POL3053 : Political Leadership in Britain
- Offered for Year: 2025/26
- Module Leader(s): Dr Nick Randall
- Owning School: Geography, Politics & Sociology
- Teaching Location: Newcastle City Campus
Semesters
Your programme is made up of credits, the total differs on programme to programme.
| Semester 1 Credit Value: | 20 |
| ECTS Credits: | 10.0 |
| European Credit Transfer System | |
Aims
Questions of leadership are ubiquitous in British politics. Leaders are subject to ongoing commentary in print, broadcast and social media. Opinion polls routinely collect popular assessments of leaders, while valence politics renders attitudes towards political leaders increasingly electorally salient. The diaries, autobiographies, and biographies of leaders reach wide audiences. However, much of the discussion and assessment of leadership in Britain is insular and atheoretical. This module therefore aims to examine political leadership in Britain by reference to a range of theoretical debates in political science and kindred disciplines.
Outline Of Syllabus
Topics on the syllabus are likely to include:
- What is Political Leadership?
- Biography, Psychology, Personality and British Political Leadership
- British Political Leaders and Their Followers
- Performance and British Political Leadership
- British Political Leaders and the Electorate
- The Body Politic? Gender and British Political Leadership
- Blunders, Scandals, Crises and British Political Leadership
- Foreign Policy Leadership
- Ethics and British Political Leadership
- Into the Political Sunset: Leaving Office, Political Legacies, and the Evaluation of British Political Leadership
Teaching Methods
Teaching Activities
| Category | Activity | Number | Length | Student Hours | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Structured Guided Learning | Lecture materials | 16 | 0:30 | 8:00 | Pre-recorded videos examining the careers of the 16 prime ministers to be studied in the module |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Lecture | 11 | 2:00 | 22:00 | Present in person lectures |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Small group teaching | 11 | 1:30 | 16:30 | Optional seminars |
| Scheduled Learning And Teaching Activities | Drop-in/surgery | 2 | 1:30 | 3:00 | Assessment drop-ins/workshops |
| Guided Independent Study | Independent study | 1 | 150:30 | 150:30 | Assessment preparation and completion. |
| Total | 200:00 |
Teaching Rationale And Relationship
The pre-recorded video content introduces students to the careers of the 16 post-war UK prime ministers to be studied in the module.
The in-person lectures introduce students to the key topics of the module.
The optional present in person seminars are designed to actively engage students in critical discussion of the core theoretical, conceptual, and empirical concerns of the module.
Assessment Methods
The format of resits will be determined by the Board of Examiners
Exams
| Description | Length | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Digital Examination | 90 | 1 | A | 50 | An essay-style digital exam. Students will answer one question. Students will be permitted to take a restricted quantity of printed notes into the exam (1,000 words) |
Other Assessment
| Description | Semester | When Set | Percentage | Comment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Essay | 1 | M | 50 | 2,000 words |
Assessment Rationale And Relationship
The first component (2000 word essay) will analyse one individual leader in depth using the theories and concepts introduced and examined in the module. The unseen digital examination will require students to critically evaluate atheoretical approach to the study of political leadership by applying it to several British political leaders studied in the module.
Reading Lists
Timetable
- Timetable Website: www.ncl.ac.uk/timetable/
- POL3053's Timetable