Narrative, persona and performance: The case of Theresa May 2016–2017

Abstract

A narrative and performance analysis of the period between the 2016 EU referendum and the 2017 general election makes an empirical and theoretical contribution to understanding personalised politics at the present time. This article contends that Theresa May’s initial success proceeded from her rhetorical construction and performance of a persona founded on the archetypal healer, together with a narrative based on the myth of One Nation. However, her decision as Prime Minister to align herself with the pro-Brexit constituency and her neglect of the ‘just about managing’ called both her persona and narrative into question. The highly personalised general election campaign ensured the focus stayed on May, while the manifesto offered her a new ‘flawed’ narrative that resulted in the collapse of her early leadership image. By the time of the election, May was performing neither the narrative nor the persona; she was effectively absent from her own campaign.

The contemporary UK prime minister. When the personal becomes political: Agency, character, personality and celebrity

“…However, each individual brings different attributes to the post, their influence and impact on the office itself vary and the decisions taken may alter from one to the next. Ever more so, the degree to which prime ministerial behaviour aligns with a prototypical characterisation influences the extent to which it can draw symbolic capital from an audience (Atkins and Gaffney, 2020;Ball et al, 2021). For Theresa May, characterisation was determinantal to building this symbolic capital.…”

“…During May’s dramatic time in office, she appeared to have the capacity and resources for action, but this ebbed away (Worthy and Bennister, 2021). Decisions such as May’s calling of an early election in June 2017 – or Gordon Brown’s hesitation over whether to call an early general election in October 2007 – caused irreparable damage to public image and depleted political authority as a strong, competent prime minister (Atkins, 2015; Atkins and Gaffney, 2020: 295). Manuoka and Rose (2022) demonstrates the impact of Shinzo Abe’s unilateral decision making over Covid-related school closures.…”

A Rhetorical Political Analysis of Theresa May’s Statecraft on Brexit

“…It is important to note, however, that our focus on the modes of appeal dwells on the content of argument, and this does not exhaust the range of rhetoric's concerns. Performance is also important, and as Atkins and Gaffney (2020) have shown in relation to Theresa May, also contributed to the collapse in her stature as Prime Minister. All Prime Ministers, as Dennis Grube (2013) has demonstrated, face a similar set of challenges as rhetoricians, as they seek to articulate their authentic voice while facing a range of institutional constraints and needing to persuade multiple audiences.…”

David Cameron, Boris Johnson and the ‘populist hypothesis’ in the British Conservative Party

“…Although her first speech in June 2016 as party leader stands as an archetypal populist speech, she had also been characterised by her failure to consolidate her majority in 2017 (Allen 2018 ). Moreover, she could hardly be associated with a populist leader, essentially because of the discrepancy between her discourse/narrative of hard Brexit and her performance, especially her inability to communicate or relate to the people (Atkins and Gaffney 2020 ). Likewise, research showed that there was no consistency between MPs’ attitudes towards Brexit and their support for Theresa May.…”