Define the term 'Prime Ministerial Government' (5 Marks)

The Prime Ministerial government thesis suggests that power has been concentrated in the hands of the Prime Minister and that the Prime Minister is the dominant figure in the British governmental system. In recent years powers of PM have been increased to the extent that the Prime Minister now exercises supreme authority in the determination of policy. Richard Crossman, in his introduction to Bagehot's "The English Constitution" (1963), said: "The post war epoch has seen the final transformation of Cabinet government into Prime Ministerial government." This view was supported by Tony Benn during the Thatcher years. There is a view that the power of the Prime Minister is now so great that some holders of the office are, in effect, more like a president than “first among equals”. Tony Blair has been accused of being presidential, not least due to his handling of Iraq.