The British Prime Minister in the Core Executive : Political Leadership in British European Policy

This book examines the UK prime minister’s political leadership in the domestic executive. By offering a comparative study of the political leadership of James Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher, John Major and Tony Blair with regard to European monetary policy, it challenges the thesis that British prime ministers today have more power, resources and autonomy than their predecessors, giving them a greater capacity to act. Taking key European monetary policy decisions by the British government between 1976 and 2007 as empirical cases, the book assesses the extent to which the political leadership of each prime minister was affected by the cabinet, the parliamentary party as well as the media, and the extent to which he or she was able to manage these factors. It becomes clear from this analysis that prime ministerial predominance is not as frequent as suggested, while collective leadership does not represent a return to cabinet government. Moreover, particularly the party in government affects the prime minister’s leadership by shaping his or her options on appointments (and therefore the composition of the core executive), and through its behaviour in parliament, e.g. through rebellions or the threat of them. Preface 6 Acknowledgements 7 Contents 10 List of Abbreviations 13 List of Figures 15 List of Tables 16 Chapter 1: Prime Ministerial Political Leadership and British European Policy: An Introduction 17 1.1 The British Prime Minister and European Policy 17 1.2 Purpose of this Book 19 1.3 Current Research, Methodology and Structure 21 References 26 Chapter 2: Theoretical Framework: Prime Ministerial Political Leadership in the British Political System 29 2.1 Approaches to the Study of Political Leadership 29 2.2 Approaches to the Study of the British Political System 32 2.2.1 The Westminster Model: Cabinet Versus Prime Ministerial Government/Presidentialization 32 2.2.2 The Core Executive Approach 33 2.2.3 Martin J. Smith ́s Model of Prime Ministerial Power 34 2.2.4 The Prime Ministerial Predominance Thesis 37 2.2.5 A Modified Model of Prime Ministerial Power 40 References 45 Chapter 3: The United Kingdom and European Monetary Policy 1976-2007: Exchange Rate Mechanism and Economic and Monetary Union 47 References 55 Chapter 4: European Policy-Making and Coordination in Executive and Legislature 1976-2007 57 4.1 The Ministerial Level 57 4.2 The Official Level 61 4.3 The Parliamentary Level 63 References 66 Chapter 5: Attitudes to European Integration 68 5.1 Prime Ministerial Attitudes to European Integration 68 5.2 Parliamentary Party Attitudes to European Integration 74 5.2.1 The Labour Party 74 5.2.2 The Conservative Party 75 5.3 Media Attitudes to European Integration 77 5.4 Public Attitudes to European Integration 80 References 84 Chapter 6: Prime Ministerial Resources 87 6.1 Institutional Resources 87 6.1.1 Right of Appointment 88 6.1.2 Cabinet Management 89 6.1.3 The Prime Minister ́s Office (PMO) 90 6.1.4 Two-Level Politics 93 6.2 Individual Resources 93 6.2.1 Parliamentary Party Management 94 6.2.2 Political Communication and Media Management 96 References 97 Chapter 7: Prime Minister ́s Office and Cabinet Office as Institutional Resources of the Prime Minister in the European (Moneta... 100 7.1 James Callaghan 100 7.1.1 Prime Minister ́s Office 100 7.1.2 Cabinet Office 103 7.2 Margaret Thatcher 105 7.2.1 Prime Minister ́s Office 105 7.2.2 Cabinet Office 109 7.3 John Major 112 7.3.1 Prime Minister ́s Office 112 7.3.2 Cabinet Office 115 7.4 Tony Blair 116 7.4.1 Prime Minister ́s Office 116 7.4.2 Cabinet Office 120 7.5 The Prime Minister ́s Institutional Resources in European (Monetary) Policy 122 References 124 Chapter 8: Prime Ministerial Management of the Actors in the European Monetary Policy Core Executive 127 8.1 Resource of Appointment 127 8.1.1 James Callaghan 127 8.1.2 Margaret Thatcher 130 8.1.3 John Major 133 8.1.4 Tony Blair 135 8.2 Prime Ministerial Cabinet Management and Political Decision-Making on ERM and EMU 138 8.2.1 The Callaghan Government 138 8.2.2 The Thatcher Government 144 8.2.3 The Major Government 154 8.2.4 The Blair Government 162 8.3 Prime Ministerial Two-Level Politics in European (Monetary) Policy 168 8.4 Actors in the European Monetary Policy Core Executive and Prime Ministerial Political Leadership 171 References 174 Chapter 9: Prime Ministerial Management of the Parliamentary Party in European Policy 178 9.1 James Callaghan 179 9.2 Margaret Thatcher 183 9.3 John Major 186 9.4 Tony Blair 192 9.5 The Parliamentary Party and Prime Ministerial Political Leadership 196 References 199 Chapter 10: Prime Ministerial Political Communication and Media Management in European Monetary Policy 201 10.1 James Callaghan: European Council in Brussels, December 1978 204 10.2 Margaret Thatcher: European Council in Madrid, June 1989 213 10.3 John Major: European Council in Maastricht, December 1991 223 10.4 Tony Blair: National Changeover Plan, February 1999 235 10.5 The Media and Prime Ministerial Political Leadership 246 References 247 Chapter 11: Conclusion: Prime Ministerial Political Leadership in British European (Monetary) Policy 252 References 260 References 261 Front Matter ....Pages i-xix Prime Ministerial Political Leadership and British European Policy: An Introduction (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 1-12 Theoretical Framework: Prime Ministerial Political Leadership in the British Political System (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 13-30 The United Kingdom and European Monetary Policy 1976–2007: Exchange Rate Mechanism and Economic and Monetary Union (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 31-40 European Policy-Making and Coordination in Executive and Legislature 1976–2007 (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 41-51 Attitudes to European Integration (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 53-71 Prime Ministerial Resources (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 73-85 Prime Minister’s Office and Cabinet Office as Institutional Resources of the Prime Minister in the European (Monetary) Policy Core Executive (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 87-113 Prime Ministerial Management of the Actors in the European Monetary Policy Core Executive (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 115-165 Prime Ministerial Management of the Parliamentary Party in European Policy (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 167-189 Prime Ministerial Political Communication and Media Management in European Monetary Policy (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 191-241 Conclusion: Prime Ministerial Political Leadership in British European (Monetary) Policy (Birgit Bujard)....Pages 243-251 Back Matter ....Pages 253-268