Stories of Prime Ministers and the history of the office ...... on the wirelesss today ....one to listen to

Now I am looking forward to The liminal premiership .....The Prime Minister at 300, which is the first of three episodes.

10 Downing Street, 2013

It starts at 11 am, and will then be available to listen to again shortly afterwards.

"It's 300 years since Sir Robert Walpole took office as the first recognisable office holder of Prime Minister. 

To mark the anniversary, the historian and biographer Sir Anthony Seldon, examines how the role came about and why it has survived despite various crises and periods of change in the life of the nation. What do Walpole and Boris Johnson, the 55th occupant of the office, have in common?

Robert Walpole, 1742

Former Prime Ministers, Foreign Secretaries, Cabinet Secretaries and others at the heart of government talk about the pressures on the modern office and the responsibilities that come with it. 

Has the job become too difficult to perform effectively and what could be done to enhance the role of Prime Minister?

The first programme explores the origins of the office and how it was shaped by two of the longest serving Prime Ministers, Sir Robert Walpole and William Pitt the Younger.

Producer: Peter Snowdon"

Picture; 10 Downing Street, 2013, Sergeant Tom Robinson RLC, Images are downloadable at high resolution, made available at http://www.defenceimagery.mod.uk for reuse under the OGL This file is licensed under the Open Government Licence version 1.0 (OGL v1.0) and Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, 1742, Arthur Pond, National Portrait Gallery

*The liminal premiershipThe Prime Minister at 300, https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000tp7p