Could it Happen Here? The Day a Prime Minister Refuses to Resign (Haus Curiosities)

Does the United Kingdom’s constitution sufficiently protect its democracy from a rogue prime minister?

In light of the resurgence of the far Right across Europe and some of the rhetoric of the 2024 General Election, which carried whiffs of political authoritarianism, Could It Happen Here? explores the possible consequences of a British prime minister refusing to leave office. Mapping out the processes that might occur after such an eventuality, the responsibilities of key players in the United Kingdom’s democratic system, and the integrity of that system after years of stress, Peter Hennessy and Andrew Blick analyze the United Kingdom’s “unwritten” constitution and provide a crucial recommendation for protecting and strengthening the resilience of its parliamentary democracy.

Peter Hennessy is the Attlee Professor of Contemporary British History at Queen Mary University of London. He is the author of several books, including the postwar trilogy Never Again: Britain 1945–51, Having It So Good: Britain in the Fifties, and Winds of Change: Britain in the Early Sixties. His most recent work is On the Back of an Envelope: A Life in Writing, also published by Haus. He is a fellow of the British Academy and an honorary fellow of St. John’s College, Cambridge. He sits in the House of Lords as an independent crossbench peer.

Andrew Blick is professor of politics and contemporary history in the Department of Political Economy, King’s College London, where he codirects the Centre for British Democracy. He is the author of Electrified Democracy: The Internet and the United Kingdom Parliament in History and Beyond Magna Carta: A Constitution for the United Kingdom. Before entering academia, he worked in the UK Parliament and at Number 10 Downing Street. His PhD on the history of special advisers in the UK government was supervised by Peter Hennessy. He is director of the Constitution Society, an educational charity for the promotion of knowledge of constitutional issues.