Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

15 Minutes of Power: The Uncertain Life of British Ministers
15 Minutes of Power: The Uncertain Life of British Ministers
15 Minutes of Power: The Uncertain Life of British Ministers
Ebook317 pages4 hours

15 Minutes of Power: The Uncertain Life of British Ministers

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars

()

Read preview

About this ebook

Aside for the secretaries of state, those lofty roles at the Home Office, MOD, Exchequer, and Foreign office, the ministers of the UK are a cast of roles that expand, and contract based on the whims and political needs of the Prime Minister. Within their portfolios those MPs and Lords are immensely powerful - able to reshape whole sectors of British society, grant or refuse government contracts and planning permission, and intervene in matters throughout the country.

And yet, few members of the British Public could name every single minister and fewer still could say the extent of each minister's responsibilities. We like to imagine that they are competent, prepared, and entirely in control, and we hold them to standards as though they are. But they are often none of those things.

These men and women serve at the pleasure of the Prime Minister. Any misstep or scandal can invite media attention, public outcry, and their swift departure. At the same time, their resignations can shatter political alliances and bring down Prime Ministers and even governments. Their positions are, therefore, both immensely powerful and precarious. In Fifteen Minutes of Power, Peter Riddell draws on interviews with former ministers, conducted on behalf of the Institute of Government, to reveal the fraught existence of these powerful men and women.

LanguageEnglish
PublisherProfile Books
Release dateJul 4, 2019
ISBN9781782835332
15 Minutes of Power: The Uncertain Life of British Ministers
Author

Peter Riddell

Peter Riddell is the former director of the Institute of Government and current Public Appointments Commissioner for the British Government. He is a journalist and was a regular contributor to the Financial Times, where he was US Editor and Washington Bureau Chief until 1991, and the Times. Over his career, he has gained access to the innermost reaches of Whitehall and has written seven books and dozens of articles revealing the inner-workings of British Politics. This work earned him a President's Medal from the British Academy and, in 2012, a CBE.

Read more from Peter Riddell

Related to 15 Minutes of Power

Related ebooks

Politics For You

View More

Related articles

Reviews for 15 Minutes of Power

Rating: 0 out of 5 stars
0 ratings

0 ratings0 reviews

What did you think?

