Ministers appoint special advisers for their policy expertise as much as for their partisan views

Whoever the individual office holder, the Prime Minister is always the countries pre-eminent leader, with an infrastructure and responsibilities to the whole country. But they are also a member of the House of Commons, equal in voting rights and in their responsibilities to their constituents. Michael Rush shows that modern Prime Ministers and Leaders of the Opposition tend to engage less in things like statements and voting than did their predecessors.