Analysing 6 UK Prime Ministers’ Leadership Styles
British politics didn’t used to be this newsworthy. Instead of the Prime Minister being in every other headline, they’d usually be doing their job - leading the country.
Over the last decade, we’ve seen the role passed around the Conservative Party like germs at freshers’ week. So, while you’re sitting there biting your nails about economic uncertainty and one crisis after another, let’s take a moment to look at the leadership styles of UK Prime Ministers.
Please note, this won’t be analysing the politics of Labour and Conservative governments, just the key skills of their leaders such as the ability to people manage and the deliverance of manifesto promises.
Winston Churchill (1940 – 1945, 1951 – 1955)
Any list of UK Prime Ministers would be remiss if they failed to include Winston Churchill, perhaps the best known of all UK PMs.
The wartime Prime Minister displayed a blend of characteristics, traits and behaviours often attributed to autocratic, charismatic and transformational leaders.
Let’s start with transformational. One key trait of a transformational leader is having a clear vision that they can effectively communicate to their followers. And Churchill was a master communicator.
When Britain was under serious threat from Nazi Germany, Churchill used his inspirational speeches time and time again to encourage people to have faith in him. His speeches were famously so articulate and well-constructed that they encouraged the whole country, even at its darkest hour, and led the nation to trust in his vision. On top of that, Churchill spoke to the people directly, often visiting factories and bombsites across the country.
As a charismatic leader, Churchill consistently demonstrated traits of optimism, enthusiasm and determination – whatever it took to gain his people’s trust and motivate them. Failure to do so would have had catastrophic consequences for his war effort.
“The effects of Churchill’s zeal was [sic] felt immediately in Whitehall… A sense of urgency was created in the course of very few days and respectable civil servants were actually to be seen running along the corridors. No delays were condoned; telephone switchboards quadrupled their efficiency; the Chiefs of Staff and the Joint Planning Staff were in almost constant session; regular office hours ceased to exist and weekends disappeared with them.”
– One of Churchill’s private secretaries
But let’s not forget, Churchill was an autocratic leader at heart. He held absolute power over his team and often made decisions without consultation. We usually see this style of leadership during wartime or by the emergency services in a disaster response scenario.
Ultimately, Churchill achieved his goals in office and led a democratic nation to victory in World War II.
While he showed great leadership skills during wartime, the man himself was a more complicated figure. He held some beliefs that, by today’s standards, are considered completely unacceptable - especially by those in power.
Clement Attlee (1945 – 1951)
Churchill was defeated in the 1945 general election by the Labour leader Clement Attlee. Unlike his predecessor, Attlee was a man of few words. However, he was a man of action. During his time as Prime Minister, many social services were advanced and a period of recovery and social change would be ushered in. His most impactful achievement, of course, was the founding of the National Health Service.
He was also a famously modest and unassuming man. In fact, one critic from the time landed this massive burn: “an empty taxi drew up to 10 Downing Street and Attlee got out.”
Although not a charismatic leader like Churchill before him, Attlee displayed many traits of a transformational leader. His vision for the country was crystal clear - create a Welfare State where citizens are cared for from “cradle to the grave”.
He rejected factionalist politics and united his party under that one banner. Most of his acts in office can be attributed to this mutual goal, from the formation of the NHS to bringing coal mining, electricity and the railways back under state control.
In terms of style, brevity was a defining aspect of his leadership approach.
"He was in full control of himself, his Cabinet and the House. His answers in Parliament were concise and clear, with a tight little sense of humour... He would bring Cabinet discussion to a brisk close, before producing a clear summing-up in very few words. Cabinet business was carried through with brevity and discussions kept firmly to the point."
– Harold Wilson
Attlee was a herald of great change, and the kind of leader post-war Britain needed. Under his transformational stewardship, practically all of Labour’s manifesto pledges were implemented.
Some academics have even gone as far as to call him the most successful British Prime Minister of the 20th century. However, it should be said that the man did have his share of fumbles. His overseas policy in the Middle East and India was often found lacking by critics now and at the time.
Margaret Thatcher (1979 – 1990)
Another steward of great change, Margaret Thatcher is a polarising figure in British politics. This is no doubt down to her autocratic style of leadership that gave rise to the nickname, the “Iron Lady”.
“Any leader has to have a certain amount of steel in them, so I am not that put out being called the Iron Lady.”
– Margaret Thatcher
She sought little to no input from others when making decisions. This helped her achieve a lot of her goals, without “laborious bureaucratic processes” getting in the way. In certain scenarios - such as war - where hesitation or procrastination can be catastrophic, the autocratic leadership style undeniably has its benefits.
