Gordon Brown as prime minister: Political skills and leadership style

Abstract

Individual prime ministers' personalities, leadership styles and political skills matter and make a difference. It is important to develop ways of understanding and analysing the components of prime-ministerial leadership and personal style and skills within a framework permitting comparison, generalization and evaluation. The paper argues that some of the most influential accounts of the US presidency should be explored to assess their potential for enhancing our understanding of British prime ministers and the premiership. Drawing upon Fred Greenstein's influential analysis of The Presidential Difference, the paper evaluates Gordon Brown's leadership style and skills under six headings: (1) proficiency as a public communicator, (2) organizational capacity, (3) political skills, (4) policy vision, (5) cognitive style and (6) emotional intelligence. Overall, Brown can be seen as someone not well equipped for the highest office, in terms of the key leadership abilities, characteristics and skills that Greenstein identifies. This does not mean that he was bound to fail and to go down to electoral defeat.But in the situation he and the Labour government were in after 2007, it made it very much harder to be successful.

Political Brands: Can Parties Be Distinguished by Their Online Brand Personality?

“…However, because of the perceived mismanagement of the economic crisis, the Labour party's image of competence has been undermined (Theakston 2011). Current leader Ed Miliband has since failed to recapture the mood of the late 1990s, and the Labour party continues to struggle with a lack of electoral momentum.…”

Clear Purpose or Sheer Survival? National Ministerial Leadership Across Multiple Arenas

“…In attempting to analyze political leadership, a range of style typologies have emerged, particularly in relation to the classification of PMs or presidents (Greenstein, 2000;Theakston, 2011). On a much smaller scale, this approach has been applied to government ministers but tends to emphasize and classify the generic aspects of their role, for instance, by delineating differences between policy, political, cabinet, public relations, and executive functions (Heady, 1974;Marsh et al, 2000).…”

Leadership, decision-making and governance in the EU and East Asia: crisis and post-crisis

“…At the beginning of the crisis, the UK was one the key players calling for more coordinated action. Under Prime Minister Gordon Brown, the UK was one of the first countries to propose a fiscal stimulus which for many saved the world from a deeper crisis (Theakston 2011). However, as the EU had to focus on the sovereign debt problems of many of its members, the UK was sidelined from the decision-making process.…”