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Introduction
Political scientists have developed a range of theories, approaches and models to analyse the British prime ministership. The dominant contemporary political science models of the core executive, prime-ministerial predominance and presidentialisation analyse and seek to explain the functioning, powers and development of the office of prime minister in the British political and governmental system. Prime ministers themselves - the individuals holding the office - get much less attention from political scientists (as opposed to historians, biographers and journalists). Individual prime ministers' personalities, leadership styles and political skills tend to be regarded as variables of secondary significance, if they are seen as relevant at all. The focus is instead very much on institutions, structures, networks and resources. But Richard Heffernan has argued that 'prime ministerial studies must factor in the prime minister's personality and style', 'describe and analyse what [prime ministers] do', and take account of their 'personal skill and ability' (Heffernan, 2005, pp. 615-617). Without privileging agency over structure, the personal attributes and skills of a prime minister, he contends, do matter and make a difference. Bowles et al (2007, pp. 385-386) also suggest that the increasingly centralised and personalised nature of political leadership in the British executive means 'the impact of the personal traits of the prime minister' should be on the research agenda: 'just how important are skill, character and experience to understanding the success of the British premier?'
In contrast to the many US studies of the presidential leadership role and the impact of personality on that office, there is a 'dearth of systematic studies on the individual characteristics of prime ministers and on the personal components of leadership' (Foley, 2000, p. 246). Core executive studies may downplay 'personality' as a factor in explaining how government works, but the real need is to unpack that vague and general catch-all term and to develop ways of understanding and analysing the components of prime-ministerial leadership and personal style and skills, within a framework permitting comparison, generalisation and evaluation.
The argument here is that some of the most influential accounts of the US presidency offer a way forward and should be explored to assess their potential for enhancing our understanding of British prime ministers and the premiership. As an initial step in this process,...