Local government leadership has been much in the news in recent years. Changes have included the adoption of elected mayors by a dozen or so councils plus, of course, Greater London. Council Leaders are now increasingly elected for four year terms as the heads of formal executives replacing the old committee systems. Elected mayors are likely to be back on the agenda under the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government.A result of our extensive research, including interviews with council Leaders and elected Mayors, has been the development of a matrix for the analysis of local political leaders. Along the horizontal axis we present three sets of leadership attributes: The formal powers and duties of leadership offices. The informal relationships that leaders must develop within the authority, with chief executives and other senior council officers, party Groups and councillors as well as the business community, the voluntary sector and the trade unions. The personal attributes a leader needs, including charisma, integrity and the ability to develop good relationships with other local leaders.