Abstract
The office of prime minister is a creation of convention and the main powers of the prime minister are conventional. However the prime minister is increasingly being given statutory powers in sensitive political areas (e.g. Police Act 1997 s. 9, Intelligence Services Act 1994 s. 2, National Minimum Wages Act 1998, National Audit Act 1983 s. 1, Interception of Communications Act 1985, s. 8). The powers of the prime minister have evolved gradually since the middle of the eighteenth century, corresponding with the decline in the powers of the monarch. The office was originally that of cabinet chairman deputising for the monarch, and intermediary between the monarch and the government (primus inter pares).
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Further Reading
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© 1999 John Alder
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Alder, J. (1999). Ministers and Departments. In: Constitutional and Administrative Law. Macmillan Law Masters. Palgrave, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15077-9_12
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-349-15077-9_12
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