Ministerial Leadership / Understanding Governance (PDF)

"This book is a very considerable intellectual achievement. It combines a wide-ranging grasp of key theoretical concepts in the study of government and leadership with invaluable insights gleaned from interviews with Ministers. This extremely valuable approach offers huge insight into the everyday life of ministers in our system of government." - Patrick Diamond, Professor in Public Policy, Queen Mary College University of London, UK.

Ministerial Leadership offers a practice-based account of how ministers in UK governments perform their roles and exercise leadership in their spaces of activity. Drawing on the unique Ministers Reflect archive of the Institute for Government, which is an open and growing resource of over 140 ministerial interviews at UK and devolved government levels, as well as other ministerial reflections, the book addresses the literature on ministerial life and political leadership, and develops new concepts for examining ministerial leadership in different spheres. It argues that the relationship between ministers and civil servants has changed significantly in recent decades, as ministers place greater emphasis on delivery and implementation. The book adopts a theoretically pluralist approach with the intention of offering a valuable teaching aid for existing and new courses. It will appeal to all those interested in public policy and governance.

Leighton Andrews is Professor of Practice in Public Service Leadership and Innovation at Cardiff Business School, UK. A former Welsh Government Minister, he teaches, researches and writes in the fields of government, public leadership and innovation, regulation and governance of media and social media.