No. 10: The Geography of Power at Dowing Street: The Geography of Power at Dowing Street

Fronted by one of the world's most iconic doors, 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the British Prime Minister and the heart of British politics. Steeped in both political and architectural history, this famed address was originally designed in the late seventeenth century as little more than a place of residence, with no foresight of the political significance the location would come to hold. As its role evolved, 10 Downing Street, now known simply as 'Number 10, ' has required constant adaptation in order to accommodate the changing requirements of the premiership. Written by Number 10's first ever 'Researcher in Residence, ' with unprecedented access to people and papers, No. 10: The Geography of Power at Downing Street sheds new light on unexplored aspects of Prime Ministers' lives. Jack Brown tells the story of the intimately entwined relationships between the house and its post-war residents, telling how each occupant's use and modification of the building reveals their own values and approaches to the office of Prime Minister. The book reveals how and why Prime Ministers have stamped their personalities and philosophies upon Number 10 and how the building has directly affected the ability of some Prime Ministers to perform the role. Both fascinating and extremely revealing, No. 10 offers an intimate account of British political power and the building at its core. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the nature and history of British politics. Fronted by one of the worlds most iconic doors, 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the British Prime Minister and the heart of British politics. Steeped in both political and architectural history, this famed address was originally designed in the late seventeenth century as little more than a place of residence, with no foresight of the political significance the location would come to hold. As its role evolved, 10 Downing Street, now known simply as Number 10, has required constant adaptation in order to accommodate the changing requirements of the premiership. This book sheds new light on unexplored aspects of Prime Ministers lives. Jack Brown tells the story of the intimately entwined relationships between the house and its post-war residents, telling how each occupants use and modification of the building reveals their own values and approaches to the office of Prime Minister. The book reveals how and why Prime Ministers have stamped their personalities and philosophies upon Number 10 and how the building has directly affected the ability of some Prime Ministers to perform the role. Both fascinating and extremely revealing, No. 10 offers an intimate account of British political power and the building at its core. It is essential reading for anyone interested in the nature and history of British politics "With perhaps the world's most iconic front door, 10 Downing Street is the home and office of the British Prime Minister and the heart of British politics. This is the story of the intimately entwined relationship between the house and its post-war residents. What does each occupant's use and modification of the building reveal about their values and how they sought to govern? No. 10 was designed in the late seventeenth century and intended only as a place of residence. Over the years it has undergone constant adaptation to accommodate the changing role and requirements of the premiership. As No. 10's first-ever Researcher in Residence, Jack Brown had unprecedented access to people and papers. No. 10: The Geography of Power at Downing Street sheds new light on unexplored corners of Prime Ministers' lives. Equally fascinating and revealing, this is an intimate account of the building at the core of British political power."--Publisher description It was a box to which only the Prime Minister and I had a key – so I put the really private stuff into this box. The Prime Minister knew perfectly well that the juicy stuff was in that box; they all went to it first. If there was something you particularly wanted done, you could always sneak it through into this box. [...] And when Mr. Wilson arrived and found this had been one of the changes that had been made [whilst he was out of office], he was very pleased. He called it “Old Stripey”.8 When asked whether any Prime Minister wised up to this tactic, Armstrong said, ‘I expect they did. But provided you didn’t abuse it, it suited everybody.’9 Andrew Turnbull, who was Principal Private Secretary to both Thatcher and John Major, stated that geographical proximity was less important than being the last to view and control the flow of information to the Prime Minister