Only since 1902 has the combined office of prime minister and that of First Lord of the Treasury always been held by a member of the House of Commons and therefore, crucially, by virtue of democratic election, by the voters. Both of these prime ministers, however, did rely heavily on bribing members of parliament.
Henry Pelham, who was prime minister between 17, owed his power to the confidence of the House of Commons, whereas for the most part Walpole owed his own power to George II and Queen Caroline of Ansbach. Furthermore, there are serious historians who believe that Walpole was not the first prime minister. The book is published to mark the 300th anniversary of the office of the British prime minister, the first claimed to be Robert Walpole, although he did not recognise the title himself. It is compelling reading, but leaves seminal questions unanswered, particularly on the relationship of the office itself to democracy.
This book celebrates the humanity and frailty, work and achievement, of these 55 remarkable individuals, who averted revolution and civil war, leading the country through times of peace, crisis and war.Anthony Seldon’s book The Impossible Office? is a work of consolidated scholarship about our prime ministers, based on many sources, ranging across several centuries. He reveals the changing relationship between the Monarchy and the office of the Prime Minister in intimate detail, describing how the increasing power of the Prime Minister in becoming leader of Britain coincided with the steadily falling influence of the Monarchy. Sir Anthony Seldon, historian of Number 10 Downing Street, explores the lives and careers, loves and scandals, successes and failures, of all our great Prime Ministers.įrom Robert Walpole and William Pitt the Younger, to Clement Attlee and Margaret Thatcher, Seldon discusses which of our Prime Ministers have been most effective and why. Marking the third centenary of the office of Prime Minister, this book tells its extraordinary story, explaining how and why it has endured longer than any other democratic political office in world history.
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