ABSTRACT
Dick Leonard’s Modern British Prime Ministers from Balfour to Johnson surveys the lives and careers of all the 24 Prime Ministers from Arthur Balfour to Boris Johnson in succinct, informative and entertaining chapters.
Bringing to life the political achievements and personal idiosyncrasies of Britain's rulers over the 20th and 21st centuries, the author recounts the circumstances which took them to the pinnacle of British political life, probes their political and personal strengths and weaknesses, assesses their performance in office and asks what lasting influence they have had. Along the way Leonard entertains and informs, revealing little-known facts about the private lives of each of the Prime Ministers, for example, which two Premiers, one Tory, one Labour were taught by the same governess as a child? Who was thrashed at his public school for writing pornography and later donated one-fifth of his wealth to the nation? Who was awarded a fourth-class degree at Oxford and went on to father eight children? Who was described by his son as ‘probably the greatest natural Don Juan in the history of British politics'?
This book can also form part of a two-volume set published by Routledge including the companion volume British Prime Ministers from Walpole to Salisbury: The 18th and 19th Centuries.
This book will be of key interest to scholars, students and readers of British political history, the Executive, government, and British politics.
Introduction 1. Arthur Balfour: Bob’s your Uncle 2. Henry Campbell-Bannerman: "a good, honest Scotchman" 3. H. H. Asquith: Not quite in the Gladstone mould 4. David Lloyd George: "a dynamic force" 5. Andrew Bonar Law: Tory Puritan 6. Stanley Baldwin: "a man of the most utter insignificance"? 7. Ramsay MacDonald: An ‘aristocrat’ among plain men? 8. Neville Chamberlain: A family affair 9. Winston Churchill: His Finest Hour 10. Clement Attlee: Quiet Revolutionary 11. Anthony Eden: Self-destruction of a Prince Charming 12. Harold Macmillan: Idealist into Manipulator 13. Alec Douglas-Home: Right man, wrong Century? 14. Harold Wilson: Master - or victim - of the short term 15. Edward Heath: Cheerleader for Europe 16. James Callaghan: Labour's conservative 17. Margaret Thatcher: Grocer’s daughter to Iron Lady 18. John Major: "Thatcherism with a human face" 19. Tony Blair: Fallen idol 20. Gordon Brown: Dominant Chancellor, uncertain Premier 21. David Cameron: The accidental architect of Brexit 22. Theresa May: "a bloody difficult woman"? 23. Boris Johnson: Statesman or Buffoon?
