guide to the constitutional position of the Sovereign's
Minister.' Simon Heffer, Daily Telegraph
'… an intelligent and insightful account of the evolution of the
role.' Andrew Rawnsley, The Observer (Book of the Week)
'… chockful of fascinating Prime Ministerial history …' Paul
Donnelley, Daily Express
'The author [is to be] congratulated on producing a readable,
lively, amusing, and serious account of the office of prime
minister.' Michael Wheeler, Church Times
'We need some answers, and Anthony Seldon is one of the few prime
ministerial biographers to seek to provide them. He does so
insightfully and mischievously …' Steve Richards, Literary
Review
'… a readable, lively, amusing, and serious account of the office
of prime minister.' Michael Wheeler, Church Times
'… a remarkable and important work.' John Bartle, Department of
Philosophy
'Over the last thirty years, Seldon has established himself as the
court historian of Downing Street. Here he provides a history of
the premiership and its antecedents and an analysis of the
challenges, potentialities, and 'constraints' of an office 53 men
and two women have held so far … the anecdotes about the prime
ministers, their families, and their colleagues are engaging …
Recommended.' D. R. Bisson, Choice Connect
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