Andrew Denham

This book examines the development of political leadership in Britain since the 1970s, in the context of changes within and between parties large and small, and increasingly volatile voters. Contemporary media commentary on British politics is dominated by party leaders. Yet their visibility has been matched by unprecedented vulnerability to challenge, thanks not least to recent changes in the ways that they are chosen. It focuses on the evidence and themes which are most relevant to an understanding of contemporary British politics. Accordingly, it addresses a series of broader questions, namely: Why have party leaders become increasingly important in recent years? What do party leadership contests tell us about the nature of political parties themselves in contemporary Britain? What impact have such contests had in terms of democratic choice for the electorate as a whole and the legitimacy of leaders chosen by significant UK parties? Why has there been such a rapid turn-over of British party leaders in recent years? This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and interested readers of British Politics, British Political History, Executive Politics, and Political Parties.

This book examines the development of political leadership in Britain since the 1970s, in the context of changes within and between parties large and small, and increasingly volatile voters. Contemporary media commentary on British politics is dominated by party leaders. Yet their visibility has been matched by unprecedented vulnerability to challenge, thanks not least to recent changes in the ways that they are chosen. It focuses on the evidence and themes which are most relevant to an understanding of contemporary British politics. Accordingly, it addresses a series of broader questions, namely: Why have party leaders become increasingly important in recent years? What do party leadership contests tell us about the nature of political parties themselves in contemporary Britain? What impact have such contests had in terms of democratic choice for the electorate as a whole and the legitimacy of leaders chosen by significant UK parties? Why has there been such a rapid turn-over of British party leaders in recent years? This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and interested readers of British Politics, British Political History, Executive Politics, and Political Parties.

How political parties choose their leaders, and why they choose the leaders they do, are questions of fundamental importance in contemporary parliamentary democracies. This book examines political leadership selection in the two dominant parties in recent British political history, exploring the criteria and skills needed by political leaders to be chosen by their parties.While the Conservative Party’s strong record in office owes much to its ability to project an image of leadership competence and governing credibility, the Labour Party has struggled with issues of economic management, leadership ability and ideological splits between various interpretations of socialism. The authors argue that the Conservatives tend towards a unifying figure who can lead the Party to victory, whereas the Labour Party typically choose a leader to unite the party behind ideological renewal.Exploring the contemporary political choices of leaders like Boris Johnson and Jeremy Corbyn, this book offers a timely insight into the leadership processes of Britain’s major political players.

Investigating think tanks on both sides of the political divide, the author defines these groups in the context of British politics, explores their impact on the climate of opinion, and calculates how effective they have been in influencing government in general and key policy areas in particular. Think tanks have rarely come under the spotlight and the author offers a probing but balanced overview of a political phenomenon.; This book should prove to be valuable reading for students of political science, public administration and contemporary British history.

Democratising Conservative leadership selection traces the effects of democracy on the British Conservative Party, specifically looking at how changes in the ways the Conservatives elect their leaders have altered their mandate to lead.The book includes analysis of the original undemocratic ‘system’ whereby a leader ‘emerged’ from a shadowy process of consultation, and of the six elections between 1965 and 1997 where the parliamentary Conservative Party alone chose the Party leader. This historical perspective is followed by in-depth analysis of the three contests since 2001 that have taken place under the ‘Hague rules’, according to which ordinary Party members have the final say. This is the most comprehensive account yet published of the operation of those rules on the Conservative Party and the legitimacy of its leadership, and of the 2005 election of David Cameron.This book will be essential reading for students, academic specialists and anyone interested in the recent history and contemporary practice of British Conservatism.

Hailed by Margaret Thatcher as the founder of modern conservatism, Keith Joseph is commonly ranked among the most influential politicians of the late-20th century. A complex and enigmatic figure Joseph was almost unique among Mrs Thatcher's senior ministers in refusing to write his own memoirs. Challenging both the "mad monk" view held by his critics and his status of mythical hero to his admirers, the authors present a picture of Joseph as a thinker and decision-maker. the authors tell of Joseph's formative years before he entered Parliamnet in 1956: the powerful Jewish dynasty into which Josph was born; his time at Harrow; at Oxford; his war years in the Royal Artillery; and his Fellowship at All Souls. This volume charts the political career of Keith Joseph. The authors challenge Joseph's self-declared conversion to Conservatism in 1974 and the importance of his "education" of Margaret Thatcher. His own ambition, intellectual integrity and consistency are all examined and a different picture emerges of his role as the intellectual driving force behind Conservative Government policy in the 1980s.

This volume charts the political career of Keith Joseph. The authors challenge Joseph's self-declared conversion to Conservatism in 1974 and the importance of his "education" of Margaret Thatcher. His own ambition, intellectual integrity and consistency are all examined.

Investigating think tanks on both sides of the political divide, the author defines these groups in the context of British politics, explores their impact on the climate of opinion, and calculates how effective they have been in influencing government in general and key policy areas in particular. Think tanks have rarely come under the spotlight and the author offers a probing but balanced overview of a political phenomenon.; This book should prove to be valuable reading for students of political science, public administration and contemporary British history.