Takayasu, K. (2023) The changing UK prime ministership from an institutional perspective. In: Dobson, H, (ed.) Special Issue : Understanding prime ministerial leadership in the United Kingdom and Japan in the 21st century. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 8 (1). SAGE Publications , pp. 95-111.
Abstract
This article explores the scope and limitation of the power of the UK prime minister from an institutional perspective. It begins by exploring and confirming the widely recognised tendency towards a more centralised core executive at the heart of the UK government, which dovetails with recent developments in Japan as discussed by Tomohito Shinoda in this special issue. However, the article thereafter argues that this tendency has been constrained once a wider institutional perspective beyond the core executive is adopted. This perspective emphasises the impact of recent constitutional reforms relating to the House of Lords, devolution and the judiciary. These reforms resonate with the idea of a ‘Madisonian turn’ towards greater separation of powers, albeit unintended. Rather than the UK and Japan converging, these institutional changes in the UK narrow the sphere of, and impose constraints on, the authority of the UK parliament and government, which naturally restrict the power of the prime minister.
Metadata
Item Type: | Book Section |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Editors: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © The Author(s) 2022.This is an author-produced version of a paper subsequently published in Asian Journal of Comparative Politics. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher's self-archiving policy. Article available under the terms of the CC-BY-NC-ND licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/). |
Keywords: | UK prime minister; power resource; core executive; constitutional reforms; ‘Madisonian turn’ |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Faculty of Social Sciences (Sheffield) > School of East Asian Studies (Sheffield) |
Funding Information: | Funder Grant number ECONOMIC & SOCIAL RESEARCH COUNCIL ES/S014187/1 |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 26 Oct 2022 15:03 |
Last Modified: | 10 Mar 2023 12:15 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | SAGE Publications |
Series Name: | Asian Journal of Comparative Politics |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1177/20578911221134714 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:192508 |
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