Tap to rate

Review must be at least 10 words

    Book preview

    15 Minutes of Power - Peter Riddell

    Wcbook_preview_excerpt.html\ےF2V'h|X o۾Ǡ?=R붮/:Tv΍x|7t & vn0)5cW/J՗P}XL=Um?Z\y9!jN+[<]SV2 "yxzEZa꛶ wn<!@|BZGQqܳur&J=ኼl*-`i0Ur}?C12LfuZqުgqi>8],> vn >LkHx Bh1B>̚Gp+J7@O"'껿h\Fz&I=+LIL0Xxq+8p GgI7X_P5fG<́OjRhx@=u ]_HNznS/!JŐx2͡6sZlO'(0^Vs ?ikI4ć2M3/.qRxypv!C<ʐ`_Y [df,ڒcE0vFdj 2[ x&jt1z$|'kCK:- ̵A{++>Vk0cvgggP68SŚu\] Էc4b0*όW;mh05`n+ }ٖA^KM7[;B̗M#z7Bnnۆ鈮"8H  QU"o;xmq=4L6g@E:[5w:]wodKdXSP_ߵHqîPzOW0ĕ%5`zZas2N`W9FABT<^NI&[{zb&8{GQxI?5'h) M;_R3b+d!E8KC-^'ϟ=^ `6)Z9-6n^e2G+NR/");X0HRT?{u+;X;$=޲v:I%H*#<8ɮ 1xR!m;My /*ܼ~2F/Ն) JJA^To>&=<6nXx܄gO+MD;*Xk OAM>fοc|ФlR햹 tK&73F;wOKIIIŜ6BZp]RbxDgS+qxY؁gh+XObxbm)&rv9W Kw,60owbX9tV+a/;dn ~;O,wE\ UP4R:J@ȷjVEh\ zٲaʹLuܠem`d*:!KXS˽smjWdKH:u-kˉ cZˊ߾sԮeỈAE}P{@NQ"Vt-2 el$m^C<fh|d?ޣTE"֣N̈[="_1?" X˖Te0#rI?|8K~WAeDi#y ݬ\JxɊPh]pOI~d{@{?eXz$.*B$(u_[]A+^N,EP*|v:T)b́Ƣm80 7!#z A>DTpI՜NYhD0YۀP&rx{02ZB6f*_۵${o˘ ,Fٖ`,`kZѓK0<u4;Z]Xp{,L)"KbYejolQ=X\lɖkH_,\zC?? UPޚ*Bg<4bZ{K#يQ,AUWk؇$kb|ƒT9m=OQrG'~Bq/qrd+LߎgaaL)%(ecB;xG]+ V~#`0)`= \3t(.'5ȄEu^"6R6gUC&8d;݉HQː>yigtTB{ߨf0Ujj3b'`Sye,ElՙxV(m]ݝ]v5Ե v pUt " _V3LB^",wL־Cn+q3hH0_ ,"@ ޹NC!4t>qPKkMwӐ.G3PI߀9yt XZ`}CAn{[W c}lIaRn&d:we[ 5/H^2I;Le3k*R |="j.7ecs *F tMf n-j'rKOGMBK|N#]܊!B$N>Fć?0~ ͬ)"Nv?Rpx yv#8EicaOз]w\~*@A&qNhHwYt㐿tH{: bUgi:Tf2Rr O)ˎǠ&ZI>12nOy*s`!P<Əl3X̟3.rBғcB#mk %0 ̃sR2$Z+T:YC>@XpTdm}b` ~s?I%?Ni1vCDJ-*eJTSW! Dٝs)|?7:6ܠ#X@otje]$*w-'@ipMdL0P@׭ JeYڡVaYfXO/ lv#S(纊KDK+g2 VfV)qpdr‚cґq< 2FZL3gzC3ip; 58?QL &00lX*z1Ug0 >K][&=씅U E9q(<7ofHh-2%+`t^#>ߟ} i!^I_ћ,!@B뮢 6RMaj+*VVƢa' W.kIJRd^P!hʬQw/aF5zPlk1iΖ8 x@ Fb1HO䡹%q͋'6 T)Ր وӞ @_!/ }bT6PLl5Sϝ-Sa h5ᗎF4O`J7aS"L8ؙuk'mUwS@M%툯Yn^=hYaJ&?d6/ꏶk]=bO6EHH?X ,9?PuuhB~Xa/1#wG8~>eG -|rV+H,rW"Q!+EeXdU~4ni{ǿD,Q Eڐ*Xj$nb\V1E#̥ͤEo7Nk)lyY}rd"nIɕ󗬂<2$p#, G*El.Г,h(T&h/z阁荫Fp\bFL )(H :BbOEuZ2i6"[Az$gj=KGmNJmȌ-Ud%G{N\DbX+;\Ծx@): 6pĥCZa-H5>,H.< ?~KcN>Cq'1T6v$hlZ)mźI~p&2]*G!Mk]Wrఅ(VjqD`n>6BlMƵAoXa*K nHCm,? Ү҇v%6O$/_96S^,!=3搣P(PHMy\ 3z3ن ) ;U1i:6RnM{1,2=].:ecjݓ7o߬`eQs7<5'805Vca R5zr%*K#-d .2T'b|hq<`VpXY9%D-?3xDXKѯ{_+,2Md~}l,c fa9dWsٳTi!iYBuZ }W3(ܼ)W"ZpqqJ8 jćƲg8-o>K)NؼMڤj_ٷ#aE΁ULbk"삈\ЫWm4B_#ewVص( m$,UQ·^[H'zL[ʙie|Z<4-/vnJbgd/R cRQZ,T%}i!eCn~k8v49N9vC;ݍD%^A] geqߓAY~QMt\$A'%SeD_$ď7Bcu蛡X .S),.=DB,~Uʤ'Xؑ/ZO햮Tdg)IU~`Eq@,KdӖ,flf%vAX2N T2E͘TȩDgћz_%\iw'-]-=YӮ ;w\pb4zh2LڰN4[hg< b`p꘏z9ƃJ:"E~:;"N,#AN=1jqFF*9H[~V?/ާeOX!k!g|I1nIDHљ EaQ(YXJg RqthI[ч'qtDS=!L߽3 ~)8簶]=VBwJUɜ8'g3qRcyuNrZY$p Z|s޹D~i_ KYW(aV*>8WɷI %9O#G;74j~_֐U!iPxQL.FT3 t*jGm< &٣wwpbi驩/͚ekN#xyv+enYm9}8b<腔kn:f:(hPR-h溃yeO+Ƀ)i< IK?aj[2{D']bI6s'U]ء1 6I-˾M6j #"'!Z!V9Ąz-#vݐQU. `:l'Cv!@ja)LQ%>zRLIQOXpɘjI7^4eFOFE"DfI+{oG"?v$1_[&"t[ ů&d3RFjk'vYF)-}q6 լ^P #ɶK5H/`τj,dި2A˛^<̯Q7zQhC"ۓEIsO̰q9U`߄ c=(0"<'F0Z҄xtӳTzOB^>a7N}[1]vQAhUE>܆U5we0v%xӺXڌA{PռDNzFnSI|^-8'R{y20M*i?P{،Enãzl]oU<-.zJM־ʂ?˫1ɮ)rvtOUBY!Łd&I=.oکL6xebXڌϐh'G 'CjLvٍ~Xi_6'#);7SA xܫܭh J We %k! <9aF%Nğgv9X'צeuCp~SIhPB^ޜ W)K׆i ꎽhyK{tb2f+Y~;݅ݪSX'R kr#SE •o51NPS*Ť%IF0C]χ6FW.hv'LAel// ├dr͈;j﹓ӵQB0Ճ=놿_@p% /,"X= 3ϘH2ϕwڿ;B\XO#Wo #Pф(4|Ec YR/ȚxWx "BaQtu6L~FnCr^̻+=1TFl/؛1"Rںp_|{؄DKŔViz^0j]=&D v;[ŷ//L0(LȐβOb拄a=ɱл, &sEmȃ.gOX- g&@ Rt43 v' ;'BfOq{b #Olw5k󞃁%'SJ֢׋aB242B'.h2D,^}[VHsmݘ+]_K6OgLLW/FM&z6z|ݩ_9N#agDbͥYrq]AO2^0(1PO)w=U &F6:|[7]'?gGL;UϾc/2&Հ#߮Yҕ遧b
    Enjoying the preview?
    Page 1 of 1