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Kavanagh et al: British Politics 5e

Chapter 11

The core executive I: Prime Ministers and power dependency

10 Downing Street
www.number-10.gov.uk/
The natural place to start investigating the office of the Prime Minister on the internet is the website of Number 10 Downing Street. Here you will find material on the history of Downing Street and Prime Ministers throughout history but a great deal more contemporary material, including transcripts, audio and video of Prime Ministerial statements, speeches, press conferences and activities in the House of Commons.

The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit
www.strategy.gov.uk/
The Prime Minister's Strategy Unit is part of the supporting infrastructure which surrounds the Prime Minister. The Strategy Unit is tasked with conducting strategy reviews, providing policy advice and conducting strategic audits for the Prime Minister. You can explore the Strategy Unit's input into the core executive by clicking on the links to current and past work areas on the left-hand side of the screen.

Impeach Blair
www.impeachblair.org/
The controversies over the Iraq war of 2003 prompted MPs from a number of parties to begin impeachment proceedings against Tony Blair in August 2004, paralleling similar campaigns conducted in the United States. This website is a home to the UK campaign and is particularly useful for the report written by Dan Plesch and Dr Glen Rangwala on Blair's conduct and the impeachment process. Although the campaign seems to have fallen into abeyance you can continue to monitor the progress of the campaign from the site.

Peter Hennessy 'The Importance of Being Collective'
www.kingston.ac.uk/cusp/Lectures/Hennessy.htm
A lecture delivered by Peter Hennessy and Kingston University's Centre for the Understanding of Society and Politics in 1995. Although inevitably many references in the text are now out of date, Hennessy's lecture still serves as a highly accessible and interesting analysis of the office of Prime Minister. In particular, the lecture usefully summarises what he takes to be the key functions of the office of Prime Minister.

The House of Commons Liaison Committee
www.parliament.uk/parliamentary_committees/liaison_committee.cfm
In an early (and much criticised) act as Prime Minister, Tony Blair reformed Prime Ministers Questions from two fifteen minute sessions per week to one thirty minute session. For many this was indicative of the Prime Minister's disregard for Parliament. However, in 2002, Tony Blair agreed to undertake a twice-yearly question and answer session before the House of Commons Liaison Committee. At the committee's website you can find transcripts of these sessions. It is debateable whether the accountability of the Prime Minister has been increased however. At the least, the Prime Minister has frequently appeared to be in a very relaxed mood when taking the committee's questions, as you will discover when you visit the site.