She was determined in her leadership style and sought to build strong relationships with key figures who could advance her policies, such as US president Ronald Reagan.
Thatcher also had incredible confidence in her ideals as a leader. All her decisions were driven by her own personal values, and included free-market reforms, privatisation, lower taxes and the promotion of home ownership.
Her achievements as Prime Minister can’t be understated. She oversaw victory in the Falklands War, brought the then-powerful trade unions to their knees and denationalised many of Britain’s state-owned organisations. All pledges from her manifesto.
While she continues to divide public sentiment to this day, you can’t deny she got s#!t done.
Tony Blair (1997 – 2007)
It took a while before British politics would see another figure who would make waves - in the form of Tony Blair in 1997.
As PM, many of his policies reflected a centrist "Third Way" political philosophy. This centrist way of thinking impacted his leadership style, as he tended to borrow traits from both Conservative and Labour leaders of the past.
Like Churchill, he saw the power in charismatic leadership and used it to drive his popularity. He tied this charismatic approach to a leadership trait that’s key to the transformational style: being willing to accept responsibility.
By acting as the de facto face of the New Labour movement, he made sure he was closely associated with the government’s image and decisions (both good and bad), going so far as to give a number of Churchill-esque speeches on the various issues the public were concerned with.
He also displayed Iron Lady-like traits of autocratic leadership. Many people believed, including his own party members, that Blair made a lot of his decisions based on his own convictions. He rarely discussed decisions with his whole cabinet, and often left out dissenting voices. For example, he made sure to keep his International Development Secretary, Clare Short, out of any discussions about the Iraq War.
Tony Blair still holds the title of the Labour Party's longest-serving Prime Minister. He is the first and only person to lead the party to three consecutive general election wins. And probably will be for some time.
Boris Johnson (2019 – 2022)
While we haven’t had enough time to fully digest Boris Johnson’s time at Number 10, we’ve gotten a pretty good idea of his leadership style over the years.
As the 77th British Prime Minister – and the 20th to go to Eton – Johnson has always held Churchill as his idol. And it shows in his approach to leadership. Sprinkle in some Thatcher and you have an interesting mix of autocracy and charisma.
Like Churchill, Johnson understood the value of engaging with the UK public with a clear and positive outlook. Throughout his two greatest challenges – Brexit and Covid-19 - Boris always presented a narrative that was well-sloganed, optimistic and what many people wanted to hear. Think “Get Brexit Done”.
However, a slew of scandals rocked the public’s trust in the PM. And trust in leadership is essential. The more a team trusts its leader, the more effectively it will achieve its goals.
Johnson also displayed traits of a transactional leader, especially when it came to his political colleagues. The party rules were very clear: you will be punished for going against the leader. For example, Michael Gove was sacked for suggesting the PM resign.
Calling Boris Johnson an effective leader will no doubt raise some eyebrows. However, he did oversee the UK’s Covid response and he “got Brexit done”. Whether those things were handled well is entirely up to you.
Liz Truss (2022 – Present)
It might be too early to really analyse Liz Truss’ tenure as Prime Minister, but we can still get some idea of her leadership style. She did, after all, become a Member of Parliament in 2010.
One thing we can be sure on is this – Liz Truss aspires to be a charismatic leader. You can tell that she’s gone through a staggering amount of media training to improve her public speaking and transform her into the next Iron Lady. Has it worked? I’ll let the infamous cheese remark speak for itself.
Reports from her colleagues and civil servants also begin to paint Liz Truss as an autocratic leader. Some going so far as to say her tenure as chief secretary was "exhausting" due to her demanding work schedule and that she was intolerant of criticism and wasn’t interested in debate. Not to mention her “interesting” habit of grilling colleagues by asking them maths questions.
It must be said that we don’t yet have a definitive idea of her leadership style as Prime Minister. However, the coming months are sure to enlighten us whether we like or not. But I’ll leave you with this little nugget from former Conservative MP Rory Stewart, “She also has this big smile, so you’re never quite sure whether things are a joke, she certainly likes provoking and teasing. That’s certainly her style of leadership.”
Conclusion
The prevailing leadership trends of today favour diversity, decentralisation, transparency, and engagement. While we’ve seen autocratic styles of leadership pop up throughout the article, they’ve had varying degrees of success (and most of those during wartime).
For more musings on all things leadership, check out our article on the 7 Different Types of Business Leadership Styles.
Written by Michael
Michael Mauro is the founder of a forward-thinking organisation specialising in leadership, HR and employee development. With over a decade of global experience, Michael has become a leading voice on topics such as culture, inclusion, wellbeing, and the future of leadership.
