Is the UK Prime Minister an 'Elected Dictator'?

Essay from the year 2015 in the subject Politics - Political systems in general and in comparison, grade: 1.3, The Open University, language: English, abstract: The current paper analyses the role of the UK prime minister in comparison to the US presidential system. It will be discussed whether the British prime minister in his or her political exercise is too powerful, equipped with dictatorial powers or if he or she is just an elected representative with limited control. Firstly an introduction about the domestic political role of the UK government provides a starting point to the topic. Secondly an analysis of the term 'elected dictator' and a comparison between the UK and the US state systems offers a better understanding why the UK government might be seen as an all in all too powerful institution. Thirdly an analysis of interest groups gives an overview about its effects on policy makers. Finally the main points will be summarised with a conclusion whether the description 'elected dictator' of the UK prime minister is a reasonable contemporary term or whether it is rather unjustified.

Mark-Oliver Morkos studied Politics, Philosophy, Economics and Local History at the Open University, UK and the University of Oxford.