The personalisation of politics in the UK

Mediated leadership from Attlee to Cameron

By (author) Ana Ines Langer

Publication date:

02 February 2012

Length of book:

224 pages

Publisher

Manchester University Press

Dimensions:

234x156mm

ISBN-13: 9780719081460

What does it mean to say that modern politics is personalised? What is distinctive about contemporary forms of personalisation and are these changes within British politics enduring?

This book rethinks the concept of personalisation and develops an analytical framework for its study, challenging current theorisations within political science and media studies. Moreover, Langer presents rigorous new empirical data regarding the development of personalisation in the United Kingdom, from 1945 to 2009.

A must-read for anyone researching the phenomenon of personalisation internationally, this book’s conceptual depth and empirical range make it a benchmark for future studies.

Acknowledgments
Introduction
1. The presidentialisation of power
2. Personality politics and the politicisation of private persona
3. Personalisation(s) of politics in the press: British prime ministers 1945 2009
4. The historical evolution of the politicisation of private persona: Baldwin to Major
5. Tony Blair – The special one
6. Gordon Brown and David Cameron
Conclusion
References

'In addition to imposing conceptual clarity on the subject, Langer's book makes a convincing case, for anyone who doubted it, of a gradual blurring in British public discourse of prime ministers' leadership qualities and their ability to do the job, on the one hand, and their personal lives and "human qualities", on the other.'
Nicholas Allen, Professor of Politics, Royal Holloway, University of London