Harold Wilson 1964–70: A Presidential Premier

Abstract

In retrospect the 1960s can be seen as marking a transition in the British political system. The growing dominance of the prime minister coincided with the advent of television politics to ‘presidentialize’ electoral politics in Britain in the American manner. Harold Wilson understood the implications of this. Prime ministers were becoming presidents in the eyes of the electorate but remained prime ministers according to the constitution. They were expected to bear an increasing individual share of responsibility for winning or losing elections, but their constitutional powers remained formally static and were shared collectively with their cabinet colleagues. In order to bridge this gap between the political and constitutional position of the prime minister Wilson changed the prime ministerial advisory system. This aroused public fuss and claims that constitutional propriety was not being observed, and provoked traditional advisers to ‘counter-revolutionary’ tactics in their attempt to safeguard their prerogative of advice. It ensured that controversy about advice became one of the hallmarks of the Wilson years.