Russell Haggar
Site Owner
The Prime Minister and the Cabinet
Firstly, you might like to look at The Constitution Explained which is an excellent resource produced by the Constitution Society. Click here for the section on The Executive
The rest of the page is divided into two sections.
Section One: The Cabinet with very useful links from the Institute for Government
Section Two: The Prime Minister with links to detailed information on recent Prime Ministers
Section One: The Cabinet
The Cabinet [ with links to articles on “The Quad” and to a podcast on the Coalition] - Click Here
Core Executive and British Presidency: A Note - Click Here
Detailed article on Core Executive [From Democratic Audit 2017] - Click Here
For The UK’s Changing Democracy : Democratic Audit 2018 - Click Here
Individual Ministerial Responsibility and Collective Cabinet Responsibility - Click Here February 2023
Cabinet Confidential [Documentary] - Click Here
Independent article reporting suggestion of “training for Ministers” - Click Here June 2013
BBC Coverage of long detailed House of Lords Debate on PM, Cabinet and related institutions - Click Here
For links to information on all Government resignations/ dismissals since General Election 2017 - Click Here
The Cabinet Manual - Click Here
The Cabinet Manual [Article and video from UCL: scroll down a little way for the video] - Click Here
Mid -Term Report on the Coalition Government [Detailed Report from the Institute for Government] - Click Here
The Secret World of Whitehall and The Great Offices of State – Click Here
[Two 3 part BBC series via You Tube]
Series of interviews with successive Cabinet Secretaries 1979 - Click Here April 2014
You Tube coverage of Professor Anthony King and Sir Ivor Crewe discussing “The Blunders of Our Governments”. - Click Here
Further Information on the workings of the Cabinet System from the Institute for Government
The Cabinet Click here
Cabinet Office Click here
Cabinet Committees Click here
Cabinet Secretary Click here
The Cabinet Manual Click here
The Ministerial Code Click here
Ethics in Government Click here
Ministerial Accountability Click here
Privileges Committee Investigation Click here
the Delivery unit Click here
Related Issues
The Privy Council Click here
Parliamentary Private Secretaries Click here
Whips Click here
Downing Street Chief of Staff Click here
National Security Adviser Click here
SPADS Click here
Parliamentary Private Secretaries Click here
Permanent Secretaries Click here
Civil Service Code Click here
MPs Code Click here
Appointment of Prime Ministers: the role of the King Click here
for Scottish Independence [IfG explainer] Click here relocate
for Rishi Sunak’s First Cabinet [IfG explainer] Click here
Section Two: The Prime Minister
The Prime Minister - Click Here
Core Executive and British Presidency: A Note - Click Here
The Presidential Debate Click here
Further information on the Presidential debate Click here
Detailed article on Core Executive [From Democratic Audit 2017] - Click Here
For The UK’s Changing Democracy : Democratic Audit 2018 - Click Here
UK Prime Ministers
Prime Ministers of the United Kingdom [From Radio 4 - Click Here March 2019
Lecture by Professor Vernon Bogdanor on Prime Ministers form Attlee to Blair - Click Here
Gresham’s College Politics Lectures [containing a series on British Prime Ministers] - Click Here
For Reflections : BBC Radio 4 :Peter Hennessey interviews long serving politicians about their careers [Blair, Major, Hague, Blunkett etc] - Click Here
Lectures on Thatcher and Blair - Click Here
Margaret Thatcher 1979-90
The New Right and Thatcherism – Click here
The Downing Street Years [a detailed 4 Part BBC documentary {now posted on YouTube} on the Premiership of Margaret Thatcher] - Click Here
For Thatcher: A Very British Revolution [5 part BBC 2 series beginning May 20th] - Click Here
Useful Resources on Margaret Thatcher from Tutor2U - Click Here
John Major 1990-97
For John Major [3 part series BBC] Click here
Tony Blair 1997- 2007
The Deal - Click Here
Tony Blair and Parliament [From the BBC] - Click Here
Tony Blair [Interviewed by Jeremy Paxman 2001] - Click Here
Andrew Rawnsley’s Three Part Assessment of the Premiership of Tony Blair [From The Guardian] - Click Here
The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair One - Click Here
The Rise and Fall of Tony Blair Two - Click Here
The Last Days of Tony Blair - Click Here
The Blair Years - Click Here
Tony Blair: The Inside Story - Click here and here
Tony Blair: PM or President? [From 2005], Click here
For The Rehabilitation of Tony Blair? [Guardian podcast: 23 minutes] - Click Here
Click here for Blair and Brown: The New Labour Revolution
Useful Resources on Tony Blair from Tutor2U - Click Here
Heroes or Villains? The Blair Government Reconsidered - Click Here March 2019
Gordon Brown 2007- 2010
For Steve Richard’s Radio 4 Series on the Premiership of Gordon Brown - Click Here
LSE Podcast by Anthony Seldon on the Premiership of Gordon Brown - Click Here
David Cameron 2010- 16
Vince Cable and the Tories: Collective Cabinet Responsibility? [From Huffington Post] - Click Here March 2014
The Formation of the Conservative-Liberal Democrat Coalition [from the BBC] - Click Here
How Coalition Government Works { Video from The Constitution Unit of London University] - Click Here
The Coalition: Voters , Parties and Institutions [Report on first year of Coalition :Institute for Government/University of East Anglia] - Click Here
Page of links on David Cameron and Conservative Ideology - Click Here
Cameron Uncovered [Andrew Rawnsley’s Dispatches Documentary from 2010] - Click Here
Steve Richards’ 3 part Radio 4 series on the Cameron Years is an exceptional resource for students and teachers alike - Click Here
Cameron at 10 : Antony Seldon discusses his book - Click Here
Theresa May 2016- 2019
The Conservative Party Leadership Election of 2016 - Click Here
Theresa Versus Boris [Drama Documentary] - Click Here
Steve Richards’ 3 part Radio 4 Series; The Brexit Prime Minister - Click Here
Page of Links on Theresa May and The Conservative Party - Click Here
For Theresa May’s last big speech as PM - Click Here
For comparison of the administrations of John Major and Theresa May - Click Here
For Theresa May Click here and here and here
Boris Johnson 2016-19
For a page of links on Boris Johnson as Prime Minister Part One -Click Here November 2020
For a page of links on Boris Johnson as Prime Minister Part Two -Click Here September 2022
For a page of links on Boris Johnson on Ukraine -Click Here September 2022
Elizabeth Truss
For a page of links on Elizabeth Truss as Prime Minister - Click Here October 2022
Rishi Sunak
Rishi Sunak as Prime Minister - Click Here December 2022
Click here For BBC Three Part Series: State of Chaos [ Laura Kuenssberg]
Click here and here for BBC items related to the above series.
Brexit
Page of Links on UK EU Referendum - Click Here
Brexit: A Love Story [Mark Mardell Radio 4 series: 22 episodes so far] - Click Here
Brexit : A very British Coup - Click Here
For The Brexit Effect from the Institute for Government. The implications of Brexit for the UK system of government - Click Here April 2019
For “What is the European Parliament and do the Elections matter? [Guardian] - Click Here
For The Brexit Effect from the Institute for Government. A detailed report on the implications of Brexit for the UK system of government - Click Here
For some Links on the UK European Parliament Election, the Peterborough By-election and the Conservative Party Leadership Election. This page will be updated
regularly -Click Here