Different Styles of Recent British Prime Ministers Essay

Different Styles of Recent British Prime Ministers - Essay Example Amongst the most renowned prime ministers in Britain are such as Winston Churchill; who led Britain during the second world war, Margaret Thatcher who is commonly referred to as the iron lady, John Major and Lloyd George (Bennister, 2012). This discussion looks into the similarities and differences in leadership approaches of latest British prime ministers. These are john Major, Tony Blair, Gordon Brown and the incumbent David Cameron. Major John rose to the position of prime minister after serving for 11 years in parliament; Blair became the prime minister after serving for fourteen years. Gordon Brown waited for twenty five years before becoming prime minister, and the current Prime Minister Cameron took nine years before becoming prime minister. Prime ministers govern depending on their styles of management. Major John was accommodative and tolerant, allowing a greater variety of opinion. He stressed on consensus and collegiality, giving the department as much autonomy as possible . He rarely interfered with the decision making of departments during tenure (Bennister, 2012). Tony Blair is known for his authoritative style having developed a standing for enforcing strong discipline both in his party and cabinet. Blair assigned discretion to strong ministers prepared to follow the government without question. His autocratic style attracted criticism of assuming presidential powers. Cameron leadership is characterized by several policies, the Majority of which are propelled by the need to trim down the government expenditure. Having secured office in 2010, Cameron came in office at a time when Britain was grappling with economic downtowns. The following valuables will be the basis of evaluation leadership styles and aptitude. These are proficiency and communication skills, political skills, emotional intelligence, organizational capacity and policy vision. Proficiency and communication skills Tony Blair has an outstanding proficiency in public communication, usu ally described as an exciting politician, who is able to interact well with the media. His strong control over the government’s message was highly successful in imposing unity and projecting an image of competence. How Blair managed communications during the 1999 Kosovo war, was an illustration of this skill. On the other hand, Major John and Gordon Brown are not proficient and good communicators (Bennister, 2012). Cameron is also known for his communication skills, which is enhanced by background in television. Organizational capacity Cameron noticeable organization skills are his self confidence and inner motivation. He strives to excel and accomplish objectives. He sets intricate goals and works on how the objectives will be accomplished. His strong communication skills enable him to respond positively to setbacks whenever they occur. He is able to remain calm under strenuous circumstances. Cameron organizational capacity has been put under criticism as a result of his jud gments with regards to key government appointments. Major John had a strong organizational capacity due to his democratic leadership. His reign had few ad hoc cabinet meetings and fewer ad hoc committees to compete for a central position in policy making. Tony Blair and Gordon Brown had less organizational capacities, and usually struggled to find arrangements that suited them.