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Where is power now?

Andrew Marr on political power battles, with Steve Richards, Catherine Haddon, Ruth Kinna and Eleanor Rhode.

Against a backdrop of fierce political battles in Parliament and in court, Andrew Marr explores political power and examines those who wield it - from absolutism to anarchism.

The political commentator Steve Richards has been in the House of Commons for many nights of political strife. Watching the behaviour of parliament and government today, he considers how different British Prime Ministers have used their many powers. In his new book 'The Prime Ministers' he reflects on the individual characters of leaders. From Harold Wilson to Boris Johnson, he recalls moments when Prime Ministers buckled or thrived under the pressure of their role.

At the other end of the power spectrum, the academic Ruth Kinna explores ‘the government of no one’: anarchism. She argues that this much maligned ideology is far more adaptable and effective than we might expect. And she rejects the stereotyped view of it as chaotic and disordered.

The theatre director Eleanor Rhode is bringing Shakespeare’s King John to the stage at the Royal Shakespeare Company. This rarely performed tale depicts a tumultuous nation reeling, as a weakened King fights to retain his crown from the invading French and his rebellious noblemen.

And in a week that saw a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the government's use of prorogation, Catherine Haddon from the Institute for Government explains where constitutional power now lies: whether with parliament, government, the judiciary, the Prime Minister, or the Queen. She predicts major changes ahead...

Producer: Hannah Sander

Picture credit: Royal Shakespeare Company

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42 minutes

Last on

Mon 30 Sep 2019 21:30

Steve Richards

Steve Richards is a political columnist, journalist and presenter.

The Prime Ministers: Reflections on Leadership from Wilson to May is published by Atlantic Books.

Ruth Kinna

Ruth Kinna is a professor of Political Theory at Loughborough University, working in the Department of Politics, History and International Relations, where she specializes in political philosophy.

The Government of No One: The Theory and Practice of Anarchism is published by Pelican Books.

Eleanor Rhode

Eleanor Rhode is a theatre director and an Associate Artist for Hightide.

King John is on at the Swan Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon, until March 2020.

Catherine Haddon

Catherine Haddon is a Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government.

Broadcasts

  • Mon 30 Sep 2019 09:00
  • Mon 30 Sep 2019 21:30

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